The air smelled of rot and mildew, with a strange cold that made her feel sick to her stomach. There was a load-bearing wooden post in the middle of the room that he forced her toward, before slamming her back against it and tying her to it. The ropes cut into every bit of exposed skin as she struggled for breathing room.
“Why are ye doing this?!” she spat as the man stepped away from her.
But he didn’t bother looking at her again. He was looking at somebody behind her. He bowed his head almost reverently and then turned to leave.
Emily felt fingers brush against the hair on the nape of her neck, before a voice whispered far too close to her ear, “Because ye’re mine.”
Not even when he had escaped from his cell had he felt this anxious. Kaden didn’t know if he had ever felt quite this uncomfortable in his skin. It felt like ants or some other insect were creeping under his skin, and he couldn’t seem to get rid of the feeling as he arrived in the village.
He and Peter split up, each searching one half. It was late enough in the morning now that all the vendors had set up their stalls. He knew the names and faces of every person that he passed, and he was grateful in this one instance that people moved out of his way so that he could handle his business more quickly.
“Have ye seen me wife?”
It had to have been the tenth time that he had asked the same question. Over and over again, he asked it only to get no response. But this time, he must have stepped on a lucky charm because the vendor nodded.
“Aye! She was here in the wee hours, before the rest had gotten all set up,” the woman spoke as she rearranged the items on her table with no apparent urgency. “She left in a hurry though, with one of yer guards there.”
Kaden followed her wiggling fingers to one of his guards. However, he knew that it wasn’t possible for one of his guards to have been here because they would have mentioned it.
“One of me guards? Where did they go?” he asked, somewhat sharply.
The woman looked momentarily taken aback by his tone, like she wasn’t sure if she had done something wrong.
“Aye. I daenae ken where they went, but they headed toward the forest? She did seem mighty upset.”
Kaden’s heart stopped upon hearing that Emily had been upset. “Is there anything else that ye can tell me?”
“Sorry, nay, I daenae?—”
Kaden was already moving in the direction the woman had pointed. Whether Emily left on horseback or on foot, he would be able to track her, and that was something he was absolutely certain of.
He didn’t even make it to the edge of the village before he heard a familiar bark.
“Impossible,” he muttered.
There was just no way that Maggie had found her way down here unless Emily had brought her. Right?
She barked at him and turned in circles without moving from her spot.
“What is it? What do ye have there?” Kaden asked as he bent down and scooped up the little white ball of fluff into his arms.
Maggie had been standing on hoofprints. Was it possible that she had picked up Emily’s tracks even before he had found her? If so, he might just have to rethink his opinion of the wee beastie.
Maggie whined in his arms, already trying to get back down so that she could start running once more, but he kept her close. “Daenae worry, we will find her, nay matter what.”
32
If there was ever a voice that could freeze her blood, it would be the one in her ear.
The effect that the monster had on her was immediate andvisceral. Her skin tightened, and every hair on her arms stood on end as she fought the urge to shudder.
It had seemed impossible that she would find herself alone with this thing pretending to be a man ever again.
Dread curled in her stomach as helplessness truly started to settle over her. She knew that she was helpless, but there had been a glimmer of hope in her heart until he spoke.
The hand curled in her hair trailed down the side of her neck to the shoulder of her dress, pushing down the sleeve to expose her shoulder for his touch. Hisunwantedtouch, just like it had been when they had been engaged.
Every single day of her betrothal to Graham had been a struggle to keep his hands off her, to stop allowing him and his proclivities to frighten her. He had had no qualms about telling her what their marriage would be like and the sort of wife that she would need to be. Never mind the activities that she would be required to participate in.
