Legacy of the Mist Clans Box Set (81 page)

P
anting for air, Aidan leaned heavily against a tree. He had hoped the cold would dampen his desire and give him clarity of thought. But while the lust pounding through his being ebbed with the chill air, his desire did not.

He held out his hands, marveling that they shook. What was wrong with him?

He had never fallen in love before.

Aidan squeezed his eyes closed, trying to silence the voice within him, but he knew it was absolutely true. He had cared for lassies afore, but since his youth, he had always kept his heart in check. He had always known where he stood; he had always known his place was in the shadows, supporting his brother, always putting the needs of his clan first.

Why?

Why would I marry the likes of ye? Ye have nothing.

He had fancied himself in love before, but now he knew it was nothing more than a young lad’s lust and infatuation. Still, the folly of his youth had stabbed at his heart, he had valiantly protected it since then. Until he met Kenna.

Now a new future unfolded before him, but unlike Kenna, he cowed before it like a whipped dog. He did not meet it with courage and strength as she had done; instead, he had run like a coward.

Dear God, he was a fool!

He spun on his heel and strode toward the hut. He had no idea what he was going to say, only that he had to beg her forgiveness. There was an answer to this. He did not know what it was, but for the first time in his life, he understood that they would find it together.

Aidan entered the hut silently, noting the door to the room he had left was still open. He scowled and stalked silently forward then froze in the doorway.

His gaze landed on an open drawer, seeing bits of clothing strewn about, then he spotted his plaid tossed away on the bed.

“Kenna?” he whispered, but his voiced echoed hollowly in the empty room.

Nay! What have I done? Where is she?

He turned to sprint from the hut. Blessed saints, he had to find her! He knew she would most likely head for the barn first. But he hesitated, his gaze stopping on the second door. His thoughts scrambled and he strode to it, pounding his fist against the solid wood.

“Connell!” he barked. “A word with ye!”

HHH

Kenna achieved the stables with surprising ease.

I daresay there is nothing ye couldna master once ye put her mind tae it,
Aidan’s voice echoed in her head.

Tears clouded her eyes even more, and she fought not to think of him. She refused to acknowledge what she was leaving behind.

She was stronger than this.

The stables were well lit, and Kenna realized it was due to the stable boys constantly having to saddle mounts for patrols. She crept inside, watching for the lads, but didn’t see anyone.

A horse nickered at her and she looked to her left, seeing the gelding Aidan had ridden before he gained the gray courser, the one he had given to her. The gelding was dark brown, almost black, with long legs and a wide girth. He tossed his head at her, knowing her immediately. She approached and rubbed his nose, wishing she had brought a treat for him to munch on.

“How be ye?” she whispered, petting his neck.

The horse pawed at the straw and tossed his head again. Kenna realized the animal had been cooped up far too long. She grabbed the halter hanging on the gate and stepped into the stall. “We had a good ride,” she said softly as the horse thrust its nose into the halter. She smiled as the animal turned his head toward her as if he could sense her pain. His warm breath wuffed against her cheek, and Kenna found her tears escaping no matter how hard she tried to control them. She leaned against his solid form and buried her face into the warm fur of his neck, her tears no longer under her control. The horse nickered again and nuzzled her shoulder as if trying to say he didn’t understand her heartbreak, but she could cry into his fur all she wanted, he didn’t mind.

Kenna finally gained some semblance of control and pulled away. “How would ye like tae go for a ride?”

Ride
he understood and tossed his head, pawing at the ground again. Kenna opened the stall door and led him out to the cross-ties. She located his tack easily enough, and as she curried him down, she resolved not to think of what she was abandoning.

Nay, she would find a new life and a new hope. She would take all she had learned and throw herself into a new future.

Without Aidan.

Cursing herself, she threw the saddle pad on the horse’s back and went to get its saddle.

Just as she put the saddle in place and tightened the girth, she heard voices approaching the barn.

“Our plans have changed,” a guttural voice said. “Come with me. We can talk in here.”

Why did the voice sound vaguely familiar? She grabbed the horse’s bridle and put it on the horse then hesitated.

“Should I notify Hurstal?”

The mention of the brigand’s name froze her in place. The horse shoved his nose against her arm.
Let’s go!

