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Blair stepped forward, stumbling into a chair as she made her way towards the window. She leaned against the wall, staring up at the moon illuminating the battlements. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she cried silently, wishing she had left when she intended to.
There was no point in her staying where she was not wanted.
Blair closed her eyes, remembering Aindreas’s smile as he stared down at her, his soft lips on her cheek, the way he stroked her hair away from her face.
“I love ye, Blair,”she recalled his words from earlier, making her whimper and the tears rush from her. She clutched at her throat, feeling as if her pain was strangling her, taking the breath from her.
What would she do now? Where would she go?
How could she ever trust another again?
Something creaked from behind, and she whirled around, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. “Tavis?” she called into the darkness, but no one answered.
It was surely her mind playing tricks on her; she thought while turning back around. Tavis was asleep, much like the rest of the castle. She knew she should probably get some rest. In the morning, she would rise early and leave, and this time no one would stop her from returning to her cottage.
Something clamored to the floor, and she jumped from the loud sound. Her gaze dropped to the floor, turning slightly and staring at the jar, now shattered with leaves dirtying the floor.
“Tavis?” she whispered while stepping away from the window.
She edged deeper into the room. Very little was illuminated in the moon’s light. She could only make out the table she studied at with Tavis and the opened book lying in her usual seat. Her fingers grazed the pages while she searched the area, her eyes squinting in the darkness.
“Who’s there?” she called.
She heard something soft. The hair’s on the back of her neck rose as she realized it was someone chuckling. She took a step back as she noticed two pairs of eyes watching her from the shadows. Her gaze flickered towards the door, but there was no way she would make it in time. She was trapped inside this room.
“I thought I told ye,” said a familiar voice as they stepped forward, “not to ruin everything I worked so hard for.”
Blair bit back her gasp as the figure entered the moonlight, the familiar face smiling cruelly back at her. Her heart slammed in her throat as she noticed the man standing next to them. He was dressed in the MacBean colors and wore the wildcat insignia, yet she didn’t know him from Castle Lachlan, nor had she seen him around the keep.
She recognized him from somewhere else entirely. There was a long scar going down the length of his face. Memories flashed of her time in the town, running through the allies, slamming into a man. She recalled the way he had picked her off the ground, the way he had leered at her, the way he had rubbed his body against hers.
Nae, this man wasn’t any normal MacBean soldier. He was the thug from the town who had tried to take her. What was he doing here? Blair wondered as fear crept through her. She thought she would never see him again, let alone here in the castle, standing next to the one person who had treated her so cruelly.
A shudder rippled down her spine as her gaze swiveled to the door. She would need to run. She would need to move quickly if she wanted to make it out of that room alive. Blair didn’t know how the scarred man had gotten into the castle, nor did she care to.
He unsheathed his sword, a dark smile curling his lips.
Blair inhaled deeply, calming her breath as she lunged for Tavis’s book, grabbing it and throwing it at the guard. She heard him grunt while running for the door.
“Don’t just stand there, ye fool! Get her!”
Blair didn’t turn around. She still couldn’t believe who stood in the room with her. She didn’t understand why they were doing this, why they continued to treat her so cruelly. Her hand was nearly at the handle. Tears dripped from her eyes as she reached for it, but before she could grab it and fling the door open, her hair was grabbed, wrenching her backward.
She opened her mouth to scream, but before she could, the guard rammed the hilt of his sword against her head. Blair felt pain explode through her, her vision blurring as she felt the world tilt. Her knees were the first to hit the floor. Her body slumped over, her shoulder landing onto the stones. She groaned while she tried to regain control over her body. Rolling over onto her stomach, she attempted to crawl towards the door, but her body felt so weak. She blinked, her head lulling to the side while boots strode towards her. Her hands tried to push herself up, but her body wasn’t listening to her commands. Darkness ebbed her vision until, finally, it swallowed her whole.
