Ensnared (Knights of Brethren #3)(63)

More blood drizzled from his nose, over his lips, and down his chin. He coughed again, and blood sprayed from his mouth.

My mind thundered with a dozen thoughts, and one boomed louder than the others. Was Bernhard suffering from the bleeding curse?

I shook my head. How could that be? According to everything Sven and Mikaela had told me, the jotunn had passed the bleeding curse to Sven’s firstborn.

Whatever the case, I had to use the moment of distraction to break free and get to Mikaela. By now, the soldiers would have arrived at Pontus’s room. Did I still have time to intercept them before they dragged her outside?

I dashed past Bernhard’s men, and they made no move to prevent me from going. Either they were too consumed by what was happening to Bernhard, or without his direction, they didn’t care what became of me.

I raced along the passageway, trying to remember how to get to the area of the castle where servants like the Sagacite had their rooms. All the while I ran, I prayed I wouldn’t be too late.

As I started up one of the stairwells, I bumped into an older servant coming down. Upon steadying the thin frame, I found myself looking into familiar eyes. “Nanna?” Her cheeks were wet with tears that she rapidly brushed away.

“Where’s Mikaela?” Was I too late? Was that why Nanna was crying?

“I set her free,” she whispered.

“Free?”

“Not more than thirty minutes ago.”

My muscles tightened with the need to go after her. “Where to?”

“I told her to wait in your secret hot spring along the cliff. If she made it, that’s where she’ll be.”

I released Nanna and spun, tripping down the steps in my haste. I needed to thank her and wish her well, but I couldn’t waste another second. And ultimately, I knew Nanna wouldn’t want me to stop, that she wanted me to chase after Mikaela.

As I bolted out of the castle, the air was filled with thick smoke and the bailey was in chaos, with every available castle staff and guard working to extinguish a fire blazing amongst the thatch above the forge.

Hadn’t the forge sustained a fire in the thatch already this spring? How had it caught ablaze again, especially since it was new and not as dry as the older thatch on some of the other structures?

I didn’t stop to get answers. Something told me this catastrophe had been created on purpose, that perhaps Nanna had rallied the other bondservants to cause a distraction so that she could free Mikaela and allow us to escape from Bernhard.

Searching for Mikaela, I darted around people and animals and water buckets and made my way to the stable. I found that my horse was still halfway saddled, that the groom had abandoned his task, likely to fight the flames.

I cinched the girth and climbed astride. Then while everyone was still consumed with the fire, I headed through the gatehouse and kicked my horse into a gallop toward Trollveggen Cliff.

I rode low and hard, all the while glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one followed me. By the time I steered my horse out of the open and into the brush, I allowed myself a full breath. As far as I could tell, not a soul was in sight. None of Bernhard’s knights had noticed my leaving, or if they had, they were too busy to care.

I slid down from my mount, hoping Mikaela had made it away from the castle undetected too. I hiked along the narrow trail, the rushing of waterfalls and the crashing of the fjords below the only sound.

My mind flashed to the image of Bernhard, the blood flowing from his nose and mouth. What would happen to him? I would never wish death upon him, not even after the way he’d abused me. But maybe the illness would help him see the evilness of his ways and give him a change of heart.

Upon reaching the section of the path that led to the hot spring, I secured my steed in a secluded area and then climbed up as stealthily as I always did. When I reached the top, I crouched low and expelled my relief.

She was there, sitting near the edge, her feet drawn up, her arms circled around her legs and skirt. Her hair hung unfettered, with two thin braids pulled back at her temple and tied with ribbons. She stared through the steam into the clear water. From the tenseness of her expression and the stiffness of her body, I could tell she was worried.

I wanted to say something, but emotion rose swiftly and clogged my throat. I topped the ridge and began my descent toward her.

Upon catching sight of me, she released a small cry and scrambled up. When I reached her, she threw herself against me at the same time that I wrapped my arms around her.

She shuddered and pressed in, as though she hadn’t expected to see me again.

“I’m sorry, Mikaela,” I whispered against her hair. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I didn’t know until I returned that Bernhard was holding you hostage to manipulate me.”

She pulled back, her brows pinching above her beautiful, expressive eyes. “I hope you didn’t give in to his demands.”

“I was tempted to. But I stayed strong.”

“Good.”

This wasn’t the time to share the details about Bernhard’s bleeding. We’d be able to share more in the hours and days to come. For now, I wanted to get her out of Romsdal and as far from Bernhard as I could.

Even with the urgency, I clung to her, needing to assure myself she was here and out of harm’s way. “I never should have left you behind.”

“You had to help Sven escape.”