Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

One moment, she was preparing to board the birlinn to return to her brother’s castle. The next, Thora found herself surrounded by a dozen men wearing Clan Ross colors. With a flash of insight, she realized what was happening.

Lachlan Ross had wanted her badly enough to try and kidnap her from the room she’d shared with Aedan. Now that he knew she was both unwed and without her protector, he was going to try to take her prisoner once again, to then force her into a marriage with him as a way to control her and her clan.

He would use the union to gain ground on the Isle of Skye, and other regions of the Highlands, attempting to achieve through matrimony what he had intended to do by subverting Clan Cameron’s resources.

She couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Thora!” A shout distracted her, and she turned to see Aedan racing toward her.

The distraction was enough to divert her attention from the Clan Ross warriors, and it proved her undoing. Before she had time to think, much less attempt an escape, she found herself surrounded by the men.

She tried to dart past them, but two of them seized her arms and stopped her. She tried to fight, kicking and squirming in their holds, but they were too strong for her. One of them applied pressure to her wounded shoulder, making her cry out as blackness threatened the edges of her vision.

“Thora!” Aedan arrived, Mac just behind him, and plowed into the nearest two men. All three of them went down in a tangle of limbs and weapons. Mac engaged two more, sword flashing like lightning against his opponents.

It was a valiant effort, but they were outnumbered, even with Thora trying desperately to assist. There were still half a dozen fighters free to join the fray. One managed to get a good kick to Aedan’s head, and the laird of Cameron Clan fell stunned to the ground, where he was kicked again into unconsciousness.

Mac was being driven back by four men. He fought valiantly, but even Thora could see he was outnumbered and outmatched.

She lunged against her captors, trying to free herself, to go to Aedan’s side, but one of the men backhanded her across the face, and pain sent stars shooting across her vision. She tried to stay conscious, but there was another impact to her shoulder, and it was too much for her to bear. Darkness caught her and took her strength away from her.

Her last sight, before she fell into unconsciousness was Aedan, pinned by two men and being bound, and Mac, still fighting to save his laird.

Aedan woke with his head throbbing and ribs that felt as if he’d actually broken them, as opposed to bruised them. He also woke to the feeling of a tree against his back, and his arms bound tightly behind him. For a moment, it was all he could do to remain conscious and breathe as he struggled to recall what had happened.

Thora. He’d gone to speak to Thora and seen her in the process of being kidnapped. He had raced to aid her… and then his memory faded away.

He must have been overwhelmed. That would explain his throbbing head. With a grimace, Aedan forced his eyes to open.

He was bound to a tree, at the edge of a rudimentary camp. A dozen men stood around, tending the fire or talking among themselves. Among them stood Lachlan Ross, a smug smile on his face.

Thora was beside him, dirt streaking her face and clothes, her hair wild around her face, and her eyes wide with worry. As soon as she saw him awake, she collapsed against him. “Aedan… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didnae mean tae… I’m so sorry.”

“I ken. I’m sorry as well, but ‘tis nae time tae talk about it.” Aedan glanced around. “Mac?”

“Escaped. I dinnae ken where.” Thora’s voice was soft. She sat up, and he saw that she’d been bound by nothing more than a rope around her wrists. “They’ve bound ye tae a tree, and me hands, but they’ve done little else. Lachlan is still planning his next move, and trying tae decide whether tae ransom ye tae yer clan fer their servitude, or send back yer head and claim the clan by right o’ conquest.”

Neither sounded like a good option for Aedan. “And ye?”

Thora shuddered. “He intends tae tak’ me back tae his castle and wed me by force, then use the wedding tae make me braithers submit tae his demands.”

And the Highlands would fall - or at least, all their clans and possibly their allies as well. Aedan grimaced.

Then he saw the tension in Thora’s shoulders, a distant spark in her eyes. “Thora? What is it?”

“A chance. Our only chance. A moment o’ mayhem. If ye can flee, then aid will find us, and there will be hope o’ escape from this danger, and perhaps from all else. If we fail, the clans fall tae Clan Ross.”

A slight shiver passed over her frame, and her eyes cleared. “I had…”

“I ken. But… ye cannae expect me tae flee without ye.” Aedan swallowed. “I cannae…”

“But ye will. Ye must. ‘Tis the only way help will find us in time. And ‘tis the only way fer both o’ us tae escape. Ye must flee, and I must follow. That’s the way o’ it, if we both want to survive this night.”

