Chapter Twenty-One

H awk pushed to his feet at the first knock on the door, already reaching for his sword when he heard Red call his name.

"Aye," Hawk called, relaxing his stance, turning back to Alyce. She was already picking her chemise off the floor and shaking it out to pull over her head. He felt a moment of loss as the material covered the golden glow of her naked body in the candlelight.

He lifted the slat from the door and opened it wide enough to slip through, ignoring Red's unspoken suspicion in his eyes as he emerged shirtless, quickly closing the door behind him. Fortunately for Red, he was wise enough to say nothing.

"What is it?" Hawk grumbled.

"He's left the castle."

"Fuck," Hawk muttered. "Hunter is on his trail?"

Red nodded. "He left through the postern gate and disappeared into the woods, but we saw which direction he went. Hunter will have him in sight before he clears the first hill."

"Meet me at the postern gate. I'll be there shortly," Hawk said, his hand already on the door handle.

Red looked him up and down with a smirk then turned on his heel, the sound of his laughter echoing against the stones of the corridor.

Hawk returned to the chamber to find Alyce pulling the laces of her tunic tight and tying them at her waist. He found his shirt and tunic in a wad on the floor and hastily pulled them on. Parting with a woman after an intimate encounter was always awkward, but he was finding this one particularly so: first because he was leaving her to track down her brother and likely arrest him; second because he needed time away from her to focus on something other than the way her scent and the feel of her overwhelmed him in a way wholly unfamiliar to him.

But he wasn't so callous as to leave her without acknowledging what they'd just shared. He looped his belt around his waist, the scabbard hanging empty at his side, then turned to Alyce, trying to find the right words to say.

She sat on the bed pulling on her shoes, then stood and faced him. "What did Red come to tell you?" she asked, her voice tight.

"I think you know already." He spoke gently, knowing his words would hit hard. He stepped closer to her and put his hands on her arms, dipping his head to look her in the eye. She met his gaze, and he could see the fear and sadness in the set of her brows and mouth.

"Stay here. Let me take care of this," he urged.

When she said nothing in response, her eyes darting to the side, he put a finger under her chin and nudged her face toward him, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Alyce, it's not safe for you to leave here. Promise me you will go straight to your chamber and stay there until I return."

She jerked her head away from his hand as she nodded, but he didn't trust that she would do as she agreed.

"I need to know you will be safe." There was a desperation in his voice he had not intended, but it was sincere. He could not concentrate on what he had to do if he thought she was in any danger. He put a finger under her chin and gently turned her toward him again. When she didn't resist, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. Her lips softened at his touch, making his body hot with desire for her, but her body was strung tighter than a bow.

When he reluctantly pulled away, Alyce held his gaze for a breath, then swallowed hard. "I'm not yours to keep safe. We called a truce for a short interlude, but it is over, and now we go back to the way we were."

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut.

She was right.

They weren't on the same side when it came to her brother. His job was to hunt Cynwulf down and bring him and the evidence before the king for judgment. When his job was complete, she would hate him for an outcome that was not his making.

Frustrated, he turned away from her, picked up his sword and sheathed it at his side, then held the door open for her. He could feel the anger radiating from her as she left the chamber, her feet moving in fast strides down the corridor. He was close behind her as she trotted quickly down the stairs, close enough to grab her arm and escort her to her chamber himself if need be.

To his surprise, she stepped out of the spiraling stairwell and walked briskly to her chamber, opening the door, slipping inside, and closing it without once looking back at him. He stood on the step, watching her door until he heard the wood slat sliding into the brackets to secure the door against intruders.

He doubted it would do little to keep her from leaving the moment she thought he was gone. His only comfort was the knowledge she likely lacked the tracking skills necessary to follow him. With a little bit of luck, they would be long gone by the time she found her way out of the castle.

The hall was packed with bodies wrapped in cloaks and stretched out on the floor, on benches, and even on the trestle tables. The torches had nearly burned out, and Hawk had to be careful not to step on anyone as he picked his way across the room. Once outside, he found his way to the kitchens, which stood no more than thirty paces from the keep.

