“Just a bit more,” Lavina promised, more to herself than the horse. But the rain was heavy and relentless, making it nearly impossible to see to the top. “Just a little more.”
“There,” Maisie said, her bony finger trembling in the mist and rain. “I see it.”
“Nay,” Lavina gasped and shook her head. “It cannae be.”
“What’s wrong?” Maisie asked. “It looks like a place we can rest for a moment. If nae for the night.”
“We cannae go there,” Lavina said. “We’ve been goin’ the wrong way. Oh God, we’re on the wrong side of the land. I thought we were goin’ north, but we’ve been travelin’ east.”
“Lavina, what does that mean?” Maisie asked, her teeth chattering fiercely. “Are we nae goin’? Lavina? Please, we need to rest. The horse needs to rest.”
“I ken, but…” Lavina glanced at her sister before her attention drifted to where she had last seen the ruins. It was the only shelter for miles, the only haven they could go to. “We cannae stay long.”
When they reached the crumbled archway, Lavina dismounted, her boots squelching in the mud. She helped Maisie down, her arms trembling from the ride and exhaustion she didn’t have time to feel.
The interior of the old tower was dark, the roof mostly gone, allowing rain to fall freely on the cracked stone floor. One wall was half intact, offering some shelter from the wind. It wasn’t much, but it was more than they’d had minutes ago.
She found a corner where the wind didn’t bite so fiercely and pulled Maisie down with her, wrapping her cloak around them both. The air inside the ruins was damp and smelled of mildew and moss, but at least it offered stillness. Stillness and the illusion of safety.
Maisie huddled close, her lips tinted blue. “Ye ken he’s goin’ to come after us, right? Chances are, he’s already sent out men to search for us.”
“I didnae see any sign of the gates bein’ raised, or the horses bein’ mounted. We have a few hours to rest. I suggest we try todo that.” Lavina pressed a kiss on her sister’s forehead. “Now, dinnae fash. We’ve got a way to go still, and we’ve got to be smart about it. Besides, he’d never think to look this far into the hills in the middle of a storm.”
But even as she said it, a shiver crawled down her spine—something deeper than the cold. The kind of instinct she couldn’t ignore.
A sharp snap sounded outside the ruin and echoed through the area. Lavina froze, and her breath caught in her lungs. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Maisie stiffening against her with the same expression of terror on her face.
A heartbeat later, a voice rang out—gruff, accented, and dripping with contempt. “Ye can stop hidin’; we saw ye come in here. Ye’ve led us on a merry chase, but we found ye. If ye dinnae want to experience the full force of our ire, I suggest ye both crawl out.Now.”
Lavina’s blood ran cold as her hand fell into Maisie’s.
She slowly turned her head, her eyes searching through the rain-drenched dark beyond the crumbling wall. And then she saw him. A tall man, broad-shouldered, wrapped in a dark cloak soaked through with rain.
He stepped through the broken arch like a specter summoned by fear alone. His beard was dripping with water, and his drenched hair was plastered to his face. But it was the jagged scar that split the skin beside one eye that struck fear into her heart.
Maisie whimpered, pulling Lavina’s attention off the scarred stranger and to the left. There, a second man approached.
Lavina rose, stepping protectively in front of her sister.
“Step away from the girl,” the first man commanded, his voice low like rolling thunder. “She’s nae for ye to shield.”
“And if ye think ye can take her, ye’ve got another thing comin’. I’ll nae let ye lay a finger on her. Ye’ll have to kill me first,” Lavina snapped, gathering every ounce of courage she possessed.
The scarred man tilted his head, amused. “Oh, we were told ye might put up a bit of a fight. Nae that I mind one bit. I like it when they squirm. Get them.”
Lavina’s stomach twisted. “Run.And dinnae look back.”
“Dinnae let them get past,” the scarred man snapped as more men came out of the shadows like demons. “Round them up. Our orders are nae to harm the youngest. But the eldest sister, we can do with her as we please.”
“The more ye resist, the harsher the punishment for ye, lass. Give up yer sister, and I promise I’ll go easy on ye… the first night,” another man said. The mockery in his voice was as thick as the mud around their boots.
Lavina glanced at her sister as Maisie climbed over the ruins in a mad dash for the deep shadows of the forest. “Ye tell that snake that if he wants me, he can come drag me back himself.”
The third man laughed, the sound cruel and taunting. “He doesnae have to, Me Lady. That’s what we’re here for.”
Lavina pushed Maisie, trying to help her over the rugged ruins and scattered boulders.
“Maisie, I’m goin’ to need ye to get goin’. We’re runnin’ out of space here. He’s right there,” Lavina hissed.
