Forever Her Champion (10 page)

And what of Aiden? What had happened to the warm, caring boy she remembered? The less he told her the more she wondered. If his tossing and turning in his sleep were any indication, something dark had befallen him, of that she was convinced.

The first night, when he’d been passed out from drinking, she had slept beside him for warmth. ’Twas a sensation she wanted desperately to repeat every night for the rest of her life. To sleep securely and without fear in the arms of a man she admired. A man who cared for her heart as well as her safety. Someone like the boy Aiden had been. Knowing full well she was allowing her mind and heart to wander to points neither should go, she had decided to sleep a safe distance away from him.

Last night, he had slept so restlessly that he kept her awake. Betimes he mumbled incoherently as his body jerked violently. Then he would weep and beg forgiveness. Last night, she had gone to offer him soothing words of comfort. ’Twas then he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. Moments later, he whispered
thank ye,
before drifting off to sleep. Once he was settled, she tried to dislodge herself from his warm embrace. Sensing she was leaving him, he would pull her in again. Finally, she quit fighting and remained tucked next to him. ’Twas another battle she carefully — and happily — chose to lose.

When she woke this morn, he was already up and gone. Either he hadn’t remembered the night before, or he had and was too embarrassed to speak of it. Either way, she was glad he had not brought the matter up, for she was too confused over her feelings for him to have a thoughtful or intelligent conversation.

Finally, the silence was too much to endure. “Why do ye think the ring glows again?” Rianna asked him from across the fire. Pulling the ring from beneath her dress, she held it in the palm of her hand. Oddly, it seemed to glow even brighter than the day before.

He contemplated her question for a long moment. “I dunnae. Mayhap it glows because ye are near yer father?”

“Mayhap,” she replied, detecting no sarcasm or mockery in his tone. “It continued to glow long after we left
Ardanaiseig.
For several years actually. But slowly, it began to dim until ’twas nearly black.”

“Yet it glows again,” he said.

“Aye, it glows again. I cannae help but wonder why.” Mesmerized by it’s radiance, she could scarce take her eyes from it. Mayhap Aiden was right. Mayhap it was magik, as he had declared long ago. Was it somehow tied to her father and glowed when he was near? Nay, that explanation made no sense. “But it glowed when I lived in
Ardanaiseig,”
she pointed out to him. “There are only two times in my life the ring has e’er glowed. Both times were in your presence.”

She was so captivated by the ring, had not heard his calm yet firm tone calling for her silence.

“Mayhap the ring is tied to
ye,”
she said with a dismissive giggle.

“
Wheest now,”
he whispered harshly to gain her attention.

Prepared to curse him to the devil for being so rude, the curse died on her tongue when she saw the expression on his face. Serious, tense, and alert. ’Twas then she heard the faint crack of a twig coming from the dark forest. The combination sent a shiver down her spine and turned her skin to gooseflesh.

* * *

“
D
o
ye have a weapon in yer pack?” he asked in a low, hushed whisper.

Frozen with fear, all she could manage was a rapid nod.

He stood then and stretched, as if he were tired and ready for bed. In a loud voice, he said, “I fear this journey has worn me out, lass.” Stepping toward her, he bent over at the waist and kissed her cheek. “Do nae let on ye ken there be someone out there,” he whispered. “Do ye have any more dried beef in yer pack?” he asked, raising his voice.

Confusion enveloped her. Uncertain what she should do, she shook her head. “Nay, ye ate it all.”

“Why don’t ye look again?” he asked as he scratched his belly. “Ye might find some left.” His eyes pleaded for understanding.

It took a moment before she realized he was pretending he did not know that someone was watching them from nearby. Stammering, she said, “Verra well, let me look.” With trembling fingers, she felt through the items in her pack, all the while her heart raced in her chest. Frantically she searched blindly, unable to take her eyes from Aiden’s. After what seemed an eternity, her fingers finally rested on the blade of her
sgian dubh.
Relief —albeit short-lived — washed over her when she felt the cool steel.

