Midnight Shadow

by Laurel O'Donnell

  “And what does that have to do with my daughter?”

  “I found the mask here, in her room,” Terran explained.

  Bria shifted her gaze to Terran to find his eyes on her once again. She wanted to bury her face in the safety of her father’s chest as she had when she was young, but this was something she had to face. Bria lifted her chin in the face of Terran’s accusations.

  “Tell your father, Bria,” Terran said. “Tell your father of your rendezvous.”

  His voice was a mocking caress, teasing, coaxing, a trap waiting to be sprung. Bria closed her mouth defiantly. She met Terran’s gaze evenly and could have sworn she saw hell’s fire burning deep in his black eyes. But despite his heated glare, she would never tell her father she was the Midnight Shadow.

  “Tell him your secret,” Terran urged softly.

  Bria straightened away from her father’s embrace, bravely facing Terran’s vindictive gaze, refusing to relinquish her secret.

  “Tell us how you’ve been secretly meeting with the Midnight Shadow,” Terran finished.

  For a long moment, she couldn’t move. She thought she’d misheard him.

  But he continued in a dark, dangerous voice. “Tell your father how he tasted your charms before I was anywhere near you,” Terran all but purred.

  She wanted to laugh out loud as relief swept her body. He didn’t know! He didn’t know she was the Midnight Shadow!

  She swung her relieved gaze to her father, but he wore no smile on his lips. Her eyes shifted to her grandfather. He wasn’t smiling, either. Her happiness died within her.

  “Have you been meeting this Midnight Shadow?” her father asked.

  Bria’s desperate gaze swung to her only ally. Harry stared at her, and she realized the seriousness of Terran’s accusation. But how could she deny it? If she told the truth, she’d be locked up as a thief. If she didn’t, she’d be labeled a harlot.

  Terran crumpled the mask in his hand. “If Lady Bria does not marry me, she will spend the rest of her life in my dungeons for aiding a criminal.”

  Silence filled the room. Terran’s threat hung in the air.

  Bria opened her mouth to object, to deny his accusation, but she knew whatever she could say would only get her deeper into trouble. She closed her mouth and her gaze swiveled to her father. He wouldn’t allow Terran to throw her in the dungeon. He’d protect her, as he always had.

  But the silence stretched and her father’s face remained as still as stone. He turned his gaze from Terran to Bria, and for just a moment Bria thought she saw disappointment shimmer in his eyes. Then he looked away from her, rubbing his left arm.

  Complete and utter dread welled up from the very depths of Bria’s soul.

  Lord Delaney nodded. “We will work out the details.”

  Bria stepped toward her father, her hands stretched out beseechingly, her heart pounding in her chest. “Father, you can’t!”

  Terran seized her arm and glared into her eyes. “You will not share your virtue with any other man.” He shoved the mask at her.

  Bria began to shake her head and deny his accusations, but Terran turned from her and followed her father from her room, brushing past Harry.

  Bria’s desolate gaze fell to the black mask in her hand. “What have I done, Grandfather?” she whispered.

  Harry placed a hand on her shoulder.

  But Bria found no comfort in his touch. If she were living in Castle Knowles as Terran’s wife, how could she continue to be the people’s defender? How could she continue to sneak out in the middle of the night to defy her husband?

  How could she marry her enemy?

  ***

  The next morning, Terran sat in a chair at a table in the Great Hall, still simmering, still fiercely angry from the night before. Bria was sleeping with his enemy. His damned enemy! Where Garret was a rival, the Midnight Shadow was a criminal, stealing what little was left in his coffers. He’d kill the man with his own hands.

  Kenric slid onto the bench beside him. “Congratulations on your betrothal,” he said, motioning to a maid for an ale.

  Terran grunted.

  “So my plan worked,” Kenric said gleefully. “Did you have to restrain her?”

  Terran cast Kenric a hard glare. Kenric’s insatiable desire to overpower the weak was repulsive, but it made him a good sheriff. People were afraid of him. They didn’t defy him. There had been no refusals to give up their tithe. “It didn’t go as planned,” Terran said.

