Shadows & Lace (Spellbound Prequel)

Chapter 12: Snatched

Braithe stared at the angry man in front of her, debating her options and finding that none of them seemed particularly satisfying.

"It's no use," she warned quietly when she caught his gaze gliding from her to the doorway behind her. He was probably debating if he could overpower her with his bigger size and make a run for it. Even if one ignored the fact that she had a dagger, there was nowhere to run. "Even if you get past me, which is doubtful, there are at least two dozen men outside that would catch you. Not to mention that you don't know how to get out of here."

"Where is 'here'?" Aurelian asked, his voice tempered. His body was still, but she could sense the restrained power as he was biding his time, finding his bearings.

"Nowhere."

"Well, thank you Mr. Vigilante, that narrows it down." There was no mistaking the sarcasm dripping from those words.

Braithe smiled despite herself. How did he amuse her so, even when he was angry? "No," she said. "We call this place Nowhere."

"And why am I here?" He held his bound wrists up. "Why am I a prisoner?"

"It would seem my overzealous friends found you wandering a little too close for comfort."

Aurelian appeared to ponder this for a moment, his face thoughtful. "I saw someone enter the woods with a large amount of food. Too much for one person, or even a family. It piqued my interest, and I followed."

Whoever had been transporting food needed a tongue-lashing. That was much too careless. It could have been someone much more of a threat than Aurelian seeing them. Braithe made a mental note to find out the name.

"You were supposed to be on your way back to Messina."

"I got distracted." His eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

"We hear things," she said with a shrug.

"Apparently so."

They stared at each other for a moment, and Braithe wondered what he was thinking. He seemed to have calmed down, though she had a feeling his anger was still seething just beneath the surface. Getting kidnapped probably wasn't something any knight would much appreciate. It wasn't very dignified. The thought made her grin, and she was grateful for both the gloom of the hut and her face cover. She doubted he'd appreciate her humour right now. Apparently, there was a time when he could be serious after all!

"I'm on your side," he said. "You need not keep me prisoner."

Braithe sighed. "How can we be certain that you won't tell the High King about us?"

"I don't think he would fault what you're doing here, considering the circumstances." Aurelian scratched his head with his bound arms. It looked kind of funny, but also made her feel a bit guilty, even if she wasn't the one who had captured him.

"I suspect he'd be less than pleased to hear that we kidnapped one of his King's Guards."

"Not if you let me go."

Just then, Jowan came back with a lit oil lamp, which he hung from a hook in the middle of the ceiling. Braithe shifted slightly to make sure that the light was behind her, leaving her face in shadows.

"Ah, I see our man's awake again." Jowan grinned.

"Ah, I see the giant who punched me is back," Aurelian muttered, gingerly touching his jaw with his fingers.

Jowan laughed, a deep rumble, like thunder rolling over the hills. "He's funny, boss."

Aurelian looked between them, obviously curious now. "You're their leader?"