Och heavens. This is the man who had wanted Scarlett for his son. The man whose daughter Aaron rejected.
“Ye understand now,” MacFaris said, his satisfaction evident in his voice. “Good. That should make this simpler for everyone.”
Edith shook her head desperately. She knew what he wanted. Her betrothal to Aaron was nearly over anyway. There was no point in holding onto something that was never hers to begin with.
“I can leave.” The words came out broken despite herself. “I can disappear from Hallow and never return if that is what ye want. Just, please, daenae harm anyone.”
MacFaris burst into laughter.
“Ye misunderstand,” he said. “I care nothin’ for yer betrothal to Hallow. Very soon, everything that is his will be mine.” His hand moved to the side of her face, sending a shudder through her. “And ye, lass, will help me get it.”
Edith’s heart broke at the implication of his words.
If only ye kent that it is only an arrangement.
“He willnae surrender Hallow,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “Nae for me.”
MacFaris clicked his tongue.
“We shall find out together,” he said, his footsteps moving away from her. “Bring her,” he called to the younger man.
Edith felt a pair of hands lift her as though she weighed nothing. She kicked again, attempting to bite the man’s shoulder, and his fist struck her side hard enough to make her wince.
He hoisted her onto the back of a horse, her stomach pressed painfully against the saddle. Her bound legs dangled uselessly on one side of the horse, and her heart on the other, blood rushing to her brain.
The man mounted behind her, and she squeezed her eyes shut beneath the blindfold.
Aaron, ye mustnae come after me. Ye mustnae.
Because if MacFaris was telling the truth, she could not bear to see him sacrifice everything he had worked for.
The ride felt endless, every movement driving pain and discomfort through her stomach. She had lost all sense of direction before it even began, and before long, she lost count of the horse’s steps as well.
The blindfold stole more than her sight. It stole every sense of certainty she possessed except one. She could still hear the music from the festival. That meant they were still near Hallow.
’Tis better if I can escape on me own.
MacFaris believed that Aaron would surrender Hallow for her. He was wrong. He had to be.
Eventually, the horse stopped, and MacFaris’s man dismounted behind her. The sound of a door creaked nearby, and she kicked her feet, realizing at once that it was a terrible idea as pain shot through her leg.
The man lifted her down from the horse, and her feet buckled. She caught herself against his arm, and he shook her off.
“Walk.”
Edith remained still.
“I said”—he shoved her forward—“walk.”
“Be gentle,” MacFaris said from behind them as she stumbled forward.
The man finally took her arm and led her through the doorway into what felt like a narrow corridor.
“Where are we?”
Her question went unanswered as the man forced her up a flight of stairs, then through another doorway, before he finally pushed her into a chair.
Edith sighed in relief despite herself, the tension in her stomach easing considerably.
