Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
In a split second, Owen pushed Charlotte to the ground and jumped on her, careful not to crush her. Were they her uncle's people?
"What—?" Charlotte stopped when the arrow whizzed past them.
Her eyes widened in fear, but he shook his head at her.
Another arrow moved past him, just a few inches from his head.
Owen was shocked as it occurred to him that they were shooting at him and not her.
He supposed it made sense since her uncle wanted to marry her off and he was the only one stopping them from taking her. They needed her alive—him, not so much.
He turned around just in time to see the men spring from their hiding places in the bushes surrounding the path.
There were four men dressed in cloaks, brandishing weapons.
Owen immediately noted the one holding the bow as the one who had shot at them first. The rest all held swords.
Owen knew he needed to get rid of the one with the bow as soon as possible. That one was dangerous.
"Get rid of the man by any means necessary but make sure that no harm comes to the girl. We were given orders to make sure she was safe." Owen figured that the man shouting orders was the leader of the group.
It seemed that Charlotte was running away from someone important if he had the resources to trail after her and find her so soon.
Owen quickly blocked the attack of the first man, pushing him off him and taking his knife, which he threw squarely into the neck of the man with the bow.
Another soldier came up from behind and attacked him from the back.
Coward; there was nothing he despised more than cowards.
He noticed just in time to avoid getting stabbed.
Only he felt a piercing pain in his side and looked back to see that he had not fully escaped the blade.
He gritted his teeth as the ache hit him, but was glad it was not a serious wound.
Owen pushed his pain aside and fought the man he blocked to the ground, stomping on his fingers when he tried to pick up his knife.
He punched him squarely in the chest and kicked the other one behind him in the shin, satisfied to hear a snap and loud groans coming from the heavy man.
Owen turned and knocked the man on his head, wiping his bloody lip when the soldier dropped without moving.
He looked at where he had left Charlotte and felt himself go red with rage when he saw the look of fear on her face as a third man advanced toward her, aiming to grab her.
Owen hurried in her direction, slowing slightly when he suddenly felt dizzy.
Pain shot through him as the man stuck his fingers in his injury while they struggled.
Owen fell to the ground feeling nauseous, while the remaining two men went back to try to grab Charlotte, but she avoided their grip and picked up the bow from the dead bowman.
Barely conscious, he watched as Charlotte scrambled to pick up the arrows on the ground.
Then as though she was overtaken by someone else, she calmly placed an arrow on the string and shot at the man running toward her.
Everyone went still in shock as the man dropped dead some feet away from her.
She turned around and shot the two Owen had fought, who were beginning to get up and advance toward her.
Owen's face froze as he stared at the look of her deadly concentration.
Charlotte turned just as the last man got on his feet and turned on his heels, running away.
She laced the bow and shot at him twice before he was suddenly out of her range of sight.
She dropped the bow hotly and screamed in rage as though she was angry that she had not been able to kill him before she went toward Owen.
What the… Owen could not believe how calm she had been as she shot the men.
His hand was pressed to his wound as he stared at her from the ground, unable to hide his shock.
She looked down at him and he noticed her face was contorted in discomfort.
When she saw him looking, she visibly tried to shrug it off, although her hands were shaking.
"Well, at least now you can see that I, too, have blood on my hands," she said.
Who was it that she was running from that made it so easy for her to kill someone, despite how much her hands were shaking now?
"I am so worried, Owen, I was not able to stop them all," her face suddenly crumpled back into fear. He watched the changes with interest.
"Ye need tae calm down. It is a miracle that we are still alive. I still cannae believe that we were able to escape with our lives, mostly unscathed, after being attacked by armed men. I am shocked, Charlotte. I did nae think that ye would be able to do what ye just did."
"I had to learn how to protect myself in order to survive.
" Owen waited for her to say more but groaned when he realized that she intended to leave him hanging with just that little bit of information.
While her father had taught her to hunt at a young age, Charlotte could never have anticipated that she'd ever have to use her archery against another person.
"Can ye just tell me who it is ye are running from? I need tae ken, so I ken how to prepare meself next time." Owen was curious to know who this man was that made her act in such desperation. Charlotte sighed before speaking, staring into the distance.
"He is a powerful man in England, and I am betrothed to him," Charlotte explained. "I am sorry, but I cannot give you too many details. The more you know, the more likely you are to be in danger, and that's the last thing I want after all the things you have done for me."
He looked at her and saw that she was finally looking at him.
She seemed so beautiful at that moment, refusing to share information because she believed it would keep him from harm.
Unable to stop himself, Owen leaned in and pressed his lips softly against hers.
He felt her stiffen and was about to pull away and admit his mistake when she suddenly relaxed, melting into him.
Her acceptance was all he needed. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he deepened their kiss.
Owen felt his heart beat faster than it had while they were on their adventure.
Her lips tasted precisely the way he had thought they would—like sunshine and heather.
Her light moan traveled into his mouth and he swallowed it, wishing he could take in all of her.
His hand on her waist lightly caressed her through the fabric. I will burn in Hell anyway, right?
As he kissed her, Owen could not help but feel bad. He really was no monk. He was just using the monastery for his own selfish reasons, and he wondered if God would ever forgive him for his actions. He hoped that he had the chance to make amends for his selfishness.
He pulled away from her and smiled when she pressed her head against his chest. For now, Owen would focus on the woman before him and how to get her away from the man who was after her.
He would think about untangling his own mistakes afterward.