Champion of the Heart (36 page)

Jordan instinctively reached for the dagger at her thigh; her sheath was empty. She couldn’t even remember when she had seen the dagger last. Fear and desperation seized her as she watched Evan ride off toward Castle Vaughn.

Desperate, despondent, Jordan began to race after Evan, running as fast as her legs would carry her. Fear tightened its hold around her heart.

Suddenly, Fox was beside her on his horse, his hand outstretched to her. “Here, Jordan,” Fox called.

She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up before him, seating her in front of him. He spurred the horse forward. Evan was so far in front of them. The horse had to go faster, but the poor animal was already panting hard, worn out from the joust.

Jordan’s hands clutched the pommel as Fox maneuvered the horse over a fallen tree. She lost her balance and teetered for a second, but Fox held her firmly against him. “Hold on,” he urged.

His tone somehow calmed her, taking some of her fear away. Evan was too far ahead for them to catch up to him. He was going to reach the castle first. Faster, her mind urged. Faster. But they had two people on their horse where he had only one. They would never stop him in time. A sob welled up in her throat and tears blurred her eyes. What horrible things would he do to the children just to get back at her? She couldn’t even bear to imagine, but Evan was capable of just about anything. “Fox,” Jordan pleaded, her voice fading in the wind rushing by them.

“Here.”

Jordan looked down. Fox held a dagger in his hand, holding it before her. She took it from him as the horse lurched forward.

“You have to do it,” Fox said.

Jordan looked up at Evan. She could see his back just ahead of her. “I can’t. He’s too far. We’re moving too fast.”

“You have to! It’s our only hope. If he reaches Castle Vaughn before us, the children don’t have a chance!”

“He’s wearing chain mail. It will do no good.”

The horse leaped over a scattered pile of rocks.

“I’ll get in as close as I can. You have to aim for his head or his neck.”

Horror speared through Jordan as Fox urged his horse faster with a slight kick. How could she throw a dagger at Evan’s neck? It would kill him. How could she kill him?

How can I not? she wondered. He’ll kill the children if I don’t stop him. Or worse. Jordan glanced down at the dagger in her hand. Her fist was trembling. What if she missed?

Jordan lifted her gaze to see Evan moving fast down the dirt road toward Castle Vaughn. She had to stop him. It was all up to her. Resolve filled her. She clutched the dagger tightly.

Evan would not beat them back to Castle Vaughn.

“He’s getting too close to the gates!” Fox declared.

Jordan watched Evan ride. She had certainly hit a target as far as that before, but she had been standing still, not riding a moving animal, and the target had been still. “Fox,” Jordan whispered in doubt.

“You have to do it,” Fox said.

Jordan saw Evan’s bare neck moving up and down as he galloped hard on his horse. She knew she couldn’t hit it. It was too small a target, moving too fast and too far away.

“You’re the only chance the children have,” he said.

Jordan’s gaze dropped to the dagger.

“Do it now!” Fox ordered.

Evan erupted through the thin trees, racing hard for the drawbridge. They followed, moving quickly behind him.

Castle Vaughn rose before them, its tall towers reaching skyward. Where the castle had once appeared warm and beautiful and inviting to Jordan, it now looked as grim and ugly as she knew Evan’s soul to be. In her mind, the crumbling ruins of Castle Mercer held more grandeur and majesty than the starkly foreboding, perfectly maintained fortress of Castle Vaughn.

Evan reached the drawbridge and started across.

“Do it now, Jordan!”

She brought her arm back and flung the dagger with all her strength, praying for her throw to be true to its mark.

T
he dagger flew straight and hard, zeroing in on its target, the blade heading directly for the exposed flesh on Evan’s neck. But at the last moment, Evan’s horse made a small leap onto the lowered drawbridge, and the metal blade struck Evan in the shoulder, clanging loudly as it struck his armor. The dagger careened off his chain mail and hit the castle wall in front of them, smashing into a torch burning on the wall, sending sparks and flames flying into the air.

Spooked by the sudden burst of fire, Evan’s horse whinnied in fear and reared back, then bucked wildly. Evan tugged at the reins, trying to get the frightened animal under control, but his horse kept snorting in terror and bucking so frantically that Evan lost his grip on the reins and fell out of the saddle. Evan hit the edge of the drawbridge hard with a tremendous thud.

Then he tumbled over the side and fell into the brackish moat below.

Jordan and Fox reached the drawbridge, moving to the spot where Evan had entered the water. Jordan waited for Evan to resurface. Fox reined in his horse to gaze down at the moat. Bubbles emerged from the brown water, but Evan did not surface.

A cry of alarm echoed from the walkways of the castle.

Fox cursed silently from behind Jordan and dismounted. He moved quickly to the edge of the drawbridge.

“No, Fox,” Jordan whispered, unable to move from the saddle for a long moment, fearful of what he meant to do.

Fox launched forward, diving into the moat waters. His body pierced the muddy waters like a knife.

Frantic, fearful, Jordan dismounted. She stared at the waters below. Jordan felt bodies press close around her, and without looking knew they were all staring as raptly into the water as she was.

The dirt and mud churned up from the moat’s bottom made it impossible to see what was happening beneath its dark surface. Jordan’s mind and heart screamed as the minutes passed. Where was Fox? She silently begged him to resurface.

But the water remained still.

Someone beside her jumped into the moat water. And then another.

Suddenly, the water erupted and Fox emerged, gasping for air. He had an arm around Evan’s neck, straining to keep his head out of the water. Evan was slumped over, unmoving.

