He looked behind him. The riders were nearly at the outskirts of the buildings. With a grimace, he mounted his horse, ready to ride to safety before my rescuers reached us.
“What about all the people you left behind? Did you ever once spare a thought for anyone beyond your gods-damned self, Cassandra?” he accused.
“Catriona!” I could hear Gideon and my brother shouting now. They were here. I was safe.
I shook my head at Marcus, but was he so very wrong? I hadn’t looked back on my old life once, not really.
“You can’t leave,” I raised my arm, the sleeve falling back to reveal the cuff. He looked back to see what I meant, his face flashing a momentary concern.
“They can remove it,” he informed me, and with a glance at the quickly approaching horses, he offered his hand to me to go to him. “You have to come with me.”
I shook my head in disbelief. An almost hysterical laugh escaped my lips. “I don’t think so. I’ll go ahead with our plan and get it off by marrying Devyn.”
He looked to the boats waiting at the pier. He took hold of his reins as the sound of the approaching horses grew louder.
“Cassandra, they have Devyn.”
“No, no, you’re lying.”
I searched inwardly, reaching for Devyn. It was faint but I could sense him now, he must be nearby. His emotions were a steady beat of anger and tension. He was trapped. Marcus was right; they had Devyn.
I twisted to look over at the shore, blinking at the sight before my eyes. No, it couldn’t be. A dark figure stood amongst the sentinels on the pier. Matthias. Marcus’s father was alive.
And in the last remaining boat, bound with his arms behind him and held by two guards, was Devyn.
They had Devyn.
I ran, ran towards Marcus and away from the warriors riding to my rescue. Marcus’s strong arm swept me up and we were away and galloping along the beach.
The thud of the horses in pursuit was close behind. They were gaining but we were already pulling up and jumping off the horse at the pier.
I was tackled to the sand, and the air went out of me as the solid weight of my assailant flattened me to the ground. I tore at the hands holding me, struggling to get away, fighting to get to Devyn.
“No!” I screeched, tearing, writhing to get free of the arms that loosely held me. Gideon’s grimly determined eyes snagged with mine and I managed to scratch my way free of him. Gideon. It was always Gideon getting in my way.
Pulling myself to my feet in the dragging confines of the ruined velvet gown, I had barely made it two more feet before the same set of arms wrapped themselves around me, caging me in. I stilled. I was no match for the thickly corded arms that held me tight.
Matthias’s voice boomed out across the water as the boat was held at the end of the pier.
“An exchange. We’ll give your man back, but we want the girl.”
My brother’s voice rang out behind me.
“Never.”
Matthias raised his gun and pointed it at his prisoner.
“Last chance.”
Gideon remained silent, unmoving as I clawed like a wild thing to get free of him.
“No, wait!” I screamed.
Matthias fired… and the world paused.
There was the crack of gunfire and Devyn’s eyes catching mine. There was a pulse of pain through our bond and then I saw Marcus reaching for Devyn.
Blood. Lots of blood.
The guards pushed Devyn over the side of the boat as I watched in horror. The splash as he was submerged beneath the water.
I reeled at the images. My soul splintered. I couldn’t feel. I couldn’t think.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gideon was running, and there were more shots snapping as the rowboat pulled away from the pier. I collapsed unsupported. The pain I felt through the bond was immense. Panic. Despair,. Was it mine or his? It was impossible to separate them.
I felt sand under my knees. Saw Gideon running along the pier. More shots. The waves were impervious, closing over Devyn. Gideon was in the water, another warrior was diving in, and the sentinels’ shots were too far away to hit them now. Rion was leaving me, wading out into the water. Bodies came in on the waves. Came closer to the beach.
Devyn, they had Devyn.
I was on my feet, fighting the waves to get to them. They half lifted, half dragged him onto the beach. There was so much blood, red on the sand.
“Devyn…” My hands were reaching up to capture his face. He was still here, still with me. His eyes fluttered open. My hands pulled wide his shirt, tracking down his chest to that great gaping wound just below the Mercian sigil.
A moan escaped me. I looked at the men kneeling in the sand beside me. Their faces told me the news I would not, could not, hear. They didn’t believe he could be saved.
I reached inside for something, any faint smudge of power to help him. Nothing, there was nothing. A hand took mine, gentling with its touch, calming me as only he could.
“Cass,” he whispered.
“Devyn.” I got out a broken, ruined approximation of his name.
“Sorry.”
“No, don’t you dare,” I warned him. He couldn’t leave me. He couldn’t…
“Do something,” I screamed at the silent, unmoving figures keeping their useless vigil beside me. Gideon’s amber eyes met mine in anguish before he nodded and hurried away.
“Shhh,” I hushed Devyn’s attempt to speak. “It’s going to be all right. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Blood was welling out onto the white sand. We had to stop the blood. I held a hand over the wound and pressed down. “Help me,” I pleaded to someone, anyone.
And then there was another older gentle set of hands there, pressing a cloth on the wound. It was small and there was
