The Lavender Heir. Chapter 14

What have you done?

Chapter 14 – What Have You Done?

Sasha’s heart pounded as she crouched in the cupboard, listening to the boy’s soft, stifled sobs from where he had crumpled on the floor. She knew the safest thing to do was stay hidden until Cian was long gone. But the thought of leaving that child alone in the castle with him, knowing what she had just witnessed, was unbearable.

She eased the cupboard door open, wincing at the faint creak, and slipped out into the hall.

The boy startled violently when he saw her. He scrambled back against the wall, eyes wide with terror, the marks of the belt fresh across his arms.

“It’s all right,” Sasha whispered, holding out her hands to show she meant no harm. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help. To take you away from here.”

He shook his head, trembling. “He’ll find us,” he whispered hoarsely.

“No,” Sasha said firmly, her voice low but certain. “I won’t let him. You don’t belong here. Come with me.”

For a moment the boy hesitated, eyes darting up and down the corridor. Then, slowly, he reached for her hand.

Sasha’s chest tightened as his small fingers wrapped around hers. “Good boy,” she whispered. “Stay close to me, no matter what.”

Retracing her steps through the shadowed corridors was like walking a tightrope over a pit. Every floorboard creak made her heart lurch. But they made it to the cellar stairs unseen, Aislinn’s ghostly presence seeming to guide their way.

When they finally pushed through the castle’s rear doors and into the night air, Sasha felt her lungs fill properly for the first time in hours. She gathered the boy into her arms and ran.

They tore across the lavender fields, the fragrant flowers brushing against their legs, until Heather’s cottage came into view. Sasha banged on the door with the flat of her hand, her heart in her throat.

Heather opened the door and froze, her expression turning from shock to horror in an instant. Eamon was behind her, his face hardening when he saw the boy clutching Sasha’s coat.

“What have you done?” he said sharply.

Sasha pulled the boy inside and shut the door behind them. “I couldn’t leave him there,” she said, her voice trembling. “I saw what Cian did to him. He was going to kill him—or worse. I had to bring him out.”

Heather knelt in front of the boy, who flinched at her movement. She softened her voice, brushing a strand of tangled red hair from his eyes. “You’re safe now,” she said gently. “Let’s get you warm and clean, sweetheart.”

The boy’s striking green eyes—so familiar and piercing—met Heather’s for a fleeting moment, and she felt her breath catch. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “This is Aislinn’s son.”

Eamon’s jaw tightened. “We’ll need Megan,” he said grimly.

Heather nodded. “Tell her she must come. Tell her we have her grandson.”


—

Megan arrived an hour later, the storm-lashed night clinging to her coat. When she saw the boy standing in the kitchen, clutching a blanket, she crumpled.

“My God…” she whispered, tears spilling freely as she knelt and cupped his face with trembling hands. “Your eyes… you’re hers.”

She drew him into her arms, her sob catching in her throat. “You’re my grandson.”

Eamon stood at the table, arms crossed, his expression dark. “Cian will come for him the moment he knows he’s missing. We have to hide the boy somewhere safe.”

“My flat,” Sasha said without hesitation. “He doesn’t know where it is. You and Megan can take him on the ferry, keep him there until we figure out what to do.”

Eamon gave a sharp nod. “I’ll take you,” he said to Megan. “I know the way.”

The next few hours passed in a blur of hurried packing. The boy clung to Megan’s hand as they left, Eamon leading them out into the grey pre-dawn, Heather ushering them toward the car.

“You’re sure about this?” Heather asked Sasha quietly as they stood on the doorstep.

“He’ll be safe with them,” Sasha said, her voice thick with emotion. “Just… don’t let Cian find him.”

Heather pulled her into a quick, fierce hug, then followed Megan, the boy, and Eamon to the car. The ferry would take them far from the castle, far from Cian’s reach.

When the headlights finally disappeared down the lane, the silence of the house pressed in around Sasha. She turned to find Heather still at her side, her face pale but resolute.

Now, all they could do was wait—and pray that Cian didn’t already know what she had done.