The very idea made his guts twist and his heart ache. Even so… he had sworn to trust her visions, even if he trusted nothing else. “What must we dae?”

“I will free ye. Ye must run fer it. The chaos will give us a chance tae try and escape.”

“How shall ye escape, if I flee without ye?”

“Ye will see. ‘Twill be all right.” She offered him a wan smile. “Trust me visions, even if ye trust naething else I say.”

“I trust yer visions.” To his surprise, he realized it was true. He did trust her visions.

For all that she’d lied to him, he trusted her with his life, and with his escape.

“Stay still, and act as if yer dazed and I’m tryin’ tae help ye.”

That wasn’t a hard command to follow. He still felt as if his head had been split by a rock, and breathing too deep hurt more than he wanted to admit. Aedan lowered his head and shook it slowly, as if struggling to focus. Thora leaned carefully into his side, her hands busy with the ropes that bound him.

It seemed to take an eternity for the ropes to loosen, and more than once he caught Lachlan’s second-in-command watching them closely. Still, he seemed to see only two lovers and captives taking comfort in each other’s presence.

Finally, the bindings fell free. Aedan flexed his wrists, then shifted his weight, masking the gesture with a grimace, as if in severe discomfort. “What now?”

“Now, as soon as yer ready… run fer the trees.”

Aedan nodded, then took a moment to center himself. When he was ready, his muscles as relaxed as he could make them, he moved and kissed Thora quickly vowing to himself this wouldn’t be the last time.

His ribs and his head screamed in pain as flung himself forward and upward into a crouch. Shouts erupted as he barreled into the nearest guard. Aedan snatched the man’s sword from its scabbard, then laid him out with a blow to the jaw. For one moment, he was tempted to turn back to Thora and attempt to free her.

She was already surrounded by two guards and Lachlan’s advisor. Their eyes met, and her warning sounded in his ears. Trust the visions.

It nearly tore him in two, but Aedan whirled and dove for the trees. Branches cut across his face like small whips as he plunged through the bushes and flung himself into a stand of trees. He flattened himself into the undergrowth, just as the soldiers from Clan Ross came stumbling by, searching for him. His chest hurt, and Aedan forced himself to take shallow breaths as he lay motionless in the foliage.

He had taken the first step and made his escape. The next move was Thora’s.

Thora watched as Lachlan Ross’s carefully controlled camp descended into chaos. Aedan’s escape had startled all of them, and now no one seemed to know what to do.

The warriors were milling about in confusion. Lachlan was shouting orders, his face scarlet with fury. “Find him! Capture Laird Cameron, and make sure he cannae escape!”

Everyone was rushing to obey, but no one seemed to know which way to look. Lachlan roared more directions, demanding men go north, south, east, west, to follow Aedan’s trail, but with the uncertain light, there wasn’t much of a trail to follow.

Thora watched the men scrambling about. She knew they wouldn’t find Aedan. She’d seen this in her vision. She needed only the right moment.

A small dagger from her belt allowed her to cut her bonds while no one watched her. She kept still as the ropes fell from about her wrists, watching carefully.

There! A moment when the fire was untended. Thora scooped up a rock and threw it hard into the fire. Sparks scattered all over the campsite. Most spluttered out onto the snow or damp ground, but some of them landed on dry ground and caught. Within minutes, a dozen smaller fires were blazing to life, and smoke filled the air.

New shouts sounded, this time tinged with panic. Thora watched as the fires spread, and the men were more focused on trying to stop the flames than watching her.

Carefully, she rolled to her feet. No one noticed. With a smile, Thora spun and darted into the trees, away from the camp.

No one noticed her flight as she slipped away, blending into the wild, twisting shadows. No one, save one pair of very familiar eyes, watching her from nearby, amid the dense foliage. Thora made her way toward them.

Aedan stepped back as she joined him amid the heavy branches of ivy hanging nearby. “Ye did it.”

“Nae just yet. We’ve escaped our bonds, but we’re nae safe.” Thora took his hand. “We need tae get out o’ here, see if we can find Mac.”

Together, the two of them edged around the camp, toward the road that they hoped would lead them back toward the town and Castle Cameron, if they travelled hidden alongside it.

No one seemed to pay heed to them. They made it to the outer edge of the fire light from the camp. Thora felt the first stirring of hope.

Then a trio of shadows emerged from the flickering light, and Lachlan Ross stepped into their path, a cruel grin on his cold features. “I thought I saw ye. And now, I’ll make sure ye cannae escape again.”