Fire blocked his path to the severed mooring.
At the screams of men and the clash of swords, he glanced to the shore. Outlined within a haze of murky white, a violent battlecame into view.
Bedamned, he had to reach his men! Teeth clenched against the pain, Aiden slashed a nearby coil of rope, secured one end to the rail, tossed the rest over the side. He swung his leg over the polished wood, paused.
The boat had broken loose and wasdrifting away.
Wood groaned below, and a blast of heat slapped him.
He turned.
Flamessurrounded him.
Bedamned, once he reached the sea, he’d have to swim. With a tug to ensure the knot was secure, he began his descent.
Halfway, the line dropped further.
With a curse, Aiden glanced up.
Fire danced along the top of the hemp. A twisted piece frayed. Smoke belched, and flames consumed theloosened line.
The rope groaned.
Snapped.
Aiden fell.
* * * *
The faint roar of battle and the screams of pain echoed down the tunnel. Gwendolyn’s fingers on her dagger tightened.
“Steady, lass,” a deep male voice said.
She glanced toward Sir Vide. “I should be fighting alongside Aiden’s men to reclaim my home.”
“Aiden wants you safe.”
She scoffed. “Safe doing naught.” She glanced toward the exit. Sunlight streamed inside, assuring her hours had passed. Frustrated, she paced. She should have insisted she be allowed to fight.
“Lady Gwendolyn?”
Rónán’s distant call had her whirling. Heart pounding, she watched as the honorable knight came into view, realized that now, naught but the rumble of waves filled the air. Hope ignited. “Is the battle over?”
Smears of blood on his mail, the knight halted before her. “Aye,” Rónán said, grim satisfaction on his face. “Latharn Castle is secure.”
She steadied herself as relief threatened to buckle her knees. “Thank God.”
“My lady.” Sir Vide gestured toward the blackened portion of the tunnel. “Does this passageway lead inside the stronghold?”
“Aye, it comes out at the stables.”
“I ask you to go inside the keep and remain there until we have cleared away the dead.” The Templar grimaced. “’Tis not a sight I, or any of the warriors, would wish you to see.”
“I thank you, but good men have risked their lives to reclaim my home. I willna shame them by cringing in a corner whilst I hide from the realities of war.”
Respect flickered in the knight’s gaze.“Aye, my lady.”
Sand crunched beneath her slippers as she hurried past the knights to the seaward exit, needing to see Aiden. To thank him, she assured herself, but with her castle seized, his leaving weighed heavyupon her mind.
