“I failed to protect you,” he said as if it was the worst thing possible.
“It happens. You were caught unaware.”
“A ghost warrior is never caught unaware and if he is?” Edward shook his head slowly. “He has failed himself, his fellow warriors, and worst of all, the Dragon.”
“Perhaps the one who struck you was simply more skilled at not being heard or seen.”
“I have given that possibility thought, for I had remained alert the whole time I was outside your door, and I heard or saw nothing.”
“I heard something,” she said, and his eyes brightened. “It was a thud and now when I think onit, I believe what followed was you being dragged away.”
“I do not know where the culprit could have come from, though there are many shadows that haunt that area.” He rubbed the side of his head. “I remember hearing a sound overhead and I looked up and listened. I could not tell where the sound came from, then it stopped, but I continued to listen and that was the last I remember.”
“You did well, Edward. You have nothing to be sorry for and I would have you guard me again without any concern.”
“Thank you, my lady, you are most kind.”
“Now you must eat, rest, and heal so you may resume your duties as my guard.”
“I would like that, but I do not think the Dragon will permit it.”
“We shall see, Edward,” she said with a smile and left him to his meal.
Heather did not listen for footfalls following her up the stairs, but she did watch to see if any shadows followed her. She had learned a few of the ghost warriors’ skills after being abducted and held by them until her escape. She had also learned to tread more lightly, having watched how the ghost warriors walked without making a sound. Their steps were precise and light and barely left a footprint in their wake.
Her husband’s skills, though, far surpassed his warriors. She never heard him approach and she never saw anyone who could blend with thedarkness as if he was born to it like he could. She wondered where he had learned such skills, but most of all she wondered why it had taken him so long to return to her.
She reached the upper floor without realizing it and that was one thing she needed to learn—not to let her mind wander, but to remain focused on her surroundings. Now that she was here, she might as well explore, but perhaps that had been her intentions all along.
With light steps, she approached the room that had been Mary’s solar, the door ajar. She pushed at the door and it squeaked as it yawned open, appearing like a giant mouth ready to swallow her. She intended to look for the secret passage here, though in all honesty it was her mum that brought her here. After Seamus had told her that her mum had spent time here with Mary McComb, she wanted to come here and sit where her mum had once sat and see if the sound of her mum’s soft voice or her sweet scent would return to her. Through the years the few memories she had of her mum had faded and it felt as if she had lost her all over again. She wanted those memories back and she hoped to regain them in this room.
Heather stepped into the room and shadows seemed to reach out to her, beckoning her forward. Darkness never appealed to her, though she was never afraid of it, but this room had been left to the darkness too long. She skirted her way around the chairs, tables, and chests to reach the tapestry thathung on the wall and when she yanked it back, she smiled.
She grabbed the edge of the large tapestry and gave it several hard yanks until she jumped back as it fell to the floor revealing a window that flooded the room with light. She turned with a flourish eager to inspect the room and stopped abruptly. Her breath caught on a gasp that she forced silent when seeing a shadow slither past the open door.
CHAPTER 18
Heather remained as she was, staring at the door. Had she seen a shadow, or had it been her imagination? No one knew she had come up here. No guard had followed her, unless the shadow was a guard who had been following her all along. But if it was no guard, then who was it? The culprit who stalked the keep?
Look for anything you can use as a weapon.
Her sister Patience’s voice rang loud in her head, and she was relieved to be reminded of what her sister had once taught her and Emma. Heather quickly scanned the room.
Nothing large and cumbersome that can easily be taken away from you.
She kept her sister’s advice in mind as her eyes continued to search. She smiled when she spotted the bone needle tucked in an unfinished piece of embroidery. It was small enough to conceal in her hand, but deadly enough when jabbed in someone’s eye.
Heather approached the open door cautiously, wishing she had a torch or some type of light to illuminate the small area outside the door. The torch in the wall sconce did not burn bright enough to light the small area sufficiently, but if she could grab it and shine it on the shadows it would chase them away and reveal...what?
With her heart pounding hard in her chest and her hand trembling slightly, she reached the open door. She could do this. Had her sisters not complained of her quickness when chasing after them and catching them when they were young and unruly?
She could do this. She would reach the sconce, and not only would it cast light on the darkness, but it would prove useful as another weapon if necessary.
Not letting her fear stop her, Heather rushed out of the room and grabbed the torch from the sconce and swung it around, chasing the darkness away to reveal... She released the breath she had not realized she had been holding. There was no one there. She was alone.
She smiled, though her heart continued to pound against her chest. She returned the torch to the wall sconce and turned to find the darkness laying claim to the area once again. She entered the room, satisfied that the shadows had played a trick on her.
She stopped a few feet in when she heard the squeak of the door closing behind her and a tremble rippled over her, but it was when the door shut, and she heard the latch click that fear gripped her. She slipped the needle into place in her hand just as she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck.
