Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(37)

“No!” Aurora cried. “We can’t.”

“Aurora, you’re exhausted. Just a short rest and we’ll be on the way. I promise we won’t be long.”

Aurora glanced down at Justina. She gently bit her lower lip and consented with a nod.

Gawyn knew she was concerned about Damien. As was he. But he had to be realistic. Both Justina and Aurora had been up all night. They had experienced horrendous death. It was a man’s world to deal with that type of violence. A woman had no place in it. And he wanted to shelter Justina. He had wanted to, but he had failed.

When they reached a small stream, Gawyn lifted his arm from Justina and helped Aurora dismount. Then he led the horse to the stream, allowing him to drink. He wished he had a flask of ale for the women, but he had ridden out of the castle without any provisions, intent on finding Justina. His gaze swept her. She stared at the ground, her long dark hair hanging in waves past her slumping shoulders. Her brown dress was stained with smears of blood. She knew about Adam. Had she been there when it happened? It didn’t matter where she had been. The only thing that mattered was that she was safe. His gaze moved to Aurora who was staring at the castle. And Aurora...

He was glad she was alive. Very glad.

“We’ll make our way to the sally port. Steward Thomas is waiting there.” He touched Aurora’s arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll be home soon.” She glanced at him and nodded, but there was no relief in her eyes.

“Are the gates closed?” she asked.

Gawyn nodded. “When I left, the castle was sealed. The Hungars had not attacked, but we knew they were out there.”

She looked back at the wall. “Because we didn’t return.”

“Lewis made it back from Auch and told us the Hungars attacked. Aurora, we went to the falls looking for you.”

She nodded again. “I decided to go to McGregan Clearing. It was closer to the castle. Safer, I thought.”

He grabbed her arms and turned her to face him. “You didn’t know. How could you? This is not your fault.”

“I am lady of the castle.” Tears entered her blue eyes. “I made the choice to picnic there.”

“And on any other day, it would have been fine. A perfect day to frolic in the grass. You had guards with you.”

“My ladies... All of them... My cousin.” Her voice broke.

“Aurora,” Gawyn said firmly, his fingers gripping her arms tightly. “Your people need you now. Damien needs you.”

She looked back at the wall, as if she could see him and blinked away her tears. When she finally spoke, her voice held conviction and authority. “Then why did we stop?”

Gawyn grinned in satisfaction. “We’ll leave in a moment.” He turned to Justina. She was watching them with weary eyes. Her lips turned down at the corners. He knew she was tired, but also knew her lower lip trembled from sadness. He moved over to her and lifted her chin with his finger. “Are you okay?”

She sighed. “No. But I’ll make it to the castle.”

He couldn’t resist brushing a strand of her hair from her cheek and letting his fingers linger against her skin. When he knew she had gone after Adam, risking her own life, some part of him went mad with worry. But she was safe now. “I wish I could have saved him.”

Justina shook her head. “I know. You would have if you were there. But you weren’t.”

He took her hands and kissed each one. “I’m sorry.”

She wrapped her arms around him and he squeezed her tightly, holding her, comforting her as best he could. She buried her face against his shoulder.

“Gawyn,” Aurora called. “What’s that?” She pointed off to the distance toward the castle.

Gawyn followed her gaze. Just before the city walls, in the clearing to the right, there was a glimmering light that grew brighter as he watched. It could be nothing other than a fire. As they watched, another joined. Dread and apprehension filled Gawyn. “It’s the Hungars. Time to go.” He lifted Aurora onto the saddle. He turned to Justina. “Sorry, but we have to hurry. You must ride.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he lifted her and settled her behind Aurora. His gaze shifted to the flames. Campfires. They were laying siege to the castle. He took the reins of the horse and began to jog toward the castle.

The problem was those fires were close to the sally port. Very close.





Chapter 15


Gawyn jogged beside the horse, keeping a watchful gaze toward the sally port. He purposefully went to the other side of the city wall, trying to remain under the cover of the trees. The sun was rising behind him and he knew this wasn’t a good thing. The cover of darkness would be gone. He paused just before the wide clearing that stretched before them. If they could make it across the clearing and the moat that surrounded the city wall, only the massive wall of the city stood in their way. It didn’t look good. He forced himself to focus. One obstacle at a time.

Gawyn breathed heavily, but he never stopped scanning the area, looking for Hungars or a way into the village. The large wall was all encompassing, circling the village. The moat ran in a semicircle around the city wall, connecting to Sterling river in two spots. “Aurora, do you know how the castle gets its water?”

“There is a well in the center of the village and another inside the castle,” she answered.