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“You’re going to regret that,” he said, regaining his cool. “We could have done this the nice way.”

“I’m done believing anything you say,” Rosalie ground out. Better to face the situation head-on than be taken in for a second time and lose all faith in herself.

Jace turned to one of the men who had abducted her. “Why did you bringher?” he snapped. “I told you to find whoever is frequenting that castle after all these years.” His tone was commanding, and none of the men protested at his attitude, despite the gap in their ages. “I’ve already squeezed her for all she’s worth.”

Shock rocked Rosalie for the second time. She barely even heard his insult in the face of the bigger revelation. Jace wasn’t just here with these men—he was the leader she had been searching for. He had been the one to send them after her.

Except it was clear he hadn’t been targeting her specifically. His surprise at seeing her had been genuine, even if his words hadn’t been.

“Aye, and that she is,” the man replied, standing firm. “She was the one we saw hanging around the castle.”

Rosalie noted there was no mention of the girl who had escaped, and she was relieved for Daphne’s sake as well as her own. Perhaps, when Daphne managed to fetch help, her rescuers would take Jace by surprise.

A new man stepped into the clearing, cutting off Jace’s response to his underling.

“There’s someone coming,” the new arrival said tersely.

Rosalie frowned. Even by the most optimistic measuring, it was too soon for a rescue team to have arrived at Daphne’s fetching. But from the reaction of Jace and his men, they weren’t expecting any more allies.

Hope blossomed inside her. She didn’t know what distraction was approaching, but if she was prepared, she might be able to seize the chance to escape.

She squeezed her wrists together and started subtly working one of her hands out of the loose binding. When her opportunity came, she was going to be ready.

Chapter 6

Dimitri

Dimitri gazed around the entryway of the castle. It didn’t smell musty anymore, but it was still an unappealing space. Or perhaps it was the silence and solitude that rendered it so.

He needed to find his pack and prepare the last of his food supplies, but it was hard to muster much care for his next meal. Rosalie and Daphne had spoken as if food would magically appear on his plate, but if that was within the manor’s capacity, it had yet to extend him such treatment. If he wanted to eat, he needed to provide the food himself, and that meant replenishing his supplies. He would need to walk into Thebarton the next day.

His pulse quickened at the idea that he might run into Rosalie again, but his need was legitimate. He was nearly out of food. And the walk would provide some activity in the day, at least. He felt no desire to spend an entire day alone in the manor.

He was still lingering in the entryway, lost in thought and reluctant to venture further into the empty building, when he heard footsteps. Someone was approaching the manor, and they were coming at a flat sprint.

He hurried back to the door, pulling it open and stepping outside in time to meet Daphne on the front steps. Herexpression transformed at the sight of him, her relief palpable. But she bent over, gasping too hard for speech.

“What is it?” He hurried down to her, alarm coursing through him. “Where’s Rosalie?” He looked past her, but there was no sight of the other girl.

What could have happened to propel Daphne across the border of the manor grounds—and at such speed? None of the possibilities that presented themselves were pleasant.

“Is it Rosalie?” he asked again, barely holding in his impatience as Daphne struggled to regain her breath. “Is she injured? Does she need help getting home?”

“Abducted,” Daphne panted out at last, making his blood freeze. “Three men attacked me. She fought them, and they seized her instead.” Her face crumpled. “I didn’t see where they took her.”

“You did the right thing,” Dimitri assured her, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. He hadn’t made the mistake of leaving it behind that morning, which meant there would be no need for even a moment’s delay. “If they’d taken you too, no one would know about it. Can you show me where the attack happened?”

He hesitated and shook his head. “No, you’re too exhausted. Can you describe it for me?”

Daphne looked like she wanted to protest, but since her breathing still hadn’t normalized, she couldn’t do so.

“It was right after the third bend,” she panted out. “They came from the trees to the east.”

“Thank you!” he said. “You go inside and rest. Take the door to the left of the entryway. There’s a sitting room with a banked fire and provisions—such as they are. I’ll bring Rosalie back here when I find her.”

Daphne blinked but didn’t argue. Rosalie might not want to enter the manor grounds, but he didn’t know what state shewould be in, and the manor was the closest building to where she’d been taken.

He was determined not to think of the possibility that she might be badly injured or dead. Thoughts like that would only get in the way of what needed to be done. If it turned out she needed a doctor, he would deal with that when the time came.