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Jerk. I had seriously thought I was going to die for a minute there.
But wait. If the mark hadn’t been trying to kill me, then what—
Oh hell.
My eyes popped open as realization struck.
“Farrow,” I whispered.
My mark wasn’t malfunctioning at all. It had just been trying to tell me my one true love was near!
7
Farrow
“Damnation,” I muttered, setting my hands on my hips and turning in a slow, aggravated circle as I scanned the trees.
But where the hell was that secret entrance?
I knew I’d been blindfolded when the princess had led me from the castle and out here into the forest five years back, but I’d seen her and her guard disappear into the trees somewhere in this general vicinity just a few hours ago to return to the castle. It had to be nearby. Somewhere. And I should’ve been able to locate it by now.
Except I couldn’t. This was one aggravatingly well-hidden passageway.
If I’d been smart, I would’ve snatched her earlier. Except I would’ve had to take out her protector in the process, which I could’ve done with no hardship. I just hadn’t felt like killing anyone today. And besides, I’d been certain I could simply follow them back inside through their handy secret tunnel that I knew existed under the moat and then take her the first moment she was alone.
Like she was now.
Except I couldn’t figure out how to get inside.
Through the window just outside her bedchamber and across the calm waters, I’d watched her guard hug her, kiss her cheek, and depart from her at her door, where she’d paused to gaze out at the horizon almost directly at me before she’d gone into her room by herself. Now was the best opportunity I had to go in there and steal her away.
Except the stupid entrance kept eluding me.
Except, except, except.
I was definitely full of excepts, wasn’t I, while honestly, all my setbacks were just excuses. If I’d been that determined to kidnap her, I would’ve done so by now. I had no one to blame for all these failures except myself.
The problem was I didn’t want to do this at all. But that really had no bearing in the situation, so it was time to end the excuses and just do my job already.
“We could be hours away from the castle by now,” I scolded myself, knowing I should’ve done more no matter how loathe I found the task to be. My sister’s life depended on this. “One dead Donnelly guard would’ve been nothing.”
A deceased Sable, on the other hand, would be more than I could take.
“She’d been right there, half a dozen trees separating us. God! I’m such an idiot.”
And now it was too late to search anymore tonight. The sun had set nearly an hour ago, making darkness swallow the outlines of trees and bushes, preventing my eyes from cataloging anything correctly.
Except I didn’t want to wait until morning. By morning, I wanted to be halfway back to Far Shore. Returning to Sable.
Kneeling next to a bush, I swept out my hand and felt around the forest floor, hoping to uncover a hidden panel that opened into the ground.
Behind me, a scraping sound—like stone grinding against stone—echoed through the trees. Halting, I cocked my ear as scuffling and human grunts followed.
Shit. Someone was coming.
Since I was already on my knees, I dropped the rest of the way to my stomach and rolled under the bush. Briars scraped my arms and face as I settled myself out of sight and went still. Waiting. Listening.
A dozen paces away, the newcomer panted and swore, shuffling foliage and earth around as if they were dragging something heavy across the ground. I squinted, wondering what the devil—
