Page 131 of Seen Knot Heard

His grip on the branch tightens, knuckles going white as he raises it.

Panic surges through me, and I lunge forward. “Simon, wait!”

I throw myself between him and Dominic. “Please, you don’t have to do this. You already saved me, see? You were so brave…”

I reach out a trembling hand, resting it on his chest. Beneath the rumpled, blood-spattered dress shirt, his heart hammers wildly.

Simon’s face softens, lips curving into a boyish smile. “I did, didn’t I? I saved you from the monster, my princess. Now we can be together. I’ll take you to the king, and he’ll see how faithful I’ve been, how I’ve protected you. He’ll give me your hand in marriage.”

His free hand comes up to cover mine, pressing it harder against his chest, and I suppress a shudder at the contact, skin crawling.

I need to keep him talking and distracted. “The king? What king, Simon?”

He blinks at me, brow furrowing in confusion. “Why, your father, of course! Who else would it be?”

Not knowing how to respond, I open my mouth when a distant shout cuts through the forest. “Chloe! Chloe, where are you?”

Nathaniel. At the sound of his voice, my knees nearly buckle in relief. If I can just keep Simon occupied…

But his eyes sharpen, head swiveling toward the noise, and he drops the branch as he turns in the opposite direction. “We need to go, Princess. Now. Before he tries to keep us apart.”

He tugs on my hand insistently, but I plant my feet, heart racing.

Nathaniel’s voice rings out again, closer this time. “Chloe, love, where are you?”

I suck in a deep breath and meet Simon’s fervent stare, praying I’m not about to make a terrible mistake.

Then I wrench my hand free and dive to Dominic’s side, screaming with every ounce of desperation and fear pulsing through my veins. “Nathaniel! We’re over here! Hurry!”

Simon’s face twists with a look of betrayal. “You… you ungrateful…”

But before he can finish, Nathaniel barrels through the underbrush, nostrils flared. He assesses the scene, my disheveled state, Louie Santaro’s body spread eagle and lifeless on the ground, and Dominic, weakly sitting up.

“Chloe! Dom!” Nathaniel crashes down beside us, his arms come around me, crushing me to his chest.

With a choked sob, I melt into his embrace, trembling. I bury my face against his flannel, inhaling the intoxicating mixture of leather and cloves that signaled safety and home. He smells like a life I’d almost given up on having.

Dominic groans as he leans against us, and Nathaniel’s embrace opens to include him. “I’ve got you.” One hand rubs soothing circles on my back as he checks Dom’s head for a wound. “I’ve got you both. You’re okay.”

“I’m so sorry!” Tears spill down my cheeks. “I didn’t want to leave, but Louie said he would destroy your pack unless I went back to him. But he lied. He was going to hurt you, anyway.”

“Shh, it’s okay.” He smoothes a hand over the back of my head and shrugs out of his flannel to wrap it around my shoulders. “Tell me what happened here.”

“It… it was… Simon… he…” I try to speak, but the words dissolve into a half-sob, half-moan as reality sets in.

Nathaniel pulls back to cup my face. “What did he do?”

I can’t face him as I point a trembling hand at the bloody branch on the ground. “He… He stopped Louie from… But he’s also the one who hurt Grady. He’s the one who’s been sneaking around the island. He… He was going to…”

I turn to clutch at Dominic, who winces but holds me back. “He was going to kill Dominic, too, before you arrived.”

A growl rips from Nathaniel’s throat as he looks around. “Where is he now?”

Heart pounding, I turn toward the last place I saw Simon, but all that remains is the bloody tree branch and the itchy scent of vanilla and pine.

Chapter Forty-Three

Chloe

---