He let out a scream as his hand fell off her waist, and the other off her mouth. She didn’t waste any time in running and screaming for help as she did.
Dawn heard the screams and ran out of the cottage, the older man trying to keep up with her. She caught sight of Wintra running toward her, the warrior not far behind her.
“Go for help!” Wintra screamed worried that Dawn would attempt to help her and get hurt. “Go! Hurry!”
“Go,” the old man shouted at Dawn and gave her a shove as he ran as best he could toward Wintra.
Dawn didn’t want to leave either of them, but she was wise enough to know that the quicker she got to Cree, the better chance Wintra had of being rescued. She raised her arm, burying her nose and mouth in her sleeve to keep away what smoke she could as she got closer to the mill.
“Get out of here, Dawn,” Elsa yelled when she caught sight of her.
Dawn paid her no heed and Elsa did not stop her. She was too busy tending the more seriously wounded men and women. And Dawn was relieved she had not tried. She had to find Cree or Torr, Wintra’s life depended on it.
She stopped, seeing Cree shouting orders and Torr was not far from him at the front line of the brigade tossing bucket after bucket on the last of the fire while billowing smoke plumes consumed an already gray sky.
She needed to get his attention since she was still a distance away, so she did the only thing she could think of, she clapped her hands loudly.
Cree turned at the sound, so out of place in the chaos, and his eyes widened. Something was wrong. She had clapped to get his attention and her eyes were wide with fright. He rushed toward her.
Her hands were moving before he reached her and he shouted, “Torr.”
Torr turned and when he saw Dawn gesturing frantically to Cree, he felt a punch to his gut. Something was wrong with Wintra. He dropped the bucket and when he saw Cree run off as if the devil was on his heels, he quickly followed him.
Torr was beside him in no time.
Cree called out as he kept running, “Someone took Wintra. Behind the healing cottage.”
Torr flew past Cree, jumping over mounds of snow and maneuvering around trees. He heard her screams as he turned the corner of the cottage. He shouted her name so loudly that it rang off the trees. “WINTRA!”
When she didn’t respond, he shouted her name again and with such power that the woods and all in it trembled with fear.
He heard someone shout as if from pain, and then heard Wintra call out his name loud and clear. He never felt so relieved, though he knew he had to get to her fast. She would not be able to keep the warrior off her for long.
He came upon an old man sitting on a stump, breathing heavy and pointing.
Torr went where the old man pointed.
Wintra let out another scream, and this time her abductor slapped her across the cheek so hard that her head whipped to the side, and she fell face first in the snow. She screamed when he grabbed her by the back of her hair and yanked her up to her feet. Try as she might, she could not strike out at him, since he held her at arm’s length in front of him.
“You will learn to behave fast enough,” he said with an angry growl.
She did not bother to waste a breath on a response. Instead, she let out another scream, hoping it would help Torr find her.
The warrior cursed profusely as he swung her around.
Torr came upon the scene just as the warrior raised his hand to deliver another stinging blow to Wintra’s face. He roared out his rage as he rushed the warrior.
As soon as the warrior caught sight of Torr charging him, he released Wintra in a flash.
She stumbled back as Torr lowered his shoulder and thrust it out to ram into the warrior’s gut, his hands going around his upper legs as he did, and then he tossed him over his shoulder to land on the hard snow-packed ground.
Wintra heard the snap, it echoed off the trees. Torr had broken his opponent’s neck in one swift move. She watched as he gave the dead man one last glance, and then walked toward her.
She was about to assure him that she was unharmed since he was forever asking how she fared, when he took her in his arms and kissed her with such intense need that it turned her legs weak.
He tore his mouth off hers as his hands reached up to cup her neck and he rested his brow against hers. “I feared I would not reach you on time and that I would lose you. I cannot lose you. It would be like losing a part of myself.”