Page 23 of Lion of Thunder (De Lohr Dynasty: Sons of de Lohr #5)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

E lysande hoped she never heard sounds like that again.

Sounds coming from a human body, no less. The sounds coming from her father’s solar as the men from Lioncross interrogated Olan were truly horrifying. Elysande had been under the stairs the entire time, and very close to the solar door, so she heard the initial defiance of Olan followed by refusals, denials, anger, accusations, and finally groans of pain that were reduced to screams.

Screams from the man who had betrayed her.

She should have put a stop to it. She should have rushed in and demanded that they leave him alone, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Olan had allowed Westley to fall into Fitz Walter’s hands, so with every snap, or sharp noise, or scream of pain, she cheered.

God help her, she cheered.

When they finally dragged Olan out of the chamber a few hours later, there was blood running out of his mouth, onto his tunic, and leaving a trail behind him. She heard one of the younger knights say something about teeth. Evidently, someone had systematically removed each one of Olan’s teeth for his refusal to confess until he only had a few left. Pain and exhaustion and fear had seen him admit to everything he’d done.

They hauled him down to the vault, nearly toothless, until they could determine what to do with him. Worse still, Marius had been in the solar the entire time, choking down the watered wine Christopher had made for him, horrified at what was happening and wondering why he wasn’t getting drunk enough to block it all out. Once they dragged Olan out of the solar, Elysande could hear her father vomiting.

It had been a ghastly situation altogether.

But Elysande wasn’t sorry for Olan, nor had she been particularly put off by a screaming man. For all she knew, Samson Fitz Walter was doing the same thing to Westley at that very moment, so she didn’t feel the least bit of sorrow for the knight she had once considered a friend. She didn’t consider him anything now. As the de Lohr knights trickled out of the keep and went about their business, she came out of hiding, but not until she made sure everyone related to de Lohr was gone. Timidly, she stuck her head into the solar to see if her father was still there.

He was.

Elysande stepped into the solar, watching her father as the man sat near the hearth with his head hanging and vomit at his feet. She took her gaze off him long enough to look around the chamber, at the blood on the floor, and as she peered closer, she could see bloodied teeth scattered around.

It didn’t even turn her stomach.

“Father?” she finally said, returning her attention to the man. “Marius, can you hear me?”

Marius’ head moved. Eyes that had been closed now opened. Slowly, he lifted his head, seeing his daughter standing several feet away.

“What are you doing in here?” he said in a raspy voice. “Get out, Ella. You should not be here.”

“And yet I am,” she said, coming closer. “Are they going to rescue Westley now?”

Marius’ gaze remained on her for a few tense moments before he looked away. “I do not know,” he muttered. “I do not have any control over anything they do, so how should I know this? They just tortured Olan right in front of me. Ripped his teeth out until he screamed. Screamed! ”

“He deserved it,” Elysande said coldly. “He is the one who delivered Westley to Samson Fitz Walter. He deserved everything they did to him.”

Marius looked at her in surprise. Then he simply shook his head. “It starts with you and ends with you,” he said, looking around for his wine bottle. “Fitz Walter made an excellent offer for you, but you were already betrothed to Westley. Had I accepted his offer, none of this would have happened.”

“You would have condemned me to a terrible life.”

He found a nearby pitcher and peered inside only to see that there was nothing left. “We all have our private hells, Elysande,” he said. “Why should your life be any different from mine?”

The words hurt her. “Is that what you wish for me?” she said. “A private hell?”

He tossed the pitcher aside. “Where is your mother?”

“I do not know.”

“Find her!” he suddenly shouted, agitated. “Find her and send her to me immediately!”

Elysande didn’t reply. Marius was in his own private hell, as he’d said. A hell where wine was his lord and master and nothing else mattered. Perhaps that was fine for him, but Elysande didn’t want a private hell. She’d had a glimpse of a private heaven with Westley, and that was all she could think of. She’d had a day and a night of sheer bliss, and that wasn’t something she was willing to give up on.

She had to do something.

Her father was right—this started with her. A man’s life was at stake because of her. Samson Fitz Walter wanted her, so why not give the man what he wanted? Perhaps Lord Hereford would negotiate a trade—her for Westley—but even as she considered that proposal, she knew it was stupid. Christopher de Lohr would never exchange a woman for his son.

Instead, he had called forth his other sons and an army, and they were planning on… something. Marius didn’t know, or didn’t remember, but it would be a big operation. Christopher de Lohr never did anything on a small scale. More than likely, the de Lohr war machine would march over to Hell’s Forge and lay siege to the place. They’d huff and puff and beat their chests and kill men, but Westley would still be inside Hell’s Forge unless they managed to get him out somehow. There was the very real possibility that Fitz Walter would kill him before they could get to him. Unless…

Unless a deal could be struck.

Perhaps she would be the deal.

With an epiphany, Elysande knew what she needed to do.

Leaving her father hunting for more wine, she departed the solar and headed up the mural stairs. While everyone was trying to come up with a plan, she was actually going to do something. In just the few short days that she had known Westley, the man had shown her a glimpse of life that was like nothing she’d ever imagined. A life where she had a handsome husband who lived with her and laughed with her and… loved her? Was it possible he could love her someday? Because she was fairly certain she could love him.

Perhaps she already did.

She wasn’t going to let that go.

Perhaps her determination to make a deal with Fitz Walter put that admiration, that love, into action. She wasn’t even worried for herself. She was only worried for Westley. How did her life even matter in the long run? Elysande was the daughter of a lesser noble, as Westley had once put it. She wasn’t anything great, meant to go on and do great things with a name that was greatly respected by all of England. Nay, that wasn’t her at all.

But it was Westley.

He had every right to life. Even if she had to sacrifice herself so he could. She had been training for two years as a warrior, and even if Westley didn’t think she had learned much, she was going to prove him wrong.

When it comes to emotion in battle, the only one you should have is courage.

Well, she had courage. And she was going to prove it. While everyone else was standing around, she was going to set Westley free. Perhaps it was the only great thing she would ever accomplish in her life, but she was going to do it.

Elysande du Nor de Lohr had picked her moment to shine.