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Evan moved to the door, then paused at the entrance. The way Gilroy had said “good luck” rang so hollow, almost mocking, that it confirmed everything Evan was thinking. The odd comments Gilroy had made. The weird thought that Evan had planned all of this to get rid of Ness and Juliet. His brother’s complete lack of anger that his wife had just left him.
Gilroy knew way more than he’d admitted to.
Evan was certain of it.
He nodded to his brother. “I’ll be on my way within the hour, Gil. Take care of Grandfather and the estate. I’ll write when I have an idea of when I’ll return.”
Evan left the great hall.
Left Whetland.
{ Chapter 30 }
Juliet cracked her eyes at the sound.
Or she thought she did. She had to touch her eyelashes to see if they were open or not. The blackness that had surrounded her for far too long played with her mind.
Her eyes open or closed—she saw the same thing either way. Blackness. The candle had sputtered out days ago.
Or had it been hours ago?
The darkness had turned her world into a sinking void where time wasn’t a tangible concept.
But her stomach, her parched mouth, told her it had been days.
Days of the darkness. Days of waiting for her body to fail her, to shrink to bones and leave this earth. Her mouth and her tongue parched and no longer pliable. Screaming for help for hours on end hadn’t helped that matter. The stone walls were too thick and all she’d done was waste precious energy.
Desperate for water, she’d tried again and again to press her tongue to the cool stone beneath her, soaking up whatever dampness she could. It would work for one blessed moment until the filth of the floor adhered to her tongue, soaking away what little moisture she’d gained. She’d been left with the stench of rotted muck wafting through her nose for hours.
Gilroy had left her to die here. That she was sure of.
For one fleeting moment before he’d left, she’d thought he’d keep her alive merely to find Ness. She lost that hope within a day once her mind started to leave her. Once the demons in the dark had started to swirl about her, teeth gnashing.
Demons that waited for her.
Demons only kept at bay by the mirage of Evan she’d created. Sitting next to her. Holding her hand. Encouraging her to fight.
She’d done it for him. Fought what was happening for hours—days—all of her nails torn back and bloodied by trying to loosen the clamp about her ankle, pick the lock open, and yank the chain from the floor. She’d followed each link of the chain with the feel of her fingertips, smashing them on the floor, hoping to find one loose link. There were none.
But Evan still sat next to her, the specks of blue in his eyes intent on her, willing her to fight, to not let the darkness take her.
As long as he was next to her, she’d hold on.
But he was starting to wane.
The sound echoed into the stone chamber again, metal grinding against metal. The door starting to shift on its hinges.
And just like that, Evan left her.
Left her in the dark, lying on her side, staring into the blackness where she thought the door had been. Left her to face on her own whatever was about to appear. Left her to try and scramble some semblance of sanity back into her brain.
Left her alone.
Damn him.
The squeak of the door opening meant someone had found her, or most likely, that Gilroy was back.
She tried to move her lips, rubbing her tongue across the roof of her mouth, attempting to create moisture that refused to come. If it wasn’t Gilroy, she needed to be ready to beg for her life. There wasn’t any other way out of here.
