Chapter 16 The Headless Horseman
THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN
Her plan had worked flawlessly.
She was far more clever than he—always had been.
Her idea to show up dressed as his missing bride, wracked with a barrage of tears, had fooled the guards enough to let her pass.
Little did they know he was concealed within her shadow, following closely behind as she babbled incoherently.
The guards swiftly led her into Earl Bram’s chambers, shutting the door quickly so as not to have to hear anymore of her wailing.
The young earl had been shocked to see her. The whiskey glass had shattered at his feet as he stood. He did not send her away—did not even seem to notice her tears drying instantly along her cheeks. The Headless Horseman could hardly blame him. She was a vision in white.
There was no doubt that Earl Bram would forgo any inquiry about their gruesome wedding day and where she had spent the last week in order to bed her.
That would not be happening.
The moment the door shut behind the final guard, the Headless Horseman had revealed himself from under her white cloak.
Bram screamed, but it was of no use. His guards could not save him now as green fire flowed around the room, barring the door.
Falling to his knees, Earl Bram bows his head in supplication.
“I beg you. Mercy.”
Arrogant fool, he will pay for his part in this. Snarling, he reaches down and pulls Bram’s head back. His gaze burns the other man alive.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Please—Please let me go. Let me—”
“Answer me!”
Bram begins to wail in earnest. The scent of urine permeates the room. A weak male, he was never worthy of a woman like Scarlett. He couldn’t keep her safe—would surely never satisfy her.
“No!” Bram screams. “I have no idea. Please!”
“Think,” Scarlett snaps. “I know it’s not something you're used to doing.”
His gaze turns towards her. Hatred swims in his eyes. Baring his teeth, he moves to lunge for her, unable to, thanks to the Headless Horseman’s firm grip.
“You bitch! This is all your fault!”
Another growl rips through him as he catches Bram around the throat. In a flash, he pins the other man to the wall. Blood smears behind his head. His flames lick against the other man, burning his clothes. The green fire would never hurt Scarlett, but Bram is another story.
“This is your fault!” Scarlett screams. “You killed him.”
Bram groans as the Headless Horseman keeps him locked in his grasp. Pain radiates from him. Confusion makes his mouth tilt at the corner.
“Who?”
“The love of my life.”
It still doesn’t click for Bram. He thrashes against the Headless Horseman’s palm, but it is useless. After a few more moments of struggling, it seems to click for him. He looks at Scarlett, contempt dripping from his tongue.
“That poor stable boy? Is that what this is about?”
“Yes,” he snarls into Bram’s face. “You made me into this.”
Bram’s eyes flicker between him and Scarlett. His feet barely touch the stone floor. Sweat breaks out along his forehead as the green flames loom closer. Licking his lips, it’s apparent he thinks he can lie his way out of this one. There will be nothing but the truth uttered in this room.
“Confess to the plot, Bram,” Scarlett urges. “Or he will start hurting you. Worse.”
As if to make her point, one of his flames licks along the earl.
It burns away his clothing, exposing the pale flesh of his right thigh to the heat.
Bram screams and writhes. The flames hover close, not enough to burn but enough to be uncomfortable.
The threat is clear. His only chance at salvation is if he reveals the whole truth.
Bram remains tight-lipped, so the Headless Horseman urges his flames closer. His skin begins to blister and boil. Bram screams as the scent of burning flesh fills the air. He guides his flames against his ruined flesh again. Then again, until the earl finally buckles.
“Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you what you want to know. Please just stop.”
The flames pull back, but only a fraction. Bram rests his sweaty head against the stone wall of his chambers. His white undershirt is soaked in perspiration.
“The truth about that night,” the Headless Horseman demands.
Bram swallows thickly.
“It was her father’s idea.”
Glancing towards Scarlett, he sees the anger in her eyes.
The depth of her father’s betrayal had surprised her just as it had him.
This is it, the moment of truth. For all the lies to be laid bare from the lips of one arrogant earl.
He will do anything to save himself; there would be no reason to lie.
Not when he is exactly where they want him.
“Everyone knew you’d been fucking the stable boy. It was hardly a secret. None of the other lords had wanted to marry you because of it. Who wants a spoiled bride?”
Flames erupt along his leg, burning his skin down to the bone. His scream rips through the room.
“Apologize,” the Headless Horseman demands through clenched teeth.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”
He shouts the words at Scarlett, who rolls her eyes. She never cared about the gossip about them. If it had been a shield that kept the suitors away for as long as it did, then he was grateful for the whispers. After all, they were true. She was not spoiled—she was his.
“When my father sought your hand for me, he knew these rumors would be a problem. If the stable boy was allowed to live, the legitimacy of my heirs would always be called into question.” Bram takes a deep, shuddering breath.
“Not to mention, if he were still alive, there was a chance you’d flee with him.
My father had already paid a high price for you and was desperate.
