Chapter 32 #2
With a breathless sigh, I submitted to him as his tongue caressed mine. This was one battle with him I didn’t want to win, and he knew it the moment I arched against his body. His kiss grew more tender. I would let him take what he wanted, what he needed.
I heard Finn give a long, low whistle.
Torgrin withdrew, but he held me still as his eyes, now dark shiny pools, moved restlessly over my face, drinking me in. He caressed the fluttering pulse at my throat with his thumb.
I reached for his cheek, running my fingers over the ridges of his scar.
‘Don’t. You will see me again, Tor.’ I leaned in and kissed him again, putting all of my unspoken feelings into it. Our tongues fought desperately as the dam holding back our passion for one another crumbled. My hands dug into his waist, pulling him closer, wanting more, wanting everything.
We breathed as one, and I knew fate had won.
I reluctantly released his lips and felt another rush of warmth when he looked at me, a little dazed.
‘You will ride until you meet Lord Warwick and warn him of what’s happened. Tell him to go back to Murus and start building a bigger army. War is coming,’ he said.
I nodded against his hand still cradling my neck. ‘I will wait for you. Bring me Cillian, Tor.’
‘I will,’ he said, his voice raw and husky.
He let me go abruptly and stepped back. I felt cold without the heat of his body pressed against mine.
Torgrin checked that the passageway was empty before we left the safety of the room.
My heart pounded in my chest as he started to walk away, fear gnawing at me. I couldn’t lose him – not like this, not after everything.
‘Tor!’ I called, my voice cracking as I rushed forward, desperation thick in my throat.
He turned just enough to meet my gaze, but his face was unreadable. For a moment, he just stood there, silent and unmoving.
‘Survive, no matter what,’ I said, tears threatening.
His eyes softened for a brief, painful moment, and in that split second, his mask faltered.
‘Death couldn’t stop me coming back to you,’ he said, his voice low and filled with something I couldn’t place.
But just as quickly, the emotion was gone, and he vanished around the corner, leaving me standing there, aching, emptiness already settling in.
The old lady delivered on her word. She led us through empty corridors and down several flights of stairs. We had to go slowly because of Rhett’s injuries, but we made it to the castle kitchens unseen. It was quiet and empty, as you would expect in the middle of the night.
Finally, she ushered us into what looked like an ordinary pantry. Sacks lined the walls, and in the centre was a pile of loose grain. I wasn’t the only one looking around the room, confused. There were no other doors except the one we had just come through.
The older woman clicked her tongue at our bewildered looks and gestured upward. There was a trapdoor in the ceiling, big enough for a person to fit through.
Finn and Tomas went in search of something to stand on.
Tomas came back with a wooden tea chest for me to climb onto.
The trapdoor had a latch that I turned, and I pushed the wooden door up.
I heard a clatter as it opened, but there was no sound of anyone coming to inspect the noise.
Still, I took out my knife and held it in between my teeth as I hoisted myself up and through the hole.
It was dark, and it took time for my eyes to adjust. I could smell the familiar scent of horses, which meant I was close to the stables.
The room appeared to be a storage room filled with ropes and harnesses, and in the dim light, I could see a metal bucket attached to a rope on its side.
It had been on top of the trapdoor when I’d opened it.
The stable hands must use the bucket to bring up feed for the horses.
I put my head back through the hole and signaled that it was all clear.
Tomas’s injured shoulder was giving him some pain, so I gave him my hand, which he took gratefully.
We worked together to pull Rhett through the hole while Finn supported the injured man from below.
Next came the older woman. Finn simply lifted her slight frame to us through the trapdoor.
Once Finn was through, we closed the trapdoor and went to find the horses.
I had to shush Nightmare, who greeted me with low-pitched nickers and restless hooves.
She was challenging to saddle, but I did it in record time.
My belongings were nearby, and I replaced my borrowed blade with the sword Iain had given me.
I passed my bow to Finn and he quietly helped me with my armour.
The new armour Cillian had made for me was light and cleverly designed so that every piece fit me perfectly.
It should have cost a king’s ransom, not the pittance he’d charged me.
Thanks to the old lady leading us straight to the stables, we wouldn’t need to fight past the knights stationed in the bailey. We led the horses silently through a back door that took us to a dark city street. Everyone mounted a horse, with Rhett sitting behind Tomas.
There were only a few hours until dawn, and I could feel the group’s tension joining my own. We were all waiting for the alarm to be sounded. This had been far too easy.
A dense, eerie fog crept along the narrow cobblestones, shrouding the buildings in a ghostly veil.
The old lady and Tomas kept their horses behind me, and Finn had the rear.
All our eyes were on the road ahead. I could hear a dog barking in the distance and a baby crying in a nearby house, but that was all.
No hooves echoed through the air, no faint chinking of chain mail or armour, and no sharp metallic noise of swords being drawn.
Then the gate came into view, and I knew we were doomed.