Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“A moment, Harold,” Mave called out to him and then turned a dismissive glance on Knox. “You as well.”
Knox glared at her. “What you say to Dru, you say to me.”
Mave’s chin turned up. “Have it your way.”
She steered them away from the cart to where they couldn’t be heard talking. “Fate spoke with me about you both. You need to consummate your vows and seal your marriage immediately.”
Dru shook her head when Knox turned an accusing scowl on her. “She didn’t hear we are not truly wed from my lips.”
Mave jabbed Knox in the chest. “Don’t you listen? I told you Fate spoke to me.”
“I don’t believe in fate,” Knox said.
Mave didn’t hide her annoyance. “Then I’ll be blunt. If you don’t seal your vows—make this marriage permanent—Dru will meet her demise before the next full moon.”
CHAPTER 17
Dru wiped her hands on a cloth after applying a salve Mave had left to help the bruising on her jaw. Mave’s prediction had struck them silent, not a word being exchanged between them since hearing it and entering the cottage. And it continued between them stretching, thick and unyielding, like the weight of the night pressing in around them. Knox stood near the hearth, one hand braced against the mantle, his jaw tight, his shoulders rigid. The flickering light cast sharp shadows across his face, making his expression unreadable.
Dru swallowed against the knot forming in her throat. She had expected anger, questions, some demand that she explain, but he had said nothing. And somehow, that was worse.
She set the cloth aside.“Knox,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He didn’t turn, but she saw the slight twitch in his hand, the only sign he’d heard her. Still, he remained quiet.
She hesitated, then stepped forward, closing some of the space between them. “This isn’t fair to you,” she admitted. “I—I never thought something like this could happen.”
Knox turned slowly toward her. His gaze locked onto hers, intense, searching. “And what is it, exactly, that has happened, Dru?” His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it, a restrained force barely held in check. “Because all I know is that Mave spoke in riddles, and now you look at me as though I’m the one who’s cursed.”
Dru flinched, guilt twisting inside her. You didn’t know the half of it. If he did—if he knew the truth—he would never forgive her.
She clasped her hands together, suddenly cold despite the fire. “We can’t stay married,” she forced out, the words tasting like ash on her tongue.
A muscle ticked in Knox’s jaw. “Can’t or won’t?”
She looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. “Does it matter?”
“Aye, it matters.” His voice was rough now, sharp like the steel of a blade. “You think I’d let you walk away after what Mave said? That I’d stand by while you—” He stopped himself as he raked his fingers through his hair. “You mean to tell me you’d rather die than be my wife?”
She stiffened, her breath catching. If only it were that simple.
It wasn’t just her life at stake. It was his. If he knew who she was, remaining his wife would put him in danger. And she could not—would not—be the cause of his possible death.
She forced the defiant, sharp-tongued Dru to speak for her. “And are you telling me you care enough to remain wed to me?”
“Too fearful to answer me,” Knox accused, glaring at her as he waited for an answer.
“I told you I never planned on getting myself a husband.”
“Plans change,” he snapped. “Now tell me why you would rather die than remain wed to me.”
Dru’s throat tightened. She opened her mouth, but no words came.
Because I love you too much to let you suffer. Because if I stay, you will die. Because I am not the woman you think I am.
But none of that could pass her lips.
She turned the onus on him once again. “I am not what you want in a wife. Why sacrifice your life for me?”
The air between them went utterly still.
Then, Knox’s voice came, low and unyielding. “I have come to care for you.”
His remark shocked them both.
He hadn’t expected to say that and didn’t know why he did. Maybe it was the twisting ache in his heart that wouldn’t leave him after hearing Dru could die and be gone from his life forever.
“I have no idea why I have come to care for you since you can be annoying at times, but I do care for you—to my astonishment—and I would do anything to keep you safe… including staying married to you.”
But would he stay wed to her if he knew who she truly was, or would he surrender her to Lord Torrance and have their marriage voided? Remaining wed to her would lose him the dream of owning his own land, not that Torrance would allow that. It could cost him even more if Torrance decided it would be easier to see Knox dead so he could wed her to another.