Page 68 of Midnight Shadow

Bria stared at him in shock. Before? Whom had he killed? Her eyes widened. Odella! Terran hadn’t killed her, Kenric had poisoned her!

Bria stood. “You bastard,” she hissed. She had to tell Terran! Her gaze swept the clearing. The two guards stood at the ready not feet from her. Kenric leaned against a tree. There was nowhere to run. “You killed Odella!”

“I told you you knew too much,” Kenric replied.

“Why?” she demanded. “Why kill her?”

“It’s of no concern to you,” Kenric said. “You’ll be dead soon.”

“Then tell me,” Bria insisted. “If I’m dead, I’m no threat to you.”

“You were never a threat to me,” Kenric retorted.

Suddenly, Bria’s mouth began to water as nausea twisted her stomach into a wretched knot. Frantically, she looked around as the world spun dizzily about her. Then she turned her back to Kenric and threw up. Spasms shook her body. She wiped the back of her mouth and realized through her agony that Kenric was talking.

“Good,” he said. “That is the first sign. Soon, you’ll feel drowsy and fall into unconsciousness. Then you’ll die.”

“No,” she gasped. Bria had to warn Terran. She had to get to him. But suddenly her body felt heavy.

No, she thought. I have to get to Terran.

She fell forward to her knees. Kenric’s boots appeared at her side, and she barely had the strength to lift her gaze to his.

“Don’t fight it,” he encouraged. “It will all be over within the day.”

She grabbed his tunic in an effort to stand, but couldn’t pull herself up. Somewhere, laughter drifted through her mind like a distant echo. She had to get to Terran.

Suddenly, she leaned forward and retched all over Kenric’s boots before collapsing to the leafy ground.

She forced herself to be absolutely still. She had to get rid of them. If she could get them to leave her, she could mount her horse and ride back to Castle Knowles. Ride? she thought groggily. She could hardly focus. She’d never be able to ride a horse.

She watched Kenric through her darkening vision. He and his men mounted their horses and in an instant were gone.

Bria tried to push herself to her feet. She had to reach her horse, which stood in the distance. But her body wouldn’t move. Her hands lay still on the ground, her arms like heavy rocks. She couldn’t lift them.

Tears entered her eyes. She was going to die here. She wasn’t going to get the chance to warn Terran. Oh, Terran, she thought. I have to tell you. I have to warn you about Kenric. He killed Odella. He’s killing me!

From far off, she heard a voice. Was Kenric still here? Hadn’t she seen him leave? She struggled to turn her head toward the sound. A million black dots swam before her eyes. Was that someone moving closer? Or was he leaving? Was he running? She couldn’t tell.

Then he was at her side, kneeling beside her. Brown eyes. Kenric had black eyes. Were these eyes brown? Yes. Yes! She recognized his warm eyes as a scowl of concern crossed his brow.

“George,” she whispered. It was Mary’s father.

He pushed his hands beneath her shoulders and legs and lifted her off the ground. She leaned heavily against him. “Don’t worry, Bria,” he said. “We’ll get you back to the castle safely.”

Bria closed her eyes.

“M’lord!”

Terran was out of bed immediately. He donned his leggings, noticing but not worrying Bria was gone, until he threw open the door to his room and found her in Kenric’s arms. A farmer stood just behind Kenric.

Dread welled up in Terran’s chest. Had she been stabbed? There was no blood. What could it be?

He lurched into action, removing her from Kenric’s arms. “What happened?” he demanded as he turned to lay her on the bed.

“This farmer found her in the road,” Kenric said, motioning to the man behind him. “She’d taken poison. This pouch was beside her.”

Agony pierced Terran’s heart as he snatched the pouch. “Where the hell did she get this?”