She should have listened to the horse. Two men stepped into the barn.

“Not yet,” Laird Stewart said to the man-at-arms accompanying him. He spotted Kenna and froze.

The horse again shoved his nose against her arm.
Let’s go!

“The lad be stealing horses?” Stewart muttered and drew his dagger. He stepped forward.

Kenna recoiled, staggering back against her horse’s flank.

Stewart moved within range of the animal. It pinned its ears and snapped, striking with a forehoof.

Stewart avoided the strike, jumping to the side.

Kenna lunged forward, intending to climb into the saddle. But Stewart seized her arm and yanked her away. The horse squealed and lunged, again striking and snapping.

Stewart hauled her close and turned her around. Her gaze locked on his and she quailed.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Kenna?” he whispered. For a moment, she thought he might release her. “Ye live?”

But his fingers clamped onto her arm with painful strength. “Ye bloodied whore!” he snarled and raised his fist to strike her.

A shadow next to her came alive. Aidan exploded forward, his hand catching Stewart’s wrist as his fist descended, stopping it a hairsbreadth from her cheek.

“Ye willna touch her,” Aidan snarled, shoving Stewart back and placing himself in front of her.

“Aidan, nay!” she cried.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Ride, Kenna!” He surged forward, his own dagger in hand. “Get out of camp! I will find ye on the road.”

Kenna leapt into the saddle and kicked the horse forward, driving it between Stewart and Aidan.

Stewart flung himself backward to avoid being trampled.

“Ride, Kenna!” Aidan roared. “Ride as if the hounds of hell were after ye!”

Kenna lost sight of him as her horse lunged through the open barn door.

HHH

Stewart dove out of the way as Kenna charged through the barn door and escaped. The laird was slow to regain his feet. Stewart’s man-at-arms, however, was another story entirely.

When Aidan realized Kenna intended to escape the camp, he had followed, determined to seize the opportunity to leave as it presented itself and get Connell and Mairi out too. He hadn’t planned on the fracas with Stewart, but there was no help for it now. Aidan had entered the barn in time to see Kenna crying into his horse’s mane. Sorrow knifed through his heart that he was the one to cause her such distress, but as he summoned the courage to step into the light and make amends, he had heard voices outside the door. He hadn’t recognized Laird Stewart’s voice at first, but the mention of Hurstal’s name gave him pause, and he had kept to the shadows.

Where he belonged.

When Stewart tried to strike Kenna, Aidan had leapt into action. He would not abide anyone hurting her . . . ever.

There wasn’t enough room in the barn to fight with swords. Aidan gripped his dagger, circling Stewart’s man in the confined space, watching for an opening. The man lunged at him, his own dagger flashing. Aidan smoothly stepped to the side and drove his free hand down on the man’s wrist, striking a specific point. The man’s hand automatically opened, and he dropped his weapon. Aidan followed the action with a knee to the groin, doubling the man over, then brought his elbow down on the back of his head, knocking him into oblivion.

Stewart had managed to regain his feet and charged, but the old man was as slow as a lumbering ox. Just as Aidan prepared to again step to the side and dodge his charge, Connell dove into the fray with a roar. He batted Stewart’s dagger away and flung him back against the wall of the barn.

Stewart dropped and did not rise, but he was still conscious.

“Connell,” Aidan snapped, “get the horses! We are leaving!”

Connell stared at Stewart then looked at Aidan in confusion.

“I can handle these sods,” Aidan growled. “Get the horses.”

Connell blinked at him, trying to think beyond the instinct to fight. “I’ll no’ abandon ye.”

“Get Mairi tae Castle MacGrigor. My brother will keep her and Adam safe.” He shoved Connell down the breezeway of the barn.

Stewart’s man groaned, shaking his head, trying to rise. Aidan booted him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious again.

Connell finally obeyed, sprinting toward the horses in their stalls with Mairi right behind him.

Stewart regained his feet, blowing like an overworked horse. He gathered himself and lunged. Aidan again stepped to the side, barely deflecting the blow. Stewart lost his balance. Aidan’s dagger cut upward in a sharp thrust, burying up to the hilt just under his ribcage. Stewart gasped in shock, then blood began streaming from his mouth. Aidan wrenched his weapon free as the laird fell dead. Stewart’s man was still unconscious on the floor. Aidan sprinted after Connell and Mairi, noting Connell had managed to tack up three horses with surprising speed.