The moon was still high enough overhead to provide some light in the deserted yard of the keep. Hawk peered up at the castle wall, but the guards there were looking outward, not inward, and took no notice of him as he crossed to the squat brick building belonging to the cook. Once there, he slipped into the shadows, ignoring the rumble of his stomach as the lingering aroma created by years of roasting meats and boiling stews floated to his nose.

Behind the kitchens was a secluded stretch of the stone wall, overgrown with foliage, but he and his men had discovered the concealed gate within two days of coming to Hawkspur. He worked his fingers along the wall beneath the vines until he felt smooth, flat wood among the rough stones. The curtain of vines pushed easily to the side, and he pulled on a leather strap looped through holes bored in the wood, opening the small postern door with hardly a squeak.

Red was already on the other side of the gate, his back pressed to the stones of the outer wall, waiting for him. He closed the gate behind him and followed Red as he hunched over to blend with the slope and began making his way quietly to the forest edge. Once among the trees, both men stretched to their full height and picked up the pace, following the markers Hunter left behind as he'd followed Cynwulf.

Even without the purposefully bent branches Hunter had left in his wake, Hawk and Red would have little difficulty finding Cynwulf's trail. In the moonlight, they could see where a trail was worn into the forest floor, narrow enough to be mistaken for nothing more than a deer path.

After some time, they crossed over a narrow stream and Hawk noticed the terrain getting rockier, the forest more dense. They followed the trail as it descended between two stony hills on either side. The temperature seemed to drop as the wind picked up speed, rustling the leaves overhead. Hawk slowed his pace, holding a hand up to Red to be alert. He stopped, letting his eyes adjust as more of the moonlight was blocked out by the proximity of the hill and the thickening canopy of the trees.

Hunter slowly emerged from the brush to stand on the trail a short distance in front of him, then disappeared back into the cover of the forest. Hawk and Red left the trail to slip quietly through the trees, stopping only when Hunter did.

"He waits below an outcropping at the base of the hill," Hunter relayed. "He's waiting for someone."

"Does he have anything with him?" Hawk asked. "Is this a rendezvous, or is he trying to escape?"

"Doesn't look like he's planning to go anywhere, unless whoever he's waiting for has what he needs."

There might be time to save him.

Hawk shook his head to rid it of the lunacy circling around in his mind. Thoughts like these were why men who lived their lives by the sword did not let any one woman occupy their minds. He should have been thinking about doing the job the king asked him to do, of finding the traitor and bringing him to justice. Not about whether he could intervene before Cynwulf completed his rendezvous and incriminated himself further. Thwarting him served Alyce and nobody else. She would be spared pain, but who would be hurt in the ambushes and battles caused by her brother's disloyalty?

The only option was to catch Cynwulf in the act of betraying the crown and bring him back to face the king. They already had enough evidence to prove Cynwulf's guilt with the messages they'd intercepted, and the meeting Hunter witnessed on the return from Shrewsbury.

The bigger concern, Hawk decided, was the fact that Alyce was influencing his own actions, which meant it might be too late for him. He was more worried about protecting her feelings than he was about protecting his own hide. If the king got wind that Hawk did anything to interfere with the mission, especially for a woman, the punishment would be harsh and undoubtedly painful.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself as the realization came to him that he would be willing to take the punishment if it meant sparing Alyce from seeing her brother hanged as a traitor.

Both Red and Hunter looked at him warily. The men had been his top commanders and closest confidants through years of battles, missions, and tavern brawls. They knew him better than anyone, and Hawk could tell from their expressions they could see that he was tormented. Red, of course, knew why.

He sighed, then gave his directives. "We will wait and listen, find out what he knows and who he meets, then we take Cynwulf and whoever he's meeting. We capture or we kill, but no one escapes."

"I'll take Cynwulf," Red offered, and Hawk knew he did it to prevent him from having to kill Alyce's brother, should things go wrong. But it would make no difference to her—if Cynwulf tried to escape and was killed in the melee, whether it was at the hands of Red or Hawk wouldn't change the outcome.

