An Oath Taken by Diana Cosby Read Free Book Online Page B

edge of his bed. She knelt and laid her hand upon his shoulder, feeling his strength and his tremors as well.
    Now beside him, she hesitated, unsure of what to say of what to do. He didna need words of condolence, the time for those long past. “My mother died when I was but six.” She closed her eyes as the faint memory filled her mind. “After, my father turned away from me because—” What was she doing? Elizabet jerked her hand from his shoulder and stood. “My regrets,” she said, her voice shaky, her mind reeling from how close she’d come to revealing the truth.
    Nicholas sat up. Firelight sharpened his face, touched by questions and concern. “Thomas—”
    â€œ ’Tis late.” She hurried to her pallet praying he wouldna ask any questions. For a moment she’d sensed a harmony, a peace between them, a rare unity until this moment that she’d shared only with her brother. A shiver stole up her spine. What was going on?
    A long sigh came from Nicholas, then the bed groaned as he lay back. “Go to sleep, Thomas. ’Twill be a long day on the morrow.”
    The pop of the fire echoed in the silence.
    Several moments later, Nicholas’s breaths fell out soft and slow.
    He was asleep. The relief Elizabet expected was replaced by regret. How could she nae? For one brief moment they had reached a plane of understanding, a friendship that would never be. For once she gained freedom for her brother and her people, Thomas would disappear forever.

CHAPTER 5
    E lizabet’s laughter, filled with childish delight, melded with the soft lyrical chuckle of her mother’s. She leaned into her mother’s embrace, loving these moments the most.
    Her mother’s warm, green eyes, like leaves in the summer, twinkled with mirth.
    â€œAnd did the fairy princess indeed cast the prince into the bog?” Elizabet whispered, on edge to learn the prince’s fate.
    Her mother’s eyes struggled for sincerity, but lost to humor. She laughed. “Aye, she did indeed.”
    The clatter of hooves echoed from the courtyard.
    Her mother glanced toward the window, the smile never leaving her face. “ ’Twill be your father.”
    Anxious for his hug and whisker-roughened kiss that would tickle her neck, Elizabet jumped from her mother’s knee to greet her father. She struggled to move forward. Failed. Panic swept her. Why couldna she move?
    The faint smell of smoke wove through her mind, then the soft, deep even breaths of someone nearby entwined with the crackle of the dying fire a backdrop. She opened her eyes. The castellan’s chamber came into view.
    A dream.
    She shut her eyes, tried to reclaim the dream of moments ago, but the last image of her mother faded.
    A night bird cried in the distance, its mournful call fading into the eerie stillness.
    Opening her eyes, she glanced out the window.
    Gray hinted at the edges of the star-filled night.
    â€™Twould soon be dawn. Careful nae to make a sound, she sat up, looked over.
    Nicholas’s chest slowly rose and fell.
    The castellan was still asleep. She must slip out before he awoke. He would be furious to find her gone, but she would contend with his anger later. As she was banned from entering the dungeon to find out if Giric was alive, she would review the ledgers of the keep. Like the records maintained in her home, they should list the death of anyone of substantial importance. And she prayed she’d nae find her brother’s name on the pages.
    With care, she stood. The tunic Nicholas had given her to wear the night before concealed her curves as she gathered her clothes. The seconds it took to cross to the door seemed like hours. Holding her breath, she lifted the latch and pulled. The thick oak and steel door creaked opened. Heart pounding, she glanced back.
    The castellan’s eyes remained shut and his breathing even.
    She hurried out, closed the door behind her, then scanned