Chapter 11
Justina worked her way through the forest, stepping over roots, ducking under branches. Her heart pounded in fear and dread. She had to find Adam. She wouldn’t leave without him. She moved through some brush on the forest floor. The sunlight shone down between the leaves of the trees and Justina spotted a patch of white in the growth on the ground and paused. She carefully made her way toward it. The closer she came, the more she realized it wasn’t Adam.
The white dress was long. A woman’s form. Blonde hair. Not Adam. She almost moved away, but recognized Aurora’s face. Shocked, horrified, she stared down at the Lady of Acquitaine. If they had killed her, what had become of her brother? She almost spun away to look for Adam, but a groan and then movement stalled Justina’s motion.
Aurora rolled over, placing a hand to her head where a line of blood was trickling from a cut.
Justina dropped to her knees at her side, grabbing Aurora’s shoulders and helping her to sit up.
Aurora winced in pain and looked at Justina with a dazed expression.
“Where’s Adam?” Justina asked, her fingers digging into Aurora’s shoulders.
Slowly, as reality returned, a fearful look entered Aurora’s stare. She looked about. “Run,” she said softly.
Justina released her, spinning to searching about them. Then, she leaned in close to her. “Where. Is. Adam?”
Aurora wobbled for a moment, then steadied herself with a hand to the ground. She shook her head. “He was here... and then...”
Justina shot to her feet and took a step toward the clearing.
Aurora seized her arm. “The Hungars killed everyone.”
Justina tore her arm free. “He’s my brother,” she snarled with anguish and anger. She ran toward the clearing.
Aurora climbed to her feet unsteadily, but Justina didn’t pause. She didn’t care about the Hungars. She didn’t care about Aurora. She had to find Adam. Her heart beat madly, desperately, fearfully. He had to be all right. He just had to. How could she have let him go on this picnic? She should have found him and dragged him back with her. He was her responsibility. He was the last of her family. He was... everything to her.
She trudged through the growth on the forest floor, around trees, nearing the clearing. She spotted a dark form in the green of the forest floor ahead of her and her insides clenched in dread. She rushed up to the form, hoping it was a pile of dirt or logs. But as she stood over him, she recognized the brown tunic, the breeches, even the boots with the hole in the heel. He was on his stomach, his arms bent, his hands beneath him, his head turned away from her.
A ragged gasp escaped her as she dropped to her knees beside him. “Adam?” She grabbed his shoulders and eased him onto his back. His eyes were wide and glazed, staring. His mouth was open in a silent cry.
I should have been here, Justina thought. “No,” she whispered in a gasp. Her eyes scanned his small body.
His torso was covered in blood.
Justina lifted her hands to touch him, to somehow heal his wounds. But she didn’t know where to start to make him better. She didn’t know... She straightened, tears blurring her sight. “Get up, Adam,” she commanded, her fingers squeezing his arm. “Get up. I told you not to go.” Adam didn’t rise. He didn’t sit up. He wasn’t listening.
Justina shook her head and dropped her chin to her chest. She felt moisture trail down her cheeks. Her lower lip trembled. “I told you not to...” She grabbed him and pulled him against her, pressing her cheek against his temple. “Adam. Don’t go. I was supposed to take care of you.” She hugged him fiercely, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Another girlie.”
Justina opened her eyes. The world was blurred and unfocused through her tears. She heard someone moving behind her. She didn’t want to let Adam go. Half of her didn’t care if it was a Hungar. Half of her wanted to go with Adam. The other half wanted to kill every Hungar she could find. She released her hold on her brother and pulled her dagger from the strap around her leg. She slowly turned to face him.
A large, compact man with long brown hair and a ragged brown beard stood in the shadows of the trees. He wore the pelt of an animal across his huge shoulders. He looked her up and down and then laughed. “The boy had a little pig poker like that.” He held up his hand. A small, thin line of blood marred his palm. “Even cut me.”
A whirlwind of rage swirled inside Justina. She didn’t want to know what this barbarian had done to Adam. She rose to her feet, holding the dagger before her. “You did this?”
“I carved him up real good,” the Hungar said with a grin. “Someone should have shown him how to use that poker.”
“He’s just a boy!” Justina hollered.
“A stupid boy. No one cuts me.” He took a step toward her.
Rage, hatred, and an incredible sorrow overwhelmed her.
A thunk sounded from behind the Hungar and his head jerked forward. He grunted with the movement and lifted a hand to his head. He looked at his fingers which were stained with blood. He turned.
Aurora stood behind him holding a thick tree branch. She backed away, holding the branch before her.
He grabbed the branch and tore it from her hands, sending it flying away. Then he hit her with enough force to knock her to the ground.
Justina launched herself at him, jumping on his back. She ran the dagger across his neck, slicing deep. “My father taught me how to use this pig poker,” she whispered into his ear.
He reached for her, but she leapt from his back. He whirled to her, blood gushing down the front of his stained tunic. He stumbled, grasping his throat, before toppling forward like a felled tree.
Justina stood over him, watching as the final throes of death shook his body. She felt a morbid satisfaction watching the life drain from him. It felt better that he was not taking a breath, that he was not wasting air by living.
But it didn’t bring Adam back. Adam. She turned to her brother. He lay on his back; his arms open as if calling to her for a hug. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t go to him. The anger, the hate did not make him rise to his feet. It hadn’t brought him back. She threw back her head, staring through the leaf dotted sky. Anguish consumed her, filling her body. She wanted to scream and shout and... cry. He wasn’t coming back. Nothing could bring him back.
She was supposed to take care of him. Just like her father. She was supposed to take care of them. She should have watched Adam. Helped him. Disgust consumed her. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take care of Adam and she couldn’t take care of her father. She couldn’t protect them. An anguished cry bubbled in her throat.
A groan sounded from behind her. She whirled to see Aurora sitting up. Fury erupted inside of Justina. Her father’s murderer’s wife! How could she kiss the assassin? How could she bear to be near the killer? How could she love him? And yet, Adam had fallen beneath her spell, too. Contempt and loathing churned within her. Adam would never have been here if it wasn’t for Lady Aurora!
Justina stepped toward Aurora. “I hate you!” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I hate you for being so beautiful. So kind. So...stupid!” She swiped a sleeve across her face. She signaled behind her at Adam with a swipe of her arm. “This is your fault.” She lifted the dagger high above her head to end Aurora’s life.