  “You raped her?” Kenric asked joyfully.

  Terran’s open palm hit the table hard, causing a few heads to turn. “God’s blood, man!” he thundered. “I do not rape women.”

  Kenric shrugged slightly as a serving girl eased hesitantly up to him, eyeing him with fear, and placed an ale in front of him. He took a long gulp of the ale as the girl raced away. “You might have to to consummate your marriage,” he finally said. “Rumor has it she wants nothing to do with you.”

  Terran snorted. “That is no rumor. Lady Bria has made it abundantly clear she doesn’t want to be my wife.” Terran’s eyes turned watchfully to the double doors. “She has a lover.”

  “Lady Bria has a lover?” Kenric echoed.

  “And he’s not just any man,” Terran said. “He’s the Midnight Shadow.”

  Kenric almost spilled his ale, but quickly grabbed the mug with both hands.

  “I want him caught,” Terran demanded.

  “You have a plan?”

  Terran nodded. Unable to sleep, he had been thinking of one all night. “Spread the word two tax collectors will be riding in tonight with the southern part of the village’s tithe. You’ll be waiting for him.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Bria clutched her bag tightly to her chest. She’d waited as long as she could to leave the castle. Deb had told her of two tax collectors returning from collecting the tithe on the southern edge of Terran’s lands. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  Bria snuck through the dark, still courtyard to the stables. She sighed slightly as she pushed the door open. She had made it. No one had seen her. She entered and shut the door behind her. There was a thrill in sneaking out to become the Midnight Shadow, a danger that excited her. And every night upon her safe return, a victorious feeling soared through her, making her feel exuberant, as if she were floating on a cloud. Despite the fact she’d almost been discovered, she found herself again tempting fate.

  A slight grin curled her lip as she moved through the stable. The Midnight Shadow would not be denied.

  “Going to see him again, aren’t you?”

  Bria stifled the surprised cry that rose in her throat. She quickly dropped the bag behind a bundle of hay, hiding it from view, before turning to confront her questioner.

  Terran stood silhouetted against the window of the stables. He approached her. “Who is he?”

  Bria stood her ground, trembling fiercely. She could not tell him. Ever. He was the cause of such hardship for his people. He’d never understand. Besides, she’d tried to tell him, tried to explain about Mary’s death, but he would hear none of it. “I don’t know who you mean,” she replied sweetly.

  He seized her shoulders, dragging her close to him. “You know,” he hissed, so close she could almost feel the movement of his lips against hers. “Tell me,” he commanded.

  She lifted her chin slightly, but the movement only thrust her lips closer to his.

  He looked at her mouth, and she suddenly felt a hot tingling in her lips. The next instant, he pulled her closer, pressing his lips to hers, kissing her with an angry insistence. Shock held her immobile. The vehemence in his kiss frightened her. Because beneath his anger, she sensed something else. Desperation. Need.

  And her own body responded to that need, to the urgency building in her. She lifted her hand to touch his arm, and her fingers brushed the hard muscle hidden by his tunic.

  Terran responded by pulling her tighter, closer against him. He plundered her mouth until all h
er resistance was gone. The swirling passion of her emotion caught her up in its whirlwind and buffeted her until she was dizzy.

  He thrust his hand beneath her dress, his searing touch burning across her chest to her breast, enflaming it with heated strokes of his thumb, until her nipple was as hard as a pebble. She was breathless, panting against Terran’s mouth, groaning with the awakened need that scorched through his body into hers.

  She should stop him, but, God help her, she wanted him to show her. She wanted Terran to teach her what was making her feel this way. She wanted him to...

  He reached down and cupped her buttocks, pulling her against his hardness. She gasped as the core of her being brushed against him. Her emotions swept her up and up, until she was unable to remember who she was or what she was doing. His hand stroked her breast, teasing and caressing. His other hand moved lower and lower, closer to the spot where she needed him.

