Page 16 of Kingdom of Chains

‘You all right?’ he asked.

She looked around before focusing on him. ‘Yes.’

‘I need you to slow your breathing for me.’ He gave her a moment.

‘I am sorry,’ she said. ‘I am not usually that useless in a crisis.’

He nodded. ‘Fear can be a fickle beast.’

‘Isabel!’

She jumped at the sound of her name thundering down the corridor. Blackmane stepped back from her right before Hodge entered the hall.

‘I am here,’ she said, her voice barely carrying.

Lord Hodge jogged over to her, his face distraught. ‘Praise God. Where were you?’

She looked past him. ‘Where are Mother and Everard?’

‘Safely in their quarters, no doubt worried sick about you.’ He took hold of both her arms, looking her up and down. ‘You are unharmed?’

She shook her head. ‘Yes.’

Hodge turned to Blackmane. ‘Where did you find her?’

There was something in his demeanour that made him uneasy. ‘Hiding from the arrows’ was all he said. She could craft the rest of the story however she needed to. His gaze flicked to Isabel, who was kneading the skirt of her dress between her fingers. ‘I need to return to the wall.’

Hodge looked back at Isabel. ‘Are you going to thank the defender for returning you safely?’

Isabel let go of her skirt and looked between them. ‘Of course. Thank you for escorting me, defender. It was fortunate that you came across me during my walk.’

Hodge sniffed. ‘Very fortunate—especially given you had both retired for the evening.’ He paused. ‘We are both grateful.’

Blackmane nodded once, then exited the hall without a backwards glance.

CHAPTER 6

Isabel’s tongue moved in her mouth, tasting smoke. She lay on her back, still in yesterday’s clothes, staring up at the ceiling, while five-year-old memories pummelled her.

‘Ita! Wake up! Get up and open the door!’

She could still feel the unbearable heat coming from the flames licking the bottom of the door, heating the handle to skin-melting temperatures. She winced at the memory of taking hold of it, the creak and groan of the roof above her. Then Hodge had arrived, throwing a woollen blanket over her head and pulling her away from the door and out of the house.

Ita.

Isabel sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, pouring herself some water. She eyed the wilted daisy chain as she drank. Hope crept in every time she looked at those flowers. As she placed the cup down, she noticed fresh bruises on her wrists. Hodge had held her in an iron grip as he scolded her about leaving her quarters after dark. Endless ramblings about trust and how much she meant to him and how his life would be over if anything happened to her. He said all this while her wrists turned to powder in his hands.

The fact that he had found her alone with Blackmane had made it so much worse.

Rising, she grabbed the woollen blanket from the chair and drew it around her as she stepped into a pair of boots, not bothering to tie the laces. She exited her quarters and made her way outside. All was still and quiet now.

She climbed to the top of the wall, stepping onto it just as the sun reached the horizon, painting the castle in golden light and chasing away the shadows. She had a bird’s-eye view of the damage from up there and was surprised by how little there was. Blackmane had been right. Aside from some singeing of the lawn and gardens and soot covering the wall walk, everything was still standing. It had been too damp for any real harm to be done.

Her eyes went to the sky, wondering if Margery was close by and what she would have made of all the chaos.

‘I thought you would have learned to stay off the wall by now.’

Blackmane’s impatient tone had her looking over her shoulder. She took in his filthy face and the dark circles enclosing his eyes. ‘Have you not slept yet?’