A Love Worthy

Chapter Thirteen

Her eyes fluttered open to stare blankly up at the wide, extended ceiling above her. Ginelle closed her eyes and opened them again to clear her vision as she searched the walls of her mind for a means to how she ended up like this.

Her eyes widened as she stared around the room, the surroundings unfamiliar to her. Panic escalated through her chest. Where was she?

She lay unmoving, her mind plagued with questions. The room was dark, lit with a dim glow provided by the dying fire across the room. She could just make out the outlines of furniture, masculine furniture. The room was done in dark, warm hues which indicated the presence of a man.

Her panic increased with each parched breath as she studied the contents of the empty room. What manner of man occupied the room?

Suddenly, vague images scuttled through her mind. Ginelle froze, her eyes relaying the events that led her to this moment.

The banquet. She squeezed her eyes shut, specifically recalling the storm that had soaked her gown. Her heart became an erratic drum within her chest.

Nathaniel. Her eyes jerked open, remembering their moment beneath the terrace. She groaned as she turned her head on the pillow, eagerly pushing pass the foggy haze. Why was she clouded? Why couldn't she think straight?

Dorian. She had been angry with Dorian.

Pierino!

"No!" she gasped. She bolted upright in bed as her eyes moved warily around the remnants of the darkened room, suddenly aware of every shifting shadow. Had he found her?

Everything was so terribly clear. Pierino had found her!

Ginelle pressed her lips firmly together against the bile rising in her throat as her stomach churned with dread. Her hair fell over her shoulder as she jerked on the layers of coverlets.

She reached out to grip the post of the canopy, surprised that her legs were unsteady as she gathered to her height.

She whimpered as a tear streaked her face. No, she could not register the thought. Pierino knew where she was, he had found her, nearly four years later and he had found her.

Her knees threatened to buckle and she grasped the post to steady her balance as she clenched her eyes shut against the wave of vertigo.

She had to run; he would find her. He would always find her or was it too late? Ginelle jerked her head up to peer around the room, her face paling against the dusk glow emitting from the hearth.

Was this Pierino's room? It couldn't be, she thought, shaking her head as if to convince herself. She remembered the horse as she rushed to get away but after that moment everything went dark.

She acted on fear and alarm as she pushed away from the bed-post and moved towards the door, her instincts warning her to flee. A sudden, intense wave of dizziness seized her and she felt herself fumbling to catch her balance as she stumbled over the carpet. She hit the floor with such an impact, it rendered her breathless.

Stunned and suddenly furious by how weak and helpless she was, she scrambled to pull herself up just as the door to the room jerked open.