CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Skye listened intently as the footsteps approached, praying it was only Keir returning with Taran and Finn for some unknown reason instead of meeting them at the stairs.
But there were too many. Four sets at least, maybe five, their rhythm purposeful and unhurried. The confident gait of men—too many men—who knew exactly where they were going.
And then a voice. Low and self-assured, giving a murmured command.
Austin!
She knew that voice too well. He sounded pleased. Almost eager. And that told her everything.
He had come to collect her.
Beside her, Noah shifted, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword as he moved to place himself between her and the approaching sounds. But Skye stepped forward first, positioning herself in front of him before he could finish.
She felt his shock in the sudden stillness behind her, heard his sharp intake of breath. His hand caught her arm and he pulled her back, gently but without hesitation, tucking her behind him. “Stay there.”
“No.” She moved to his side. “It’s me he’s come for. Let me speak first.”
The combined glow of several torches rounded the corner and filled the narrow opening, almost blinding after the dimness of their single torch. Skye shielded her eyes as shapes solidified within the glow. Austin, followed by four guards, quickly drew their swords as Noah did the same.
They stopped just inside the opening with Austin holding his torch high enough to illuminate the full scene before him. Something unguarded crossed his face as his gaze moved from Skye to Noah to the limp body of the incapacitated guard. Not just surprise. A cold and sudden fury that sharpened every angle of his features.
“Well,” he said, his voice dangerously quiet. “This is unexpected.”
Skye saw his eyes lock on Noah’s sword, on his protective stance, on the way his body shielded hers, and recognized the significance of the muscle pulling tight across his jaw.
“I came to see if my future bride had come to her senses.” He shifted his gaze to Skye. “Instead, I find her practically in the arms of the man her father expressly forbade her from seeing.” He clicked his tongue. “I’m disappointed, Skye. Though I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“I am not your bride.” The words left her with a clarity that surprised even her. “And I never will be.”
Austin’s eyes hardened. He gestured to the guards, who fanned out to fill the width of the opening, steel gleaming in the unsteady light. “You seem to misunderstand your position. Both of you.”
Noah’s grip on his sword tightened. “Let her pass, Austin.”
“Or what?” Austin’s laugh bounced off the stone walls. “You’ll fight your way through five fully-armed men in a space hardlywide enough to swing your blade? Brave, I’ll grant you. Reckless and stupid, certainly. But brave.”
“I’ve fought worse odds.”
“Have you?” Austin took a measured step forward, studying Noah with open contempt. “The Keeper wants his daughter returned. He wants you and your entire family removed from the Citadel by dawn, which, by the way, is almost upon us. Those are my orders. Stand down before you force me to do something that might upset Skye.”
Skye felt Noah tense beside her and quickly moved between them, turning her back on Austin to face Noah. The fear in her chest clawed at her ribs but she refused to let it show. “Don’t. Not like this.”
“I’m not handing you over to him.” Noah’s voice came low and fierce, his eyes burning into hers. “I told you. I won’t leave without you.”
“And I told you some things matter more than what we want.” She held Noah’s gaze, willing him not to react.
“Austin!” Taran’s sharp warning cut through the standoff. “I suggest ye rethink yer stance on this.”
Skye spun to face the familiar voice, her indrawn breath matching both Austin’s and Noah’s. In the intensity of the confrontation, no one had heard the three men approach.
In that split-second, she witnessed Austin’s composure crack before he quickly gathered himself, regained his haughty façade and turned to face Taran, Finn and Keir, standing at his guard’s backs, swords drawn, positioned to cut off any retreat.
He quickly shifted, angling his body to make sure his back wasn’t exposed to them, or Noah.
The guards shifted uneasily, their attention switching between Austin and the new arrivals.
Skye knew any show of force in this confined space would be disastrous. Not everyone would leave here alive. There had to bea way to stop this. She couldn’t allow anyone to die today. Not for her.
