Simon leafed through the parchment pages. “Well done, my dear.”
“You stole it from me,” Christian accused vehemently.
Willow shook her head slightly at Christian, hoping he would believe in her, hoping he would know she loved him more than that.
“We had an agreement,” Simon explained with glee. “She would get the book from you and bring it to me.” He turned to Willow. “You see, we both knew you would leave her.”
Willow’s heart broke at the betrayal she saw in Christian’s eyes. She wanted to explain. She wanted to tell him her plan and she would when Simon was gone. Christian could yell at her—he could be angry—but he’d promised he wouldn’t leave her.
Simon produced a bag weighed down by coin. “As agreed.” He handed it to Willow.
She absently took it, her fingers closing around its neck as she silently pleaded with Christian. Her lower lip trembled.
He rose slowly, his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed. “You fooled me,” he said to her.
She shook her head.
“You can’t blame her for picking me over you,” Simon said.
Christian whirled and planted a punch to Simon’s cheek, sending him spinning to the ground.
Simon’s man started forward.
“Let him go,” Simon ordered from his hands and knees. He began to laugh and climbed to his feet as Christian stormed toward the door.
“Christian!” Willow called desperately. No. He wouldn’t go. He hadpromised.
He paused; his fists clenched and his back stiff.
“You swore you wouldn’t leave me.”
He turned to her. There was such resentment and anger burning in his eyes that she recoiled.
“I can lie too,” he snarled and left the inn.
It was like a slap. The door slammed shut. Willow jerked to race after him, but Simon caught her wrist.
“Let him go,” Simon commanded, wiping blood from the corner of his lip. “He’ll never forgive you.”
She wrenched her arm from his grip, her heart breaking. She hadn’t betrayed Christian. She had to tell him. He had to listen. He couldn’t leave her. She moved toward the door.
Simon lifted a finger, and his man stepped before the door, blocking her path.
“We had a deal,” she said emphatically.
Simon nodded. “We did. And now, our deal is finished. You see, I made a new deal with someone else.”
Over his shoulder, a shadow separated from the rear of the room. Verm stepped into the light. The smile twisting his lips was hideous.
Fury churned in Christian’s veins. She had lied. She had taken the book from him and given it to his brother. His brother! She was working for Simon. After everything he had revealed to her, after everything she had seen about Simon’s character. That betrayal hurt most of all. He had trusted her and believed he belonged at her side. Because of her treachery, he was breaking his vow to her. That went against everything he was, everything he believed. But he just couldn’t be with her.
She had chosen his brother over him, just as his father had.
He swung himself up into the saddle of the horse and burst forth into the night, leaving all of it. Leaving her. He had fallen for her, or perhaps he had never ceased loving her. He had believed she loved him. He would have done anything for her. Anything. He charged into the night, urging the horse into a run.
The horse breathed hotly into the night air. The dark sky was a blur of wind and earth. A forest of black trees bounded the horizon on either side.
He wanted to scream; he wanted to cry. His fingers curled in the reins. Wind whipped his hair about his face. He could barely see where he was heading. He had to drive the hurt from his soul.