"Let's avoid bloodshed if we can," Hawk said. "I'd rather bring the king talking prisoners than silent corpses. Lead the way, Hunter."

Hunter pointed straight ahead. "The outcrop is there, Cynwulf is below it. We can jump down from there to the ground, surrounding them when the time is right." He smirked and shrugged. "As long as there aren't too many."

If Cynwulf were joining up with a large group, he would be going to them instead of waiting for them to come to him. This appeared to be a pre-arranged meeting to exchange information, and for the sake of covertness, the fewer people involved meant less chance of being caught. Hawk expected two or three men at the most.

They followed Hunter through the trees until he motioned for them to drop to the ground and crawl the distance to the edge of the outcropping. The underbrush extended nearly as far as the outcropping, providing cover from anyone looking up from the trail below. As they neared the edge, they could clearly hear tense voices rising from lower down. There was a small clearing extending beyond the shadow of the outcropping where the moon was able to shine through, revealing the men below.

"I sent a messenger the moment I knew the king was coming to Hawkspur." Cynwulf was trying to keep his voice low, but his anger was apparent.

"He never arrived," the other man snapped. He was hidden by the shadow of the overhang, but by his voice, Hawk guessed him to be an older man. "Daffydd heard the news from a traveler."

"I didn't know that until your messenger arrived today—which was stupid of you. Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"Watch your tone with me," the older man said, his voice harsh with rebuke.

Hawk knew about the messenger dispatched by Cynwulf because his men had intercepted him. The boy was given enough gold to hop a boat to Ireland and a warning, to stay out of sight and with his mouth shut.

"Cynwulf?"

Hawk felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.

"What is this?" a woman asked.

Hawk groaned inwardly at the sound of Alyce's voice. How the hell had she found them?

He pushed to his feet as he heard the sounds of a scuffle below and jumped over the edge of the outcropping before he had time to think of a plan.

He heard a snarl as he landed on the ground with his sword drawn and a scream tore through the night. A man had emerged from the trees behind Alyce, knife in hand. Ffyddlon jumped at him, gnashing her teeth, but the older man had thrown his knife, catching the hound in her shoulder as she charged headlong at the threat to her mistress.

Ffyddlon fell to the ground with a yelp as a burly man grabbed Alyce from behind and pushed a knife to her throat. He had a puckered scar running over the socket where his right eye should have been. The scar was wide enough to see clearly in the moonlight where it slashed through an eyebrow and disappeared under the hair hanging over his forehead. His functioning eye and the top half of his face were visible over the top of Alyce's head. He was a tall man, but Hawk assessed him to be slow, his excessive bulk too cumbersome for swift movement.

Red dropped to the ground next to Hawk, axe in hand, and moved to Cynwulf's side, ready to pounce should anyone try to escape. Hawk nudged the tip of his sword into the back of the older man. "Let her go," he said to Scar, "or I'll skewer your friend."

He kept his focus on the man behind Alyce, knowing he would lose his ability to think if he looked at her and saw the fear on her face. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the dog in a lifeless heap at Alyce's feet, and worse, he could hear her devastated sobs as she squirmed to break free from the man's hold, desperate to get to Ffyddlon.

"I'm in control here, not you, mate," the scarred man sneered, "and if I don't like what's happening, you'll watch her bleed."

"She has nothing to do with this," Cynwulf said, stepping toward his sister. "Let her go."

Red clapped a heavy hand down on his shoulder to stop him from getting too far out of reach. With his other hand, he held his axe ready to strike the older man, now pinned between the lingering blade of the axe and the point of Hawk's sword.

"If you hurt her, I will tell you nothing," Cynwulf continued. "And Daffydd will want to hear what I have to say."

Hawk was mildly impressed at the calm command in Cynwulf's voice while his sister was in danger. Though it was taking every bit of restraint to keep from charging the man and killing him on the spot for touching Alyce, he let Cynwulf continue his efforts at negotiating. Her brother knew these men, which meant he had the best chance of gaining their cooperation in releasing her.

