Anger rose inside of him, and a scream of rage threatened to come out. Instead, he marched back to the cot and kicked the leg. The makeshift bed moved slightly. Frustration built inside of him, growing hotter by the second. Finally, he could stand it no longer. Facing the window, he let his irritation out through his voice—and as loud as he could. He slammed his fists against the stone wall, so frustrated he barely felt the bruises already forming on his tense hands.
In despair, he sank back to the cot and rested his forehead against his palms. Everything was hopeless.
When an unfamiliar sound reached his ears, he sucked in a breath and sat up. As small as the sound was, he thought it might be a woman’s voice crying for help. As he strained to hear more, the sound must have disappeared. Either that or he’d been hearing things. Why were his ears playing tricks on him now? He was the only one in this tower. There were only three floors, and he’d walked up the stairs with Clarissa last night. After she had left, nobody else had entered.
Frowning, he shook his head. Obviously, he was hearing things.
As the sun rose a little higher, the chirp of birds filled the air, calming Ryder slightly. Although it was somewhat peaceful and relaxing, it was not enough to distract him from the cold chains clamped around his aching wrists.
He tapped his foot against the floor, anxious for Clarissa to return and bring him food. He really wasn’t hungry. Instead, he was more apprehensive about seeing her and trying to talk some sense into that woman. How was he going to convince her not to smell those flowers again? The more she smelled them, the deeper she was put under the spell.
Another question that swam through his head waswhywould Prince Ormond have a spell placed on the flowers? He was a prince. Wouldn’t that reason alone be good enough to win him the hand of any woman? Yet, he chose Clarissa, who was a princess in her own right.
Ryder didn’t know much about the Kingdom of Edan where Prince Ormond was from, but by chance, could the prince and his mother be having money problems? Was that why they wanted to join the kingdoms? Nothing else made sense.
Closing his eyes, he rested his head back against the rock wall and sighed. He was already bored. He didn’t want to think about being held captive for more than a day, especially if Clarissa didn’t bring him anything to do.
The same muffled sound from earlier wafted through the air. He snapped upright, concentrating on the unexplained noise. Why did it sound as if someone were calling for help? Unless...there were peacocks migrating near the tower. Ryder couldn’t tell if the sound was coming from within the tower or outside.
“Who is there?” he called out loudly. “If you can hear me, yell three times.”
Silence lasted several seconds, and then many more. Apparently, he was hearing things.
Grumbling under his breath, he lay on the cot and stared at the other wall. He’d hoped for some kind of rescue, but it was obvious that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
Through the stillness came the cry for help. Not once. Not twice, but three times.
Perhaps hewouldget out of this prison soon.
ELEVEN
Clarissa tiptoed downthe stairs in the main hallway, heading toward the kitchen. Ryder was probably hungry, and she was slacking in her duty as his prison guard if she didn’t get food and water to him quickly. However, she couldn’t alert her parents of her plans. They would ask too many questions, and she didn’t want to answer them. She hated lying, but telling them the truth wasn’t wise, either.
She made it to the kitchen and cracked the door open just enough to peek in. Three cooks were busily preparing the morning meal. All Clarissa wanted to do was grab some fruits and vegetables, and maybe even a loaf of bread and some cheese. She hoped that would satisfy Ryder until she could sneak more food for him this evening.
She stepped away from the door and frowned. How could she convince the cooks to give her the food without questioning her?