Aiden sat beside her, stretching his long legs out before her. As much as she wanted to look into the darkness, she found she could not pull her gaze from his. “Have ye found the beef?” he asked as he draped an arm around her shoulder.

Her throat had gone dry with fear. “Nay, it be gone,” she managed to reply as she pulled the
sgian dubh
from the pack and laid in on her lap for him to see.

Another snap and crack from the forest. Without thinking, she looked toward the trees at the sound.

“Dunnae fash yerself, lass,” Aiden said. “’Tis just a badger.”

She knew without seeing ’twas not a night creature lurking in the shadows, but a man. Possibly more than one. She also knew that Aiden knew the same.

Another cracking twig, another footfall and she was trembling with such force that she could scarce find a breath.

“Come, let us go to bed,” Aiden said as he shot to his feet. Extending an arm to her, he took her hand in his. Hoisting her to her feet, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close to his chest. “No matter what happens, ye stay behind me at all times. And should anything happen to me, ye run fer the hills as fast as those skinny legs of yers can carry ye,” he whispered into her hair. “Promise me.”

Terrified tears brimmed as she nodded with understanding. A hundred thoughts raced through her mind as she fought back the urge to cry. What happened next occurred so quickly she had little time to do anything but stand back and watch.

“
G
ood eve to ye
!” cried out a man who stood just on the edge of their camp. Startled, Rianna jumped out of Aiden’s arms while he carefully placed her behind his back.

“Good eve to ye,” Aiden replied.

The man stepped forward into the firelight. One look and Rianna knew he was trouble. Besides his ill-fitting clothes and shaved head, there was something in his eyes, something readily apparent even in the dimly lit space. Madness? Desperation? Whatever ’twas, she found it dark and sinister.

“Could ye spare a few lost souls a bit of yer supper?” he asked as he took another step forward. A moment later, they were surrounded my three more men, all of whom looked equally as menacing as the first. Two of them stood just to the right of she and Aiden, the other to their left.

“I fear we have nothin’ left,” Aiden said. “Nae even a handful of berries or nuts.”

Rianna trembled as she looked at the strange men. Reaching out to Aiden, she placed one hand on his waist, whilst her other held tightly to her
sgian dubh.
’Twas then she realized Aiden was not wearing his sword. Dread consumed her as her gaze fell upon the sword that rested against their packs a good seven or eight feet away.

“Then have ye a coin or two to spare?” The man made his way to the fire as if he were nothing more than a passing stranger.

“Nay,” Aiden answered, holding his empty palms up. “We be as poor as church mice.”

The man to their left continued to stare at Rianna, licking his lips all the while. Repulsed, she turned away to look around Aiden’s shoulders at the man at the fire. He squatted down and warmed his hands over the licking flames. “That be a right shame,” he said. “A right shame.”

“Ye’re more than welcome to warm yerselves by the fire,” Aiden said, casting a glance toward the other men. “But me wife and I were just getting ready to turn in for the night. We have travelled long and far this day.”

The man ignored him. “We have nae eaten in days. And we’ve nae had a woman in weeks,” he said. “Ye have no food, but ye do have a right pretty woman.”

Aiden tensed. Rianna could feel his muscles tighten, all the while her heart pounded with terror against her chest.

Shrugging as if he cared not what the men might wish to do to her, Aiden said, “Verra well,” as he left Rianna standing alone. “She be nae me wife anyway. An Inverness whore I picked up a few days ago.”

Rianna’s mouth fell open as she watched him walk away. Beyond bewildered, she stood with mouth agape, terrified.

Her eyes flew to the man by the fire, then to the man to her left. What had happened to her champion? Her protector? Did Aiden truly mean to leave her to these men? She would fight to her own death before she went to them willingly.

She was about to tell them all just that when she heard Aiden unsheathe his sword. The sound of metal against leather broke through the quiet night. Before she could utter a word or move a muscle, Aiden had thrust his sword deep into he back of the man by the fire. Soundlessly, he fell forward into the flames, and a rapid heartbeat later, his clothes were on fire. But he did not scream nor cry out in agony, for he was already dead.

