Chapter One
“There’s one here!” a man called over his shoulder, echoing down the staircase to the bottom of the tower. “We found a girl!”
Amelia glared at him, her hands tightening in front of her. She was exhausted, her body ready to give out, but she wouldn’t allow them to continue the horrific treatment she’d been experiencing.
Dependin’ on how many of them there are, I may be able to escape again. Slip past them and get down the stairs. I just have to convince them to free me from these chains.
Heavy footsteps echoed up the stairs, each one harder than the last. A man spoke before she could see him, his voice deep, authoritative. “So those bastards abandoned one up here.”
Her breath caught when he entered the room. His figure was imposing, taller than the man he pushed past, his heavy bootshitting the stone flooring with a resounding thud. When he stopped, his cloak swung with the momentum. His piercing blue eyes found hers through his unruly blond hair.
It was as if even the walls recognized his strength and stood taller. The stillness of his body felt dangerous. He seemed like the kind of man who decided the fates of others without hesitation.
Is he the one they determined to be the winner? Has he come to collect his prize?
She wouldn’t allow him to decide her fate.
In an act of desperation that bordered on feral, Amelia pushed herself to her feet, the shackles around her wrists cutting deeper into her skin. With gritted teeth, she took a step forward, the chains straining against the wall. She wouldn’t be caught sitting down, not against this man.
He held her gaze for a beat before looking around the room. Then, the low timber of his voice came again. “This room doesnae look as if it’s been touched since the hunt ended. Do ye ken how long ye’ve been here, lass?”
She glowered at him, her jaw tightening. Even if she knew for sure, she wouldn’t tell him. The days had run together in a blur of damp air and cold stone. It had been less than a month and certainly more than a week, but she’d stopped keeping track when the men keeping her captive had disappeared.
And shouldnae he ken? Or perhaps he’s waited so long to retrieve me that he’s lost track of the weeks, too.
“She must have survived because of this wee thing,” the first man said, stepping close enough to her to tap the nearly empty bucket of water with his boot.
Amelia snarled, refusing to move, worried that if she did, he’d knock over her only source of hydration. She’d measured it out painstakingly, rationing what had been left. She wouldn’t have these intruders knocking over her lifeline.
“Nay food, though,” the taller man said, walking over to the moldy bag of barley that had made her sick just the day before. “Ye must be starvin’.”
Her eyes narrowed, her entire body coiling as they both got closer. She flexed her toes, testing the strength in her feet. If this is where she was to meet her end, she’d ensure they didn’t make it out unmarred.
When her stomach growled, loud and telling of the hunger that gnawed at her ribs, the man stepped closer. He wasn’t looking at her face, though. Instead, he was focused on the bruises, her elbows that stuck out too far, her prominent collarbones. She stood up straighter, fragile being the last thing she wanted to be seen as.
“What’s yer name?” he asked, his tone shifting when he spoke to her, softening like he was speaking to an injured animal.
Amelia made a show of hardening her jaw. The only weapon she had aside from her feet was her silence. He hadn’t earned her name, not when the only thing he’d done was walk into the tower as if he were in charge of everything, including her.
And if they didnae tell him me name, that is nae me problem to solve.
When he spoke again, his voice was more authoritative. “Ye can talk, can ye nae? Why daenae ye tell me yer name, lass?”
She was unmoving. It didn’t matter if this man was used to being obeyed and getting what he wanted. He wouldn’t be getting this.
The second man approached then, moving quickly and startling her. Amelia jerked back, the chains rattling loudly, the cuffs nearly drawing blood. “Daenae touch me,” she hissed, the words strained, her voice thin from disuse.
He stopped. Then, slowly raising his hands as a show of peace, he took a step back. On her other side, the taller man made a sound in the back of his throat that was halfway between surprise and amusement.
“Stand down,” he said. Then, he looked over his shoulder at the doorway. “Ye as well. Daenae overwhelm her.”
The other men stepped away, but Amelia didn’t look at a single one of them. Her gaze was fixed on the one who was clearly incharge. Distrust wound itself tighter in her chest, waiting for him to state his true purpose.
When the rest of the men positioned themselves against the wall, the leader spoke slowly, clearly under the impression that she was something fragile. “Ye’re safe now.”
Men like him daenae appear without takin’ somethin’.
A short breath that was almost a laugh escaped her. She held his bright blue gaze as she told him, “Safe’s a lie.”
