A Sinless Betrayal - Cherie Benjamin (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📗

I have been. When I knock on her door, there is no answer. I push it open and find sunlight streaming in through her window. The bed is made, and not an item in her room is misplaced or in disarray.

I'm confused. I go to the window and look outside. The trees are bare sticks with their branches like knives sticking out at odd angles. The sun shines down on the snow and makes it sparkle like crystals blanketing the frozen grass. All I can hear is the desolate whisper of the wind the creak of wooden floorboards.

I rush out of the room, its silence unsettling to me. I'm not looking when I run into Ivona. Her eyes are as wide as saucers. "They're home," she says to me. "They've come back, my Queen!"

I tilt my head. "Who?" And then it occurs to me what she's talking about. "And they're okay?" I exclaim excitedly.

Ivona nods her head vigorously. "Abigor requests your presence at once. He's outside by the door at the west wing!"

I push past her and bound down the hallway. I almost kill myself with falling over those steps, but I have no time to stop what I'm doing. I'm almost there to see him. I push the heavy door open and step out into the desolate world. It is quiet, white, and freezing.

I hear the door slam shut behind me. I gasp, turning back to see that the door's been latched and Ivona's gone. Why has she left me? Suddenly an arrow whizzes past my head and plants itself into the wooden door behind me. I gasp, ducking down. Suddenly I'm being pushed into the snow by two large hands.

I don't know what's happening. When I look back, I see Black Bear looking down at me with worry in his eyes. Protruding from his stomach is an arrow. I'm screaming in horror. He doesn't seem to know that he's been hit. "Get up," he tells me. "I need you to run!"

More arrows whiz past us, barely missing my neck. "I'm not leaving you here!" I cry to him, tugging at his arm. He tries to run with me, but the wound in his stomach makes it close to impossible to do so. He pulls away from me, the fatigue and pain evident on his face. I cry even harder.

"I cannot…I cannot go, my queen." His breathing is ragged as blood drips down his torso. "Please. Go! I love you too much to see you die here with me."

"You're not going to die, Black Bear!" I'm blinded by my tears. My heart is pounding as he pushes me away when the second arrow hits him in the chest. He falls to his knees in front of me, blood streaming down his stomach.

He tells me with his eyes that he's not afraid—that this is just a procedure of war and that he'd gladly give his life for mine any day. And he gifts me with one last beautiful smile, only a smile a best friend could give, and falls back into the snow as that fateful arrow takes his heart from where he placed it into my hands.

I faintly remember screaming his name as foreign arms pull me into the forest against my will. The darkness closes in before I can think anymore.
Hell

When I wake up, I'm surrounded by warmth. I'm laying on warm furs and blankets, and the smell of cooking meat is in the air. I stretch my arms out and open my eyes. I gasp at what I see. It's a tent, with the symbol of Bellechester painted all over it. Someone's armour lays mere inches from me.

Suddenly, the tent flap opens and a burly black haired man peeks in. He sees me with my eyes wide open in distress. "She's awake," he calls out to the people outside of the tent. There's shuffling before the black-haired one gets pushed out of the way by a taller man. He crawls into the tent and shuts the flap behind him. I can't really see his face. I scuttle back towards the back of the tent to get as far away from him as possible.

"Don't touch me," I hiss at him when he reaches out a hand. The man chuckles lightly. My brows furrow together with my confusion as some of the sunlight shines on this man's face. He has pale skin, with green eyes and red hair that I'd recognize anywhere. The breath escapes from my lungs.

"You're still the same after all of these months," he whispers to me, flashing me a brilliant white smile. "Wow. I cannot believe I've finally found you. I've searched far and wide and the gods have led me back to you once more."

"C-Cordell?" my voice trembles as I squint my eyes in the dull-lighted tent. He nods his head once.

"Elizabella. Are you well? Did those wretched creatures hurt you?" he asks me. I shake my head slowly, my heart racing. "You know, you're quite lucky that I got there in time to shoot that barbarian scum with my arrows. He was about to strangle you!"

Suddenly, an awful realization comes to my mind: Cordell was the one that was shooting at Black Bear. Cordell was the person who killed my best friend. I begin to cry softly, burying my head in my fur sleeves. He scoots closer to me, wrapping an arm around me.

"I know," he says. "It's okay. I'm here now. You don't have to worry about those Barbarians anymore. One down, plenty more to go."

