Chapter 53
Belle
I ditched my servant’s disguise in favor of my riding leathers, then concealed myself in a dense patch of brush beside the hunting path. The wait left too much space for thoughts that had no business being there. The memory of hands at my waist. Heat that had nothing to do with the ascending sun.
I tested my bow and readied an arrow. What would happen when the bastard realized I was missing? Would he be able to track my scent like a hound? Was he already on his way?
Valen could move like a ghost and would be on me before I heard him. It would be nothing for him to subdue me and pin me down, to sink his teeth into my neck and take what he wanted. I could practically feel his hands on me. Powerful. Controlling. Possessive.
My heart began to beat quicker, and I slunk deeper into the shadows as I checked the sun. It was already near its zenith.
Where the hell was Gregoire? Had he got cold feet? Had he been caught? Would he betray me?
My grip tightened on the bow, and I set my jaw. No. Gregoire was a man of the Vale. He would come through.
I pushed both men from my thoughts and focused on what I’d have to do.
At last, horses’ hooves tromped against the hard-packed earth, and men’s voices rose on the wind.
“We need to move faster!” Gregoire protested. “The king wants venison tonight, not tortoise.”
“You’re lucky to be let out at all, you entitled prick,” an unfamiliar voice grumbled.
“I’ll be lucky to bring anything down with you holding up the hunt, and if there’s nothing for the king’s dinner, I’ll tell him who to blame.”
They came into view, riding abreast. Gregoire sat high on Briar, his musket slung over his shoulders. The huntsman was one of the tallest males I knew, yet the guard looming beside him was even larger. His square brutish face was half hidden by a helm, and his shoulders were as broad as a door.
Had one of his parents conceived with an ox?
I watched, breathing shallow as they rode past, then shifted slightly, loosening my legs and quietly fitting an arrow.
My stomach knotted. I’d never killed a man before.
Too much blood.
There was only one guard. I could do this.
I threw my bow to the side and yanked the heavy tusk out of my bag. I poured my magic into it as I ran out into the road. Knock the soldier unconscious.
The tusk hurtled forward and slammed into the back of the guard’s helmet.
He pitched forward in the saddle, and both horses bucked. Shouting, Gregoire reined in Briar and kept his seat, but the other bucked the man free. He lurched backward, crashing headfirst into the ground.
He lay motionless.
Unburdened, his horse paced in agitation, then settled a few yards down the road.
Gregoire dismounted and caught its reins. “You killed him!”
Hells.
I darted from cover and dropped beside the massive man. His biceps were larger than my thighs, and his hands looked like they’d been made for crushing skulls. His broad chest rose up and down, ever so slightly, and his rank breath warmed the side of my cheek.
“He’ll live. Help me tie him up!” I shouted as I recovered the tusk. I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t damaged.
Gregoire hitched the horses to a tree, then helped me drag the soldier into the brush—or more aptly put, he dragged the body while I fumbled weakly with a single arm.
“They’re going to kill us,” Gregoire grunted as he bound and gagged the limp body.
I loosened the guard’s belt and pulled the man’s dagger free, along with his scabbard and purse. I pocketed a handful of coppers, then offered his sword and the rest of the purse to Gregoire. “Not if you’re fast—and we need to be fast.”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” he said, standing.
“The Bloodvale is in danger. We have no other choice.”
He took the sword and tested it, breathing out sharply through his nose. “I know, but I don’t have to like it.”
I returned to my hiding spot and retrieved the satchel I’d prepared for Gregoire, handing it to him. “There’s water, cheese, and bread, as well as enough dried meat to last you a few days.”
I pulled out the sheaf of papers I’d stolen from Valen’s study.
“This is the king’s contract with the Crimson Host, along with his letters.
Take them and ride straight to Silverthorn as hard as you can.
Steal a fresh horse if you need to. Hide in a merchant’s wagon.
Do anything and everything it takes to get these to the king and my sister. ”
Gregoire stiffened, looking from the letters in his hand to me. “Hold on a minute, why are you talking like I’m going alone?”
I grimaced. “Because you are.”
“Absolutely not!” he said, eyes flaring. “This wasn’t part of the plan!”
Shaking my head, I forced an apologetic smile. “It always had to be this way. The king will come for me as soon as he realizes I’m gone. I’ve tasted his blood, and if he couldn’t track me before, I’m certain he’ll be able to do it now.”
Gregoire raised his brows. “You drank from him?”
Not willing to meet his gaze, I lugged my own satchel over to Briar and shoved it into her saddle bags. Her familiar warmth and scent tugged at me. “I did. It was that or die.”
He swallowed, then nodded as the implications dawned. “You’re going to be the bait. A sacrifice.”
“And you’ll be the hero who saves the Bloodvale.
” I made a show of checking Briar’s tack like Valen once had, though I had no idea what I was looking for.
“I’ll ride fast and pull the king as far from you as I can manage.
By the time he realizes you’re not with me, hopefully it will be too late to stop you. ”
“Belle—”
I handed him the tusk. “This is from the bloodgolt you killed. Stick to the main road as long as you dare, but if you need to venture into the woods, the tusk’s magic will keep the beasts at bay.”
He turned it over in his hands, tracing his fingers over the runes that had been carved into it, then looked up. “The boar had two tusks. You have the other?”
I shook my head. “I found only one. Fates know what the king did with the other.”
Gregoire held the tusk out. “Take it…if you’re heading into the woods, you’ll need it.”
The Fates knew I would. I’d faced the beasts before, and this time, there would be no one to hold them back.
I pushed the tusk into his hand with a melancholy smile. “Getting the contract to Cassius is the only thing that matters. Take it with you. Ride safe.”
Before he could object, I hugged him. He froze as I pressed my cheek against his broad chest. “Good luck, Gregoire. Now, go be the hero you were always meant to be.”