Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Noah’s breath came in uneven bursts as he took in everything Keir was telling them. He pictured Skye the last time he’d seen her, sitting in a chair in the library reading the publication date of that medical book aloud.
He could still see her face—the color draining away, her hands trembling as she’d held the book, her voice breaking as she’d whispered, “It’s from a time far beyond this. Just like you’ve been trying to tell me all along.”
And then he’d let her send him away while she confronted her father alone. Keir was right. It was his fault she was missing. She’d be here now if he’d insisted on going with her.
“Someone must hae seen somethin’,” Taran said grimly. “Keir, were ye able tae find and question the guards who were outside The Keeper’s study when Skye arrived? They must hae some knowledge of what happened tae her.”
Keir shook his head. “I tried, but both Austin and The Keeper have given strict orders throughout the stronghold that no one is to speak of internal matters. Their lives and livelihoods literally depend on compliance with The Keeper’s orders. We won’t get anything more out of anyone.”
“I can’t believe this,” Noah protested. “You are the only person here who is loyal to Skye?”
“No,” Keir sighed. “Many here love her and are loyal in their hearts. But I am the only one who doesn’t have a family they’d be putting in danger by acting on their feelings.”
Family. How could Noah blame them for putting their families first when he was doing the same thing? “So where do we go from here?” He glanced around the group. “I say we confront The Keeper.”
He held his ground through the exchange of startled looks.
“As I mentioned earlier,” Keir finally said, his expression grim, “challenging The Keeper is not a good idea. I can guarantee you, you’d only make matters worse.”
“Worse?” Noah’s cry echoed in the still room. “How could they possibly be worse? He’s planning to throw us out at dawn despite my sister’s condition. And Skye has vanished after confronting him about his lies. If he’s hurt her—”
“Then what? What will you do?” Keir’s voice was quiet but cutting. “I see you’ve acquired three swords, but that gives your no power here. The Keeper controls everything within these walls. Everything. And everyone.”
“We’ll see about that,” Noah growled, pacing to the window as he fought to temper the fury surging through his veins. Finally, he turned back, determined to do something before the few hours they had left ran out.
“I want to see The Keeper.” At the shake of Keir’s head, he pressed harder. “I cannot stand by and do nothing while Skye is in danger. While…” he glanced at Emily, “the hours we have left are slipping away.”
“That’s not the answer,” Keir warned. “You’ll only make things worse.”
“Not if I go alone and make it clear my family knows nothing about my being there. If I fail—”
“Nae,” Taran stated. “We stand together. If ’tis tae be done, we go as one.”
Keir shifted his gaze from Noah to Taran and on to Finn. “I warn you, challenging him is not the answer.”
“Agreed,” Taran replied. “’Tis an insane idea. But ’tis the only one we seem tae have.”
Keir sighed and shook his head in defeat. “Then you’ll leave your weapons here. If he knows you have them, he won’t wait to hear what you have to say.”
The Keeper’s private chambers were in the western wing, behind a door of carved oak that spoke of wealth and status. Two guards flanked the entrance, but finally stepped aside when Keir challenged them. Whether from respect or fear, Noah couldn’t tell and didn’t care.
Keir knocked once. “Sir, our…visitors…request an audience.”
There was a pause, then a sharp voice from within. “I’m busy.”
“It’s about your daughter, my lord.”
Another pause, longer this time. “Enter.”
The study was exactly what Noah had expected—opulent, intimidating, filled with artifacts that shouldn’t exist in this time. Strange devices sat alongside ancient texts. Shelves lined the walls displaying treasures from unknown eras.
And behind the massive desk sat The Keeper himself, broad and imposing. He looked up as they entered, his startlingly pale eyes moving over each of them with cold calculation before settling on Keir. “I gave you an order about these people.”
“Yes, sir. To be carried out at dawn,” Keir acknowledged.
Noah heard the slight tremor in his voice and was sure The Keeper had as well.
“But prior to their leaving,” Keir continued cautiously, “they have expressed a desire to thank you for your accommodations, and to thank Skye for her help with the child. However, she cannot be found and they uh…didn’t want to leave without the chance to tell her—in person—and bid her goodbye.”
The Keeper was silent for several moments, clearly evaluating Keir’s words as he slowly set down the object he’d been examining and addressed the group as one. “I accept your thanks. However, it will be impossible for Skye to do so in person. I’ll pass your sentiments on to her.”
