Left and right they went until she spotted the guards at the end of the hallway.
She yanked him into an open room and up along the wall.
With their backs flush against the wall and their breaths heavy, they listened to the footsteps grow louder from the heavy boots of the men who had infiltrated the castle as they all slept.
She was still, her eyes turned to the open door, her hand on her son’s.
The guards took a quick peek inside then kept going.
He felt a small reprieve, but he knew that wouldn’t last.
“Where’s your brother?” she whispered.
“He left.”
“Good. You should have done the same.”
“Mother—”
“When you have your own children someday, you will understand.” Instead of panic and fear, there was only confidence. Their world had crumbled down around them, but her hand remained steady.
“Dad’s dead.”
There was a slight twinge in her eyes, but it didn’t last long. “I know. He would have come for me, otherwise…”
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know.” She turned to the door again. “Come on, let’s go.” She still had his hand as she turned into the hallway and kept going. They were deep in the castle, moving to the rear where the servants’ quarters were located.
She turned right—then halted.
“Found the bitch!”
They darted the other way, sprinting down the hallway.
He tore his hand away from hers to keep up. “Mother, where are we going—”
Two men dressed in all black emerged into their path, grinning like this was nothing but a pleasure.
Her dagger went straight into the neck of one, hitting the artery as if she could see it through the skin.
He stabbed the other in the stomach, taking advantage of their smugness to spill his innards out of his body.
Now the shouts were all over the castle as they homed in on where they were. The door that was supposed to take them to safety was barred by a mass of furniture, the dining table in the hall, along with all the chairs.
“Quick!” She started to tug things away.
He climbed on the table and slammed his sword into one of the windows. It shattered and wind immediately swept through the castle.
“That’s my boy.”
He wiped the glass away with his gloved hand so he could grip the sill. It was a two-story drop, but he threw himself over the ledge, let go, and crashed into the ground. The snow blanketed his fall, but not by much. “Come on!”
His mother didn’t hesitate before she threw herself over, her long hair dragging behind her like wings, and then she landed in the spot directly next to him. Without a groan of complaint, she got up and tugged him to his feet. “Run.”
They didn’t get far, crashing right into the man from the foot of the bed.
He grabbed her by the neck and threw her down in the snow.
His sword flashed, but it never met his mark as he was yanked from behind. His body crashed back into the ground, and his sword went flying, disappearing into the snow. A heavy boot pushed into his chest, shoving him deeper into the powder so it started to fall into his face.
“Not my son!”
He couldn’t see more than the guard on top of him, but he could hear his mother’s fight, hear her scream, and that made him scream in return.
The guard shoved his boot right into his chest, and he gave a moan as the crack sounded in his ears.
“Get off him!”
“Come on, Your Highness.” The man must have hit her, because she suddenly went quiet. “We have plans this evening. Get the boy.”
The pain was so raw, he could barely breathe. His eyes smarted from both the injury and the freezing cold. He was tugged to his feet, his body still limp from the crushing of his chest.
Both semiconscious, they were dragged back to the castle, back down the hallways where he used to chase his brother, where he used to play hide-and-seek with the friendly guards. The place felt like home in every season, but now it felt like a place he’d never been before.
They wound up in the same bedchamber, and he was tied down to one of the chairs. Ropes too thick for his small wrists bound him absolutely still. He couldn’t even tug; there was no leverage whatsoever. His ankles were bound together and secured to the chair as well, so the only mobility he had was the turn of his head.
His mother was thrown onto the bed again, her gown pushed up once more and her knickers down.
The man with the cruel eyes gave the biggest smile as he popped off the buttons of his breeches and got them down around his thighs. This time, he removed his tunic, showing himself fully on display.
This time, her wrists were tied to the bed so she couldn’t go anywhere.