Page 74 of Haunted

Her loneliness and confliction overwhelms me.

Don’t jump!

Sorrow. Humiliation, shame, and anguish. I sense them all.

Frozen air burns my lungs. I round the corner and see flakes covering her hair. Niawen is a white ghost as she tilts her face to the sky.

She’ll be a ghost if I don’t reach her in time.

Her fall will be over in two seconds. I sprint to close the gap.

“Niawen!”

She gasps and stumbles. My hand closes around her wrist. I pull her off the wall, but as soon as she’s on solid ground, I relinquish her hand.

“What are you doing up here?” Her body shakes.

I take a deep breath. She is fine. She is fine. Don’t take her in your arms. “What am I doing up here? What are you doing up here? I came to prevent you from doing something rash.”

Mortification soaks through her. “Were you prying into my private emotions? I thought you said you didn’t do that?” I don’t miss her hand curling into a fist at her side.

“You weren’t exactly being subtle.”

“You have no idea what I was doing.”

I sneer. Did I expect her to fall into my arms for saving her? I’m a stupid fool. “You wouldn’t hurt yourself. Naturally you weren’t really going to jump.”

“This is what I prefer to do in my free time. I like to ponder life’s meaning while gazing over a deadly drop.”

I throw my hands up. Why had I bothered? Because she was going to jump. “Fine. By all means, please, climb back on the ledge.”

I don’t mean that.

She shakes her head. “You can’t tell me you don’t know how I feel. I’ve lost everything. You’ve been there.”

“You’re right. I have.” I breathe in her face. “But my men saved me. That’s why I’m here now, whether you’ll accept my help or not.”

“You just don’t want to be alone anymore. You want me here so you’ll have someone to live out your eternity with.”

I close my eyes and take a measured breath through my nose. This woman will burn through my patience. No. I broke you, and now I must fix you because I do want you to live out my eternity with. As the muscles in my face tighten, my voice drops. “You’re mistaken, but you go on thinking that. I’m going to sleep. The night is young. You should go to bed too. Maybe you’ll find your forgiveness in the morning.”

I stride away, hoping she takes my advice to go to bed.

With more frustrations fermenting in my head, I realize I have another task before sleeping.

How in the world will I turn Deiniol’s baby?

53

Niawen watches me as I pace in front of the fire. With my limited skills in healing, I turned Deiniol’s baby last night, but it wasn’t without difficulty. Deiniol is a trusted friend, and I care for his wife, Siwan. If anything happens to their child, I will blame myself.

Niawen’s gaze is riveted on me. I can’t sit still, waiting for Siwan’s labor to start, and abide this woman pinning me with her death stare at the same time.

At least she’s not standing on a ledge somewhere. Infernal woman!

Lowri, a maid I assigned to Niawen, points out an obvious mistake in Niawen’s stitches. She wiggles her nose in disdain. I’d find it endearing if I wasn’t tied up in knots.

I pause before the fire. I make an effort to salvage the evening. “It’s dull work, is it not?”

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