Page 20 of The Cruel Highlander’s Healer (Highlanders’ Feisty Brides #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Y e can relax just a bit.”

The Laird’s voice rang out behind Eliza, but she did not turn. She kept her back straight, the front of herself scooted as far up on the saddle as she could manage.

“I willnae be relaxin’,” she hissed back, fighting to keep her voice low so the others would not overhear. “Can ye just leave me be?”

The saddle moved beneath her as the Laird shifted his weight, but he did not speak again. The sound of the horse’s hooves filled the air, allowing Eliza to return to her thoughts, which had been spiraling about the night before.

The Laird had returned to their room hours after the events of the night before, and Eliza had still been awake.

She had not spoken to him, though, not as she listened to him unrolling bedding and making a spot for himself on the floor. Eliza had been silent all while they’d readied themselves the next day. Had resigned herself to speaking only to her mother and the guards.

Marissa, for what it was worth, had noticed Eliza’s posture and the cordiality between her and the Laird. Eliza could tell by the way she continued to study the two of them. But blessedly, she had not commented on it yet.

The sound of hooves trotting alongside them tickled Eliza’s ears, and she glanced sidelong. Her mother was there, grey eyes watching her from where she sat atop the horse with Dougal at her back.

“Are ye alright” Marissa asked, nothing but concern dancing in the depths of her shrewd gaze.

Eliza nodded. “Aye, I’m fine.”

Her voice cracked on the final word, and her mother’s brows tugged together in concern.

“Are ye sure about that, lass?”

Her mother’s voice was stern, her gaze searching as they roved over Eliza’s form. Rearranging her features, Eliza tried to affix a smile to her face. She wanted to assuage some of her mother’s concerns. Embarrassed tears had been burning the back of her eyes off and on all morning, and she knew if her mother continued to press, she wouldn’t be able to hold them back much longer.

“I am just tired,” she explained, sending up a quick prayer of thanks when her words did not crack as they had a moment before. “I think the drink got the better of me.”

Marissa’s jaw ticked, her eyes still skeptical. She did not believe Eliza’s answer. That much was certain.

Please believe me, Maither. I pray ye stop askin’ me.

Even though Marissa seemed to not believe her, she did seem to sense the prayer in her daughter’s mind. She gave a terse, quick nod before settling back into her saddle.

Behind Marissa, Dougal’s eyes were also fixed on Eliza. His muscles were tense, mouth pressed into a firm line as he regarded her.

Am I behaving so barmy I’ve got even the guards in a tizzy?

She tried to let her shoulders slump a bit, allowing some of the rigidity in which she’d been holding herself to leech from her bones. But the moment she did her back brushed against Conall’s chest.

His breath tickled her teeth, and she felt the warmth of him. Eliza felt like she might jump out of her skin, but she didn’t move. She didn’t want her mother and Dougal to see her flinch away from the man behind her.

Her eyes focused on the road ahead, refusing to glance in her mother's direction.

She’ll get tired of watchin’ me eventually. Then, she’ll bugger off.

After a few moments had passed, a feminine sigh sounded from the direction where her mother was riding. Eliza knew her mother had given up, that Marissa had accepted that she would be getting nothing else from her daughter.

A few more moments ticked by before she risked a glance to the side. It was empty. Her mother and Dougal had fallen to a few steps behind them as they had been before.

Straightening again, Eliza put as much space as she could between herself and the Laird within the confines of the saddle.

“Will ye truly be sittin’ like that the whole time?” Conall’s voice growled from behind her.

“I’m plenty comfortable,” she argued back.

As if in response to her words, Eliza’s lower back flared with a cramp. She had been sitting perfectly straight for hours, not allowing even the gentle sway of the horse beneath them to move her any closer to the Laird at her back. And she was exhausted.

But still, she held herself rigid. Not even allowing herself to flinch.

Eliza would not give in. She would not touch him. She would not allow herself.

A small dot appeared on the horizon, and Eliza had to stop the sigh of relief when she realized it was the castle.

Step by blessed step, it came into view, the stone and ramparts becoming clearer the closer they got.

Once they were close enough, the gate to the courtyard was raised, allowing them passage to the front of the building. The moment they were inside and had slowed, Eliza moved.

She shifted to the side, breaking Conall’s grip on the reins. He tugged his arm back from shock, and Eliza did not stop. She threw her legs over the side of the horse and jumped to the ground.

