Silence: Part Two of Echoes & Silence by A.M Hudson Read Free Book Online Page A

to him.
    David snapped out of his horror slowly and his eyes went back to his uncle, his hands falling to his sides. “I will carry this on my shoulders now forever. I will never be able to take back what you’ve done to her.”
    “I’m sorry, David. I—”
    “You will leave. Now,” he said coldly. “And never come back.”
    Arthur bowed his head, closing his one good eye. And David vanished.
    I wiped the sweat from my face, feeling my heart beat again, so I stepped out of Falcon’s arms only to feel the world stop turning around me when my eyes met directly with Walter’s, then Margret’s.
    They stood there with Otis and Eldron, two Lower House members, stunned and pale-faced on the driveway behind us, soaked yellow in the light of the headlamps from Arthur’s car. Falcon followed my horrified gaze, closing his eyes as the severity of everything to come sunk through him like agony.
    “I can explain,” I said.
    Walter put one hand up. “There’s nothing to explain.”
    “You betrayed your king.” Otis’s voice trembled. “With his brother .”
    “And his uncle, it would seem,” Margret added snottily, folding her arms and nodding at the bloody unconscious heap on the ground.
    Walt just shook his head in disapproval, then looked at Falcon. “You will take her to the cells, Falcon. Or I’ll have my guards do it.”
    “You have no right to arrest her. That order must be sanctioned by the Upper and Lower House.”
    “Very well.” Walt turned away, and the others followed. “We will see you in an hour.”
    I spun around and looked up at Falcon. “Shit.”
    He nodded.
    “What do we do?”
    “Just…” He pointed to Arthur. “Help him. I’ll call a meeting.”
    “Okay,” I said, but when I reached the car, Arthur was gone—leaving only a bloody mess behind. “Um, Falcon?”
    He glanced up from his phone.
    “He’s gone.”
    His shoulders dropped. “Well, we don’t have time for him now. Leave it. I’ll send some knights out after him.”
     
    ***
     
    “You need to run,” Falcon said again. “It’s not open for debate!”
    “I’m not running,” I demanded. “This is my home. This is my life.”
    “Fine.” He turned away.
    I followed him as he opened my bedroom door. “Where are you going?”
    “To find David—see if he can talk some sense into Walt.”
    “Might be best if David’s not here right now, Falcon. Laws are laws, and he’ll say the same thing. We all knew this day was coming.”
    “Yeah, well—” He backed away. “We might’ve known, but my vow to protect you still stands. And I’ll die before I let them hurt you.”
    “Don’t be stupid, Falcon.” I grabbed him by the wrist. “This punishment is inevitable. If you go and get yourself killed, all you’ll change is that you won’t be here to comfort me after. Please, just—”
    “I’m sorry. I have to try.” His eyes went to my belly. “If not for your sake, then hers.”
    “They won’t hurt her.”
    “They don’t believe she can be hurt. They think your skin is impenetrable, remember?”
    “It is,” I said. But that didn’t make me feel any better either. “Besides, what choice do I have? You know David can’t do a damn thing to help me. Not even as king. No one can.”
    He thought for a second, then squared his shoulders. “Drake can.”
    “No.” I aimed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare bring him into this—not after what he did! I can’t be anywhere near him, Falcon, I—”
    “But if he comes now—signs the agreement, he will have final say over what happens to you.”
    “And you think that’s any better an idea than Walter having control?” I walked over and shut my door. “Falcon, Drake will take me away—hide me in his castle until the baby’s born. And then he’ll kill me. And no one will have any power to stop him. You can’t be foolish enough to put my fate in Drake’s hands.”
    “It’s the only way, Ara. He’s the only one with a big enough stake in this to