Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
She spoke without thinking. “You will keep me warm enough.”
He leaned his head close to hers. “You like my warmth, wife?”
She would not deny the truth. “I have come to favor it.”
She spotted the shift in his eyes and knew he would kiss her, and she could not believe that she welcomed it.
He leaned closer to steal a kiss, a safe one since it could go no further but a kiss here in the camp, when suddenly a sound tore through the night. The roar was so loud, so inhuman, that Torrance shot up on his feet, dragging his wife along with him.
Esme planted herself against his side, her heart slamming against her chest in fear.
Torrance had his sword in hand, his warriors following suit, their hands going to their swords without hesitation once on their feet.
A warrior burst into the firelight, breathless and bloodied but recognized, the warriors’ eyes rounding at the sight of Torrance.
“We’ve been betrayed!” he said, his breath labored. “By our own kind. I barely got away!”
Shock and uncertainty had warriors backing away from each other. Barely, a moment later, a warrior rode into camp from the opposite end, reining his horse hard, and yelling, “We’ve been betrayed.”
Torrance’s eyes narrowed, as he looked at every warrior in camp. “If you mean to betray me, do so now.”
Not one warrior stepped forward.
Even as he spoke, the night filled with distant shouts and the clash of steel, the sounds growing.
Torrance turned to his men. “We separate in twos, so they don’t know who to follow. Head back to the keep and whoever gets there first alerts Brack. Have him send only the most trusted warriors to search for those who don’t make it back and to see who we lost and who it was who betrayed us.”
His warriors hurried to do as he commanded.
Torrance summoned one of his warriors and they shared whispered words before he took off. Then he turned to Esme, his hand already reaching for her. “We ride one horse.” Her puzzled look had him explaining. “They will have no interest in following one rider.”
She nodded, understanding that they would be searching for Torrance and her, riding two horses, not one.
The warriors began to disperse but not before Torrance’s horse was brought to him. He lifted her up onto his stallion, then swung himself up behind her and tucked her tight against him. She wrapped her arm around his waist as he led them into the forest, the firelight fading behind them as the darkness closed in around them.
CHAPTER 16
Torrance rode with caution, keeping one arm locked around Esme as she slumped against him. She had finally surrendered to exhaustion. Her head rested near his shoulder, her whisper warm breath tickling at his neck.
It wasn’t easy maneuvering through the forest in the dead of night and only half a moon to light the way. But his stallion, dark as the night itself, moved with relentless purpose through narrow trails and over uneven ground, guided by Torrance’s steady hands on the reins. He barely noticed the biting wind or the way branches clawed at him. He was too busy keeping his eyes focused in the dark while his thoughts continued to spin darker than the path ahead.
How was it that his men had turned against him?
It wasn’t beyond belief. He had cultivated fear with ease, given reason for many to hate him, and trust was a luxury long stripped from his life. But to know betrayal was within his own ranks… it made him realize how desperate and dangerous the game he played could be.
He had risked much more than his life. Esme was now bound to that risk, and that weighed heavier than any blade.
By the time he spotted a low ridge nestled beneath a tangle of trees, the cold had seeped through his bones. He slowed the stallion and guided him off the trail to a narrow hollow, mostly shielded from the wind. There, between ancient trees and thick bushes, was space enough to hide for the night.
Torrance dismounted with care, cradling Esme in his arms as he slid to the ground. She stirred but didn’t wake, murmuring something unintelligible against his chest. He tucked her close to him, led the stallion to a patch of grass, then lowered Esme to the leaf-covered earth and joined her there. He took her into his arms wrapping his cloak around them both. With Esme beside him, her warmth pressed close, he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, and waited for a light sleep, if sleep would come at all.
Above, the trees whispered secrets, and the stars remained hidden. As the fire of betrayal burned low in his chest, one thought lingered… time was running out. If he did not learn the truth soon… all would be lost, much more than he ever expected.