“I need to see me patients,” she said, briefly glancing over her shoulder at those that were still mounted. Her eyes landed on her mother. “I’ll send Kate out to greet ye.”

Marissa opened her mouth to protest, but Eliza did not wait for her. She turned on her heel, the sound of her footsteps crunching on the gravel as she raced toward the castle.

The door was pulled open as she approached, a startled looking Kate standing on the other side.

“The bairns?” Eliza asked in lieu of greeting. “Are they healin’?”

Kate’s mouth popped open in surprise, but she snapped out of it quickly. The woman nodded, her gaze flicking over her shoulder.

Eliza did not turn to see what she was looking at; she didn’t want to see if the Laird had climbed from the horse. Was he scowling at her? Was he dismounting to chase after her? She couldn’t allow herself to care.

Because Eliza knew that if she gave herself even a moment, she would be overcome with embarrassment all over again. And she had work to do.

“Aye,” Kate said, eyes sliding back to Eliza’s face as she plastered a smile across it. “They’ve been much more active. Most of them have come out of the fever and have started to be able to eat more than broth. Three of them were even able to play for a little bit yesterday.”

Hope fluttered in Eliza’s chest. She nodded.

“The new woman that is with them, it’s me maither,” she explained. “She’s a healer. Will ye fill her in on what’s goin’ on as I check on the patients?”

Kate nodded, and she opened her mouth to agree, but Eliza did not want to spare any more time. Time would give her mother and Conall time to dismount. It would give them time to ask to come with her. And Eliza, more than anything, needed a little bit of time alone.

She brushed past Kate, the sound of her boots clicking off the stone floors as she walked down the familiar hall. The Laird’s voice sounded from the courtyard, but with each step Eliza put more and more distance between them.

The doors to the dining hall that had housed the children loomed, and the tension that had been residing in Eliza’s body slowly began to loosen.

She knew how to handle what lay beyond those doors; she knew her place. And when she pushed them open, the children in their cots coming into view, all thoughts of Conall were driven from her mind.

Her heart fluttered at the sight, eyes raking over the massive room as she took it all in.

Just as Kate had told her, the children were far better than when she’d left. Many of them sat up in their cots, sipping from bowls of what appeared to be hearty stew.

The smell of it filled the air. Gone was the stench of their bile and excrement.

A child laughed, and the beauty of it was so magical that the worry well and truly left her body. Eliza rushed forward, going to the first child that she saw.

It was a little girl. She did not know her name. But she had black hair, and round cherubic cheeks. When Eliza had seen the girl a couple days prior, she had been unconscious. She had never seen the girl’s eyes.

But now, her eyes were open and alert. They fixed onto Eliza, the deep blue grey of the Scottish sea on a blustery day.

“Hello there,” Eliza breathed, unable to stop the wide, ecstatic smile that tugged up the corners of her lips. “I’m Eliza. I’m the healer that’s been helpin’ ye. What’s yer name?”

“Ethel,” she muttered.

Ethel’s voice was raspy from disuse, but it was stronger than Eliza had expected. Her smile widened.

“It’s mighty nice to meet ye, Ethel,” Eliza beamed. “How are ye feelin’? Are ye feelin’ better?”

The girl nodded, bringing her hand to her face to hide a cough. Immediately, Eliza leaned forward, listening to the sound.

She lost herself in her work, allowing caring for the children to drive all thoughts of Conall and what had occurred the night before from her mind.

Time lost all meaning as she flicked from child to child. Some were better off than others. Some were even so healed that Eliza suspected she’d be able to send them home to their parents come morning.

Eliza had made it through a little over half the patients, listening to their coughs and their breathing, ensuring they had water and had eaten, when she was distracted by the opening of the door.

She stood at full height, whirling to see who had entered the hall. She hadn’t even realized the apprehensive that had spooled in her belly until it unclenched the moment her eyes landed on Kate.

Eliot was trailing not far behind her, and both of them gave Eliza a friendly wave.

“I’ve gotten yer maither all settled,” Kate explained the moment she was within earshot. “She’ll be in the rooms directly across from yers. I figured ye would want her close.”

“Thank ye,” Eliza said, sincerity filling each of her words. “From the bottom of me heart, I cannae thank ye enough. Nae just for me maither and gettin’ her settled, but for carin’ for the bairns while I’ve been gone. I ken ye’ve been workin’ yerself to the bone, and me bein’ gone couldnae have helped ye much.”

