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“I don’t know,” he said softly.

The Midnight Shadow cursed silently and shoved the guard into the cell. She shut the door and latched it, sealing him in. She moved farther into the dark dungeon, ignoring the guard’s shouts, and unlatched the other cells, freeing the prisoners. She’d need a diversion to get out of the castle in one piece. Hopefully the escaped prisoners would provide enough of a distraction to the castle guards. She bolted up the stairway, grabbing the monk’s cloak on her way. As she moved, she shoved it into a bag at her side.

She’d been so close! She could have freed Mary. If I’d only gotten to her sooner!

She looked up the stairway and froze. It was the way toward the solar, toward Terran’s room. Would he be sleeping? Probably. Unwanted, the image of his powerful physique draped across the bed rose in her mind. She had to see him again. She wanted to look at him just once.

Before she had the conscious thought, she was moving up the stairs toward the solar, unable to resist the overwhelming urge.

She knew from experience that Bradley, Terran’s squire, slept in the stables, keeping a close eye on Terran’s treasured steed. Terran slept alone. Her foot landed on the second floor. The floor where Terran was.

Am I mad? she wondered. What am I doing?

To hesitate could cost her dearly. She would take only a quick peek at him and then be gone.

The Midnight Shadow moved as silently as the night, pressing her back to the wall and merging with the shadows as she crept down the hallway until she stood before Terran’s room. The wooden door stood as a barrier before her, a warning not to cross the threshold. She reached out to the handle, then let her hand drop to her side. This was madness. She had to get out of the castle.

She turned to leave when suddenly she heard the sound of approaching footsteps from down the hallway. Her gaze darted about, but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She had no choice. She opened the door to Terran’s room and stepped inside. She stood with her back pressed to the door, listening as the footsteps drew closer. Would whoever it was knock on Terran’s door? She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, preparing. She held her breath for a long moment...

... until the footsteps continued past the door, moving off down the hall.

She breathed a soft, relieved sigh and looked around the room. It was very dark, except for a stray beam of pale moonlight shining in through the partially opened shutters. The light washed over the bed, illuminating a sleeping form.

The Midnight Shadow stepped away from the door, moving through the familiar room until she stood just before the bed. She watched the form breathe, the slow rise and fall of the blanket. She reached out a hand to touch Terran, to touch his shoulder, his cheek, his lips, but the shape suddenly moved, rolling over onto its back into the light. She gasped, snatching her hand back.

The face the beam of light illuminated wasn’t Terran’s. It was Kathryn who lay in his bed.

The Midnight Shadow stumbled to the door, betrayal piercing her heart like an arrow. Tears blinded her vision for a savage moment and she wiped at them with her gloved hands, smearing her mask away from her eyes. She took a quick moment to right it so she could see.

Then, she reached for the door and yanked it open, casting one last look back at Kathryn, cursing her husband. Seeing Kathryn in Terran’s bed made his betrayal more real. She turned and almost ran into a wall of flesh, but pulled back suddenly.

Terran Knowles stood before her.

Chapter thirty-seven

The Midnight Shadow! In my castle!

“You!” Terran instinctively reached for his sword, but it wasn’t there. He wasn’t dressed for battle. He opened his mouth to shout for the guards, but the Midnight Shadow hit him in the chest, hard enough to choke his cry.

“You cur,” the villain hissed. “How dare you betray your wife like this?”

Again Terran opened his mouth to call for guards.

The Midnight Shadow drew his weapon and pressed the edge of the blade to Terran’s throat, silencing him again. “I should run you through, vile betrayer.”

Terran scowled. Who is this dog to speak to me thus?

The Midnight Shadow stepped closer to him, forcing Terran to take a step back. “Do you know how you’ve made her feel?”

The Midnight Shadow took another step closer, the tip pressing dangerously close to Terran’s adam’s apple, forcing his chin high.

“She goes to bed crying every night. She thinks of you every cursed moment of every day. She can barely tolerate being away from you.”

Terran’s scowl and confusion deepened. How did this stranger, this mysterious man in black, know so much about his wife? She’d proven to him they weren’t lovers.

“You’ve all but destroyed her,” the masked man whispered grimly. “I should slit your throat for causing her so much pain.” He pressed the tip of the blade closer to Terran’s skin.

Terran’s head was forced back as he lifted his chin, baring his throat to the Midnight Shadow. He awaited death. Expected it. But suddenly, the tip eased from his jugular. “But I won’t kill you... if you tell me where Mary is.”