Love And Honour (Book 2)

Chapter XVIII

"Where is my brother?" He cannot quite hide the impatience. At her lack of a reply he swings his legs off the bed. She rushes to his side but he pushes her away. "If you will not tell me, I will look for him myself." He places his feet on the ground and pushes himself up. Unsteadily he sways but manages to remain standing. Dawn nervously glances at the door.

"Please sit back down, you are still not well and I fear for your life." She begs of him. Tears glisten in her eyes. Gavriel softens a little but his mind is set. Using the edge of the bed as a little support he walks across the room. Dawn hovers at his side. "Fine." She bites out when he reaches the foot of the bed. Gavriel pauses and raises his eyebrows at her. "Sit." She orders.

"No, tell me where he is." Gavriel stubbornly resists, despite the fatigue enveloping all of his body.

"He poisoned you." her voice comes out in a whisper and she avoids meeting his eyes. His forehead creases significantly at her words.

"You little liar." He growls, his hand shooting out and catching her neck. His fingers grip and her eyes widen. "How dare you!" His growl deepens with anger. Her feet come off of the floor. She squeaks and claws at his hand but his strength is helped by the red blood coursing through his body.

"H...he..." She chokes out, trying to scream for some assistance. Red edges into Gavriel's vision. The colour drains from her face.

"Let go of her." Someone screams and collides into him. His hand releases her neck as he loses his balance and falls back onto the bed. He scrambles up, red still blurring his vision. Bit by bit it evaporates and he takes long, cooling breaths. His chest heaves and he places his head in his hands.

Dawn curls up on the floor, her hands at her neck. Tears stream down her face as fear ricochets through her system. Zara sits beside her, one arm wrapped tightly around Dawn's shoulders, the other soothing her gently by rubbing her back. Dawn leans into Zara as she sobs. Zara desperately wished she had come sooner. She never expected her brother to react in such a way. She cannot forgive herself for leaving Dawn alone with him now. She should have known. She should have protected her friend.

She glances up at her brother, a glare taking over her features. It drops when she sees his defeated posture. A tear slips into the corner of her eye and she blinks it away. Now is not the time to think, now is the time to be strong. She has to be strong for her family. Dawn pulls away from her and Zara refocuses on her. She brushes her friend's tears away with gentle hands. "I am so sorry." She whispers. Dawn nods and hugs her. They sit like that for several more moments, both taking strength and comfort from the other.

Eventually Dawn pulls away and stands. She offers her hand and pulls Zara to her feet. "I understand why he did it. I forgive him." She promises, her eyes drifting over to Gavriel but unable to settle on him. Bruises have already started to appear on the pale skin on her neck. Zara nods but she remembers all too accurately the same marks on someone else. She always wondered how they appeared on Sparrow's skin that evening. She had been foolish not to work it out.

"You should go home and check on Tommy." She weakly smiles at Dawn. Dawn leaves the room and Zara assesses her brother. She sits down on the bed by his side and waits. Neither speaks for a long time, both of them burying their feelings down deep. It is what they have both been taught from a very young age. Feelings are a weakness. You have to always show a strong front, no matter what. You must be in control, even if front of those who should trust, even in front of family.

"You believe that Gethin poisoned me." His tone is matter of fact, no emotion mixed in. His eyes are empty.

"I did not want to but there is too much evidence stacked against him. There are two witnesses and a search found several poisons in his room hidden under the floorboards." She replies, her voice as blank as his. Gavriel regards her sideways.

"Why did they not come forward before this happened?"

"They were frightened. I had to give my assurance to everyone that they would be safe if anyone had information to come forward. I did not believe it would be against our own brother."

"So where is he now?"

"In the dungeons below the house. He is comfortable for now." Zara suddenly buries her head in her hands. Gavriel places an arm around her shoulders. "I am meant to be strong." She says weakly. He presses a kiss on her hair and rubs her arm. Her small body feels cool to touch. Despite feeling cold he now realises he must really be quite hot. She does not pull away from his touch.

"You are meant to be you, and you are strong but we can all lose control." He tells her, his voice sympathetic. "I am sorry for how I treated Dawn but I did not want to believe those words."

"I know." She mutters. She turns her head to look at him. "You still look awful." She giggles and he smiles weakly at her. "You should lie down and try to go back to sleep. I promise you that nothing will be done until you are better and you can speak with him yourself."

"Thank you." She helps him stand and move up the bed so he can lie down. She moves the majority of the pillows and he lays down his head. She sits down in the chair by his bed. Heaviness pulls Gavriel down. But before it does completely he remembers his brother passing him a whiskey a week ago, a torn expression on his face. He opens his eyes and looks across at Zara. She already lies asleep in the chair; she must have been up all night.

With great effort he sits up and pulls paper out of the draw in his bedside table and an ink pen. He quickly writes out a letter. He grimaces as he realises there is no one to deliver it for him. He pushes it under his pillow and lays his head down. Eventually someone will come along and take it for him. Sleep overtakes him.

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It only takes a few days for Gavriel to grow tired of staying in his room. Despite his sister's efforts to entertain him with several games, even bringing the chess board in, he can no longer remain. His muscles are still fatigued and heavy but most of the poison has been sweated out from his system and his skin now feels cool to the touch. At a quiet moment of the day, when he has finally been left on his own, he rises and gets dressed. He slips a dagger into his boot. He locks the door and moves the chair in front of it for his safety of mind. He removes a picture from the wall and looks into the hole behind it. Several bottles of clear liquid sit there. They will need to be moved before anyone can find them. He frowns as he lifts one bottle into the light. His jaw tightens.