Kate waved a dismissive hand before her face.

“Ye daenae have to thank me,” she argued. “We should be thankin’ ye. If it hadnae been for ye, the bairns, well I hate to think what may have happened to them.”

The two women locked eyes, and it didn’t take much for Eliza to see the fear lingering in the depths of the woman’s gaze. It was a fear that she, herself, felt deep in her bones.

Had Conall waited even a few days more to find her, for so many of them it would have been too late. And even if she had made mistakes with the Laird, Eliza could at least be thankful for the lives that she’d been able to save while here.

“And ye kept them alive until I got here,” Eliza said, holding the girl’s stare. “There is a lot to thank ye for on that.”

Kate nodded, blinking quickly, and Eliza did not miss the tears that decorated the other woman’s lash line. Elia reached forward, gripping Kate’s hands in her own and giving them a grateful, affectionate squeeze.

Eliza’s eyes flicked over Kate’s shoulders. Eliot was standing a few paces behind the women. His brows were pressed together, eyes flickered between the two women as he tried to decipher what was happening.

“Now,” Kate said, giving Eliza’s hands a gentle squeeze and dropping them. “Let’s get to work, shall we?”

The two women turned and walked toward where Eliza had left off. They did not speak to each other, instead opting to focus on the children. But Eliza could feel the other woman’s presence the entire time, and she used it to keep her steady.

Other than Marissa, Eliza had never worked with another person to heal. And, once she was old enough, the overwhelming majority of her work had been solitary.

There had simply been too many people that needed healing and too few people who knew how to do it.

I should teach Kate how to heal. Along with Isabel from the village.

The thought was a comforting one. Visions of a future where not just Eliza and Marissa healed the villages that surrounded them. But an entire group of women who worked together.

They could lean on each other, support one another. It might be nice, to have a community of women who understood.

When the final child had been checked on, and given their cup of broth, Eliza stood and glanced around.

Kate was standing near the entrance of the hall once more, she and Eliot laughing as they spoke about one thing or another. Both of their eyes flicked in Eliza’s direction as she approached them.

“They should be settled for a while,” Eliza said.

She opened her mouth to say more, but her stomach gave a loud, grumbling growl that interrupted her. It was only then that she realized she had not eaten.

The combination of alcohol and embarrassment had been a potent one. When she’d woken, her stomach had been so soured with the mix of it that she’d been unable to eat before they’d’ begun their journey back. Then, when she’d arrived at the castle, she’d been too rushed to put distance between herself and the Laird. She had not once spared a thought for food.

Kate chuckled. “Neglectin’ yerself to take care of the bairns? I wonder if that’s a healer’s trait.” She draped her arm through Eliza’s, guiding her out the door and into the corridor. “Let’s go. I’ll take ye to the kitchen and get ye somethin’ to eat. Supper is still a ways off.”

Eliza nodded, grateful for the woman who every day she was considering more and more of a friend.

She and Kate were silent for a moment. Footsteps echoing off the stone behind them was the only thing that let them know Eliot had followed – their own silent sentinel.

Perhaps it was the comradery, or maybe it was the fact that she had not seen the Laird for most of the day. But she felt the tension she’d been holding, the apprehension over what had occurred the night before, start to ebb.

“I’d like to ask,” Kate finally said, breaking through the silence with her gently spoken words. “If it’s nae an imposition. Ye and the Laird? I noticed a bit of…”

Her words trailed off and Eliza glanced at her. The apples of Kate’s cheeks turned pink as the other woman struggled to find the words to ask whatever question had been plaguing her.

Eliza waited, giving the other woman space to formulate her thoughts.

“Animosity,” Kate finally supplied, although the way she said the word made Eliza wonder if it was the one she’d wanted to use. “Between the two of ye. Things seemed rather tense.”

Eliza paused before she answered, chewing on her lip as she considered.

She was beginning to think of Kate as a friend, but was she fully there yet? Did she want to trust her with everything that happened?

There was no one else Eliza could tell, really. She absolutely couldn’t speak to her mother about it. No, Marissa would run wild like a banshee if she knew everything that had occurred between her daughter and the Laird.

Who else could I confide in, if nae her? And it might be nice to have someone to discuss these things with. What else do I have to lose?

Glancing behind them, she found Eliot still standing a few paces back. He was doing his best to appear as if he wasn’t listening. But he was close enough that he could absolutely overhear them.

“Will ye walk a ways behind us?” she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the man-at-arms.