"Let them both go," the scarred man said to Hawk, pressing the knife tighter to Alyce's throat. A trickle of blood dripped down her neck. "You will come with us, Cynwulf."

Hawk gritted his teeth and glared at the dark, glistening trail sliding slowly down Alyce's neck and staining the edge of her mantel. The man would not live to see the morning light.

"You have nothing to gain by hurting her," Cynwulf said. He shrugged Red's hand off his shoulder and took a small step forward. Red looked to Hawk, and he gave a swift nod, indicating he should let Cynwulf continue.

"Come now, don't do this," Cynwulf said, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm. "Let her go and leave."

A movement behind Alyce and Scar caught Hawk's attention, but he kept his eyes intent on them. Hunter was creeping through the trees towards the man's back, no more than ten paces from his target. They just needed to keep Scar focused on what was in front of him until Hunter could bury his blade in the man's back. Hawk would have preferred to kill the man himself, but getting Alyce away from him was more important than his need to avenge her. Barely.

Another movement deeper in the forest drew Hawk's focus. A form emerged out of the darkness from behind the thick trunk of a tree, and the outline of a bow aimed at Hunter was clear in the moonlight.

"Down!" Hawk bellowed, but Hunter had already sensed the danger and dropped into the cover of the underbrush.

Red dropped to one knee, ducking his head while keeping his axe poised, ready to strike. Scar loosened his grip on Alyce, looking left to right, trying to see what was happening behind him. A loud thwack cut through the air as an arrow hit the trunk of the tree where Hunter had been standing just a heartbeat before.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Hawk dropped his sword, pulling the knife from his belt as he closed the distance between him and Scar in two bounding strides. Scar turned his head from side to side, trying to make sense of the movement all around him. Alyce squirmed in his arms and Scar turned his attention back to her just in time for Hawk's deadly grimace to fill his view as the moonlight glinted off the blade in his upraised hand. He brought the knife down hard, sinking the steel into the depths of the brute's distorted eye socket.

Hawk shoved Alyce out of the man's grip as he screamed in pain and crumpled to the ground; he followed him down, twisting the blade, driving it deeper.

Alyce kneeled over Ffyddlon, seemingly oblivious to the melee around her. Hawk pushed her completely to the ground and crouched over her as another arrow whistled by. It struck the stony face of the hill, splintering into pieces mere feet from Cynwulf.

"Stop, Bran!" Cynwulf yelled over the chaotic din of the fighting. Red and the other man were already on the ground behind him. "Stop!" he yelled again.

Hawk waited for the next arrow to bury itself in Cynwulf's chest, but it never came. Everything was still.

The silence dragged on for several long breaths.

"Claudius?" a voice called from a short distance away, Hawk presumed from Bran. "Did you get what you needed?"

"No," the older man on the ground next to Red called back.

"Stand up, Claudius," another voice called from the forest. "And walk toward us. You, too, Cynwulf."

Hawk saw Red lay his axe on the man's back and heard him mutter. "You're not going anywhere."

He scanned the terrain near him, looking for a downed tree, or anything else that would serve as cover for Alyce. Bowmen had the advantage of distance; their swords were useless unless they could get close.

Meanwhile, Alyce was trying to pull herself free from his grip. He assumed she was trying to get to Cynwulf in some misguided attempt to protect him. He tightened his grip and growled, "Stay down."

Her response was a single word in a strangled whisper. "Ffyddlon."

The desperate sound of that one word cut through him like a knife to the chest, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment. A glance at the hound lying on the ground with a knife protruding from her shoulder, slick with blood, told Hawk it was already too late.

He released his hold on Alyce anyway so she could stretch her arms over Ffyddlon, but he stayed crouched over her. She put an arm around the dog's chest and pulled her close enough to bury her face in the fur at her neck.

"Claudius!" the voice called again. "Move away from them."

"No!" Cynwulf commanded. "You need me, but I won't come to you until you let my sister go."

