Page 60 of Sword of Desire
“If you’re going to lose it, make sure it’s on purpose.” He held the sword out to her.
She hesitated a moment before taking the weapon. “Thank you.” She clutched it against her chest. “Someone is going to notice I’m missing. I need to be long gone before that happens.”
“And I have someone who needs to be rescued before they find you missing.” Otherwise, he’d never be able to escape the castle with Rikter.
Taking a step closer to him, Harley went up on her toes and gently kissed Ackley’s lips. “The next time we meet—”
“Owen will be king, and you will be mine.” He devoured her lips and sealed his promise with a kiss.
Harley
Walking away from Ackley as he stood all alone in the secret passageways had to be one of the hardest things Harley ever did. However, she knew if she didn’t leave, Owen wouldn’t stand a chance of regaining control of the kingdom.
Clutching Sword of Desire, she entered the main portion of the castle. Sliding the sword under the tunic she’d stolen, she secured it along her back so no one would see it. She’d spent about twenty minutes with Ackley, which meant her schedule was slightly off. However, since she no longer had to rescue Rikter, she was probably still on track.
After shoving her hair under a cap, she exited the castle, giving a quick nod to the soldier on duty. He didn’t even look at her as she hurried past him. She quickly made her way to the stables. With shaking hands, she pulled the flask out of her pocket and removed the lid as she neared the guard on duty. Tipping her head back, she pretended to take a drink from the flask, then wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
Three feet from the guard, she held the flask out to him. “Want a swig?” she asked, making her voice as deep as possible. “It’s the good stuff.”
“Sure.” He grabbed the flask, took a drink, and then handed it back to her.
She carefully put the lid back on and went inside the stables, waiting on the other side of the door. The next minute seemed to drag on forever. Finally, she heard the man fall to the ground. Relieved it had worked, she went out and clutched onto his tunic, dragging him into the stables so no one would see his body.
After depositing him in the first stall, she ran to the back of the stables, quickly locating her horse. She entered the stall, cooing and saying soothing words, wanting to keep the animal calm. Satisfied it would cooperate, she put the saddle on the horse, her fingers fumbling with the straps as panic started to set in.
The book on poisons had worked. Not knowing how long the guard would be unconscious for, Harley needed to get out of there as soon as possible. She tightened the girth strap, then led the horse from the stall and out of the stables. She tried to stay close to the building so she wouldn’t be spotted by the sentries patrolling the roof of the castle. At the back of the stables, where the shadows were thicker, she picked up the pace, leading the horse away from the castle. Her heartbeat quickened.
Once the castle was no longer in sight, she hoisted herself onto the horse and steered it toward the road, knowing she wouldn’t have the luxury of sleep that night. While riding in the dark would be dangerous for the horse, she had no choice. Harley had to put as much distance between herself and Lyle as possible. As soon as he learned of her disappearance, he would be furious and hunt her down. She urged her horse to run faster. Normally, she’d want to stay off the roads in case they were being watched. Tonight, she would have to risk it. Since she was dressed as a man, if anyone saw her from afar, they wouldn’t question her. Up close, she couldn’t be certain. Regardless, she kept the cap on as she rode the horse through the dark night.
Hours later, when the sky had lightened, she came to a fork in the road. Pulling her horse to a stop, she withdrew the page she’d ripped from one of the books back at the castle and examined the map. Tracing the road she took from the castle to the fork in the road, she saw that she needed to head to the left. Not too much farther, there would be a turnoff to Losger. She’d have to be careful not to miss it.
Shoving the map in her pocket, she urged her horse to the left, toward the forest. As they traveled along, she started worrying that the soldiers staying in Losger would have some sort of watch. While she didn’t think they’d kill her on sight, it was probably best to arrive at the abandoned castle with her hair down so the soldiers could see her better. Hopefully, they wouldn’t think her an immediate threat and strike her down. She only needed five minutes of their time to enact the rest of her plan.
She shook her head, unable to believe she was going through with this.
Harley also couldn’t believe she’d run into Ackley in the castle of all places. It still felt like a dream. She’d just been sneaking along, about to enter the secret passageways, when he slunk into the same corridor as her. He looked every bit as handsome as she remembered. It had been beyond tempting to consider abandoning her plan and running away with him. However, Lyle was her husband, and Melenia was her kingdom. These were her problems to solve, and she couldn’t allow the responsibility to fall to someone else. She was perfectly capable of dealing with this mess. It was the only reason she’d allowed the damn crown to be put atop her head. By taking the oath, she committed treason. She knew perfectly well that Owen was alive and the true heir. Not her. However, by being sworn in, she had a shot—albeit a small one—at saving everything. She just hoped she was strong enough and brave enough to go through with it.
Which was why she hadn’t shared her plan with Ackley. He never would have allowed her to carry it out. Or, at the very least, he would have insisted on accompanying her. As tempting as that would have been, she couldn’t rely on him to fix this. And, if she was being honest with herself, there was a part of her that didn’t want him to. She needed to prove to herself that she could do this. That Lyle hadn’t destroyed her spirit, that she was more than just a wife or daughter, that she could be a lady Knight.
As she rode closer to Losger, she felt the weight of her plan. When she’d tried killing Lyle the first time, she failed miserably. If she didn’t succeed this time, she’d be the one dead. At the end of this, it would be either Harley or Lyle, but not both. Only one would survive.
Based upon the map and her calculations, the turnoff for Losger should be coming up. She had to assume the second she found it, guards would be watching her every move.
On both sides of the road, the trees thickened and the vegetation became denser. Green moss covered the trunks. The air turned colder. Even though the sun had started to rise, the deeper she traveled into the forest, the darker it got. The branches extended above her head, forming an arch over the road, blocking out the light.
Between two of the trees on the right, a four-foot space opened up. It had to be the turnoff to Losger. She steered her horse that way. The leaves rustled from a wind she couldn’t feel. It almost sounded as if the trees were whispering secrets from the past. The hair on her arms rose. She sensed a presence here. Whether it was ghosts or soldiers hidden amongst the vegetation watching her, she couldn’t be sure. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
After a few miles, a dull light shone up ahead. Harley headed toward it. Suddenly, the trees abruptly ended, and she pulled her horse to a halt as she observed the view before her. She was at the edge of over a mile long forest wall. To the east and west, open land. Two miles directly ahead, an abandoned castle was situated on grassy land. Parts of the castle had collapsed in on itself. Green moss and ivy grew over the stones and up the turrets. Up ahead, on the other side of the castle, steep rocks shot up into the air, forming a massive cliff and shielding the castle.
“You came in the back door,” a man said from behind her.
Harley slowly turned her head, watching as two men slunk out of the forest, cautiously approaching her. “I didn’t realize there was more than one way to come here.” She wanted them to hear her voice, so they knew she was a woman, not a man. “The book from my library showed no other path.”
“Your library?” the man on the right asked. “Where’s that?”
She smiled. “The royal castle.” Holding her head high, she said, “I’m Queen Harley of Melenia. Who’s in charge here?”
The two men looked at one another. The one on the left shrugged. “We’ll take you to our leader. I’m not sure what good that’ll do.”
