Casrian shoveledfood in his mouth though he couldn’t have said what it was. He checked on his men. He prayed. He spoke again to Emrys about weapons stores and missing horses. He tried not to think about the fact that Rowan was out there somewhere in the dark—alone,in irons—and that he was the one who’d brought her here.
He tried not to remember the way she’d looked at him when he kissed her goodbye, the chaste fucking kiss to her forehead, a blessing that hadn’t been able to cover the curse he’d already placed on her life.
He tried not to think about the way she kept giving more and more of herself to help everyone around her, while not even considering what kind of life she wanted for herself.
The way she stubbornly insisted on holding up her end of their bargain long past the point when anyone else would have run away screaming.
The way she challenged him. Challenged his understanding of the whole fucking world.
The way she wouldn’t let him retreat into the shell of a man he’d become, the perfect soldier, the coldly competent killer that couldn’t let himself feel too much lest it swallow him whole.
She made him feel…Fuck.She made him feel so many things.
He tried not to think about the way she’d felt beneath him when he slid that first finger into her tight, slick warmth, or the way her thighs had fallen open in such complete surrender, firelight painting her pale skin in gold and shadow.
He tried not to think about the way she’d felt in his arms, the soft curve of her breasts against his chest, how perfectly she’d sheathed his cock, the way her eyes flashed when she came like she’d caught a glimpse of heaven.
He’d been her first and he’d taken her against a tree. He’d?—
“Captain,” Kenet called out, and he stopped walking, turned to find the big man approaching him at a run.
Emrys joined them. Kenet paused to catch his breath. Casrian resisted the urge to shake the report out of him.
“She was thrown,” Kenet said. “It was dark, but I found the spot. The horse kept going. I tracked him for a bit but I think he’s long gone.”
“Where is she? Is she hurt?”
Even in the dim light of the fire, he could see Kenet’s skin pale. “There was blood, but she wasn’t there. The spot…”
His stomach churned. “What about the spot?”
“I think the witch took her. There was some moss on the ground. Or there had been. Some blood. Not a lot. But I found tracks from a familiar, leading back into the woods. There was a grate there and I think a tunnel, though I didn’t go in. It likely leads up to the fort. It had the feel of the place to it.”
Casrian could only stare as he turned the news around in his head, trying to reject the conclusion Kenet had come to. Emrys laid a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.
“Captain?” Kenet asked.
He cleared his throat. “You did well, Kenet. Get some rest. We raid at first light. Be ready.”
Kenet nodded and disappeared back into the camp. He’d find a fire and a place to sleep. It’s what Casrian should do now.
“Why didn’t it kill her?” Emrys asked, staring thoughtfully into the dark. “If it had been any of the men, Kenet would have found a body. You know how bloodthirsty familiars are. Witches rarely have much control over them.”
They were like rabid, feral cats, lingering around the witch and killing at will. She would send them out to hunt, but they weren’t tame pets. They didn’t collect things.
“I don’t know.”
Emrys’s brows drew together in concern. “Maybe you should stay back tomorrow. Guard the wounded. We don’t know what we’ll find in there.”
A kind way of saying he thought Rowan was already dead or would be by morning.
“Not a chance.”
He wasn’t going to let Rowan die in that place. Turning from Emrys, he moved back toward camp. He wouldn’t take his men. He couldn’t demand that of them. They could ride with Emrys in the morning when it would be safer. It was stupid to race into a nest in the dead of night. It was when a witch’s powers were most active. Any familiars she had left would be guarding the place.
Emrys fell into step beside him. “What are you thinking?”
He moved to his bag and dropped to his knees. He’d need the crossbow for certain. Five bolts was all he could reasonably expect to use before he was overrun. Taking any more would leave too few for the others.
