Heart of the Highlands: The Wolf (Protectors of the Crown Book 2) by April Holthaus

Author:April Holthaus [Holthaus, April]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grey Eagle Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

At the bottom of a long, spiraled set of stairs descending to the basement, the guards led Rylan down a dark narrow hallway. Stopping in front of one of the doors, they opened it andtossed Rylan inside. The smell of stale piss and rat feces burned in his nostrils as he stumbled inside. He heard the click of the lock on the door behind him, and the jingling sound of keys faded as the guards returned to their posts.

Rylan was partly impressed with his temporary accommodations. He half expected to be chained to the wall or stuffed inside a small room with fifty other men. But instead of being trapped in an overcrowded rat’s nest, his cell was barren and offered a pallet of dry hay, with even a pot to piss in. He was being treated like bloody royalty, by prison standards.

Rylan walked to his pallet and laid down. A small sliver of moonlight shined in through the bars of a narrow window near the top of the wall illuminating the room. Shadows danced along the brick and mortar as passing clouds swept across the sky.

Rylan paced, listening to the sound of rushing water from outside his window sloshing against the rocks that surrounded the castle wall. The sound of water meant his cell faced east of the lake. It also meant that the dungeons were near the outbuildings, the furthest point from the castle tower and below the guard house. Orienting his thoughts, he considered the possibility of escape. It would take weeks to dig through the crumbling walls around the window frame to dislodge the bars, and that was only possible if he had the right tools.

Rylan knew very well he could have taken on the three guardsmen in the woods, but as Nathanial assumed, allowing himself to become captured had lead him right to a reward: Braeden. It was also the only way to gain entrance into the heart of the keep.

A pinch of guilt stung his heart that he had deceived Fallon, but he did what needed to be done in order to keep her safe. As long as Fallon understood his message, she should be half way to the abbey by now, and should be able to find protection there allowing Rylan enough time to find her son and ensure he was safe.

Even in the last hours of his life, Rylan remained steadfast as he faced the cold eyes of death; still unmoved by his fate. Death was not something any man could escape.

Lying on the hard, stone ground laden with hay, he waited for the sun to rise and the guards to come. Throughout the night, he filtered through his memories, searching for those, which made him the happiest, but his mind became clouded with thoughts of Fallon.

Left with an unfathomable emotion he would never explore, guilt weighed heavy on his heart. His only comfort he had was knowing that her son would be protected and far away from the dragon’s lair.

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