Chapter 31
Rhett was on the ground, his face pale and eyes wide. He was taking in quick gasps of air as blood pumped out of his leg and side. There was so much blood it was soaking the rugs under him and pooling across the floor towards my feet.
Across the room was a sobbing Tomas, who was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back. Rhett was dying helplessly in front of him.
Torgrin was tied up the same way. He must have put up a good fight because he was on his knees, surrounded by angry, bloody-nosed soldiers. In the middle of this nightmare scene stood an amused Goodwin.
I dropped to the floor to stop the bleeding in Rhett’s leg. Bethel walked past us, pulling her skirts up to avoid getting any of Rhett’s blood on the hem.
I needed time to think. I tore strips from my dress to create a tourniquet.
There were four soldiers with swords drawn, and I only had a dagger.
Tomas was injured. Blood soaked the front of his shirt, and I could see he was having trouble staying upright.
It was as if Rhett was the only thing keeping him conscious.
Cillian wasn’t here, and I tried not to think the worst. I had to believe he had gotten away, because the alternative was unthinkable. It was difficult enough for me to control the Darkness when swords were pointed at the people I cared about.
‘Leave him!’ Goodwin commanded.
I ignored Goodwin and continued to tighten the tourniquet around Rhett’s leg. Rhett’s breathing was becoming more laboured. A sword had pierced his side. There was no way to tell how deep, but I needed to end this and get Rhett to a healer. I stood up – my torn skirts soaked red with Rhett’s blood.
‘I knew you were all trouble the day you arrived. This whole time you’ve been plotting to free a Cursed whore who has tried to deceive and control my father. You are going to hang for this,’ Goodwin sneered.
He still resented that I stopped him from striking Bethel. ‘How did you find out?’ I asked as I stepped over Rhett and deeper into the room. Not one soldier had a sword pointed at me. They had no idea that I was the most dangerous person in this room.
‘Bethel told me everything this evening. I notified the castle guards who went to the dungeon to stop your pointless rescue mission,’ he said, then laughed. ‘You know the old hag is already dead, don’t you?’
I felt the tingling in my hands as I imagined wiping that smirk permanently off his face.
‘They caught one of your conspirators, but these two had escaped.’ He flicked a hand at Tomas and Rhett.
They caught someone in the dungeon. Oh stars. Cillian.
‘Unfortunately for them, I was here with my men to take this disfigured traitor to my father.’ He scoffed and gestured at Torgrin, whose expression remained blank.
I looked at Bethel, standing at Goodwin’s side. Her face showed no regret for betraying us or her father. My hands shook and I gritted my teeth, trying to remain calm.
I looked Goodwin dead in the eyes. ‘The thing is, men like you will always be weak.’
The smirk left his face, and his eyes narrowed.
I shook my head pityingly at him. ‘You will always try to get the approval of men more powerful than you and fail – because you are a whiny boot licker.’ I got the reaction I wanted.
‘Seize her!’ screamed Goodwin, spittle flying from his mouth.
The two soldiers closest to me still didn’t bother raising their swords as they came to get me. They seemed to expect little resistance from a mere woman. My eyes met Torgrin’s, and he gave me a slight nod.
When the first soldier got close enough, I grabbed his sword arm in my powerful grip and drove a knee into his groin.
While he was grappling with his pain, I turned my back to him and pulled his sword arm across my chest until I felt his shoulder pop out of its socket.
He screamed, and I took his sword from his now useless hand.
Torgrin jumped from his knees to his feet in one graceful move. He spun and kicked the distracted soldier to his side in the chest. Torgrin then made another impressive move by jumping in the air and bringing his tied hands under himself to his front.
I took my newly acquired sword and plunged it into the other soldier, who was about to bring his blade down on me. Before he had even dropped to the floor, I spun and slashed across the waist of the soldier, who was still standing behind me with his arm dangling uselessly beside him.
Torgrin was fighting two soldiers with his hands still tied.
He was sidestepping, jumping and ducking, avoiding their clumsy swordsmanship and sending them back with powerful kicks.
