Page 33 of Within the Hollow Heart

Nickolas’s knuckles stung and burned as he turned to William, his face hard as his grip tightened on his sword.

Before he’d made a step toward the man, William held up a hand. “Lest you attempt anything dangerous, I should warn you that the lady here has been granted leave to go after Jules, should I not be able to pay her.”

Three of the men were rising to their feet, weapons shifting in preparation. The one with longer hair held a rope and a large piece of canvas. Apparently, they meant to haul him away. It truly was a trap. Capture, not kill. He would be used…For what?A ransom plot, perhaps. And if he forced William’s hand, Jules might be used in the same way. If they’d discovered she was a princess…

“You’ll never touch her,” Nickolas said.

“And yet, I see that you have ceased your advance.” William clicked his tongue. “You should have noticed by now that we’ve the run of the courtyard. Fae glamour can be a marvelous aid when it’s on your side. Why, with this disguise, she’d be in and out before a single soul noticed. She’s already managed to evade the entire guard.” William gave him his most level tone. “Touch me, and she gets the girl. It’s part of our bargain. She wins either way.”

The fae woman grinned. Her true form was dark and willowy, long hair loose in disordered strands. She wore the gown of a lady, but Nickolas had no reference to be certain of her status among the fae. He’d only ever seen a prince.

William took in how Nickolas’s grip shifted on the sword hilt and said, “Yes. There you go. Now, gentlemen.”

Around him, the men drew closer. Nickolas lifted his weapon, but it was clear there was no way out. He could not let Jules be harmed, and even if he killed every man in the courtyard, he could not touch the Adair heir. He never should have left the safety of the chancery. He’d been a fool to step foot where he was not protected. All he was left with was the chance to see the fae woman removed from the castle grounds. The sky was lightening. His racing heart was wearing down.

The big man moved for him.

“Wait!” Nickolas called. The man did wait, and Nickolas took a careful step backward. He held up a hand. “Just, hold a moment.” He could not do it. He could not allow himself to be taken into William’s custody. But there was no way out. There was no way to gain a true victory.

But he couldn’t stomach the idea of being hauled off by henchmen again. Andby the wall, what if William spread the tale? Even if his mother found a way to raise the ransom, Nickolas would never be able to show his face at court. His pride would not stand for it.

“All right,” he said.

The men looked confused.

“I’ll go willingly.” He raised a finger to point directly at each of the men. “But I want it known that this isnota kidnapping.”

They glanced at each other.

Nickolas pointed at the man with the ropes and cloth. “To be clear, I will be voluntarily climbing into that sack.”

* * *

In short order,Nickolas had been placed on the rough cloth, his hands and feet tied “just to be safe.” Three of the men stood in a straggle around him and William. The fae woman lingered in the shadows. As per Nickolas and William’s agreement, she would be paid her due once they arrived outside of the castle.

The fourth man sat nearby, his face pale and palms pressed to a gaping wound on his thigh, breeches soaked with blood.

“Leave him,” William said. “He’s useless to us now.”

“But the kingsmen will find him,” the brute argued.

William gave the man a quelling look. “Then he should not have gottenstabbed, should he? Next time, he will know better.”

The brute parroted the look and the tone. “Then they’ll tie the crime to me as his associate, won’t they?”

William’s jaw clenched. “Have it your way.” He pointed at the scraggliest. “You, stay with him. Find a way to get him out of this courtyard before”—he glanced at the sky—“well, I’d say you’ve about five minutes.”

With a grand gesture to the brute, William said, “Now, if you wouldn’t mind getting on with it before we’re all tied to the crime.”

“Getting on with it” evidently entailed wrapping the cloth tightly around Nickolas and throwing a sack over his head. Glamour gone, they had to remove him from the premises without being seen. He was tossed quite unceremoniously over the big man’s shoulder.

Bound as he was, he could make out only an estimation of their route. They’d gone through a courtyard gate, over the stone walkways that surrounded the wing, then snaked through a castle corridor that Nickolas guessed must have been lesser used.

Once they were outside, the fae woman paid and gone, Nickolas was thrown over a pack horse. They rode at a solid clip, not nearly as far as Nickolas had expected. When he was pulled down from the horse, he had a sick, sinking sensation in his gut. There was thesnapandcrunchof underbrush beneath the men’s boots, thick enough that it could not be a courtyard or garden, close enough a ride that it must be the forest that bordered the kingdom.

When they’d traveled some distance, Nickolas was set on his feet onto soft earth. His hands were left bound, but they’d given him his legs to lead him by his elbows through the trees. The way was rough, and a nearby chuckle escaped Adair whenever Nickolas stumbled. The smaller of the two henchmen muttered about their surroundings, and Nickolas thought he made out the wordssinisterandunnatural. Eventually, they stopped, and Nickolas was pushed onto the greensward on his rear. A murmur ofRivenwilde princecame from the smaller man, and the ground seemed to rumble beneath Nickolas. It sounded as if the men took a wary step back.

The sack was pulled from Nickolas’s head. He blinked against the dust and the early morning light, his hair falling about his face. William stood before him, dapper in his finery as if they’d not just traipsed through the woods and evidently unaware of the fae creatures that crawled about his feet.

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