“Which way did Kenna go?” Connell asked as he helped Mairi into the saddle of her horse and attached the lead rope to its bit. Once again, she cradled Adam in the sling Connell had devised for her.

“I dinna ken,” Aidan replied, returning his dagger and grabbing a bridle for the horse Connell had saddled for him. It was a huge blood bay and appeared every bit the equal to the gray horse he had lost. “I’ll find Kenna,” he said and swung up into the saddle. “Ye get Mairi home.”

Connell also swung up onto his mount. He looked at Aidan and opened his mouth as if to argue.

“Get her home!” Aidan snapped and spurred his horse forward.

“Aye, young MacGrigor,” Connell barked, and he and Mairi followed him out of the barn.

Aidan worried about sending Connell and Mairi home on their own, but she was in capable hands. Hurstal and his group were still out there, but Aidan knew Kenna had dealt the knight-errant leader a hard blow. Perhaps they actually stood a chance of reaching home without being harried. Aidan’s primary concern right now was the Bruce and his men.

Despite Aidan’s best efforts, the Bruce was on the verge of discovering Adam’s true identity on his own. Aidan had to make certain the bairn was out of his reach, at least for a time. With the Earl of Pembroke bringing his troops north, the Bruce had greater concerns than a wee bairn and his wet nurse.

Aidan glanced over his shoulder. Of course, killing Laird Stewart did not bode well for his own future.

HHH

Kenna’s heart threatened to stop as her horse’s long stride swallowed the trail, heading for the edge of camp. The night was as black as the inside of a dragon’s gullet, and Kenna was terrified the animal would stumble. But as the guard watching the perimeter of the camp spotted her headlong rush and sounded the alert, Kenna quickly discovered her horse was very responsive. All she had to do was lean in the direction she wanted to go and he obeyed in an instant. Stopping him might be another story, but as the mounted patrols outside the camp, alerted by the guard’s shouts, picked up the chase, she realized she wouldn’t be stopping any time soon.

Her thoughts spun, trying to absorb this turn of events. Aidan had said he feared the Bruce would invent ways to keep him on a leash. That meant she, Mairi, and Connell were still the Bruce’s prisoners to hold over Aidan. She had planned on sneaking out to remove at least one aspect, not rouse the entire camp with her escape.

She crested the rise bordering the edge of the glen. Another cry from the guards sounded behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder. Connell, Mairi, and Aidan had gained their mounts and followed.

Again her thoughts spun. Although she had intended to leave so she would no longer be a burden to Aidan, she recognized that he had taken the opportunity to free Connell and Mairi before the Bruce could discover the truth of Adam’s parentage. With the entire camp alerted now, only by working together did they have a chance of escape.

She hauled her horse’s head around. Despite the terror hovering over her like a vulture, she found a resolve and determination she did not know she possessed. She pointed her horse in the proper direction, back into the camp, and thumped its sides with her heels. “Get up!”

HHH

Aidan heard the shout of the guards on the perimeter of the camp and struggled to focus his vision in the darkness, but he spotted Kenna, and his heart dropped to his boots. She pulled Aidan’s old mount to a sliding stop. The horse spun around and charged back the way they had come at a dead run, Kenna balanced over his withers asking for more speed, riding as if she had been born to the saddle. His jaw went slack as he watched her handle a horse that had been able to challenge his riding abilities at times. But the horse gave her its all, never hesitating as it leapt over a stack of barrels and crates.

The shouts of the guards increased in volume as men roused and took the field, trying to see what the ruckus was about. Aidan blinked. Then his lips curved upward ever so slightly as he realized Kenna had gained the attention of just about every man in this blessed camp and they were roaring their approval.

He glanced over his shoulder again. Connell and Mairi were right behind him. As Kenna drew the focus of the guards onto her, Aidan veered hard right, leading Connell and Mairi away. They crested the rise in the trail that marked the camp’s edge. Aidan pulled his mount to a stop. The horse squealed and reared as Connell and Mairi galloped past him.