Torgrin delivered one soldier an uppercut to the chin with his tied fists.
His double-fisted punch was so hard that teeth and blood flew across the room towards me.
Goodwin and Bethel watched in shock as the power in the room changed hands. ‘You won’t get out of here alive,’ Goodwin declared, even as he backed up.
My sword raised and covered in blood, I went to him like a spectre seeking sustenance. The guard with his teeth scattered around the room had recovered enough to approach me from behind. Turning my back to Goodwin and Bethel, I moved to defend myself against the toothless soldier.
My sword met his with a mighty swing. His eyes widened, and I smiled.
He tried to swing his sword again, but I quickly blocked his blow.
He retreated as I pushed forward, swinging my sword high and forcing him to block my blow from below.
I had the upper hand, and his arms shook with the effort of holding me off.
I heard Tomas’s warning shout, but there was nothing I could do. Something sharp pierced my back, making me cry out. The pain took my breath away. I kept my sword engaged with the toothless guard, knowing I would also have his sword embedded in me if I let up.
‘Caris!’ Torgrin yelled.
Having sliced his opponent in two, he appeared next to me in seconds. With his hands still tied, Torgrin swung his blade at the gap-toothed soldier.
Stumbling back, I let Torgrin take over for me. I touched my back where a knife protruded, and my fingers came away soaked with blood.
Goodwin – the bastard – had stabbed me.
‘Only a coward would stab someone in the back,’ I snarled, coming to stand toe to toe with him. He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t give him the chance to beg for his life.
‘You will never be king.’ I placed my hands on his face and let my Darkness free.
He screamed as I held his face with my burning hands. I didn’t want it to be quick this time. I only let a trickle of my power flow through my hands.
The surface of his cheeks and forehead came off layer by layer.
His flesh blackened and fell away; his lips melted, and I soon saw bone and teeth.
He tried to scream, but it was a mere gurgle in his throat.
I held his fleshless head and watched his eyeballs turn to shadow.
His skull became ash in my hands. I let it fall from my fingers and float down to my boots.
Goodwin’s headless corpse dropped to the ground with a thump. The shadows withdrew, and my surroundings came back into sharp focus. Bethel was screaming, looking in terror at her headless betrothed lying next to her.
I took a step towards her, and she stopped mid-scream, staring into my eyes with horror. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face. ‘And you will never be queen.’
Bethel slid down the wall and sobbed, holding her face in anguish.
Torgrin had killed the toothless guard with a sword to the gut. He finally took the time to cut off his ropes and crossed the room to untie Tomas. As soon as Tomas was free, he went to Rhett, lying on the rug.
‘Where’s Cillian?’ I demanded.
‘You need to sit down. You have a knife buried in you.’
I touched my flank; the moment I felt the knife handle, the pain rushed back, and the rage that had kept it at bay left me.
How could I have forgotten? I let Torgrin lead me to a chair. He continued to talk, knowing I wouldn’t be cooperative if he didn’t give me the information I wanted.
‘They captured Cillian. He’s being kept in the dungeon.’ Torgrin went to find a bedsheet. He returned, ripping it into strips and handing some to Tomas for him and Rhett.
‘This is going to hurt. Hold on to me,’ Torgrin said, sinking to one knee before me.
I shook my head. Had he not just seen what I had done with my hands?
‘You won’t hurt me.’ He took my hands and placed them on his broad shoulders. He leaned in and gripped the knife on the right side of my back.
‘Ready?’ His fierce eyes stared into mine.
I drew in a breath to say yes.
He pulled.
It felt like he was ripping out my insides. Torgrin’s face blurred, and my stomach churned as blood left my body in a violent surge. He pressed a wad of cloth to the wound and wrapped strips of fabric tightly around my torso. ‘Are you okay?’
My vision cleared, and my stomach settled as I tried to take in steady breaths. ‘I’ll be fine.’
The two lines between his brows didn’t soften.
‘Go!’ I growled, annoyed with his concern for me when others needed his help more.
