Bastien nodded, grim. “Their desire to rule has never been a secret.”
I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself. I was here in this strange, unnerving mountain castle with Bastien because, well, I’d had no choice but to come with him. Even if I hadn’t sprained my ankle I’d have been lucky to survive an hour on my own in the woods. But this was all getting so complicated now. I just need to get back to my family. I need to know that Grace and Heath are alive.
“But why would the hunters agree to spare them?” I asked. “Spare any of them at all?”
“Perhaps their intentions for our realm are more pernicious,” Bastien whispered back. “Perhaps they do not seek to simply eradicate us all, but rather, gain… a foothold. Control. At least, where they can.”
“But your cousin, he gave you the crown. He said you could rule.”
Bastien smiled bitterly. “Did you really see truth in his eyes when he said that?”
“No,” I admitted. “But… don’t you have any friends here? Any alliances at all who would stand against your cousin and uncle? After all, you are the rightful ruler after your father.”
Pain flashed in Bastien’s eyes. “I’m sure that I do. But it is too risky to try to communicate with such persons now. We do not have the time. If my suspicions are correct, I pose a threat to both my cousin and uncle, as well as the hunters’ influence over this place. They will not give me the chance to cause an uprising.”
My head spun. “They would kill you?” I whispered.
“They already tried,” Bastien muttered.
Oh, God. “What are we going to do?”
He paused, releasing a slow breath. “We need to leave, once darkness falls.”
Victoria
Leave and go where? I wondered, but he did not give me a chance to ask that question. He pressed a finger against my lips, silencing me once again and giving me a stern look, before taking my hand and pulling me out of the closet.
He picked up the satchel he had stuffed with weapons, along with the belt he had attached a bow to, and put them in the closet we had just been standing in before covering them with the hems of the long cloaks and closing the door.
“Follow me,” he whispered. He led me out of the room and into a small bedroom that contained a fireplace and a double bed draped in blankets. Perhaps Bastien had detected that I was cold, because he immediately went to the hearth and began to kindle it until a fire blazed. I freed my feet and ankles from my socks and boots before sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace. I inched as close to the halo of warmth as I could.
“So we just wait here until dark?” I mouthed to him.
He nodded, before his gaze fell to my injured ankle, still swollen and bright red. He turned and left the room, returning about a minute later with a long piece of white cotton. He took a seat next to me and, not even asking for permission, began to wind the fabric around and around my ankle until he’d created a surprisingly firm support for it.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He did not acknowledge my thanks as he sat back again.
“What makes you think we’re safe here until dark?” I asked.
“I never said that we were,” he replied. “But I know my cousin to be a coward, and I doubt he will strike when I’m awake. It would be so much easier to wait until I fall asleep. Hence, I say we should leave at nightfall.”
He stood up and went to the oval window. I could only imagine how breathtaking the view was; I did not want to get up to witness it myself just now. My ankle had stopped hurting and I was feeling comfortably warm by the fire. I just sat watching him as he gazed out somberly. A prince who had lost everything—his family, and now even his kingdom. Contemplating Bastien’s plight gave me some perspective on my own situation.
He turned unexpectedly and caught me watching him. I looked away, turning my focus back to the fire.
He cleared his throat. “I suggest that you lie down and try to sleep for a while. I don’t know when you’ll next get the chance,” he said.
I nodded. I supposed he was right, but I was under no illusion that I would be able to sleep. Still, I crawled over to the bed and slid myself beneath the warm covers.
He turned his back on me again and resumed his melancholy stare through the window. I continued watching his back and pondering over all that I was yet to understand about this man, this stranger… until the crackling of the fire and the heat billowing around the room put me to sleep.
I woke to firm hands gripping my shoulders. My eyes shot open and I found myself in a daze of confusion as I gazed up into Bastien’s gray eyes, alight with urgency. The room was dark now. The lanterns had been extinguished, and the fire no longer crackled. Fear surging through me, I sat bolt upright.
“What is—” My whisper trailed off.
I heard it.