“The attack!” Roland gasped, then cringed when he went to move.
Bliss hurried to rest her hand on his chest. “Did you not hear me? You must remain still.”
“Sheed escaped.” Roland shook his head. “He had help.” He rubbed his head. “I felt the blow to my head at the same time I felt the dagger plunge into me.” He shut his eyes a moment. “Sheed was annoyed at the gossip that the curse had been broken. He insisted it was a lie that the only way for the curse to end was for the cursed lords to die. He convinced the few men left that the witch used her evil to play a trick on everyone and that the curse still existed. He said good would prevail and free us before it was too late.”
“Did he preach this belief recently?” Bliss asked.
“In the last couple of days,” Roland said and shook his head. “I thought I heard him say that the angel had arrived as he plunged the dagger into me. Even crazier, I thought I heard the angel respond before everything went dark.”
Bliss told Roland to rest, seeing him cringe far too much as he spoke. He needed rest to heal and as much as she wanted to ask him more, it could wait a few hours. No news had reached them yet of Rannick’s efforts to capture the prisoners. All remained quiet in the keep and throughout the village as the night grew late.
Lady Helice had gone to bed, but Lord Lochlann insisted on remaining in the Great Hall with Bliss. He now slept with his head on his arms at a table near the hearth, waking himself with a snoring snort on occasion.
Bliss would share what Roland had told her with Lord Lochlann when he woke. With Sheed having gotten help with the escape, it meant there was a traitor in the clan, and it was most likely a woman. Sheed had referred to the angel as she, so he must have heard a female voice. It would make sense if one considered the deaths of Rannick’s wives. A woman would attend a birth and assist a new wife, perhaps even attach something to a riding boot or clothing that would disturb a horse.
She silently chastised herself for not getting to know the servants better. It had to be someone with keep privileges and yet she had suffered no ill effects since arriving here. Why wait? Why not be done with another wife as quickly as the last wife?
She had no more time to consider what it might mean, the door suddenly rushing open and Lana hurrying in.
“Please, you must come, my lady, Damia is in labor,” Lana said, her face fraught with worry.
“Let me gather some things I might need,” Bliss said and heard Roland groan. She went to him.
Roland struggled to lift his head.
“Rest, Roland, and worry not,” she said, easing his head back down on the cloth she had fashioned into a pillow for him.
“The angel,” Roland said with wide eyes. “She is here.”
Bliss looked up too late. Lana was already at her side, a dagger pressed against it.
CHAPTER 31
“Alert anyone and I will gladly give my life to see you and your bairn dead,” Lana threatened in a whisper and made sure Bliss felt the tip of her dagger at her side.
“I cannot stop warriors from following me,” Bliss said, hoping the two warriors who kept watch over her would realize something was amiss.
“They will be disposed of easily enough,” Lana said, her whisper turning harsher. “Now hurry and do not do anything foolish.”
Roland’s eyes had closed, and he appeared in a peaceful sleep. She only hoped that it was a ruse, and he could alert others. She didn’t bother to gather anything, hoping the warriors might make note of it and question her intentions. Unfortunately, the two followed her out of the keep without question.
It was too late for anyone to be out, the night cold and a light snow falling. Sentinels were positioned throughout the village due to the escape but with two warriors walking behind her the sentinels paid her no heed. Possibilities ran through Bliss’s head, but she dismissed most of them, fearful for the safety of the bairn she carried. Damia’s eyes were wet with tears and red from endless crying when Bliss arrived at her cottage.
“I am so sorry, my lady. I do not know what happened to turn my sister so evil,” Damia apologized.
Lana shook her head and glared with outrage at her sister. “Evil? You call me evil when you would rather reside here with a cursed lord than your own sister?” She shook her head. “You are misguided, and I will not leave you here to rot in evil. I promised grandfather I would see you kept safe from the madness that rampages our land.”