Chapter Fourteen #4
Neither Garran nor Davyss flinched because they knew if they did, Tiberius would rush them and as tall as he was, and with his incredibly long arm span, he would be most formidable.
Garran was an excellent knight and Davyss had already made a name for himself as he fought with the sword of his forefathers, Lespada, but neither man wanted to face a Lord of Thunder in combat and they certainly didn’t want to fight Tiberius. Davyss sighed heavily.
“Are you truly going to kill me, Ty?” he asked, holding up his hands to show that he had no intention of unsheathing his sword. “I will not lift my blade against you.”
“Nor I,” Garran said. “Put the sword away. Let my father negotiate your right to leave Wintercroft.”
Tiberius shook his head. “That is not going to happen and you know it,” he said.
“Bose and Grayson must imprison me, don’t you see?
D’Vant will run back to Henry and tell the king that two of his premier barons have been unfaithful and that will badly mar the trust between the king and those two great men.
Grayson was right. My presence here will ruin all he has worked for.
Even so, I do not regret coming and I will still marry Douglass.
But our marriage will have to wait. My brothers’ lives are at stake and I must return to Isenhall. ”
Garran was deeply sickened by the entire circumstance.
“There is a great part of me that hopes d’Vant goes back to the king and tells him that my father is a traitor,” he said.
“Then my father will have no choice but to fight for de Montfort. But on the other hand, my father is a legendary knight with a great reputation and I do not want to see that damaged. He is a man of honor. I do not want to see him dishonored.”
Tiberius didn’t lower his sword but it was clear he, too, was affected.
“Nor do I,” he replied quietly. “Your father is a great man and Uncle Grayson has been my father-figure since the death of my own father. Clearly, this is an emotional situation so I beg you both, please let me go. Tell them that I overwhelmed you and fled. Let me at least give Gallus and Maximus a fighting chance.”
“Garran?”
A soft, female voice came from the darkened corridor near the stairwell, directly across from the hall.
Garran, Davyss, and Tiberius turned to see Douglass emerging from the corridor.
Her lovely face was full of curiosity and concern, and even fear, when she noted that Tiberius was holding a sword. She pointed at the man.
“Why is Tiberius armed?” she asked her brother. “What is happening here?”
Garran frowned. “Where did you come from?”
Douglass pointed back into the darkened corridor. “I was consigned to a solar back there,” she said. “But I have grown restless and hungry. What is going on?”
Tiberius spoke before Garran could reply. “Come here, sweetheart,” he said, holding out his hand to her. “Please come to me.”
Garran grabbed on to his sister. “Don’t go to him,” he told her. “Not… now. Go back where you came from.”
Douglass yanked her arm from her brother. “I will not,” she said flatly. “What is wrong? You are frightening me.”
Garran tried to grab her again but she managed to stay out of arm’s length. “Douglass, stop,” he commanded. “Do not go to him.”
Douglass was already halfway across the hall, looking at her brother as if he had completely lost his mind. “What is the matter with you?” she demanded. Then, she looked to Tiberius, who was a mere few feet away. “Why is your sword drawn? What is happening here?”
Tiberius kept his hand extended to her and she took it. Rather than pull her against him in a possessive gesture, he simply stood there and held her hand, gently.
“It would seem that there are political dealings afoot, my lady,” he told her calmly.
“I have come into some information that my brothers must be made aware of and your brother and Davyss do not want to let me go. For their cause, it would be stupid to let me walk out of here but for my cause, de Montfort’s cause, it could mean the matter of life or death.
Life if I am allowed to leave and death if I am not. ”
Douglass held on to his hand with both of hers, gazing up at him seriously. “Are you planning to fight your way out, then?”
He smiled weakly, looking at his sword just as she was. “I was thinking on it,” he admitted. Then, he looked at her. “Come with me, Douglass. Come with me back to Isenhall and we shall be married, just as I told you we would. Will you come?”
Douglass didn’t hesitate. “Of course I will,” she said. “But you must put your sword away. I will not go with you if you intend to fight my brother or father. There will be no bloodshed. Is that clear?”
Tiberius immediately sheathed his blade. “It is, my lady,” he said. “But you must understand that it will be difficult for you and me to simply walk out of here if I do not present a weapon.”
Douglass turned to her brother. “Is this true?” she asked him. “Are you preventing Tiberius from leaving to return to his brothers so that he must fight his way free?”
Garran nodded. “He overheard information that must not make it to de Montfort,” he said. “Father has asked Davyss and I to hold him here until he decides what is to be done.”
Douglass frowned. “What does that mean?” she wanted to know. “Why must you decide what is to be done with Tiberius?”
Garran was losing his patience with his sister, who had now put herself in a precarious situation with a man who could quite easily take her hostage.
Garran didn’t truly believe Tiberius would do that, but he also knew that Tiberius would do anything to get to his brothers.
The situation was growing more tense by the moment.
“Come here, Douglass,” Garran said, trying to manipulate her into leaving Tiberius. “I must tell you something in confidence. Will you please come to me?”
Douglass shook her head. “I will not,” she said, looking between her brother and Davyss. “There is something terrible happening here and I will not leave. You will not hurt Tiberius if I remain next to him.”