He wouldn’t let anything jeopardize his investment.
Nor would your father allow anything to prevent more gold from entering his coffers.
He knew the stable boy could not be allowed to live and thus sent him on his fool’s errand that night. ”
Bram laughs without humor, shaking his head.
“Folk tradition, he had said. Collect the pumpkin of the headless rider. An impossible task. It was only meant to lure him deep in the Whispering Woods so that your father could kill him out there with no witnesses.” Bram sneers at her.
“Poor bastard. His love for you made him oblivious to the danger. Asking for your hand in front of me and my father was the final insult. He was always going to die; that night just presented the easiest way for it to be accomplished.”
Silvery tears fall down her cheeks, but she hastily wipes them away. Her eyes are two blue flames. Scarlett is lovely and fierce—heartbreakingly beautiful.
“Tell him I had nothing to do with it. Tell him I never wanted to be with you,” Scarlett demands.
The breath stills in his lungs. This is it, the final piece to slide into place. The earl has the chance to end his suffering and absolve her. He has admitted to everything thus far. The Headless Horseman hoped two didn’t have to fall tonight.
“Be with me?” Bram scoffs. “You hated me. I could tell from our first meeting that this marriage would not be easy. If we even managed to get you down the aisle, my father swore we’d have to tie you to the marriage bed if there was any hope in consummating it.
I was afraid you’d kill me before I even got the chance to try and give you an heir. ”
“I would’ve,” Scarlett spits.
She looks pleased, but there is one lingering bit of the story that still remains at large. His palms bite into Bram’s shoulder, squeezing painfully. The earl wheezes against the discomfort.
“And the note? Who was responsible for that?”
Bram looks confused, but a fresh gliding of flames against his ruined skin helps him remember.
“The note! Yes, the note. Her mother wrote it.” He tries to shrug to no avail.
“She urged her husband to let him go—that he was just a simple stable boy—but she wrote it nonetheless. Handed it over with little care in the end. I don’t know why Richard insisted on it.
He was a sadistic man. Probably only did it to hurt the poor bastard even more—punishment for nearly thwarting his plans to marry her off. ”
The words wash over the Headless Horseman like a balm.
He hears them for what they are—the truth in each statement is exactly as Scarlett recounted it.
She hadn't betrayed him. She was loyal to him this whole time, and he had thrown her in the dungeon and tormented her with visions of the worst moment of her life.
He had been cruel to her—threatened to kill her.
All that he had done replays before him.
It is her love for him that keeps her at his side.
She had a chance to escape but never took it.
Being with him, even as this creature, mattered more to her than being alone.
She was beautiful and kind. And his. Shame floods him.
Guilt casts what he’s done in a harsh light.
His need for revenge had twisted him into something he hadn’t recognized.
He knew her better than anyone—had loved her for as long as he could remember. He should’ve believed she had no part in this. The letter was an apparent forgery; there were plenty of indications of it that he had chosen to ignore. He would never question her again.
The mistakes he made would be atoned for tonight and for every night they shared together after this.
There would be no questioning his devotion for as long as she drew breath.
He would never hurt again—he would safeguard her heart and soul.
He would beg for her forgiveness and lay himself bare to her.
The Headless Horseman finds Scarlett’s eyes. They are clear as they meet his gaze. She gasps at whatever flickers in his flames. Their future begins tonight.
“Let me go!” Bram demands. “I’ve told you what you wanted to hear.”
Tearing his eyes away from Scarlett is a feat, but he manages.
“No.”
The simple word echoes around the room. Bram opens his mouth, but it is far too late to put up a fight.
Hooking his large hands around the earl’s head, the Headless Horseman twists with force.
Flesh tears and muscles rip. A chorus of shredding tendons and cracking bones follows.
The earl screams until he is silenced forever.
The Headless Horseman tosses the earl’s head to the ground with little care. Crimson spreads out along the floor, but he pays it little mind. Turning towards Scarlett, her gaze is not on the gore but on him. Wide and devastatingly blue.
Does she fear him now? Has she glimpsed his brutality and now wishes to turn away from him? With her truth confirmed, he would deserve her rejection. She doesn’t give it, merely lifts her hand towards him, ignoring her intended rotting at their feet.
“Take me home.”
Of course, she would not fear him. She knows him better than anyone—loves him even as a vile monster that kept her caged. She was always loyal to him, and he will never doubt her devotion again.
The past haunted him. It twisted all of his memories into hateful scenarios. He had spent so long dwelling on what had happened, but that could be put aside for the night. He had a woman to take care of. His Scarlett would never doubt his devotion again.
Taking her in his arms, he whisks her away from the gruesome scene.
She cuddles into him without delay. He breathes in her floral scent and lets it wash over him.
There is still another that has to pay for his part in all of this, and he will, but there has been enough vengeance for the past tonight.
Now, he wants to focus solely on his future.