She rested her forehead on Finn’s shoulder. “I couldn’t move without them being there. I tried to hide in the kitchens, the stables, the gardens. But they found me. It was like a pack of hounds chasing a buck for the hunt.”
A smile tugged the corner of Finn’s mouth, but he fought to keep it down. All he wanted was to take her in his arms and shield her from any harm.
“I couldn’t breathe. It was suffocating. I thought I was drowning.” She stared up at him with vulnerability. “The only escape I could think of was you.”
Finn’s heart missed a beat. He stared into her eyes, pools of deep blue. Her skin was so smooth and touchable. His gaze dipped to her lips. Full, kissable. He was suddenly very aware they were no longer children but a man and woman.
Suddenly, the door opened. Conrad entered and shut the door behind him. “They’re here. I didn’t get a chance to bring your horse into the stables.”
Ari gripped Finn’s hand tightly.
“Who?” Finn asked.
“Three knights just rode in as I was moving Ari’s mount,” Conrad explained, pressing his back to the door. “They’ll be inside in a moment.”
Finn held Ari’s hand and hurriedly led her up the stairs to his chambers in the back of the smithy. As they reached the second floor, they heard the door open. Finn put a finger to his lips and entered his room, closing the door behind them. When he heard men speaking, he opened the door a slit so he could hear what they were saying.
“We are searching for Lady Arianna,” one man said.
“I haven’t seen her,” Conrad replied.
“Was that not her steed you were stabling?”
Finn watched in horror as Ari pulled the shutters open, her fingers gripping the edges. They had often snuck out of the window when they were younger, climbing down the old tree beside it. Finn rushed to her side. He could see how far it was to the ground below and feared she might injure herself if she tried. “No, Ari,” he said. “We’ll wait here.”
She looked at him; her eyes glinted with anticipation and trepidation. “They’ll find me. We have to go.” She swung her leg over the side of the sill.
Finn peered down at the dirt ground two stories below. He had no doubt he could climb the tree without a problem, but he was concerned about Ari. “I’ll go first and help you.”
Ari scoffed. “I don’t need help.” She put her foot on the branch of the tree and reached out the window for a branch.
When she teetered, Finn seized her wrist to steady her.
She grinned at him before swinging both legs over the ledge onto the limb.
“Be careful,” Finn advised. He slowly loosened his grip on her, extending his arm in case she needed him. He remembered the last time they did this—five years ago. The old tree had seen many summers since then, and he wasn’t sure it could hold their weight anymore. He gulped as he watched her take a step, his heart pounding in anxiety of the long fall below.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he trailed her out the window and onto the limb. If she was going to fall, he was going with her. She had made it to the trunk of the tree, holding tight.
She glanced back at him.
He stepped with confidence, steady and balanced, his gaze never leaving her. His arms were instinctively outstretched, ready to catch her if she stumbled. She carefully lowered herself down the tree, her dress inching up her leg to reveal her slender calf.
When Finn touched the trunk, he clasped it and looked down. Ari had reached the ground. He quickly, nimbly, climbed down and was beside her.
“She has to be here,” a voice from inside the smithy said. “That is her horse outside.”
“Maybe you are mistaken,” Conrad replied. “Or perhaps she stabled it here and left.”
Ari grasped Finn’s hand and pulled him toward the side of the stables.
Finn paused for only a moment, glaring back at the smithy. It was as if they were hunting her. The thought angered him, and he allowed her to lead him into the forest. She took the familiar path they often used as children toward the stream.
Ari led the way hurriedly, ducking branches that had grown over the path. She glanced at him. “The path is worn. Do you use it?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted. He had visited the stream often, settling into the same spot on the bank and watching the gentle rush of the water, remembering her laugh and imagining she sat beside him. He had thought about what to add to the horse to make it appealing to her, to make her love it so much that she never wanted to leave again.
When the smithy disappeared behind tall trees, Ari slowed her pace. “What do you do at the stream?”
