There! A heartbeat. A breath.
“Don’t scare me like that.” He buried his face in her hair. Inhaled her scent.
His cheeks felt wet, and it took him a second to realise he was weeping.
She was okay. She was going to be okay.
There was another short burst of gunfire. He thought it came from the back of the castle. More shouting. Male and female voices. Was it over? Were they okay? He looked down at Rainne, so limp and lifeless in his arms. His brave girl. Braver than he was, willing to try for a second chance with him. Willing to put herself and her heart out there for him to stomp on.
And he had. He’d stomped all over her because he’d been too scared to take a chance on getting hurt again. Pathetic bloody coward. Too stubborn to see past his pride until it was too late. No. Not too late. Never too late. She was breathing. She was going to be fine. She had to be.
“Sorry, Rainbow. Please be okay, baby.” He kissed her hair.
He needed to get them out of the snow. He needed to carry her to the castle. It didn’t matter if the place was full of nutters with guns. If they stayed where they were, they’d die of hypothermia anyway. Better to try for the warmth of the nearest building.
“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I’ve got you.”
Alastair clasped her tightly and tried to get to his feet. A brutal, nauseating wave of pain had him falling back to the ground and gasping for air.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure. Probably himself.
Right, he had to do this differently. He gently placed Rainne on the snow beside him and got to his knees. Bending over, he lifted her to cradle her in his arms. She was so small. Had she always been this small? Delicate. Fragile. So damned fragile. He glanced at the castle. It was quiet. No more gunfire. Good. That was good. Right?
He took a breath and raised his leg until his foot was flat on the snow in front of him. His weight still rested on his knee. Now was the hard part. Tensing his muscles and holding Rainne tight, he transferred all of his weight onto his foot and pushed upright. With one agonising surge, he was on his feet. Rainne clutched to his chest. He wanted to roar in victory, but instead he bit his bottom lip and swayed with pain.
For a moment he concentrated on breathing and staying upright. At last the dizziness faded, although he still felt weak and his jaw was at breaking point from clenching his teeth.
Slowly. Agonisingly. He turned towards the castle. He didn’t know who was in there. He didn’t know who was in control. But he did know Rainne had to get out of
the cold. She wouldn’t survive if she didn’t. There was nothing for it but to take the chance and head for the castle. He just hoped he’d find help waiting for him, instead of a firing squad.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered to Rainne. “I’ve got you.”
And he was never letting her go.
That was where he’d been going wrong. He’d let people walk away and hoped they came back. Not this time. Not again. This time he was going to superglue the woman to his side if that was what it took to make her stay. It was amazing the clarity that came with life-threatening danger. His objections and fears now seemed petty beside the vastness of what he could have lost.
And he wasn’t going to lose Rainne.
He wasn’t.
Black spots appeared in his vision as he tightened his hold on his girl. At least she wasn’t lying in the snow anymore. He drew in another agonising breath.
He took a step. It jarred his side, making his eyesight blur. He shifted Rainne’s weight slightly until she was resting on his forearm rather than his wrist. Only sheer brutal determination kept her in his arms. Another step. Another agonising burst of pain. The snow sucked at his boots, trying to keep him in place. Alastair fought against it. He kept his eyes on the building in front of him and kept on walking.
Another step closer.
He heard a gunshot from further away. Over near the west gate, he thought. But no more shots from the castle.
Another step closer.
Rainne was silent in his arms. There was no way for him to check if she was still breathing. Not without letting her go. And he wasn’t doing that. Not ever.
Another step.
He saw movement through the windows of the castle’s grand room, but couldn’t tell who it was. Candlelight flickered to life, making the room glow. Shadows moved about.
“Nearly there,” he told Rainne.