The Vampire & Her Witch

Captain Albyn straightened as they emerged from the dining room, his hand automatically moving toward his sword hilt when he saw Owain leading Jocelynn somewhere. His eyes met hers through the veil, and a silent question passed between them in that moment of brief eye contact.

”Lord Owain has a surprise for me,” Jocelynn said, her voice steady despite the apprehension coiling in her chest like a serpent winding around her heart. ”We’ll only be a moment.”

”Of course, my Lady,” Albyn began, clearly intending to follow, but Owain cut him off with a raised hand.

”Captain, you and your men may wait here,” Owain said pleasantly despite the sour thoughts that lurked behind his smile. He’d already made the mistake of letting Albyn become Jocelynn’s liberator, further cementing him as a man responsible for her rescue. He wasn’t about to let the man be anywhere nearby in the moments to come. If Jocelynn needed a man to wrap his arms around her and comfort her in the aftermath, then he intended to be the only one available.

”I’m sure you understand that some matters between a man and his betrothed require privacy, Captain. Besides,” he added with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, ”I’m perfectly capable of ensuring Lady Jocelynn’s safety within my own manor.”

The dismissal was absolute, and Albyn had no grounds to refuse it. He could only watch, jaw tight with suppressed frustration, as Owain led Jocelynn away with Anne and Mary trailing behind like a pair of black-clad shadows.

They moved quickly through the corridors of the family wing, passing servants who were still busy changing out furnishings and placing decorations even at this late hour, and with each step, a terrible suspicion began to grow in Jocelynn’s mind.

This wasn’t the direction to the gardens, or the vault that held treasures, or any of the pleasant spaces where one might present a gift. This was...

Her breath caught as she recognized the turn of the corridor. She might not have been entirely aware of her surroundings when Captain Albynn escorted her out of the dungeons, but there were only so many places in Lothian Manor where stone steps led beneath the ground, and this hardly looked like the direction to the wine or root cellars.

”My lord,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she sought confirmation for what she feared she already knew. ”Where are we going?”

”You’ll see,” Owain said, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. ”Trust me, Jocelynn. What I have to show you will be worth a few moments of discomfort.”

But it wasn’t just discomfort. With every step closer to the dungeon entrance, her heart raced faster and faster, and her breathing grew shallower, coming in small, quick gasps that matched the pace of her steps. The walls seemed to close in around her, the air growing chill as they descended from the inhabited levels of the manor toward the cold stone depths below.

Behind her veil, her eyes had gone wide, her pupils going wide in a way that had little to do with the dim light. Her free hand clutched at her skirts, twisting the fabric in a desperate attempt to ground herself against the rising tide of panic. She could already hear it in her mind, the clank of chains, the whistle of wind through the bars of a narrow window, and the scrape of iron chains on bare stone floors.

Anne and Mary exchanged worried glances behind them. They could see the way their lady’s shoulders had tensed, the way her steps had grown hesitant. But they were as powerless as she was to refuse Owain’s direction.

”The dungeons, my lord?” Jocelynn finally managed, forcing the words past the tightness in her throat. ”I... I don’t understand. What surprise could possibly be down there?”

”Vengeance,” Owain said simply, and there was a fierce satisfaction in his voice that made her blood run cold. ”I told you I would take care of everything, didn’t I? That you would never have to worry again?”

They had reached the heavy oak door that marked the boundary between the manor proper and the dungeons below. Owain paused there, turning to look at her with an expression of such earnest concern that it would have seemed genuine to anyone who didn’t know what he truly was.

”I know returning here must be difficult for you,” he said, his thumb stroking across the back of her hand in what he clearly thought was a comforting gesture. ”But I promise, what I’m about to show you will help. It will prove that I meant what I said, that I will always protect you, and that I will destroy anyone who dares to harm what is mine.”

Jocelynn’s hand had gone numb in his grip, her fingers ice-cold despite the warmth of his palm. She wanted to pull away, to run, to do anything but follow him through that door and back into the darkness that had nearly destroyed her. But she was the fish on the chopping block, gasping and helpless, and the knife was already descending.

”Anne, Mary,” Owain said, turning to the maidservants with a dismissive smile, ”you may return to Lady Jocelynn’s chambers and prepare things for her. She’ll need a change of clothing when we return, and warm water to wash with. This won’t take long, perhaps half of an hour or less.”

”My lord, I... surely Lady Jocelynn would be more comfortable if she had the company of at least one of...” Anne began, but Owain’s expression shifted the more she spoke, becoming harder while a dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes.

”That will be all,” he said, in a tone that accepted neither argument nor excuses. ”Your lady is safe with me. If you truly wish to serve her well and make her more comfortable, then you’ll bring her hot water here, along with the things she needs to wash and change. You can use one of the empty cells to prepare a changing room for her. But whether you assist her in her chambers or assist her here, you have nothing to do with what comes next. Now go,” he commanded fiercely.

The maids hesitated for one more heartbeat, their eyes finding Jocelynn’s veiled face, silently asking permission. She managed a tiny nod. What else could she do, even if she wanted to defy his orders? And then she watched as they withdrew, their black dresses disappearing back up the corridor until she was alone with Owain at the threshold of her nightmare...