‘A thank you would do,’ he growled back. I said nothing, and he went to help Tomas and Rhett.
Bethel was still sitting in the corner, holding her cheek where I had slapped her. I wanted to get Cillian out of the dungeon, but first, I needed to make sure Bethel wouldn’t run off to tell King Hared what had happened here.
Torgrin joined me as I grabbed Bethel’s arm. I hissed in pain when she resisted. Torgrin grabbed her rougher than was necessary and dragged her towards her room. Still tied to his chair was a partially naked Fox Boy. I had forgotten about him. I looked at Torgrin, and he shrugged.
As soon as I took off his gag, he spoke. ‘Take me with you.’
I raised my brow.
‘They will kill me once they know it was my uniform you took – and because of her.’ He couldn’t even look at Bethel. She had sold him out too.
It was a tough call, but Torgrin just shrugged, leaving me to decide. ‘Fine. But if you try anything, I’ll kill you.’
Fox Boy grimaced at me, unsure if I was serious.
‘She’s telling the truth, boy.’ Torgrin laughed darkly. He handed Bethel over to me and untied Fox Boy.
Fox Boy and I searched for clothes while Torgrin tied Bethel to the now-vacant chair.
When we reached the smaller rooms, I saw what had happened to the rest of our soldiers. Goodwin’s men had left their bodies in a back room. I was so stupid not to have realised that no-one was guarding the corridor or the main door when I had rushed back here.
I took a moment to check all of our men, but none were alive.
I was done with ballgowns and raided Torgrin’s clothes, knowing his would fit me best. Fox Boy averted his eyes as I began stripping off in front of him.
There was no time for modesty. I put on the borrowed breeches but then had to enlist the young man’s help.
I covered my breasts as best as I could as he tied the dressing almost as well as Torgrin had, and he carefully helped me put one of Torgrin’s black shirts on.
Fox Boy got an eyeful when I raised my arms so he could slip the top over my head.
I caught him staring at my now-covered breasts, and he mumbled an immediate apology.
‘What’s your name, Fox Boy?’ I slowly put my boots back on, mindful of my wound.
‘Finn,’ he said, sounding surprised I had asked.
‘You have terrible taste in women, Finn.’
‘Don’t I know it.’ He threw up his hands. ‘I’m screwed. I can’t stay here. The king will find out what I’ve done. You’ll probably kill me, or the scary scar-faced man will. And you know what the worst part is?’
I gathered some things from my room and chucked them into a bag. ‘What?’ I was only half-listening to him as he followed me around like a lost puppy.
‘I bloody liked her. I liked her a lot.’
I stopped to face him. ‘Look, Finn, we all make mistakes, and Bethel has a history of manipulating men.’
He grimaced.
‘You can come with us, but you better not make any more stupid mistakes because I really will kill you.’ I was serious. I wanted to trust him, and my gut told me I could, but I needed to make it clear what would happen if he put my friends’ lives at risk.
He gulped. ‘I get it. No more mistakes.’
‘Good. We understand each other?’
He nodded. ‘I would rather fight my way out of here with you lot on my side than wait for the hangman’s noose.’
‘Then let’s get going, shall we?’
My swords, bow and armour were still with Nightmare, as having them in a lady-in-waiting’s room would have been too risky. I put on my winter cloak. It had a hood to cover my face, and it easily hid the borrowed sword I strapped around my hips. Finn also armed himself and found a cloak to wear.
Torgrin had finished securing Bethel, and I couldn’t help but feel satisfied when I saw the red mark on her face in the shape of my hand. I should have used the Darkness on her traitorous face to make the mark permanent, but I could not do that to Lord Warwick.
We returned to the others. Rhett was sitting up in a chair. He had lost a lot of blood, and though he wasn’t knocking on the door to the underworld anymore, there was no way he could ride a horse on his own. Tomas was stable, but his worry for Rhett was hard to watch.
‘I need to know what happened tonight,’ I said, moving through corpses to get to the two men who had last seen Cillian.