Cautiously, she made her way along the passageway to return to the Great Hall. By now he would have discovered she didn’t go to the solar and probably would have guessed she went to the kitchen. There was no point of her going upstairs. There were no weapons there that she knew of and she would have been trapped with only the stairs as an exit.
She inched her way along the stone wall as quietly as possible, the darkness providing cover for her, but it also provided cover for him. She forced herself to concentrate and listen for the slightest sound and hearing nothing, she continued with a slow, cautious gait. When she got near the end of the passageway and saw the looming darkness waiting, she took a moment to stop. Her heart continued to beat madly and her stomach had twisted into knots and fear prickled her skin cold.
You can do this, she silently told herself.
She had to do this. She had no choice. She had to stay alive. She had to help Princess and Quiver. She couldn’t let Arran return home to find her dead. No matter what the darkness held, she had to step into it. She swallowed her fear and continued her cautious gait.
“Got you!” he cried out, grabbing her as soon as she stepped out of the passageway.
She threw the spices in his face and he screamed, the granules settling into his wounds and eyes, and once again she ran. She hurried into the Great Hall and found a hiding spot in the darkest shadow and allowed it to swallow her whole.
She heard him stumble into the Great Hall.
“I am so going to make you suffer,” he said, gasping in pain as his fingers tried to brush the spices from his face and only making it worse. “And I’m going to make sure you die slow and painfully.”
He stepped into a spot where there was just enough light to see that his face beamed a molten red. It actually looked as if it were on fire and she imagined it was, the spices burning his wounds.
Freen reached down and pulled a knife from his boot. “First you can watch me, kill that dog of yours.”
Purity had no choice. Her fear of seeing Princess suffer and die was far greater than fear of her own suffering. She didn’t hesitate. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and, grasping the knife firmly, her hand shot up in the air as she came charging out of the darkness toward Freen.
His eyes glowed with pleasure, seeing victory so close, and he ran toward her.
They both were brought to a sudden halt by the tremendous sound of a crack of thunder that felt as if it shook the room. One look and they both saw that it hadn’t been thunder. It was the door. It had burst open with such force that it was torn off its hinges and crashed to the floor, splintering in two.
And there, standing on the fallen door stood her husband, sword in hand, and a rage on his face that sent a chill through her.
Purity’s instinct almost had her running to him, but fear for Princess and Quiver’s safety had her turning to confront Freen.
He moved quicker than she did and grabbed her arm, slamming it against the table and forcing the knife to fall from her hand. Then he swung her around and she fell back against him. His arm went around her waist and his knife landed against her neck.
“Come close and I’ll slit her throat,” Freen warned, stopping Arran in his tracks.
She spotted Royden then. He had followed his brother in and stopped not far behind him and to his side, his sword in hand as well. She saw his mouth move, but couldn’t hear what he said. When she looked to her husband, she knew what his words must have been.
Arran looked ready to charge the man. Royden must have cautioned him against it. Freen would slice her throat before he could reach her.
Arran fought to control his anger, his jaw set tight as he spoke each word. “Let her go, Freen and I’ll let you go.”
Freen gave a snorted laugh and shook his head. “And where will I go? Once Wolf finds out what I’ve done he’ll hunt me down. My life is over, but before I leave I’ll finish off the last of this worthless clan that has caused me nothing but misery. Whatever seed you’ve planted in her will never see fruition and that is a satisfying thought. Unless you want to exchange your life for hers.”
“NO!” Purity shouted, Arran’s words drowning hers out.
“AYE, I WILL!”
“NO!” Purity shouted again.
Freen pressed his cheek next to Purity’s. “Worry not. I’d rather see the look on his face as he watches me slice your throat and your life spill away.” He kissed her cheek roughly. “And I won’t even let him have the pleasure of taking my life. I’ll see it done before he can reach me.”