Chapter Forty-four (His Unforgiving Heart)

Arric shut his eyes to take a deep breath and heard it, her steady breathing – albeit labored and knew she was somewhere in the room. He went to check the bathroom and the closet, a deep frown furrowed his eyebrows before he walked gingerly to the other side of the bed and found her curled up on the lush area rug on the floor. His heart shook hard in his chest at the sight of her.

The image of the cold, damp cell she had spent the past days playing in his head, and a low growl vibrated deep in his throat. With jaw clenched, he took off his clothes, almost tearing them off of his body as he allowed Steelclaw to connect with her beast causing him to feel the pain in her body and heart.

Left in his boxers, he went to scoop her up, startling her awake, she flinched delicately and the thought that she may have been abused hit him like a wrecking ball. But he knew if she had, Ghost would have told him, and he was certain the guard wouldn’t have lived to see the next day. Eirika had no