Frozen with fear, all she could do was stand by and watch as the three men drew their own swords. The two on her right engaged Aiden, whilst the other man wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off the ground.

“Nay!” she cried out. Caught off guard, she let her
sgian dubh
fall to the earth as she pounded on his arms. The man was dragging her toward the woods.

He hadn’t taken three steps before Aiden was upon them. “Let her go and I’ll consider lettin’ ye live.”

His voice was firm and unyielding. Her captor spun around and, to his utter disbelief, his companions lay dead on the ground.

Rianna held her breath as she looked at Aiden. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. He looked so calm, so completely at ease. ’Twas the way he stared at the man, with such a deadly glare that she nearly fainted. Apparently, her captor was not an intelligent man.

“I do nae think so,” he said. “Ye’ll kill me as soon as I let her go. But ye’ll regret it. We travel with twenty other men. They wait for our return.”

Aiden arched a brow in disbelief. “Twenty?” he asked. “I dunnae care if ye travel with one hundred. I will kill ye all before I allow ye to harm on hair on the lass’s head.”

“Back away!” the man barked out, tightening his hold on Rianna’s waist. He lifted his sword and held it against her throat. “I’ll kill her, I swear I will.”

“And ye shall be dead before she hits the ground.”

The man started backing away.

“Rianna, my love, ye look tired,” Aiden said as his eyes bored into hers. “Would ye like to rest?”

Rest? Had he gone mad? “Aiden, please, help me.”

“I will lass,” he said with a smile that bordered on something she could not quite describe. “Mayhap ye would like to rest
now?”

They were moving farther away from the fire and into darkness. Confused, terrified, she tried to make some sense of his question. She could no longer see his face clearly, for they were nearly enveloped in the inky blackness of the trees.

Now. Rest now.
It suddenly became clear what he needed her to do. In an instant, she fell completely limp in her attacker’s arms.

As she did so, the man was caught off guard. Concerned with lifting her back up to maintain his hold on her, he took his eyes off Aiden. ’Twas the only opening Aiden needed.

Before the fool realized what was happening, Aiden thrust his sword into the man’s neck. Rianna’s stomach roiled at the sound of metal piercing flesh and bone. She could feel the blood as it spattered against her head, face and neck. The dead man fell to the ground, taking her with him.

A moment later, Aiden was prying her out of the dead man’s hands. Without a word, he lifted her into his arms and took her back to their camp. “Are ye hurt?” he asked as he sat her upon the ground near their packs.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she trembled violently. “Nay,” she scratched out as she tried to hold herself together. ’Twas impossible, for the air was filled with the cloying scent of blood and death and burning flesh. She had to close her eyes against the sight of the man still burning upon the fire.

Soon, Aiden had returned to her side, lifted her up once again, and sat her atop their mount. Moments later, he tossed their belongings up before taking his place behind her.

Into the darkness of the night, they fled as if the hounds of hell were on their heels.

* * *

S
he sobbed uncontrollably
for heaven only knew how long. Crashing through trees, splashing through streams, over hills, and through glens, they raced away from the dead men as fast as his horse would take them.

Rianna clung to him, burying her face against his chest, soaking his tunic with her tears. Never in all her life had she been more terrified or more appalled.

Finally, her sobs and tears waned, yet she still clung to her champion, her protector. He had fought to save her. To protect her from four nefarious, violent men. Her mind was assaulted repeatedly with the images of those men, lying lifeless on the forest floor or burning in the campfire. What would they have done to her had Aiden not been there? What would she have done had he fallen dead at their hands?

Exhausted, she did her best to push those images aside, but ’twas next to impossible. She wanted nothing more than to bathe and sleep. To run away and hide from the rest of the world.

Aiden slowed their mount to a walk, then stopped.

