She hadn’t ridden him since she’d returned. Anna would never admit it to anyone, but she had been a little nervous about getting on him again after her last ride. She no longer cared. Recklessness pulsed through her. She wanted out of the castle, even for a few minutes. Just a quick ride through the village, out of this suffocating place! Jack had been right. Everything had changed between them. Ignoring thoughts of caution, she tightened his girth and grabbed his bridle.
“Anna!”
Anna jumped. “Jack!” She glared at him. “You should know better than to sneak up on people—especially me!”
“I’m sorry,” he said, taken aback. “I thought I might find you here.” His voice was kind, his face confused.
“Well, what do you want?” Anna lashed out.
He frowned. “Are you taking Farley out?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh, please, don’t parent me. I can ride my own horse. After all, I am sixteen—or is that too young for you?”
“What?”
Anna rolled her eyes.
“I overheard you and Saira talking while I was trying to find my way out of that wretched maze,” she said. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better. I’m fine.”
She went back to brushing Farley’s neck with vigorous strokes. The big horse jumped. He didn’t like rough brushing.
Jack came up behind her and placed his hand over hers on the brush.
“I don’t think you understand.” Anna’s heart leaped into her throat. She bit her lip. What does he want?
She glanced up at him. His face contorted as if in pain.
“I don’t know what you heard me say to Saira, but let me explain.” Anna stared at his Adam’s apple as he struggled to swallow. He took a deep breath. “I care for you, Anna, a lot. I mean, your father and I, we had spoken, but I didn’t expect him to offer your hand yet. I was caught off guard, so I said what I thought would make you happy—having your own choice.”
Anna’s heart raced as she processed his words. He still hadn’t answered the main question. Does he want to be with me?
Almost in answer, Jack cupped his hand gently under her hair. She raised her chin. He hesitated before bending close, stopping an inch before her lips, his eyes holding a question.
“The truth is, I miss you. Every minute,” he whispered. “But I don’t know why you’d ever want to be with someone like me.” She realized he was going to kiss her a second before their lips met. Her heart pounded against her ribs. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled back in surprise. His arms immediately dropped to hold her hands. He tilted his chin slightly to the side. Anna blushed. She opened her mouth, but no words would come out. She couldn’t meet his eyes.
Jack tucked a hair behind her ear. “You’ve never been kissed?”
Anna shook her head in mortification. Her face was blazing now, but he seemed to like the idea of this being her first kiss.
“It’s ok. You must know I don’t want to be with anyone but you,” he said, placing two more small kisses on her lips. She didn’t understand how someone could be so strong and lethal and yet be so gentle with her. He pulled her to his chest. “So many times I’ve wanted to do that,” he whispered just above her ear as he held her.
“You did?” Anna croaked. “But you don’t want to marry me?”
“It wouldn’t be fair to you. There is so much you don’t know about me.” He pulled her back to look her in the eye. “And I do want it to be your choice. I would never force you to do something you didn’t want. Never. And I don’t want to be with someone who was forced to be with me, either, no matter how beautiful she is.” His eyes sparkled. “You are young, and I want you to be sure. If you didn’t love me, you’d grow bored and bitter, or worse, eventually fall in love with someone else.” He dropped his arms from her waist and shuffled back a step. “I would just rather take this slow. We’ve only known each other a few weeks, after all.”
Anna’s mouth burst into a smile. “You had me a long time ago.”
“Oh, yeah, when?”
Her eyes flashed. “I think it was the day you shaved that scraggly beard off.”
He laughed. “That bad, huh?”
“Bad.”
He chuckled. “You had me when you walked into the tavern carrying that tray with too many drinks on it.”
“That’s hard to believe. I was looking pretty rough.”
“It wasn’t your beauty that won me. It was what the other servants whispered about you. Never had a servant in Anwar’s court traded herself for a friend. That prince wanted you, but you let her go in your place. He could have saved you, but you took her whipping instead. They said he strung you up to a door.” He shuddered. “Kumud is lucky I didn’t have time to deal with him. When I heard what had happened, I had to get you out of there.”