The two men who jumped into the water moved quickly to Fox’s side. They took Evan from his arms and swam to the drawbridge, pulling Evan along with them. Several farmers and knights helped to lift Evan out of the moat and onto the drawbridge.

Jordan watched as Fox swam to the drawbridge. She leaned over, reaching down for him. Fox grabbed her outstretched hand. The soldier beside her reached down to help Fox up, and together they helped him onto the drawbridge. Jordan wrapped her arms around him, relief coursing through her body. They sat for a long moment, entwined in each other’s embrace.

Jordan pulled back to look into his eyes. She couldn’t understand why he would dive in after Evan. Why, after everything Evan had done to keep them apart?

Fox smiled wearily at her and cupped her cheek.

Silence settled around them. Fox glanced over his shoulder.

Evan lay very still in the middle of a group of soldiers and villagers.

Fox glanced at Jordan. Anxiety lit his eyes. She knew he wanted to leave, to flee before Evan could charge them with trying to kill him. He stood, drawing Jordan up with him, his arm tight about her shoulders.

One of the villagers turned to look at him. Jordan thought for a moment there would be a cry of alarm. The villager opened his mouth. “You’re very noble and honorable to rescue m’lord.”

Fox shared a startled gaze with Jordan.

“You dived in to save Lord Vaughn.”

Fox’s surprise faded and a darkness settled over his face.

“Yes,” Jordan supplied quickly before Fox could respond. “He is very noble.”

Fox turned a startled gaze on Jordan, and she realized for the first time he was as much a noble in deed as she was in name.

As they approached Evan, the villagers and soldiers parted, making a path for them. Jordan’s arm tightened around Fox’s waist. When Evan saw them, would he shout orders for their imprisonment? Would he threaten Fox’s life again?

Jordan faltered just as the last man standing near Evan stepped aside. Evan lay on the drawbridge, unmoving. His eyes did not open. His chest did not rise and fall.

“It was the weight of his armor,” one of the soldiers whispered. “He drowned.”

Evan was dead.

Jordan almost collapsed at the realization, but Fox held her up. Evan was dead. The children were safe, and Fox was the true victor. Tears filled Jordan’s eyes. Tears of happiness, tears of joy. She threw her arms around Fox, sobbing against his shoulder.

Fox embraced her tightly.

Relief swept through her, and she knew the future was bright. She looked up at Fox, but there was something sad in his eyes. He took her hand and led her away from the crowd of people, off the drawbridge. The soldiers let them pass. They seemed disoriented and lost, bewildered at what to do next after the loss of their lord and leader.

Fox stopped just at the base of the drawbridge and turned to Jordan. He looked down at his feet.

He was leaving her. The realization hit like lightning. “No,” she whispered.

Fox looked over her shoulder at the crowd of villagers and soldiers that were now lifting Evan’s body to carry him into the castle. “I don’t belong here,” he said.

Jordan stared at him in disbelief. She didn’t know what to say to him.

“I’m an outlaw,” he told her quietly, his eyes finally coming to rest on her.

Tears filled her eyes. “After all this, you’re still going?”

“Don’t make this harder than it is,” Fox said softly. He took her face into his hands. “If there’s anything you need, anything you want, I’ll always be here.”

Anguish ripped Jordan’s heart. He pressed his lips to hers in a tender, warm kiss. A promise. Then he turned, took the reins of his horse, and began to lead it away, walking into the grassy field.

Jordan watched him, the proud gait of his steps, the straight back. He was a powerful, proud man. No longer the boy she had left. Now a man, a man who was leaving her, a man she loved more than anything in the world.

He was moving away from her, moving out of her life again. “No,” she whispered and stepped forward. Not again. This can’t be happening. She was sobbing now, tears streaking her face, blurring her vision. He’s just giving up. Just walking away.

Jordan ran after him, calling his name. “Fox!”

He paused and turned to her.

Jordan slowed as she approached him. “I need something.”

“What?” he asked, confused.

“You,” she told him. “You can’t just walk away from me. I left you ten years ago, and I won’t let you make the same mistake now.”

“What would you have me do, Jordan?”

“Carry through on your threat.”

Fox lifted startled eyes to her.

“Marry me,” she dared.

He studied her face for a long moment. “Do you know what you ask?”

Jordan stared at him in disbelief. “Yes!” She took a step toward him. “To be with you for the rest of my life.”

“In a run-down castle. Titleless, denounced by your father, always scrabbling for food.”

Jordan moved forward, her hands reaching out to him. She clenched them in his tunic. “We can find a way to change this. We can do it together, Fox. I can talk to my father with you by my side. We can petition the king. It’s not impossible. Not if we do it together.”

Fox gazed down at Jordan. His eyes were hard and unrelenting. But the longer he stared, the softer his gaze and his features became. “I cannot fight against you. I just don’t want to.” He clenched her hands in his, holding them against his chest. “With you, I believe anything is possible.” He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “My love,” he whispered and cupped her face, drawing her closer to him. “I will fight for you.”

He kissed her, tenderly caressing her soft lips. Jordan’s body tingled with his kiss, igniting an inferno of possibilities.

“A
nd that was how I won Jordan’s mother.”

Fox watched Lord James of Ruvane speak to the assemblage of gathered dukes and barons and earls and their ladies. The room was silent now. Even the boisterous, blubbering soldier who’d had much too much to drink was sitting quietly listening to Lord Ruvane. The guests had come from all across the lands at the bequest of Jordan’s father. They had been invited to join in the celebration and now had all gathered in the Great Hall of Castle Ruvane to listen to Lord Ruvane speak of carrying on the Ruvane tradition.