Behind The Wooden Door by Emily Godwin

Author:Emily Godwin [Godwin, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-03-01T06:00:00+00:00

The sword was heavy in my hands as I walked ahead of Tristan and his soldiers in the dark night. I held tightly to the weapon he had given me as if it alone would protect me. I was terrified of what waited on the other side of the thicket of trees.

It seemed like a good idea to lead Tristan to Artair. It’d show him how I really felt for him, I’d thought. Now I wasn’t so sure. His mind was not on my safety as it had been when he and Hawk had come after me so many days ago. He was only concerned about his brothers. One of blood and one not.

The wind smelled of pine and blood as the trees opened up to a field of carnage. Puddles of blood and dead men laid ahead of me like the sea. My body went cold and my feet stopped. I couldn’t take my eyes away from it. So many men were dead. So many of them brothers, like Tristan, and fathers and husbands of waiting wives back home.

I could see the poor women standing by their windows as the emerald sails of Tristan’s ship came into their docks. How happy they would be to see the ship and then devastated when their men were not the ones who came off board.

“Terrible, isn’t it?” Tristan whispered to me in a hoarse voice.

I saw my fear reflected in his eyes though his face remained unreadable. Dread filled my soul as I stared at him. The same dread I had when my mother said her goodbye to me. Cornelia’s words came back to my mind. Was tonight the night? I knew Tristan may die saving his brother and Hawk, and if he went down with his sword in hand, I would too. Though I was terrified, I had no regrets leading him.

I let the blood stained air fill my lungs and continued through the field, careful not to disturb the dead men. My heart broke with every step I took and every face I recognized. I dared not look at the soldiers who marched behind me. I didn’t want to see the sadness in their eyes or the blaming looks I knew they were giving me.

I prayed the night would hide us from the penetrating gaze of the black butterfly. I knew the fluttering shadow couldn’t be far from all the carnage and death, but maybe, just maybe, we all would be spared from its venomous wings.

I refused to let myself think of Tommy and Hawk. They were alive when they went in, and that alone was hope enough for me. Hawk wouldn’t go down without a fight, and something in me knew that Tommy wouldn’t either. He was stronger than his brother gave him credit for.

Cornelia stood outside of her carriage and watched as we marched by. We were close. In just a few minutes, we would be standing outside my cousin’s castle. No one knew Tristan’s plan or if he even had one, but his men followed him regardless.

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