She reached for his hand and laced her fingers with his. “Never has anyone treated me with the respect you have. But you’re right. We should be certain.” Her lips pulled up nervously. “I was never sure how you felt. I’m new to this.”
“I wanted to act honorably toward you in every way, especially knowing what Seamus did to you,” Jack said. “And I did have to get you back to your father to warn him. I tried my best to keep my head on the mission, but you can be a distraction.” He smirked.
She thought back to sleeping in his arms. He had respected her completely.
“I can’t read your mind,” she said.
“Thankfully.” He blushed. “My thoughts aren’t always so honorable…”
Anna punched him lightly and turned back to Farley, embarrassed.
“There’s no one I trust more,” Anna said.
“Only because you don’t know everything about me.” He came up behind her and gently drew her to his chest. She hooked her arms on his.
“I know some things. Saira told me about your family. I’m so sorry.” She paused for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He was silent. Seething with awkwardness, Anna went back to brushing Farley’s neck.
“You have to understand, I can never give you a kingdom. I’ll be forever living off your father. Sometimes I just wish I—”
“You wish you’d stayed and fought with your father?” Anna saw it in his face.
He grimaced. “I saw him die,” he said. “It would have been an honorable death for me, fighting for my father and my people. Instead, I ran to safety.”
“Your mother would have died, too.” Anna said.
“There are worse things than dying with honor.”
“You worry too much about honor. You are obviously brave. That day you obeyed your father, the king. You did the right thing,” said Anna.
Jack shook his head and scoffed. “I’ve done a lot of things—things during my training in the desert you know nothing about. You deserve better.” He looked down.
“I’m far from perfect. And if you’d died fighting for your father, who would have saved me?” Anna asked. “That has to count for something.”
“It counts for everything.” He frowned. “But remember what the priest said, that you were supposed to be a queen someday. I can never give you that, Anna. I am beneath you.”
“You are my superior in every way,” Anna whispered. “And I don’t care about being queen. I care about you.”
“And of course I care about you.” He brushed her cheek with his fingertips and kissed her again. Her heart hammered against her chest and her knees wobbled as he tentatively deepened the kiss. This time Anna was ready. She grabbed his shirt for balance and lost herself in his embrace. Her hands seemed small as she gripped his muscled arms. She wanted this moment to last forever.
He pulled back and gave her that lopsided smile. “Anna, I can’t imagine—
A great bell rung. He dropped his hands from her waist.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
Anna shrugged. It was the chapel bell.
She tugged his hand back to her. What was he going to say? “What?” She felt like she was in a dream.
Jack gently pushed her back and tilted his head, listening. “That ringing. There it goes again.”
Anna blinked. A great bell was ringing haphazardly, instead of in a rhythm or a melody. Anna had never heard it ring like that.
“That’s the warning bell!” Jack raced to the window and peered up at the castle. “There’s fighting.” He spun, reaching for his sword. “I need a horse.”
“We’ll take Farley,” said Anna. She threw his bridle on and led the great horse out into the aisle. Without a thought, she threw her foot into the stirrup and leaped on. “Come on, behind me!” As Jack swung up, Farley sprung forward, crashing into the barn door on the way out.
“Easy, boy!” Anna called. “Hang on!” she shouted as the horse raced up the incline toward the castle. She had forgotten how fast he was. He spent so much of his stride suspended in the air he was difficult to steer. Anna pulled him hard to the left. The drawbridge was still down, but the gatekeepers were fighting for their lives. Two Sunderland men fell into the river. Slowly, the bridge began to ascend. She pulled Farley to a sliding halt in front of the bridge.
