Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Y uriy stood at the ready, shoulders squared, no trace of amusement on his youthful features for a change.
“Get your brother,” I bit out quietly. “And send word for the guards to rotate.”
It wouldn’t be suspicious. We changed their rotation often, and in doing so, the enemy never knew where they would be. And in this case, it would serve as a distraction. Enough for her to get away. To get back to wreaking havoc in her own storms-damned kingdom.
I nodded for my cousin to follow me down the hall, not quite ready to send him off yet. Not when there were so many things to be done and so few people I trusted to do them.
“I need you to fetch Pavel, too.”
As my best scout, he was uniquely suited for the task. And he had been with us at the cabins, so if the Lochlannians spotted him, at least Rowan would know to keep him unharmed. I remembered how her father had spotted me, even through the shadows I had been well hidden within, so the precaution was hardly overkill.
“Tell him to cover the tracks leading away from the stables,” I lowered my voice even further. “He will be following a small group of Lochlannians, including the princess, to the tunnels. His job is to ensure they get there safely while staying out of sight.”
Yuriy’s eyes widened, but to his credit, he simply nodded.
“Then, meet me in there,” I finished up, gesturing toward the narrow servants’ door at the end of the hall.
“Of course, Van,” he said gravely, keeping silent on all the questions that were churning in his gaze.
Yuriy raced back down the hall toward his brother’s room while I continued forward. There was a chance that Taisiya – or whatever her real name was – was already gone, but I suspected that if she were going to flee, she would have done so with the king she served.
It was far more likely she was taking a chance at staying to help conceal the princess’ tracks, hoping I wouldn't have noticed the subtle sleep aid she had added to my tea once I’d woken up.
My mouth was still dry, a lingering effect of the tasteless herb I now realized she must have used. Did she really think I wouldn’t notice? That she could stay here and continue to play spy for my enemies?
I kicked open the door without hesitation, not concerned about the noise when this wing only hosted my cousins and me.
“My Lord?” Taisiya sat up in bed with lightning-fast reflexes that belied the persona she had adopted, the benefits of catching her unawares.
The candle burning on her nightstand cast an orange glow over the small room. Her hand clenched under her pillow, her eyes widening in a fear I doubted was entirely feigned. I did have a reputation, after all. And there were no windows in this chamber, and I was now blocking the only exit.
“You can drop that knife now. We both know you can’t best me in a fight, and I’m not here to kill you.” Yet .
I hadn’t actually decided her fate, beyond getting the answers I needed.
Her jaw clenched like she heard my unspoken caveat, but she brought her hand out from under that pillow where it had been, and the other from outside the blanket where it had remained. If only my last captive had been half this accommodating.
“I won’t tell you where she’s gone,” a quiet, firm voice intruded on my thoughts.
I blinked back thoughts of her , instead focusing on the woman before me.
“You would prefer death?” I had wondered about the extent of her loyalty.
She squared her shoulders, lifting her chin in the only answer I needed.
A shuffle of footsteps sounded outside the open door, and my shoulders relaxed, incrementally. I had meant what I said about being able to best her in a fight, but now that my cousins were here, I could simply focus on getting the answers I needed.
I backed away just enough to widen the opening of the door.
“Taras, enter. Yuriy, guard the door.”
Taisiya tensed, going for her weapon once more, seemingly on instinct, as if it would do her any good.
I sighed.
“How about a deal, then?” I offered in lieu of the obvious alternative. “For as long as you keep talking, I won’t sound the alarm that the princess is gone.”
I could torture a woman, but I didn’t particularly want to. I told myself it had nothing at all to do with the common interest we had in a person we were both here to protect.
She hesitated, and I stepped closer, holding my hand out for her knife.
“She isn’t too far for me to stop her, and I suspect she isn’t alone.” No need to let on that I knew exactly where she was and who she was with. “So it comes down to a choice: your secrets or your princess? Which will it be?”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, her dilated pupils belying her fear.
“You wouldn’t hurt her.” She sounded more confident than I might have expected, emboldened by the weeks of Rowan being under my care.
I met the pretend-maid’s eyes, letting her watch as the humanity bled out of my own. I let her see the truth of all the horrors she had ever heard ascribed to my name; the things I had done and would continue to do for the sake of what was mine.
And when I finally spoke in a cold, empty voice, I made sure she heard the truth that resonated in the deepest parts of me.
“Rowan belongs to me, and it is only by a remarkable show of restraint that I am not dragging her back here to remind her of that very thing. So I suggest you don’t test my patience further.”
The weight of Taras's stare bored into me, but I ignored it, never breaking Taisiya’s gaze.
It only took her twelve seconds to hand over the knife.
And another hour after that to tell me everything I needed to know.