Linton
Ido not want to go to the stronghold. My Kaitlyn is correct, however, that there is a chance Tam Lin will go to the mines to search for us. I would like to rule out him finding us, but then he has enough Faerie within him there’s a possibility he could.
My hatred grows for the creature. I never should have taken his commission save for my desire to spill blood rather than feed from it. I would have still met Kaitlyn. I could have still watched her, followed her, enjoyed her.
I could have still protected her, and I wouldn’t be a rogue assassin who hasn’t completed his mission. This places a target on my back and it means I have failed her.
And it means we have to go to the stronghold.
Kaitlyn clings to me, despite my assurance I will not ever let her go. Her face is buried in my chest, and I rather like it. Her scent is continually in my nostrils and her soft breath on my skin. My misbehaving spicket is already hard and shows no sign of abating.
Not even when the stronghold comes into view.
The battlements are solid, a force of stone which has stood for an eternity on this site. I circle for a moment before landing a distance away.
“Oh,” Kaitlyn says as I put her on her feet and she sees the place for the first time. “When you said stronghold, I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
“It is a place I prefer not to visit. A place of last resort for the monsters of the Yeavering.”
Kaitlyn gazes up at the severe stone blocks.
“I think it’s just a castle, Linton. And if it keeps Tam Lin out, then it has to be a good place.”
I sniff, partially because I don’t believe in anything being good and mostly because I want more of her scent. I’ve never felt calmer than with her by my side.
Kaitlyn is everything.
“It will keep Tam Lin out, but it will also keep us in.”
“It’s a prison?”
“No. The only prison in the Yeavering is the Shadow Keep, and that’s where the Brag lives,” I explain. “The stronghold requires you contribute for your stay, and until your debt is paid, you cannot leave.”
Kaitlyn shrugs. “I’m not afraid of hard work. And I’d definitely rather be doing that than be at the mercy of any Faerie or Faerie-like creature,” she says fiercely.
My heart burns in my chest. Her lack of concern bolsters me.
“Then it is time for us to enter the stronghold.”
I take her hand because I like the feel of it in mine, and we walk the paved road which winds up the hill to where the stronghold sits. The massive wooden doors are bound by iron to keep out the Faerie, and an enormous knocker, made from copper, squats on the door, its presence radiating evil.
“What do we do?” Kaitlyn asks as we stand in front of the doors. “How do we get in?”
“We knock.”
She stares at the knocker. I don’t move.
“Do you want to knock or should I?” she asks.
“It is enchanted,” I explain carefully. “It takes on the form you dislike the most, to make it hard for you to ask the stronghold for assistance.”
“That explains a lot,” Kaitlyn says.
I glare at the writhing knocker. Knowing it is not real doesn’t make touching it any easier.
But then my mate steps forward, grasps the thing, lifting it and slamming it down again and again until she is breathing hard.
“Like that?” she asks, turning to me and swiping the back of her hand over her forehead.
“Yes, like that.” I narrow my eyes. “What did it look like to you?”
“Lord Guyzance’s face,” she snarls.
The massive door creaks on its hinges and swings open, a warm breeze escaping to blow in our faces and ripple at my wings.
Kaitlyn looks at me, and I stride forward, her hand still in mine, through the gap and into the stronghold. Behind us the door slams shut.
We are inside. There’s no going back now.
Kaitlyn gazes around at the high gatehouse archway and into the wide square courtyard beyond.
“What next?”
“We wait. They will come to us.”
“Who?”
“The brothers of the stronghold.”
“This is a monastery? I didn’t think the Yeavering had any such thing,” Kaitlyn says, confusion running over her face.
“A mon-es-tary?” I repeat. “I don’t know what that is.”
I’m pleased her hand is in mine because I dislike our present situation a lot. A door opens on the other side of the courtyard, and three cowled brothers step through. Their long brown robes hardly move as they advance on us.
“See!” Kaitlyn says with an excitement I couldn’t muster even if I wanted to. “Monks!”
“Linton.” The lead brother stops in front of us and pulls his cowl back to reveal himself. Kaitlyn clutches at my hand and backs into me. “The assassin has come to repent.”
“I have come, with my Kaitlyn, for sanctuary from the Faerie known as Tam Lin,” I say with a snarl.
“If you seek sanctuary, you know the price,” he intones. “And it must be paid.”