“No!” shouted Anna. Without another thought, she swung her left leg over Farley’s head and jumped to the ground, tossing the reins to Jack. Farley reared and threw Jack off balance. He lunged for the reins while Anna ran for the bridge. She had to make it in to her father. They can’t find the weapons.
“Anna, stop!” yelled Jack.
“Come on!” she yelled back as she ran. She could sense him behind her. The bridge surged upward. Anna jumped. Her fingers barely caught the end of the bridge as it sprung up higher. She felt Jack’s fingers brush her heel and heard him yelling for her to drop, but something deep inside drove her to hang on. Jack hadn’t made it. She hesitated one second and then heaved herself over and slid down the steep descent on the other side. He couldn’t follow. She’d left him.
Right as she hit the ground an arrow whizzed by her ear and stuck in the bridge behind her head. She bolted, dashing away from the bridge to a stairwell leading up to her room where her jeweled weapons were hidden. She made it to the top of the stairs and heard screaming. Several women shrieked as they fled hooded men with swords. One man shoved a woman down the stairs and ran another direction with the others following. Arissa. Anna pulled her up by the arm.
“With me, now!” The path looked clear as they raced back up the stairs—right into an enemy soldier.
“You!” He lurched for her. “Lead us to the king!”
Anna’s mind raced. A knife handle flashed in his belt. She snatched it and struck him in the neck as hard as she could. His eyes widened in surprise before he dropped. Arissa screamed. Anna grabbed his sword and ran down the stairs with other soldiers close behind. Anna’s blood roared in her ears. Did I just kill a man?
Anna darted through the castle’s labyrinth halls, tugging Arissa behind her. The stench of death pushed her to run faster. The men were close behind, but they didn’t know the castle like she did. She ducked into a narrow passageway which dumped out into screaming crowds of servants, pulling Arissa with her. The weeping girl was slowing her down, but where would she be safe? Anna could almost smell her fear. The grunts and roars of the battle pounded in her ears and drowned out her pounding heart and rasping breath. The other staircase was close. She raced up and cut back through the corridor to her room, jerking Arissa along behind her. She threw the door open and tossed the soldier’s sword on the bed.
“Take this!” she spat at Arissa.
She pulled the gemmed sword out of hiding and strapped it to her side. Her fingers shook as she strung the bow and swung the quiver over her shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Arissa screeched.
“Hush! Either hide somewhere or stay with me. But you have to keep up. I’m going to the throne room.” She thought about what her father had said about the use of these weapons. Well, if this weren’t dire need, she didn’t know what was. They were looking for the king. She ducked down as she heard soldiers running through the hall.
“To the throne room!”
Seamus.
She glanced back at Arissa. She couldn’t just leave her. Seamus would send someone to search her room.
“Arissa! They will find you here. You need to come with me.” The girl nodded through her tears. Anna paused for precious seconds. “Take a deep breath. You can do this. Stay behind me.” She glanced at her dress. “And pick up your skirt when you run.” With a sudden burst of anger, Anna sprinted out the door. Time to see how these gems work. She would protect her father. Two brut enemy soldiers charged down the hall toward them.
“We have the princess!” That was the last word one of them spoke, as a golden arrow pierced his chest. The other soldier lunged for her and also was met with an arrow at close range. He sank to the floor. Anna retrieved her arrows and bolted down the hall. Arissa whimpered behind her. They ducked into a drawing room. The soldiers passed by.
“They’ve bolted the throne room door!” They shouted. “Get the battering ram!”
Anna realized she could not make it in with her father now.
We need help.
At once, she remembered the beacons. Light the beacons, and Prince Lewis from the north would give them aid. That was the treaty. His kingdom was known for its swift horses, but once notified, it would still take him at least two days to arrive.
If Father is killed and Anwar’s troops attack, it might be our only chance.
Anna had to try.
The beacons were on the roof of the west side of the castle. She had no way of knowing whether the beacon guards were alive.
