CHAPTER 14

Elizabeth walked slowly toward the edge of the cliff, her bare feet treading over sharp rock and grass, but she didn’t care. She hardly even felt the cold slap of the wind as her long, white nightdress flew around her. She didn’t feel anything anymore. Not for James, not for Matthew, not even her tiny daughter, Amelia.

Sweet, beautiful, Amelia, she thought. She was perfect in every way. She was going to miss her the most when she was gone.

Tears flowed down Elizabeth’s cheeks as she stared out at the heaving sea. Waves crashed against the rocks below her, and part of her yearned to be among them. It was a part of her she could no longer fight.

Whatever Dabney had done to her had taken its toll. He had sought to control her, but he destroyed her instead. She no longer knew what she felt, whom she loved. She only knew that to love meant pain and she could no longer be part of it. Her mind had broken under Lord Dabney’s spell, and even the thought of her sweet baby girl couldn’t convince her to stay.

Unable to help herself, she screamed her rage into the wind. Why had he done this to her? Was her soul the price she must pay for his fortune? She used to laugh. She used to smile. She used to be the center of attention and she loved every moment of it. Now, she shied away from social interaction. She stayed shut up in her rooms, depressed from morning to night. She wanted to see nobody, and she didn’t. Except for when her husband called for her. She drank his potion, fell under his spell once more, and for a time, all she would think of was him. And yet, every night, she would wake yearning for Matthew.

Her poor, sweet love, Matthew. Oh, the pain she had caused him whenever she was under Dabney’s influence. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in his touch whenever they found a way to steal a few moments together. She couldn’t keep hurting him. Hurting them both. He knew what was happening. They both knew her husband was using some kind of dark sorcery to control her. They were certain he was evil, even if they had no way to prove it.

Glancing over her shoulder at Hargrove House, Elizabeth gasped for air, her heart hurting. Amelia was Matthews, she was certain of it. There wasn’t a trace of darkness within her. She was pure love and light, and Elizabeth could think of nothing better than to raise her child with the man she loved.

But that would never happen now. She only hoped they would both understand.

“Elizabeth!”

Turning, Elizabeth saw Matthew running towards her, his arms outstretched. He was still in his riding clothes and she wondered idly what could possibly have possessed him to come to Hargrove House late at night.

Reaching for her, Matthew held her shoulders, staring into her green eyes. “Elizabeth, my love, please, stop.”

Her heart breaking, she reached up and stroked a hand over his cheek. “I am a weapon he uses against you,” she told him, imploring him to understand. “I see him use me to cut you down, and each time his sword hits its mark, each time I see pain in your eyes, it hurts me, too.”

“No, my love, I can take it. I can wait for the time that we have together.”

But Elizabeth shook her head. “Don’t you see? It isn’t enough. It will never be enough. And now…now I no longer know what’s real. I cannot see the difference between night and day because it is always night for me. My heart is broken and cold, Matthew. The fire that used to live within me has gone out and I cannot serve him anymore. I cannot be his property. He may own my body and control my mind, but he will never own my heart. My heart, my soul, they belong to you. To you and to Amelia. But he will never stop trying to take them, and I fear he will take you both from me because of it.

“It must end,” she told him, wishing that weren’t the truth. Around them the wind howled, and thunder boomed through the night. “I cannot let him win. But please, please remember that no matter what dark magic he used to control me, my love has always only ever been for you.”

Any words he may have uttered were lost in their embrace as Elizabeth crushed her mouth to his in a passionate goodbye kiss. She poured every ounce of love and feeling she had left into that kiss, knowing she would never feel that way again. Matthew, too, clung to her as if he had finally accepted that this was the end.

Then he was viciously ripped from her arms and flung to the ground. Dabney stood over him, his sword pointed at Matthew’s chest, cold fury swarming over his face. “You dare take what is mine, you worthless excuse for a man?” Lighting lit the sky around him and Elizabeth trembled at his hateful sneer.

Matthew, on the other hand, stared coldly up at his adversary. “She will never be yours.” Kicking out with his left leg, Matthew swept Dabney’s feet out from under him and stood, drawing his sword as Dabney righted himself once more. “Her heart has always seen only me.”

“Lies!” Furious, Dabney attacked, his heavy sword raining down blow after blow, driving Matthew back. But he wasn’t to be beaten so easily. He pushed back as hard as he could, parrying and blocking in turn. Dabney raised his other hand and pointed it at the ground, and lightning struck at Matthew’s feet, sending him crashing to the ground.

Dabney’s cruel laugh flew through the end. “This is the man you would leave me for?” he jeered at Elizabeth. “This pathetic, poor man who pales in comparison with me? This is who you prefer?”

Even from meters away, Elizabeth could feel his anger, but she forced herself to stand tall and stare him down. He would lose tonight, whether he knew it or not. If only she could keep him focused on her instead of on Matthew. “You cannot control me anymore, James,” she called over the wind. Behind him, Matthew was finally climbing to his feet, his hand on his sword. Dabney hadn’t seen him yet. “I do not belong to you anymore,” she told him. “And I never will again.”

Dabney’s lips curved in a cold, cruel smile. “You will not belong to him, either.” Without warning, he turned, and drove his sword through Matthew’s heart.

“No!”

With one last look at Elizabeth, Matthew clutched at his chest before falling lifeless to the dirt.

Everything that had been holding Elizabeth together broke. Every tenuous fiber of sanity tore apart as she stared at the fall body of her one true love. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing was worth living for without Matthew. Feeling nothing but rage and pain, Elizabeth smiled triumphantly at the husband that was her enemy, wishing him an eternity filled with misery and pain. Knowing her death would seal his fate.

Then she threw herself over the cliff, into the rocks below.