Protests rose on his lips, but Eliza quickly cut him off.

“We will nae be far,” she explained. “Never far enough for anythin’ to happen. I just would like to talk to me friend without pryin’ ears.”

His eyes darted to Kate, who gave him a nod. Eliza waited until Eliot had fallen far enough behind them that she was certain she wouldn’t be overheard if she kept her voice low enough.

“Somethin’ happened last night,” Eliza began, brown eyes fixed on the woman beside her.

Kate’s eyebrows raised as they looked at each other, and she knew that the other woman hadn’t missed how Eliza had put an inflection on the word ‘happened’.

“Oh? And that somethin’ would be…” Kate stammered, but she didn’t need to finish the question for Eliza to know what she was asking about.

Immediately, Eliza began to shake her head.

“Nae, we did nae perform the act,” she admitted. “But what occurred was close enough. I would have, though. If he hadnae…”

She gulped past the words, the sting of shame hitting the back of her throat like a knife. The same shame she’d felt since before falling asleep coiled in her belly anew.

But as she looked at Kate, at the other woman that Eliza had decided to trust, there was no judgement in the depths of her eyes. There was only a deep, profound understanding.

She was spurred on by Kate’s open, honest expression. And the entire story began pouring out of her.

Some bits were redacted. She couldn’t entirely bare telling the other woman exactly how the Laird had been on his knees and feasting upon her. But she told her enough.

By the end of it, the muscle in Kate’s jaws were ticking as she considered the information.

“Daenae misunderstand me,” Kate began, resentment leaking into her words. “I am loyal to me laird. He is a good laird, and a good man to work for. But that? What he did to ye? Well, Eliza I am so bloody sorry.”

Eliza nodded. “Thank ye. But I made the decision to allow him to do those things he did. I allowed him to tempt me. And he made nay promises or even mentioned that he would court me. That was all me own assumptions. So daenae be cross at him for it.”

Kate squeezed her arm comfortingly. “I am nae cross, but I do wish he’d nae done it.”

They had arrived at the kitchen, finding it mostly empty. There was only one woman standing behind a large butcher’s block, chopping up vegetables to start preparation for that night’s meals.

“We have a hungry healer on our hands!” Kate announced, affixing a smile onto her face as she turned toward the woman. “Do ye have anythin’ ye can spare before the woman wastes away?”

The woman made a big deal about scoffing at Kate, but there was no true annoyance behind it. Eliza got the feeling the cook was rather fond of the maid.

The cook made quick work of gathering things for Eliza, and it wasn’t long before she and Kate both clutched plates filled with smoked meat, hunks of cheese, and a bundle of grapes.

They ate in a courtyard on the western side of the castle. It was late afternoon, so the sun was bearing down on them and Eliza turned her face up to it, allowing it to warm her skin.

“I ken what it’s like,” Kate began, and Eliza turned to face her.

Plucking one of the grapes from its vine, Eliza plopped it into her mouth. The flavor danced across her tongue, bright and fresh and invigorating. She allowed the food to lift her spirits as she sat in the sun with her friend.

Eliza arched a brow at Kate, a wordless question that the maid quickly understood.

“What it’s like to have yer heart broken,” Kate continued, cheeks flushing with an embarrassment that Eliza knew all too well. “To be disappointed by men.”

Eliot coughed behind them. He stood close, a silent sentinel pressed up against the castle as he watched over them.

The women had tried to get him to take a plate when they were in the kitchen. They had also asked him to sit with them as they rested on the grass.

He had declined both, stating that his job was to watch them and ensure no harm befell them.

Eliza was unsure what harm could befall them in a castle this fortified, but she hadn’t pressed him further.

Now, however, as she glanced over her shoulder, she found the man shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. The moment her eyes landed on him, he straightened, a look of embarrassment flickering across his face.

She wanted to ask him why he looked so uncomfortable, but she didn’t press any further.

Kate looked contemplative when Eliza turned her attention back to her. The woman’s eyes were fixed out in the distance, roving over the lovely, gentle rolling hills that were the jewel of the Scottish highlands.

“Who broke yer heart?” Eliza asked, her voice gentle as she coaxed her friend to speak more.

Kate shook her head as if banishing thoughts of a far-off time from her mind.