They ducked down a passage into another room and hurried up a dark, narrow, winding staircase. It was a treacherous climb. One missed step and they’d tumble to the bottom of the dungeons.
They finally reached the top.
“Stay here and keep quiet,” Anna whispered to Arissa. “If I don’t come back, stay here until the castle is still.” She pointed to a tiny cubby below the crack of a window.
I’ll be right back.
The small, wooden door creaked open into a tiny room at the top of the west tower. She only had to slip outside and travel down a covered stone hall to get to the beacon. Anna knew it hadn’t been lit for a lifetime. She hoped the oil was prepared.
She crept a short way toward the beacon and stopped to listen. Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out the sounds of clashing metal from the fighting below. She put her sword in its sheath and snatched a torch off the wall. The beacon was perhaps forty steps away. She could surely make it now. She hunched down below the banister so she could not be seen from below, blinking as the heat from the torch reached her face. The beacon sat atop a large stone platform with a huge metal bowl of oil inside. On she crept toward the goal. Suddenly a man jumped from beside the beacon and drew his sword.
“Intruder!” he shouted.
Anna fought the desire to run. Dropping the torch, she drew a golden arrow from her quiver. She released quickly, and the man fell in his tracks. She pulled the bloody arrow from his chest and sent it flying into the next enemy. She paused for a second, hand on another arrow. Biting her lip, she grabbed the torch again and dashed for the beacon. At the last second, she saw a form leap from the side of the platform—right at her. Anna just had time to dart to the other side, his sword slashing across one of her thighs. Pain flashed through her as she fell to the ground, and her fingers closed around the burning torch. She lunged forward and tossed it into the beacon. Whoosh! The fire was ablaze. The man paused and then bore down on Anna in full fury. A beacon on top of the mountain above answered. Within minutes, the northern kingdoms would know of their peril.
“No!” the man yelled, raising his sword. Anna rolled to the side. Then, without thinking, she leapt to the wall surrounding the beacon. Her leg throbbed with every step, but she pushed on. Looking down, s
he saw a small ledge. As he charged again, she dropped off the side, landing on the ledge. Anna breathed a prayer of thanks as she saw an open window. She was about to dash through it when the sound of a great horn stopped her in her tracks. She looked up, but the man wasn’t following.
The horn sounded again. A huge army was galloping through the far gates into the grounds. Stefan! She caught a brief glimpse of Farley, so Jack must be safe. The drawbridge was still up, blocking the army from coming to their aid. Hovering outside the window, she saw many of Seamus’s men surrounding the drawbridge. Two guarded the chains which raised and lowered the bridge—one on each side. Balancing herself carefully, she put an arrow to the string. She put all her weight on her good leg. Her balance wavered, but she didn’t dare look down.
No, it’s crazy. Those men are much too far away. Anyway, someone else would run up and stop the bridge from lowering. Anna frowned and took a deep breath. She had to try, even if it did waste an arrow. The armies must get in.
Stefan approached the drawbridge. “Open at once and fight like men!” he yelled, raising his sword. “What honor have you, sneaking in to capture our people with no battle?”
A great man yelled back, “Soon your father will be dead and these lands will be ours!”
“We will stay and fight whether he is alive or not!” Stefan yelled back. He signaled to his soldiers. “We will wait until you rot in there or come to face us. The day you leave will be your last!” As he said this, he lowered his arm. Showers of arrows fell, landing just on the other side of the bridge. Enemies dropped, others dashed to shelter. Anna glanced down again to see one of the gatekeepers fall. His side of the gate wavered as chaos ensued. As she peered down, the other man seemed to be tightening the chains on his side with a rope. His body blocked the rope, but then he left his post to run to the other side. Anna drew her arrow again, pointing directly at the rope. “Please, let this arrow be true,” she said out loud. She aimed as best she could and released. She could hardly watch, but by some miracle, the arrow landed on the rope, splitting it in two. That side of the bridge lurched forward.
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