Page 74 of Hunted By the Headless Horseman
“I’m the descendant of the Diviner you once sought.”
Her words hit me right in my chest. It shouldn’t stun me, but it does regardless. She steps toward me. “I’ve suspected for some time now. But it was confirmed when I spied you and Belle observing the map, and what happened after. I didn’t need to watch to understand the result from the pumpkin head there one minute, and then you left the kitchen with aheadin place. But before…when she spoke to you, your gestures proved you understood what she was saying, but you didn’t say a word. And you know how much I care for Belle like a granddaughter.”
Silence hangs between us. The tension seems to grow claws that break my skin, digging into my flesh.
“Her heart is weak,” she echoes the same thoughts I had but minutes ago. “Fragile, Mr. Moore. I don’t know what type of relationship you possess. Lizzy and I…we knew the potential power of the book, but we dared not test it. However, our sweet Belle is bold and daring beyond the confines of any soul. A true and cruel twist of fate that her heart cannot match the strength of her soul. No…” Her tone grows bitter. “No, a cruel twist of her former husband. The Covenant left internal scars, but Thaddeus left more.”
“He will never have her,” I growl.
“Agreed. But she deserves to heal from such scars. And I won’t let her die of a broken heart, Mr. Moore.”
What can I say? The guilt I’ve been trying to bury slams into me in full force. I clench my fists, cracking the leather. I am at a loss for words. But her truth burns through me with a vengeance, a cry for help…help for the woman I love more than anything in this world or the next.
I fight to keep my voice steady. “I don’t deserve her,” I admit, the pain of what I will do tonight already spearing me. “And she doesn’t deserve to be caught up in my curse.”
Mrs. Kravitson’s countenance seems to soften, but judging by the hard sucking of breath, she won’t let up. “No, you don’t. And if you give her that ring in your hand without knowing the future, what happens to her if you’re bound to this curse forever? What kind of life will you offer her?”
Her words wreck me. They are a sign, a confirmation of my earlier thoughts. A sign of fate itself. Must I walk away from the one being to summon me in two centuries to preserve her heart?
Yes.
The conviction devours me into its force like a black hole. I want to argue, to promise that I’ll protect Belle from everything—even from myself if necessary. But how can I? If my heart is not found tonight, I know what the future holds and how it could repeat year after year until Belle is old and gray. She would leave this earth utterly crushed after the vain hope that I could give her a life together, a life she deserves. It would be a far worse torture than if she lost her heart.
I will allow neither fate to befall her. If my heart could but be found tonight…
Stiffening with another fit of anger, I harden my voice, “You’re the Diviner’s descendant,” I challenge, my voice low. “You must know where my heart is.”
She sighs, her expression heavy. “Not even I am blessed with that knowledge, Mr. Moore. And that should tell you something. But I will protectBelle.” Her voice softens as she steps closer, lowering her tone as if to make certain I understand the gravity of her words. “The Council is already sending reinforcements from the county to prevent the Covenant from coming. I’ve arranged for military intervention if things escalate. Thaddeus Thorne might try to bring her back, but it will not happen.”
Every muscle in my body hardens to stone. Everything in my being recoils at the name—Thorne.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
She pauses. It’s the first time she steps back, and I sense her fear. “H-how did you not know, Jackson Moore? Thaddeus is…”
How fucking blind I’ve been! Too blind to see it, too caught up in the curse to realize that the man I’d seen that night was none other than the descendant of Edmund Thorne, the very man I cursed myself to destroy. My obsession with Belle and my quest have caused me tunnel vision—driven me to this hollow existence, and now, Thaddeus…he’s part of it, part of my damnation.
I clench my fists, rage simmering beneath my skin.
If I continue, this battle will turn into a war. And I can not,willnot allow Belle to become a casualty of my pride. If Thaddeus Thorne discovers my connection to her, he will defy every force on this earth to take her back. Nothing will stop him. Her chances are better without me in her life.
I’ve forged this torture, this fate, with my own hands, and now Thorne’s bloodline stands in my way yet again.
“If you stay, you risk dragging her into all of this—whether she chooses it or not,” Mrs Kravitson goes on. “You want to marry her, but are you prepared for what that could mean?”
Her words resonate in my mind as she departs, disappearing into the mist, leaving me standing there with the weight of the world on my shoulders.
I walk back to the bookshop, every step feeling heavier than the last. How can I possibly give Belle this ring, knowing what might happen? It’s only been a month. If I give her this ring, it would signify a deeper chapter for her. But if I spare her, she may mend…and heal from me.
When I reach the shop, I slow my pace but move closer,needing to see Belle, and remind myself why I must fight for her, why I cannot walk away.
And then, my blood turns to ice.
Belle is sitting on the counter—locked inhisarms in the throes of passion. He kisses her, and she returns the kiss. Not just a brush of lips. No, this is deep, passionate.
The ice spreads into my chest, piercing me like cold spears.
He rips her stockings and grinds against her like the predator he is. She touches the side of his face…like she has touched mine so many times. Like I don’t exist. Like she hasn’t spent the last few weeks wrapped in my arms, promising me her love.