"We don't need him," Bran sneered. His voice was closer to them now and Hawk suspected he was looking for Hunter.

"Aye, you do." The muffled words came from Claudius, still pinned to the ground by the threat of Red's axe.

"You'll let them go, or you'll have nothing," Cynwulf said through gritted teeth, and Hawk felt a pang of regret that Cynwulf had been such a fool. He was a traitor to the crown, but he was proving to be braver than expected. "I have information about the king's army that Daffydd needs. Let them leave and take me to him."

Bran emerged into the small clearing by the outcrop, but he was smart enough to keep some distance to retain the advantage. "It's common knowledge that the king is on his way to Hawkspur, so you've got nothing."

"Aye, but I also know the size of his army, where he's going next, and the tactics used by his commanders. I've got my informants and know who along both sides of the border for a fifty-mile range is sympathetic to Daffydd's cause. And I know who will claim to be his ally in this region but will cut him down the moment he turns his back."

The man was either much more resourceful than Hawk gave him credit for, or he was a very good liar. Either way, Hawk just might owe him his life before the night was over.

Alyce lifted her face from Ffyddlon's fur. "No, Cynwulf," she pleaded. "Don't do it."

Her brother didn't look at her but continued his bargaining. Hawk hated to see the disbelief on her face at being ignored, but he knew Cynwulf did it because he loved his sister. If he looked at her and saw the anguish on her face as she held her beloved pet dead in her arms, it would break him.

A small movement in the underbrush by Hawk's feet revealed Hunter lying flat on his stomach, hidden from the view of everyone except him. It never ceased to astonish him that a man as big as Hunter could move through a forest without snapping a twig or rustling a branch.

Hunter held up two fingers and pointed to a spot about halfway up the hill behind Bran, then held up one finger and pointed into the forest behind him. Hawk gave a quick nod, then clenched his teeth in frustration, disliking the odds of getting out of the predicament alive.

Hawk and his men were elite warriors, trained killers who did not back down in the face of adversity. But once a bowman had his target within sight, his arrow aimed and ready, there was little that could be done. In any other situation, the three of them could take down five men in a matter of moments. Any sudden movement now, and they would feel the deadly sting of an arrow.

He had done the worst possible thing a warrior could do and let his heart instead of his head dictate his actions. His men would likely die this night because of his failings. If he had any self-restraint, had thought it through before he jumped down from the outcropping the instant he'd heard Alyce's voice, they wouldn't be in this situation.

His mission was to serve the king, to intercept the flow of intelligence being leaked to Daffydd, and to bring the traitor before the crown for judgment. It had all been at his fingertips, and he'd chosen to protect a woman instead of his king.

He chided himself for wallowing. He needed to devise a plan, figure out a way to save their hides, and get them out of this situation. He turned back to Hunter, who raised a questioning eyebrow at him, waiting for direction.

He should tell Hunter to start killing the bowmen one at a time. He had the stealth to move undetected through the forest, to get behind each man, especially the two standing apart from the others, and slit their throats before they even realized he was near.

Instead, he pointed to Alyce and then pointed in the direction they'd come from, to safety.

Hunter's eyes widened slightly, and for the first time ever, he hesitated before acknowledging his commander's directive. The hesitation was no more than a blink of an eye, but Hawk saw it and felt the disappointment and uncertainty communicated in that small movement.

He also knew Hunter would die protecting Alyce once the fighting started, even if he did not agree with Hawk's decision to put a woman before the mission.

Cynwulf was talking to the bowmen, reminding them of their duty to Daffydd while trying to convince them to take him in return for his sister's life.

"I won't go with you unless I know she can return to Hawkspur safely," Cynwulf called out to the men. He was slowly maneuvering himself into a position that shielded Alyce more from Bran and the two men on the hill. "She needs these men to get her home," he said tipping his head toward Red and Hawk.

"Get the other bowman out of the trees behind us," Hawk muttered in a low tone to Cynwulf.

Red still had Claudius pinned to the ground with the threat of his axe at his back, but his eyes were on the forest beyond Hawk and Alyce, scanning for the fourth bowman.

