Page 79 of Ella’s Desire

Ella kicked her leg free and got to her feet.

Bronson stood alone, his opponent sprawled halfway off the ledge with a red stain across his chest.

Bronson’s eyes went wide. “Ella.”

“’Tis not my blood.” She pulled free her axe from the reiver’s body one final time.

Lark and Leila were still pressed back against the wall. Leila relaxed as Ella and Bronson approached, but Lark did not. Her small shoulders were tense, her body stiff and her eyes wide and glassy. Flecks of blood dotted her face. Most likely from the man Ella had hit in the eye with her dagger.

“Are you both well enough to run?” Ella asked.

Leila nodded. Lark simply stared.

“Lark.” Bronson knelt in front of her. “I need you to look at me.”

Her green eyes slid toward him.

“We need to flee. Before they come back. Can you do that for me?”

She nodded.

Ella put her hand into Leila’s and squeezed. She didn’t voice her gratitude for the connection Leila had somehow been able to establish but knew she would not need to. Leila looked up at her, her brows furrowed with trepidation. “I’m sorry, Ella.”

Ella shook her head. Apologies and appreciation could come later. And yet there was something in how Leila looked down at her feet, in the lingering glance she cast toward Bronson after speaking, that sent a prickle of fear down Ella’s spine.

“You aren’t talking about this, are you?” she asked. “Leila, what—”

“I’ll go down the ladder first.” Bronson straightened from where he’d been speaking with Lark. “If there is someone down there, I will attack them. Ella, you go last so the girls are between us.”

Ella nodded and glanced once more at Leila, who refused to look up at her. The nip of fear grew to a gnaw. Escaping the debatable lands would be as dangerous as entering had been.

And Ella knew it would not be as uneventful.

Before descending the ladder, Bronson scouted the area below for reivers. No movement showed aside from the cows and no men were visible, save the two who lay dead among the trampled dirt below.

He quickly made his way to the ground floor. Once there, he drew his sword and circled the room. After reassuring himself all was safe, he waved for the others to follow. Leila climbed with the same light dexterity as Ella, their warrior training apparent in everything they did.

Lark, however, lowered herself with a jerky unease. Her face was too pale for his liking, her eyes too large and full of fear. Now more than ever, he regretted having chastised her for trying to learn how to protect herself. If she had known how to keep herself safe, the same as Ella and Leila, she would not be as traumatized.

When she finally descended, he put his arm around her narrow shoulders. “You’ve done well, Lark. You’re a brave young lady and I need you to keep being brave just a little longer.”

She looked up at him and nodded. He pulled a dagger from his boot. “Take this. If you need it, use it.”

She closed her fingers around the hilt and held it awkwardly before her. “Thank you, Bronson. And thank you for rescuing us. I was so…so scared.” Her eyes filled with tears.

He shook his head. “Not here. Don’t think on it now. We must be brave.”

Leila appeared by Lark’s side and clasped their hands together. “And quiet.”

Lark nodded.

Bronson’s heart crushed into his ribs. Despite her obvious terror, Lark was being so strong. His precious sister, the only sibling he had in the world, the one he thought in his darkest musings he’d never see again. He resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and keep her there, so she would never be scared or threatened again. Instead, he rubbed his hand over her silky hair.

She was alive. She was uninjured.

And he would do everything in his power to ensure she remained that way.

Ella was at the door already, her head bent toward the wood as she listened intently. After a long pause, she quietly slipped the latch free and opened the door, then waved them over.