Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(30)

“Another girlie.”

Justina opened her eyes. The world was blurred and unfocused through her tears. She heard someone moving behind her. She didn’t want to let Adam go. Half of her didn’t care if it was a Hungar. Half of her wanted to go with Adam. The other half wanted to kill every Hungar she could find. She released her hold on her brother and pulled her dagger from the strap around her leg. She slowly turned to face him.

A large, compact man with long brown hair and a ragged brown beard stood in the shadows of the trees. He wore the pelt of an animal across his huge shoulders. He looked her up and down and then laughed. “The boy had a little pig poker like that.” He held up his hand. A small, thin line of blood marred his palm. “Even cut me.”

A whirlwind of rage swirled inside Justina. She didn’t want to know what this barbarian had done to Adam. She rose to her feet, holding the dagger before her. “You did this?”

“I carved him up real good,” the Hungar said with a grin. “Someone should have shown him how to use that poker.”

“He’s just a boy!” Justina hollered.

“A stupid boy. No one cuts me.” He took a step toward her.

Rage, hatred, and an incredible sorrow overwhelmed her.

A thunk sounded from behind the Hungar and his head jerked forward. He grunted with the movement and lifted a hand to his head. He looked at his fingers which were stained with blood. He turned.

Aurora stood behind him holding a thick tree branch. She backed away, holding the branch before her.

He grabbed the branch and tore it from her hands, sending it flying away. Then he hit her with enough force to knock her to the ground.

Justina launched herself at him, jumping on his back. She ran the dagger across his neck, slicing deep. “My father taught me how to use this pig poker,” she whispered into his ear.

He reached for her, but she leapt from his back. He whirled to her, blood gushing down the front of his stained tunic. He stumbled, grasping his throat, before toppling forward like a felled tree.

Justina stood over him, watching as the final throes of death shook his body. She felt a morbid satisfaction watching the life drain from him. It felt better that he was not taking a breath, that he was not wasting air by living.

But it didn’t bring Adam back. Adam. She turned to her brother. He lay on his back; his arms open as if calling to her for a hug. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t go to him. The anger, the hate did not make him rise to his feet. It hadn’t brought him back. She threw back her head, staring through the leaf dotted sky. Anguish consumed her, filling her body. She wanted to scream and shout and... cry. He wasn’t coming back. Nothing could bring him back.

She was supposed to take care of him. Just like her father. She was supposed to take care of them. She should have watched Adam. Helped him. Disgust consumed her. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take care of Adam and she couldn’t take care of her father. She couldn’t protect them. An anguished cry bubbled in her throat.

A groan sounded from behind her. She whirled to see Aurora sitting up. Fury erupted inside of Justina. Her father’s murderer’s wife! How could she kiss the assassin? How could she bear to be near the killer? How could she love him? And yet, Adam had fallen beneath her spell, too. Contempt and loathing churned within her. Adam would never have been here if it wasn’t for Lady Aurora!

Justina stepped toward Aurora. “I hate you!” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I hate you for being so beautiful. So kind. So...stupid!” She swiped a sleeve across her face. She signaled behind her at Adam with a swipe of her arm. “This is your fault.” She lifted the dagger high above her head to end Aurora’s life.





Chapter 12


Gawyn glanced down the hallway toward the large double doors leading to the inner courtyard. Two soldiers stood indecisively, staring at him as though he had the answers. Gawyn glanced at the door to the Judgement Room. Damien was in no condition to instruct the soldiers. He couldn’t run a country. That had been Aurora’s job. Aurora.

Gawyn’s heart twisted for Damien. She had been kind and good and an amazing leader. And Damien had loved her.

Gawyn’s mind wandered to another upstart of a girl. A beautiful girl. Justina had gone after Adam, who was with Aurora. A sickening dread washed over him. If Aurora was…gone, where was Justina? He wanted to go and look for her. Surely, she was not with Adam. Surely, she had found her brother and made it to safety before the Hungars attacked.

Every instinct he had was telling him to look for her. He had to know she was unharmed.

Yet, his brother needed him. How could he leave him now? Good God! He was captain of the guard. He had to do something. He marched down the hallway to the soldiers, only to turn the corner to find the hallway filled with concerned peasants, nobles, and merchants. Gawyn hesitated.

Steward Thomas and Constable Grancourt, an older knight with graying hair and a stoic gaze, approached him.

“Captain, most of the village is inside the walls,” Grancourt announced. “The gates are closed and secure.”

Panic seized Gawyn’s heart, clenching tight. How was Justina going to get back inside? He grabbed Thomas’s arm. “Is Justina here?”

“The girl staying as a guest? The farmer’s niece? No.” Thomas shook his head.

Gawyn pursed his lips. He was going after her. He glanced back at the Judgement Room door. “Keep those gates closed.” That would keep Damien in the castle. His worst fear was that his brother would run off in some futile attempt to kill the Hungars for what they had done, knowing full well he would be killed. “Keep those walkways manned. I want every eye looking for the Hungars. They’re coming.”