Just then Sean bent his head and lunged, charging at Kell like a maddened bull, clearly intending to impale himself on the sharp steel. Kell managed to jerk the point away at the last second, but Sean crashed into him, his momentum propelling Kell backward. They hit the wooden railing with a thud, and both of them tumbled over the edge, plummeting to the frozen ground below.
Raven gasped in alarm, realizing Sean could still win the battle. Struggling painfully to her feet, she stumbled to the rail. Even though it had been a short fall, both men seemed winded and dazed as they fought for possession of the rapier while rolling down the icy embankment toward the frozen lake, both grunting and gasping, their breaths puffs of steam in the frigid air.
Shaking with fear as well as cold, Raven strained futilely against her bonds. She wanted desperately to help Kell but had no idea how without proving a lethal distraction. She cried out when Sean clawed at his brother’s face, nails raking blindly, but Kell twisted his head and eluded the vicious attack. Somehow he even managed to wrest the foil away, thank God.
Her gratitude came too soon. Sean swung a savage blow that connected with Kell’s cheekbone. Then, rolling free, the younger man lunged to his feet and staggered across the snow-packed ice, heading toward the center of the small lake.
Kell went after him. He had nearly caught up to his brother when the ominous groan of cracking ice reached Raven’s ears. Sean suddenly lurched forward as first one leg, then the other, broke through the frozen surface.
Raven clutched at the railing, her heart leaping in horror as he disappeared into the icy water.
“Sean!” Kell’s cry was nearly whipped away by the gusting wind. Dropping to his knees, he crawled toward the jagged hole in the ice.
Sean’s head appeared, his mouth wide with shock and gasping for air, his arms flailing. His fingers found purchase on the edge of the ice just as Kell stretched himself full length.
R
aven’s vision was hampered by the swirling snow, but she could see Kell straining to reach for his brother, urging Sean to take his proffered hand.
For a moment it looked as if he would succeed, but then Sean struck out fiercely, fighting the very man who was trying to save him.
“Sean!” Unwilling to give up, Kell tried again, clutching at his brother’s shirt.
Resisting, Sean grabbed Kell’s arm with both hands to fend him off. Raven drew a painful, gasping breath, knowing Sean could drag Kell under with him, drowning them both.
For the space of a dozen heartbeats, neither of them yielded. Raven bit her lip till it bled, but she could only watch in terror as the silent battle raged between the two brothers.
Kell’s arm was submerged up to his shoulder, the other braced against the ice when she saw Sean’s mouth form the word, “Please…”
He was pleading for release, she realized.
His jaw clenched, Kell refused to let go, but then he gave a sudden jolt. The edge of the hole had broken off, upsetting his balance. With a jerk, Sean wrenched free. An instant later, he sank below the surface of the lethal water, vanishing from view.
Kell froze, staring in denial as Raven watched. When long moments passed with no sign of his brother, he squeezed his eyes shut in agony. The cry that tore from his throat was the keening of a wounded animal.
Raven gave a sob as well as another ominous crack sounded from the surface of the lake. The ice was fracturing beneath Kell’s weight. Dear God, if he fell through, the frigid water would swallow him up the way it had his brother…
Rasping Kell’s name, she rushed across the gazebo and down the treacherous steps, nearly falling in her haste. Righting herself, she picked her way around structure, then slid down the embankment and started across the frozen lake.
“For God’s sake, Raven, stay back! The surface could give way at any minute.”
She halted in indecision. The ice might not bear their combined weight, and she could send them both plunging into the freezing depths. But if she did nothing, Kell stood little chance of survival.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed movement in the distance-the house servants, she realized. But they would never arrive in time to help. She had to try to save Kell on her own.
Kneeling on the surface the way Kell had done, she crawled forward, praying with every tentative inch that she wouldn’t be too late, sobbing and cursing her bonds all the while.
“Dammit, Raven, you could die!”
She couldn’t abandon Kell, though, even if it meant drowning with him. She loved him more than her own life.
His legs were closest to her, she saw through her blinding tears. She could see the soles of his boots a yard away.
“Kell…help me…”
He uttered a grim curse, but stretched one leg out as far as he could. Her fingers were so raw and numb, she could barely grasp the toe of his boot, but somehow she managed to find purchase.
Not breathing, Raven pulled on his leg, trying to brace herself against the slick surface. It was nearly impossible; Kell barely budged an inch.