#Chapter 171 – Martyr or Traitor?

Lila The outpost could no longer hold me safe. The bread was gone, the dried fruit was nothing but dust at the bottom of the pouch. Even the water flask kept running dry and I had to venture out to refill it at least three times a day. I couldn’t wait for Ronan any longer, not with my body aching and the faint flutter beneath my ribs reminding me of what was coming. I’d told myself I’d be safe if I stayed hidden until he returned. But that kind of safety meant starving and being too weak to stand when the time came to bring this child into the world. If Ronan returned at all. For all I knew, Damon had learned what he did for me, how he betrayed his trust and threw him in the dungeons or worse. At first light, I pushed the shutters open, the wood groaning in protest as if the room itself didn’t want to let me go. The crisp morning air hit me, carrying the damp smell of moss and soil. My legs trembled under me, but I forced them forward, one step, then another and o