Again bound to the man afraid of drowning, Stefan longed to go closer but Baodan would not budge. It was just as well, the guards were watching them too closely anyway. Nevertheless, he scanned the land again hoping to at least see the black stallion. But the horse was no where in sight. At least now he knew where he was and Kannak was not so very far from him. His desperation to escape increased.
Their nightly talks always centered on a possible way out and the slaves decided they could cut a hole in the roof, stand on each other's shoulders and go. If they were quiet enough, they could get a good head start. But then what? Scatter, they agreed. Surely if they ran in different directions the guards would have more trouble catching them…at least all of them. Still, they needed to know where the horses were and none of them had an answer, nor did they have anything to cut the hole with.
Stefan never said a word about the castle. If he managed to escape, that was exactly where he intended to go and he didn't need a horse. He would swim the loch to get there and this time, he would not be bound to Baodan. Even if the guards spotted him, who would dare enter a haunted castle? He tried to remember if he saw any weapons on the walls and believed he had.
When the wind blew, he sometimes paused to see if he could hear that groaning sound coming from the castle. He could not.
*
As the weeks wore on, Limond's castle grew taller with one level completed and then another. Still interested in building, Stefan considered the construction a complete disaster, and was learning what not to do. If he could not be a builder, he could at least dream of someday being one. It made his days easier somehow.
But his nights were still torture. He longed to hold Kannak just once more. Even when his feet were sore and his muscles ached, he could not get Jirvel and Kannak out of his mind. How had they managed without him? He did not think Jirvel would take a husband even if she were free and he did not like the idea of the two of them being around any man Macoran chose to help them with the land. But what choice did Macoran have?
Then he began to worry Kannak had forgotten him after all this time. She must think him dead by now and how could she not choose a husband? Even worse, how long would Macoran keep his word and not force her to marry? One moment Stefan charged himself to forget her and the next he felt so defeated he wanted to make a run for it, let an arrow in the back claim him and put an end to his misery.