Rianna raised her head, afraid to look around. “What is it?” she asked, her voice scratchy from crying.

“I think we have stumbled upon shelter,” he said, looking straight ahead. “A hunter’s croft.”

All she could see was blackness ahead and the indigo sky above. Tapping the flanks of their mount, they pushed onward.

“Stay here,” he said as he dismounted. “I shall go in to see if it be safe.”

Terrified of being left alone, she urged him to stay.

“I shall hurry, lass, ye have my word. If ye hear anything, just kick yer feet against his flanks and he shall see ye to safety. The road to yer father’s home is to the west.”

“Aiden, please,” she cried. A moment later, he disappeared into nothingness.

* * *

A
iden’s instinct
had been correct. ’Twas an old, dilapidated hunter’s croft, barely big enough for two grown men. Thankfully, ’twas empty, save for two three-legged stools, a few empty clay jars, a brazier and kindling. He doubted Rianna would care about the condition of the croft, for she was still far too upset.

Soon, he had her sitting on a stool before the brazier. His chest tightened with sorrow and guilt when he noticed she could not look at the flames.
This,
he declared silently,
was why she needed someone else. She could not live the rest of her life with him, for danger seemed to meet him at every opportunity.

With great care, he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She still trembled, but not with the same ferocity as earlier.

At a loss for words, he did not know what to say. All he could think of was that she could have died this night. Had he not been there, had he made a fatal mistake … Tamping down his urge to scream at the gods for cursing him, for putting Rianna in such danger, he clenched his jaw tightly with barely hidden anger.

“I could have died this night,” she whispered, her voice scratchy as it caught on a lump in her throat. “We both could have.”

“But we did nae,” he told her. “And we are safe now.”

When she lifted her gaze from the floor, he saw the tears pooling again. “I — ” she paused, choking back the tears. “I have ne’er been so afraid, Aiden. I dunnae ken how ye learned to fight like ye did, and I do nae care. I am just so glad ye were there.”

She broke down again, into a wracking mess of tears. Knowing not what else he could do to comfort her, he pulled her onto his lap and drew her close. “Ye are safe now, Rianna,” he said. “And on the morrow, ye shall meet yer father.”

Slowly, she pulled away. “I dunnae care if I e’er meet him,” she said. “Were it nae for him turning me and my mother out, I would nae have been out in the middle of nowhere, terrified out of my wits.”

Bright green eyes, wet with tears, were filled with so much hurt and anguish, his chest constricted.

“But then, I would ne’er have met ye,” she said. “Of all the things I e’er wished and prayed for, of all the things he ne’er gave me, he did give me you. For that, I am thankful.”

He, too, was thankful for her. She was a bright light in an otherwise dark world. Without even trying, she had given him back the ability to care for another being. She made him feel alive and worthy of something more. Before he could utter a word, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his.

Something exploded inside him. Far stronger than desire or lust or need. ’Twas something he had never felt before and it terrified him to his toes. He didn’t want to want her, but he did. With something that went far beyond passion.

With each moment her soft lips touched his, he felt himself falling farther and farther into a blissful state. As she drew him closer, her hands clasped behind his neck, each dark, ugly memory from his past began to fade away.

If he did not stop now, before they did something they would both later regret, he knew he would not be able to stop himself. “Rianna,” he whispered, “we must stop this.”

“I do nae wish to stop, Aiden,” she admitted. Her cheeks were flushed, a delightful shade of pink.

“Ye know not what ye say, lass. Ye’re—”

She stopped him with a fingertip to his lips. “I know exactly what I say. I — we — could have died this night. I do nae want to go to my grave without knowin’ what it’s like to truly be with a man. I want to know and experience all of it and I want to know it with ye.”

Gently, he took her hand in his and kissed the tips of her fingers. With all that he was, he wanted her as well, with a fire and near desperation he had not thought it possible to feel. “Then ye should save yourself for a husband. For a man who can love ye all the rest of yer days. A man who can protect ye and keep ye safe.”