“He was nothin’ but a man,” she answered honestly, her tone hoarse and Eliza could hear the emotion that was threatening to choke her. “A guard. I daenae want to say his name. But I’ve loved him for…”

Her voice trailed off, soft and pensive. Eliza could see the truth of Kate’s words, could see the way the maid’s eyes softened around the edges as she spoke of him. There was love there and also hurt.

“…as long as I can remember,” Kate continued, oblivious to Eliza studying her. “Long before I came to work in this castle. We grew up in the same village, and I think I loved him, even then.”

Eliza noticed tears brimming at the edges of the woman’s eyes, and she reached forward to squeeze her friend’s arm reassuringly.

“He’s getting’ married soon.”

The words hang in the air between them, and Eliza heard the pain that mingled with her words.

“He’s an absolute dobber if he chose someone else over ye,” Eliza said earnestly.

Kate’s eyes fluttered rapidly, the water that had been threatening to spill over vanishing as she turned to face Eliza.

“That’s kind of ye to say,” she rasped. “But I ken he loves her, and he deserves that. To love his wife.”

“And do ye nae think ye can love nay one else but him?”

Kate didn’t answer Eliza, opting instead to turn her eyes back out towards the hills beyond.

Eliza wasn’t sure what made her do it. Perhaps she caught a flicker of something from the corner of her eye. Or maybe it was just something that she sensed.

Whatever the reason, her eyes flicked behind her, landing squarely on Eliot. This time, he did not notice her looking.

No, his gaze was solely focused on Kate. His eyes were soft and filled with a yearning that tugged on a piece of Eliza’s soul.

Eliza turned her attention back to Kate, not wanting to study him for too long. She didn’t want him to see her witnessing that private of a moment. Not when his emotions were so clearly only simmering just below the surface.

He loves her.

“I think ye willnae have long to worry,” Eliza said to Kate, keeping her voice low and gentle. “Even if that guard cannae see what he had before him, someone will. I have nay doubt that a man will come, and he will love ye so fully. Mayhaps, he’s even closer than ye think.”

Kate didn’t answer, just hummed her acknowledgement as the two fell into a companionable silence. Eliza could feel Eliot’s on them, but she did not turn to glance at them.

The two women finished their meals, and Eliza considered what she said to Kate. She believed that her friend deserved love. And even though the shame of what had happened with the Laird was still fresh, Eliza was beginning to wonder if maybe she should extend a little bit of that hope to herself, as well.

* * *

After their lunch beneath the sun, Eliza and Kate went back to the children. Even more of them were awake and alert now, and it was becoming more apparent that the majority of them were ready to go home.

“I’ll alert the Laird in the mornin’,” she told Kate as they got to work giving the sick ones their next round of tonic. “That way we can have word drafted for their parents.”

Kate nodded as the pair set to work. Time passed quickly, and by the time they were done Eliza was well and truly exhausted. Her feet felt like lead with every step that she took.

“Are ye goin’ to be comin' to dinner?” Kate asked as they turned the corner away from the hall where the sick children were being held.

“I daenae think I have it in me,” Eliza explained, her stomach clenching at the thought of seeing Conall again. “I may turn in early, see if someone can bring supper up to me room.”

Kate nodded. “I’ll have it sent up for ye.”

Eliza gave her a grateful smile before Kate hurried away. Eliot was still there, lingering in the hall glancing in the direction that Kate had just disappeared.

“Ye can follow after her,” Eliza said with a chuckle. “I’ll only be goin’ to me rooms. I’ll be safe there. There’s nay one here who wishes me harm.”

Eliot’s throat bobbed as he considered his words, shifting anxiously from foot to foot as he stared at her. Eliza knew he likely wanted to follow after Kate not just to keep her safe, but to continue to be in her presence.

She didn’t blame him.

Eventually, the guard nodded. Despite his hesitations, Eliot’s care for Kate had won out, and the thought brought a smile to her lips as she turned and made for her rooms.

The journey to Eliza’s chambers typically took her no time at all. But she was so exhausted that each step felt like it took her days to complete. Eventually, though, she rounded the corner that led to her chambers, relief flooding her body.

The relief, however, was short-lived. As she approached her door, reaching forward with a shaking hand, hurried footsteps sounded from down the hall.

She whirled in their direction, finding no one there. They were getting closer, though, and soon Alistair’s gnarled form came into view as he turned a corner.

“Lady Eliza,” he said, his dull grey eyes landing on her immediately.

“Alistair,” Eliza greeted with the dip of her head.