I push him away from me. He doesn't understand. Cordell looks surprised at my actions. "Stop it." I murmur. I'm wiping my eyes with my sleeve as I look towards the flap of the tent. My ankles are tied with ropes just in case I tried to get away.

After seeing my belly protruding from my dress, Cordell's face goes bright red. "El…Elizabella," he murmurs. "Are you with child?" I don't quite hear him at first. All I know is that I'm upset and I don't want to be here.

I start murmuring things softly in Hausa, trying to soothe myself with the words of Abigor's ancestors. Cordell's soft mood quickly darkens into a much scarier one. He slams his fists down on the ground, rattling the objects around me. "Goddamnit, Elizabella. Answer me! Are you with child? Were you raped?"

My hands instantly come up to cover my stomach. "Raped? No. Never. Pregnant? Yes." My short and choppy answers seem to displease him. His face turns red and he begins to shake a little.

"You…you gave yourself to another man?" he says, completely astonished, through gritted teeth. "After you sat there with me and promised yourself to me?"

I chuckle humorlessly and shake my head. "That was months ago, Cordell." My hand lifts from its place on my stomach to brush a curl of hair out of my eyes. It reveals the beautiful ring on my finger.

Now he's shaking uncontrollably. "You…married?" he half shrieks at me. I move away from him into the corner as he grips the edge of his chain mail so hard that I think that it might break under the pressure. "Who is he?"

I don't answer him. I look into the corner of the tent at the Bellechester symbol, trying desperately to look strong even though I feel weaker than ever. "He is Dances With Wolves," I say to Cordell. I see the look of astonishment on his face. I can see how he's piecing together the expensive animal furs, and the beautiful jewellery I wear on my body, as well as the topaz that hangs around my neck and the ring that adorns my finger. "The king."

His face is red and he says not one word for several moments. He just stares at me in shock and resentment. Finally, after a painful silence, Cordell opens his mouth. "Well…" he begins softly. "You really are the Queen of Whores, aren't you?"

I growl at him. He lunges forwards and tackles me to the ground, pressing all of his weight against my pregnant stomach. I scream and bat at him with my hands for I fear that he'll crush my child. "Get off of me!" I shriek at him. He wrestles my hands to the ground and makes me be still.

"I want what I came for, you lowly bitch. I want you." He yanks down my pants and presses his hand over my cloth there. "Does that Barbarian shit touch you like this?" he taunts me. I scream, struggling. "I should rape you. You're worthless."

With all my rage, I spit in his face. This only makes him more ravenous and ferocious. His fist connects with my face and I instantly know that a bruise will be planted on my face. "You promised me your heart!" he cries at me. Cordell bends back and begins to unbuckle his pants, all the while keeping me pinned to the ground. He goes to push himself inside of me when my knee comes up and hits him in his most sensitive area. He doubles over in agonizing pain, which gives me an opportunity to escape.

I scramble out of the tent and into the fluffy snow with a bruised cheek and a bloody lip. The men all stop and stare as I fall to the ground at one of their feet. The man looks slightly concerned with my state of well-being as Cordell comes rushing out of the tent. He raises his hand to hit me again but the man catches his fist. "Let her be, Mason. You've already taught her a lesson."

Cordell yanks himself out of the man's grip and storms around the fire. "No one is to feed her! No one is to talk to her! Keep her tied up like a bitch, because that's exactly what she is."

The men drag me over to a tree where they tie me to the trunk with ropes. I fight, but I tire after five minutes. It's cold, I'm hurt, and I'm missing Abigor and Black Bear. I see Cordell giving me a look of death before he turns on his heel and strides pompously back into his tent.

Throughout the course of the evening, I sit against my tree and watch the men talk battle plans and feast upon a dinner that makes my mouth water beyond belief. Constantly Abigor is on my mind. The demons of winter come that night as the men are getting ready to head into their tents for the night.

One throws me a blanket and I greedily snatch it up into my hands, trying to salvage all of the warmth from it. The fire is put out as the last of the men are retreating into their tents for the night. I see Cordell standing by the dying embers. He looks menacing and crazed.

I look away from his face and into the desolate forest surrounding me. He speaks up then. "Don't worry, Elizabella. You won't die in the cold tonight," he whispers. I still refuse to look at him. "The gods have spoken to me, and we have decided to use you and your betrayal to our advantage. Tomorrow we shall travel to where your husband is stationed. If I can't have you, I'd rather