Page 42 of Saved By the Headless Horseman
His harsh breath catches, as his feet twitch slightly.He folds them away, and I hold my breath.Nothing could have prepared me for what I see next.It is almost as devastating as the day I found his corpse in the woods.
His pumpkin head has been smashed in along the sides.Deep gauges have been carved along each side, forming a crude design.He trembles beneath a scratchy, wool blanket.Sweat gleams along his gray skin.Large gashes run along his shoulders and neck.The raised and bubbled skin along his chest is new.The green fire inside his eyes is dim.It flickers weakly as it takes me in.
Around his pale wrists are delicate silver shackles, engraved with some sort of writing.
“Scarlett,” he wheezes.
His trembling hand lifts through the bars, and I lower myself to meet it.Fingers graze over my cheek as tears beckon.A green flame flickers to life before dying with a hiss.
“Am I dreaming?”
My laugh is watery as I capture his hand with my palm.
“No, I am here, my love.Come to free you.”
Krane pulls back, his skin somehow turning more pale.He thrashes his head side to side, moaning sharply.
“It’s too dangerous.You shouldn’t be here.”
The dagger in my hand suddenly feels useless.How am I going to free him from those metal bindings?More importantly, how am I going to free him from behind these bars?Maybe he knows where the key is.
“How long have you been down here?How can I get you out?”I ask.
Krane’s body begins to tremble violently.
“I don’t know.Most likely a week.”
That makes me come up short.
“I was asleep for a week?”
Even with his dying flames, he manages to look sheepish.
“I’m sorry, Scar.I thought I was doing the right thing—sparing you from the burden of killing your father.”His laugh holds no humor.“Now I realize that my revenge made me foolish.In my greed to punish him, I lost everything.Go now, save yourself.With these shackles, I am as good as dead.”
I shake my head, my eyes narrowing.The thought of leaving him behind is unimaginable.If he is to die, then we will die together.We vowed never to be apart, and not even death can separate us.
“I’m not leaving you.I love you.I’ll find a way to free you from this.”
“How touching,” a sneering voice booms behind me.
I launch to my feet.Whipping around, my back presses against the cold bars of Krane’s cell.My father is there, wickedness dancing in his dark eyes.There is a madness there I haven’t seen before.Standing at his side is my mother.Her blue eyes glaze over, not daring to meet my own.
Anger flows hotly through my veins.This is the man who killed my beloved Krane.The man who stole my future and even now delights in the fiendish torture he’s inflicting on my love.I bare my teeth at him and extend my dagger.I will not go down without a fight.
“Release him,” I command, straightening my spine.“Release him and we will spare your life.”
My father laughs loudly, nearly doubling over.A flicker of awareness kindles in my mother’s eyes, but it quickly vanishes.His vile amusement only makes my anger grow.His callousness cost me everything.
“You are in no position to make demands of me.”He wipes his eyes.“Ungrateful, brat.You could’ve been a duchess—lived in luxury after supplying Bram with a few heirs.You gave it all up for thatthing.”
He waves a dismissive hand at Krane.
“This ends tonight.Once that creature is dead, I will find another lord to marry you off to.I don’t care if the marriage has to be consummated with a knife to your throat.You will do as I tell you.”
A scream tears from my lungs.All the pent-up rage I’ve felt over the years is bubbling to the surface.Nothing was ever good enough for him.No matter how hard I tried to be perfect or obey his rules, thinking it would allow me my freedom, it never mattered.He didn’t care that I loved Krane—that even if we had no money, we would be wealthier than my father could imagine because we had love.
My father never loved me—neither did my mother.They only saw me as a way to increase their power—my mother saw me as a doll she could play with until that doll started forming her own opinions.I had wasted years of my life playing by their rules, and it had cost me everything.Now, I am done.It was time to settle this on my terms.