  Terran pushed her back to the wall, shoving his leg between hers. Instinctively, her hips moved, rubbing over his leg. The mounting urgency, the growing need, filled her until it was all she knew, all she cared about.

  Suddenly, he stepped back, releasing her.

  She almost fell forward. She was breathing hard, panting for completion. She stepped toward him, but he grabbed her shoulders to hold her at arm’s length. He studied her face.

  Finally, Terran dropped his hands. “Go to your lover with my kiss on your lips and my touch on your skin and know that when we are wed, I will have you and you will belong to me. Completely.” He turned away and headed toward the door.

  Bria watched his straight back and almost cried out to him. She felt a longing and want whirling inside her the likes of which she had never known. For a moment, she thought of telling him she was the Midnight Shadow, just so he’d kiss her and touch her again.

  But slowly, rationality returned. She wanted him to understand why she felt the need to continue her rides, but he would never listen to her. Betrothed or not, he was her enemy. There were people who needed her. His people.

  She turned her back to him and moved to her steed.

  ***

  Terran crossed the inner ward to the stairs of the keep with long strides.

  Damn her! He was trembling with such desire he felt powerless before her. He clenched his fists, fighting the feelings threatening to overtake him. He wasn’t used to battling an unseen foe. He couldn’t fight these feelings with swords or lances.

  He cursed silently. She is just a woman. How do I battle this control she has over me?

  He turned back to stare at the stables. Am I mad? I’ve left her to go to another man. I will not permit it!

  The stable door flew open and Bria emerged on her steed.

  Instinctively, Terran stepped toward her.

  But she raced past him toward the outer gatehouse.

  I have to stop her, Terran thought. He took two steps toward the stables before realizing he’d never reach her in time.

  By the time he got his horse out of the stables, she’d be gone into the Midnight Shadow’s arms.

  Frustration consumed him as he watched her ride out of the castle.

  ***

  The Midnight Shadow hid in the foliage waiting for the two tax collectors. Suddenly, the sounds of horses’ hooves came to her ears, the clip-clop against the dirt road as they walked. She stepped out into the road, still hidden by the shadows of the forest. The moon was but a sliver tonight, giving just enough light for her to see them in the open road, but not enough to expose her position. Slowly, she saw them coming down the road in the dim light. Only two men.

  Something prickled the back of her neck. What kind of fools would be riding so slowly when their bags were heavy with coin? She wasn’t the only thief to travel these roads this late. And where was their escort?

  As they neared, she could make out the white horse one rode on. She waited until they were almost a horse’s length away to rush forward and seize the bridles of their mounts. “Good evening, gentlemen,” she greeted in her customary low whisper.

  They glanced at each other. They didn’t seem at all surprised to see her. Again that feeling clawed at the back of her neck. They hadn’t even reached for their weapons. Her hand immediately dipped to the hilt of her sword. She drew her weapon.

  Their gazes lifted to somewhere behind her.

  A trap! The thought exploded through her mind.

  Footsteps thudded on the road behind her. She jerked to turn, but a voice cut her off. “Don’t move.” The familiar voice left her cold with fear and foreboding. Kenric’s voice.

  Her limbs went stiff and her breathing shallowed.

  ‘‘The Midnight Shadow,” he scoffed. “Just a common thief. It’ll be a great pleasure to see who you really are.”

  She whirled, bringing her sword up and smashing it against his. He growled and brought his weapon down, cutting into her left arm.

  The Midnight Shadow bit back a cry of pain. She whirled between the horses, shouting loudly to spook them. They reared slightly, inhibiting Kenric for a moment.

  Her left arm throbbed painfully, but she dashed behind the horses and swatted them so they jerked forward. She circled around one animal and found herself face to face with a guard. She met his lunge, knocking his blade cleanly aside, and parried with a cut to his stomach. He cried out and she sidestepped his fall, then turned toward the forest.

  “Get him!” Kenric cried. “Fools! Don’t let him escape!”