She waited at the door, not moving toward him. She was reluctant to move away from her chambers, afraid that if she did, she might collapse from exhaustion.

Please, Lord, daenae have him request anythin’ of me right now. I daenae think I can bare it.

“I am sorry to be botherin’ ye,” Alistair apologized as he got closer, his slightly stooped shoulders bowing deeper in greeting. “But ye see, there’s an injured foal out in the stables. I fear if we daenae help him, he’ll have to be put down. The stable hands looked at him and said they cannae help. But I thought, mayhaps ye can, since ye seem so skilled with healin’?”

He looked at her expectantly, steely gaze shining as he stared at her. Eliza exhaled. Her prayer, it would seem, had fallen on deaf ears.

She was exhausted. There was no part of her that wanted to venture any farther than the few steps it would take for her to collapse in her bed.

But that exhaustion didn’t stop her mind from being bombarded with images. A tiny, spindly-legged creature that was whinnying in pain, scared and afraid and not knowing what would happen next.

No matter how much she wanted to turn down the request for help, Eliza knew that she did not have it in her. She would hate herself for the rest of her days if she didn’t at least try.

The bed will still be there when I’m done.

“Aye,” Eliza said, trying her best to hide the tiredness from her voice as she spoke. “I’ll help. I’ve nae been to the stables yet, though. So I’ll need ye to lead the way.”

Alistair nodded, giving her another quick bow of thanks before turning and heading in the way he’d come.

She followed after him, trying her best to bring some life back into her steps as she did. She needed to be awake, needed to be alert if she wanted to be able to help the poor creature when they arrived.

Thankfully, Alistair didn’t move as quickly as some of the other guards, and she could take a slower pace, one that allowed her to gather herself. When they stepped out into the evening air, a breeze tickled her skin, helping to wake her.

She listened as they approached the squat stable building, trying to make out any sounds of an injured animal. But there was nothing except the whinnying and braying that you’d expect.

Mayhaps the animal is unable to cry out?

Eliza wasn’t sure why, but the thought didn’t sit right with her. If it was a foal, surely it would be crying out for its mother? Or, at the very least, be crying out in pain?

Pushing the thoughts down, she continued on her path. Alistair led her not toward the large opening on the other side of the building but through a small, wooden side door.

He held it open for her, stepping aside and looking at her expectantly she moved closer.

“Poor beast is just in here,” he said.

His eyes lit with something that Eliza couldn’t place but she didn’t take time to analyze it. She was too focused on getting in there and assessing the creature. The sooner she finished with this, the sooner she could go back inside and lay down.

Moving past Alistair, she stepped into the small space. It opened into what appeared to be a tack room. It didn’t take more than a quick scan to see that there was no injured animal within it.

Maybe it was further inside the building. Eliza whirled to face Alistair, inquiring about where she could go to find the animal, but what she saw when she turned had fear lighting deep within her belly.

Alistair was still there, but he was changed, somehow. The stooped, sniveling man she’d met a few days ago who had led her to the stables was gone.

He was standing at full height, and Eliza realized he was taller than she’d thought. He was wider, too. He was still quite gaunt, his sunken, pocked marked cheeks jutting out aggressively beneath his skin. But Eliza could not deny that now that he was standing straight and facing her head on, he cut quite a menacing figure.

She took a step back, retreating a bit farther into the room to put distance between them. A terrible, cruel smile tugged up the corner of Alistair’s lips as he took a step further, shutting the door to the tack room as he did so.

The light filtering in through the one, small window was weak, and it took Eliza’s eyes a moment to adjust. Eliza heard him, though. Heard his footsteps as he surged forward.

She sucked in a breath, preparing herself to scream, preparing herself to fight. But Alistair was on her in a flash, his slow and measured movements of just a few moments before disappearing entirely.

“None of that now,” Alistair growled in a voice much deeper than the one he’d been using.

Just as Eliza’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, a rag covered hand jutted up to cover her mouth. It smelled sour, a scent that burned her nose and seeped into her brain.

She screamed, but it was muffled by the fabric being held to her lips. Spots began to dance at the edges of her vision.

Was that just the shadows of the room?

No, they were growing larger, pressing in as the entire world surrounding her began to blur.

Her scream cut off, all thought driven from her mind as a haze descended upon her. The fuzziness of moments ago began to darken, the shadows pressing in on her completely.

Slowly, consciousness left Eliza’s body. And the last thing she heard before everything went dark was a cruel, dark chuckle.