"The four of you, including Martin—" Cynwulf pointed in the direction of the trees where the lone bowman was concealed—"will back up along the trail there until you get to the bend at the far end of the hill. I'll be right here where you can see me until my sister and her escorts are gone. They have an axe to Claudius's neck, and he will pay the price if you do not comply."

There was a long moment when no one said anything or moved. Hawk scanned the situation, assessing his options. They were completely dependent upon Cynwulf. The clearing below the outcropping was an open target for the men on the hillside, with only a smattering of underbrush for cover. Carefully Hawk shifted to block Alyce as much as possible from the danger of being shot with an arrow. "Slowly, pull your legs up behind me," he whispered to her, thankful when she complied without question.

"Martin," Cynwulf said in a tired voice, "show yourself, or have you forgotten that Claudius is Daffydd's cousin? He'll be none too happy if he doesn't return from this mission alive."

"They are witnesses, Cynwulf," Bran sneered, his arrow aimed in the direction of Red and Claudius.

Hawk saw the other man emerge from the woods behind him. "Your neck is as good as stretched if you let them go," Martin said, his arrow trained on Red.

"My days are numbered already," Cynwulf bit out angrily. "I was fool enough to think I would be the hero, the one to solidify an alliance between Daffydd and Edward, and for that, I will eventually pay with my life."

"Cynwulf, no." Alyce's whimper was full of sorrow, and the sound of it crushed Hawk harder than any boulder. He felt the air leave her lungs and her body sag deeper into the ground under the light pressure of his hand on her back.

He continued to crouch over Alyce, fully aware of the arrows trained on them by the bowmen on the hill. "Tell them to put down their bows," he growled at Cynwulf.

"Stand down," Cynwulf ordered to the bowmen. "Either you let them go and I come with you, or you return to Daffydd empty-handed."

"Just do as he says," Claudius said, the frustration evident in his voice. "Daffydd will not reward you if you come back empty-handed, or if you get us killed."

Hawk watched as the men pointed their bows toward the ground in front of them, though the arrows were still nocked, ready to aim and shoot in the blink of an eye.

"Red," Cynwulf said, not looking at him. "Pull Claudius to his feet and be at the ready. Use him as a shield and move to my side."

Hawk nodded to Red to comply. He kept the blade of the axe to the back of Claudius's neck as they both stood, then grabbed him by the cuff of his shirt and forced him to sidestep until they were both standing next to Cynwulf, creating a larger blockade in front of Alyce and Hawk.

Hawk lifted Alyce by the waist, pulling her to her feet. She protested, refusing to let go of Ffyddlon even while her eyes sought out her brother.

"Go," Hawk growled in a low voice, nudging her in the direction of the forest behind them. "Hunter will help you."

Alyce dropped again to her knees by the hound, her face hard with determination. "I will not leave her or Cynwulf behind."

"She's dead," Hawk said through gritted teeth, "and you will be, too, if you don't get out of here." He grabbed her around the waist again and hauled her up, determined to carry her if she did not cooperate.

"She's not dead! I felt her breath."

Hawk hesitated, knowing Alyce would never value her own life over that of her faithful companion. "I'll come back for her. Go!"

"Wait," Alyce pleaded, digging her feet into the soft ground, and reaching her hand back toward Cynwulf. Hawk stopped, closing his eyes as he cursed. The agony in her plea was too much for him. He kept his arms clenched around her waist but turned her to face her brother.

Cynwulf finally looked at his sister and reached his hand to her. "Alyce, I never meant for this to happen, but you must go."

"You'll come back?" she asked, her voice hoarse. "Tell me you'll come back."

Cynwulf looked at her for a moment, then closed his eyes, as though the sight of her was too overwhelming. "I beg you, Hawk, take her away from here."

Hawk picked Alyce up off her feet, one arm around her waist and the other pinning her arms to her side. She bucked against him, trying to break free as her heels kicked at his legs. He bounded for the trees, trying to ignore Alyce's agonizing sobs as he dragged her away from her brother.