  The pounding of a horse’s gallop sounded behind her and she quickly entered the forest, moving abruptly to an area too thick for the horses to follow. Her left arm ached and she cradled it to her side as she ran through the branches.

  Twigs exploded behind her and foliage crunched and crackled as her would-be captors gave chase.

  Her mind slid back to another time when she was racing through the forest running from Kenric. She pushed the thought aside, gathering her cape beneath her arm so it wouldn’t snag on the branches of the trees.

  She had to think. Think of some way to escape.

  She ducked behind a tree, quickly summing up her position. A fallen tree two paces to her left, a small clearing large enough to fight in to her right, and straight ahead more forest, more darkness in which to hide. She’d become very good at disappearing into and out of the darkness. Her cape was perfect for concealing her. She lurched forward, but froze as Kenric emerged, panting hard, from the copse of trees she’d just come through.

  His dark gaze swept the area, but he didn’t see her. “Spread out,” he ordered as two more men emerged and finally a third. “If he escapes, it is your lives.”

  The Midnight Shadow eyed Kenric. Such pure evil. Hatred burned in her veins and righteousness roused her spirit. He was a head taller than she was, and stronger. She couldn’t outfight this man. She had to use her brain.

  Two of the men broke off from Kenric and headed toward the clearing. Kenric signaled the last man to head toward the forest, toward her. Kenric moved in the direction of the fallen tree.

  The Midnight Shadow remained absolutely still, letting herself become one with the night, as one of the men passed within six feet of her. She held her breath until he moved out of sight, afraid he would hear the simple act of her taking air into her lungs. She had to wait until they’d passed and then double back for her horse.

  There was no coin, no tithe. It had all been a ruse to ensnare her.

  She’d been arrogant to think they wouldn’t try to stop her. She was taking gold from Terran. He’d do everything in his power to catch her.

  She watched Kenric’s man disappear into the darkness and stepped out of her cover, moving back the way she’d come.

  ***

  Bria rode for a long time that night, crossing and re-crossing her path, making sure no one followed her. She pressed a torn piece of fabric to her wound, staunching the flow of blood. She was lucky. The blade had just grazed her; the cut wasn’t deep.

  Only a few hours before dawn, she
rode back into Castle Delaney, stabled her horse, and headed toward the keep.

  Someone called out her name and froze her in her tracks.

  She hesitated for a long moment, fearing it was Terran. She knew she couldn’t hide the pain shooting up her arm. But when she turned, she saw her grandfather. Relief filled her so completely she almost wept. Her steps quickened as she approached him.

  “You shouldn’t be out this late, Bria,” he chastised. “If Knowles –”

  He must have seen the pain in her eyes, for suddenly he grabbed her shoulders, demanding, “What’s wrong?”

  She winced as agony shot through her arm to her shoulder. Harry’s gaze quickly scanned her body, her shoulders, her waist, her arms for an injury. “You’re hurt.” He seized her hand, leading her into the keep and down the hall. “What happened?” he whispered urgently.

  Bria shook her head, allowing him to lead her through the empty hallways. He brought her to his room and sat her on the bed, pausing to light a candle. “Where is it?”

  “My left arm.” Bria eased her arm out of her dress. Though her movements were slow, pain sliced through her shoulder. She hadn’t hooked the side of her dress when she put on her regular clothes. The shooting agony prevented her from reaching the hooks. She had wrapped it as best she could with a piece of her cape.

  Harry unwrapped the material, inspecting the wound with a critical eye. He pressed the material to the wound. “Hold it here,” he ordered. “I’ll be back.” He left the room.

  Bria sat alone in the darkness. Her ally. Darkness had hidden her from Kenric. He’d be furious with her escape, would double his efforts to find her. There would be more traps. She’d barely made it out of this one, and with nothing to show but a sword wound in her arm. That would do nothing to help anyone.

  The door opened, and Harry entered with a bowl of water and some clean rags. He sat down beside her, placing the bowl on the floor. “Would you like to explain what happened?”