AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Brandon—I’m so stupid. I forgot. I was so happy I got careless.”
“Forgot what? Careless about what?”
“The cherloshe,” she whispered.
For a moment, he had no idea what she was talking about.
“Myblood,” she added. “I forgot to swallow the cherloshe. Michalo came here today, and he took a sample of my blood, and I realized—I’m so afraid he’ll find that I’m fertile! I’m so afraid they’ll turn me out of this place and force me into marriage—” Her voice broke on a choked sob.
She had finally told him, a week or so ago, why she had been imprisoned, what value she held for the temple. Michalo had been right—it was a fantastical tale, almost impossible to believe. Yet Brandon had chosen to believe it. Even if it wasn’t true, Villette was genuinely terrified ofsomethingthe priests would do to her. It hardly mattered to Brandon what it was. He only knew he had to prevent it.
“All right,” he said, thinking fast. “All right. How quickly will they get results?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a day or two.”
“And then how quickly will they remove you from this place?”
“I don’t know, but I’d guess immediately. They have waitedyearsfor this moment. They’re not going to waste any time.”
“Then we have to leave before the week is up.”
“How?”
“Three nights from now. That’s Linnet’s day off. I’ll take the night shift. As soon as everyone is asleep, we’ll just walk out.”
“They’ll catch us. They’ll never stop hunting for me.”
“We’ll go so far from Corcannon they’ll never find us.”
“I want to believe you,” she whispered. “But I’m so afraid. I don’t want them to take me. I would rather die.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I would. Brandon, I would rather be dead.”
“Don’t,” he pleaded. “Don’t take your own life. Not until we’ve tried to escape. Maybe—if we don’t get out of here. If they catch us. But not until then. Not until there’s no hope at all. Promise me, Villette.”
She took a long shuddering breath. “I promise,” she said. “But Brandon. I am so afraid.”
He came close enough to lay a hand on her shoulder and feel her trembling. He wished he could open a vein and pour some of his courage, some of his conviction, into her own body. “I know you are,” he said. “But we’ll make it. We will.”
He heard the faint clatter of the door opening and took a hasty step away. “Is that all you wanted?” he asked in a formal voice.
Villette shook her hair back and came gracefully to her feet. “Yes,” she said in a languid tone. “Thank you for your help.”
Without another glance at him, she turned and headed toward the house. He heard her murmur a courteous greeting to someone, heard Linnet replygood night, dona.He waited until the door opened and shut again before he sauntered back toward the house.
“Everything all right with her?” Linnet asked. “She seemed upset.”
“It suddenly occurred to her that the fish might start dying when the weather turns cold,” Brandon answered. “I told her that some might, but most of them would be fine as long as the water didn’t freeze solid.”
Linnet glanced at the pond, then at Brandon. He could barely see the gleam of her eyes in the faint light. “Huh. I hadn’t given it any thought. How do you know?”
“Had a pond like this when I was growing up.”
“I don’t like fish,” Linnet said.
“To eat or to look at?”
“Either.”
There wasn’t much to say to that. He wasn’t surewhatLinnet might like, but he didn’t care enough to ask. “Well, Villette seems to enjoy watching them. So I was glad to be able to reassure her.”
