Page 101 of Claiming his Cursed Duchess
Adam looked everywhere, but there was no sign of Rosaline in the crowd.
No no no—where is she?
One man was standing staring at the inn with a look of deep pain on his face, an apron around his waist, and Adam ran to him.
“Are you the innkeeper?” he shouted.
“Yes, sir.”
“Was there a woman? A duchess? Did she arrive?”
The man’s eyes widened in shock as he glanced at the people gathered around them.
“Yes! But I cannot see her.”
“Damn it to hell!” Adam cried, and without another thought he ran forward and rushed toward the doors.
“Sir! Stop! It is too late!”
But Adam ignored the innkeeper’s cries and dived into the chaos of the flames.
I cannot lose her. I refuse! She must be safe, she has to be.
The main room of the inn was so far unscathed, the fire not having yet reached it, but he could hear its roar above him, the ceiling bowing under the heat.
Sprinting to a low doorway, he found a set of steps leading up, the raging glow all the more terrifying as he contemplated it from below.
Visions of David, of his cries for help filled his mind, but he shut them out.
I did not save you brother, but I will save Rosaline, if it is the last thing I ever do.
He ascended the stairs, ripping a section of his cloak and tying the fabric around his mouth. He was already coughing from the smoke filling the corridor and cursed himself for not having asked the man which room she was in.
As he reached the top of the stairs, he could see the fire burning along the right-hand wall and leaping up toward the ceiling, spreading back to the rear of the inn.
Hold on, darling. Please.
His eyes squinted through the smoke as he saw something ahead of him, crumpled on the floor.
He gasped, coughing into the smoke, as he ran forward, recognizing that golden hair from feet away.
“Rosaline!” he shouted, falling to his knees beside her and grabbing her shoulders pulling her up.
She groaned loudly, and he cursed as he saw blood trickling down the side of her head.
What the hell has happened to her?
“Rosaline? My love? Can you get up? We must get out of here.”
Her eyes fluttered open and then widened in terror as she seemed to realize where she was.
“Adam? No, the fire. You must not be near the fire!”
He gripped her shoulders more fiercely, “We will get out of this together,” he shouted above the roar of the flames, and rose to his feet, dragging her behind him.
The heat from the room beside her was unbearable, and he fell against the wall in shock as a large plank of wood detached fromthe ceiling and crashed through the floor at his feet, onto the flagstones on the ground floor.
Rosaline clutched at him desperately and Adam half-walked, half-carried her to the top of the stairs.
