Page 64 of The Warrior's Innocent Captive

A sharp pain wedged itself in Linota’s chest. She’d promised herself that all she wanted was to know the truth about Erik, but deep down she knew that wasn’t true. She wanted to see him again.

Katherine hadn’t moved from her position by the edge of the bed as she waited for a reply.

‘I’m not worried about seeing E—Master Ward again,’ she said, hoping that Katherine wouldn’t question her too deeply. It was true she wasn’t worried about seeing him, she was instead filled with a desperate longing and a deep-seated anxiety that her investigations would prove he was a liar rather than the other way around. Until she knew for sure, she wanted to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself.

Katherine reached out and gently touched her arm. ‘I don’t have to go.’

‘Yes, you do.’ Linota rolled on to her side and smiled up at her sister. ‘This is a feast in your honour, Katherine. Go and enjoy it.’

‘I will. But please send someone if you need me. I will come straight away.’ Katherine leaned over and dropped a kiss on Linota’s forehead. ‘And when you feel up to seeing Erik Ward again, I can be with you. It might make you feel better if you heard the story from his point of view. Not that I forgive him for keeping you hidden from me.’ Katherine frowned. ‘But I’m inclined to be a little more sympathetic now I know more of the story.’

Linota nodded. ‘Thank you, Katherine, that’s kind of you. But right now I think I’d just like to sleep.’ There was no way Katherine was going to be there when Linota next spoke to Erik. There were things she wanted to say to him that didn’t require a witness.

Linota wanted to find out the truth for herself, not from someone else who might get the story wrong.

She settled back on to the bed and closed her eyes. She could feel Katherine’s eyes on her and she worried she was overdoing it, but eventually Katherine’s footsteps sounded across the room. Linota heard the door open and finally close behind Katherine. She let out a long breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

She stayed lying down and told herself one of her father’s stories. She normally loved remembering the soothing tales, but today she had to force herself to slow the recitation down. It wouldn’t do for Katherine to return to the chamber to find her leaping from the bed like a spring lamb.

When Linota was sure enough time had passed for Katherine to reach the Great Hall to join the feast put on in honour of her betrothal to Borwyn, she climbed down from the bed.

Creeping over to the door, she peeked into the corridor outside, half expecting to see guards stationed outside, but thankfully all was quiet.

She quickly tugged on her boots and slipped out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

She ran down the stone corridors, stopping every time she reached a corner to peer around it. The fortress was eerily empty, but she kept going despite the chills creeping down her spine.

She stopped outside what she had discovered was Erik’s chamber.

While he’d been at Castle Swein, Borwyn had told them all that he and his half-brother were reconciled. He’d tried to talk about Erik but, frustratingly, Katherine wouldn’t let him do so in front of Linota, obviously believing anything to do with Erik would only upset her. All she knew was that his actions during the days they’d spent together had nothing to do with Erik securing his own fortune. Jarin had accepted his betrothed’s wishes and Linota hadn’t wanted to draw attention to how much talking about Erik mattered to her.

She knocked lightly on the door, her heart pounding as she both dreaded and longed for the sound of Erik’s voice.

Her heart fell when there was only silence in response.

Slowly she pushed open the door and stepped inside. A shard of light pierced through the shutters illuminating the stone floor. She took another step into the room, dust dancing around her feet. She stood on the spot and turned around, taking in the room.

It was very sparsely furnished. A large bed stood against one wall, blankets arranged neatly on top. A beautifully made chest was positioned at the bottom of it. She walked over and ran her fingers over the intricate pattern carved into the top of the wood. It was so similar to the one in his cottage that she had no doubt Erik had made it himself.

There was not much on the one table in the room. Some strange-looking tools were arranged at one end. Linota guessed he used these to work with wood because she’d never seen anything like them before.

There was nothing else on the table.

She didn’t know what she’d been expecting. Perhaps evidence that he’d found what had happened to his sister, although what this would have looked like she wasn’t sure.

She eyed the chest. She’d crossed some sort of moral code walking into this room. Could she cross another one by opening the box?

She took a step towards it, her fingers trembling.

She touched the latch and then snatched her hand back.

It was too much, an invasion of his privacy he probably couldn’t forgive if he found out. But she’d come so far. To return to her room now would be a failure and who knew when she’d get a chance to come here again. There were many feasts over the next few days to celebrate Katherine and Borwyn’s nuptials. She wouldn’t be able to plead tiredness again and Katherine was unlikely to let her wander off by herself.

When the festivities were all over she was returning to Swein with Ellena and Braedan, to live with them rather than Katherine and her new husband.

Katherine was disappointed. She’d thought Linota would live with her, but Linota knew it would be too hard. She couldn’t see Erik on a daily basis and pretend nothing had happened between them, not when the memory of his lips on her body still hadn’t faded from her memory. The physical closeness would slowly kill her. Visiting her sister would be hard enough, but perhaps if she knew Erik hadn’t lied to her about his sister, if that one thing was true, then she would be able to meet and interact with him with some degree of calmness.

Her mind made up, she reached for the latch once more.

---