“It would mean a great deal to us if we could tell her in person,” Noah pressed.
The Keeper’s piercing gaze settled on him, the weight of it like a physical thing as several long seconds drew out and his face hardened to an icy mask.
“I’m going to allow you this much since you seem to have had a hand in the outcome. My daughter is currently engaged in learning a valuable lesson about loyalty and obedience. She’ll emerge when she’s ready to be reasonable. And you—most certainly—will already be gone.”
Noah swallowed a surprised gasp. There was no pretense in The Keeper’s demeanor, no attempt to hide that he was responsible for her disappearance, or that she was being punished and the fault lay directly on him.
He stepped forward, unable to contain himself any longer. Every instinct screamed that Skye was being held against her will. “What have you done with her?”
The Keeper’s gaze narrowed. “I don’t owe you any manner of explanation. However, I will humor you just this once, so we are clear. I’ve ensured she won’t make any more foolish decisions based on her temporary emotional weakness.”
His voice was perfectly level, perfectly controlled and unmistakably ominous. “She allowed herself to be influenced by outsiders, by you, to question truths she’s always accepted. She needs time to remember where her true values lie. Where her loyalties lie.”
“If you’ve hurt her—”
“You’ll what, boy?” The Keeper stood and leaned forward, his tall frame imposing even across the width of his desk. “You’re in my fortress, at my mercy. Your sister is dying, and I’m the only thing standing between her—between all of you—and the grave. I suggest you remember that.”
The threat was clear, and Noah felt Taran’s hand settle on his shoulder, a silent warning not to do something they’d all regret. But the rage building in Noah’s chest made it hard to think clearly.
“You would let a child die?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “Just to prove a point?”
“I do what’s necessary to maintain order.” The Keeper moved around his desk toward them. “My daughter will learn that her place is here, at my side, continuing the work I’ve built. Your presence has disrupted that, along with her imminent nuptials.”
Satisfaction filled his eyes as he watched the horror Noah couldn’t mask as he helplessly gaped at him, unable to process what he’d just heard.
“So as ordered, your entire party will leave at dawn.” The Keeper swept his gaze across the three men, his voice like steel. “And let me assure you, any attempt to return would be fatal.”
Noah barely heard him. Skye was to be married?
No! He couldn’t—wouldn’t—accept that. “If Skye wishes to leave with me, I will not leave her behind.”
The Keeper moved closer to Noah, regarding him with open disdain.
“What a foolish, weak-minded man you are. I’m told your sister has very little time left.
Which makes every minute you waste with your useless prattling about my daughter, time you steal from being at your sister’s side in what could be her last moments. ”
The words hit like a dagger in Noah’s chest. Choose between Emily and Skye? His sister, or the woman who’d risked everything to help save her?
The woman he loved.
“Choose your final actions wisely,” The Keeper added, settling back behind his desk as if the conversation was over. “Dawn comes quickly, at which time I assure you, you will all be outside the gates regardless of the condition any of your party might be in.”
He gave Keir a menacing glance. “You seem to have lost your bearings. I suggest you consider reevaluating the direction you have taken.”
Keir dipped his head in a show of both respect and acknowledgement, but as the four of them turned away, Noah saw the fury in his eyes.
The door closed behind them with a finality that echoed through the corridor. Noah felt frozen, his mind reeling as the guards resumed their positions on either side of the entrance.
“He’s a monster,” Finn breathed, his voice thick with disgust.
“Aye,” Taran agreed quietly. “But he holds all the power here.”
Noah struggled to speak as the weight of impossible choices pressed down on him. “There has to be another way,” he finally managed. “There has to be.”
“Not here,” Keir grunted a soft warning, glancing at the guards. “Come.”
They returned to Emily’s room, checking to ensure they weren’t followed. No one spoke until they were inside, with Finn standing guard again at the door.
“I can’t believe he’s going to force her into marriage,” Keir cried. “She’d never agree on her own.”
“But to whom?” Noah pressed. Had he completely misread her feelings? “Why didn’t she mention—”
“Austin. It has to be Austin,” Keir spat with clear disgust.
Paige’s head snapped up at the mention of her brother, looking first at Keir then at Taran. She whispered something to Brody, who went to sit beside Emily, placing his small hand over hers.
“What about Austin?” she asked, joining them.