Chapter 27

27

T hey arrived at Devlin a day later. Maeve had never been in the front lines of battle before, and even though she did not wield a sword, she kept trembling.

Maeve noticed Archer's wound was still bleeding when he helped her dismount from her saddle and march into the keep. "Archer, your arm keeps bleeding," she muttered to him after struggling to find her voice.

Her sisters hurried out to greet them before he could answer her, and Ayda swept her arms around Maeve for a tight hug, nearly knocking her to the ground.

Quinn and Lauren rushed out after Ayda and Erin.

"How did it go?" Lauren asked with a wide, expectant smile. Her brows furrowed once she took in Archer's bloodied and torn clothes. Maeve had dirt in her hair and on her cheeks. She was also sure her complexion had faded some more during their ride back because of the biting cold of the Highland's winter.

"Laird MacGuire was murdered. His men believe that I am responsible, and we barely got out of there alive," Archer announced to his aunt with stiff words. Lauren gasped, and her hand flew to cover her mouth.

"They will come for revenge," Archer continued. "I shall begin preparin' the men, and ye will ride out to the village with Quinn and Jensen to make sure the villagers march towards the castle for shelter. MacGuire men will attack the villages first because they are weak."

Maeve's head spun as Archer gave out orders without minding the blood dripping down his arm. He winced each time he moved his shoulder, but Maeve didn't think that pain was enough to distract him.

How did we go from planning a feast to preparing for war? Her grim thoughts stayed as everyone listened to Archer's orders.

When he finished with them and turned to her, Maeve licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Do not order me around until you attend to the wound on your arm. I would not listen to a word you say otherwise."

Determined to stand her ground, she met his gaze defiantly.

"Maeve, ye will ride back to O'Kane with yer maither and sisters. Ye will be safe there. I cannae protect ye while I am at war and…"

"I am not going anywhere."

"Maeve…" her mother called this time, and Maeve glanced over to her mother for a brief second before bringing her eyes back to Archer's.

"I am lady of this keep, and I decide what happens in the keep. The Laird will have his wounds treated first, his men will also get treated and rest the night, else nae one will be leaving this keep for battle. Laird MacGuire might have his army coming after us, but we must first survive the night before we fight another day."

Thick silence filtered through the air, and after some time, Jensen spoke up. "I agree with the Lady. Me Laird, the men should prepare for battle, and ye need to treat yer wound, rest, and plan too."

"Me arm is fine…It doesnae hurt," Archer responded.

Maeve snapped this time. "Quit being stubborn, and let the healer attend to your wounds."

Archer's jaw snapped tight before he finally nodded and turned to Quinn. "Do what ye must fast. I dinnae have time to waste. Laird MacGuire's army will be upon us any minute."

"Aye, Me Laird," Quinn answered then scurried away without another word.

Maeve and Archer exchanged heated looks again before he took her arm and led her towards his study. She gasped from shock when he slammed the door behind him and turned to her.

"Why do ye defy me?" Archer's thunderous tone should have had fear slicing through Maeve, but she had never feared him, so she moved closer to him instead.

"You are not angry at me, Archer. You are angry at the one responsible for ruining everything you have worked for. Laird MacGuire's men believe you killed their laird, and the rest of the Highland clans will think you are no better than your father who was known for betraying his allies…"

She paused when she saw his chest heave with the force of his heavy breathing, and she touched his arm while holding his gaze.

"You are scared that this time you will not be able to protect your people, your family, or even protect me, and I understand that, but you cannot send me away from you, Archer. You cannot send me away from you because you need someone to care for you too."

Her heart radiated with all the warmth in her words, and Maeve hoped that Archer would see how much she meant them. His eyes pierced into hers for a long time before he drew in a stuttering breath, dipped his head, and brought a kiss to her lips.

She parted for him with ease, and he caressed the inner parts of her mouth, taking his time to draw her into his embrace. Maeve came alive with every kiss, but this one felt her reeling with a rush of desire fiercer than ever.

"Ye could have been hurt in that battle," he rasped as he kept kissing her lips and sliding his hands down her back to caress her. Maeve soon felt his lean fingers glide over her buttocks, and she realized he had bunched up her dress around her waist.

Archer picked her up with ease, carried her to his table, and placed her on it. He dipped his head to move his kisses over the swell of her breasts and kept caressing her thighs without going any further.

"If anythin' happens to ye, Maeve, I will never forgive myself," he continued then paused kissing her and stared deep into her eyes. "Ye are me life. Do ye understand that? Before ye, there was nae much reason to fight besides survivin' but now…." A haggard breath fell from his lips while his words captured her heart. "Now, I dinnae just fight to survive. I fight for the future…the clans future…our future. If ye get hurt or worse…die…then nae of that matters."

"I am not going anywhere," Maeve said, slowly pacing out her words with the hope that it sank in to him. She took his right hand, placed it on her chest, so he would feel her heart beating, then said the words imprinted in her soul. "I will fight by your side no matter what. If I must learn to protect myself, then I will do just that, but I will not leave you, ever. Do you understand that? You must accept it, too, Archer. It is not going to change."

She kissed him again, and he devoured her lips with greed for a long time, tilting her head to one side as he stole her breath and left her shivering with need for him.

When they parted, she smiled at him then pressed one last kiss to his lips. "Let Quinn tend to yer wounds, and I shall have the servants serve us dinner in yer chamber tonight. Ye will rest and plan to fight tomorrow."

Archer only nodded, and she hoped he would not go against her wishes this time. After Maeve left his bed chamber, she found her mother waiting in hers.

Blair stopped pacing when Maeve walked in and closed the door after her. "Mama," she began, knowing her mother's scolding would follow.

"I willnae let ye risk yer life for that man," Blaire began as soon as Maeve stepped closer to her. "He is a brute, and he might have killed Laird MacGuire. It is who he is, Maeve…Madness runs in his blood and…"

"I was there, mama," Maeve cried out, tears burning the back of her eyes as she listened to her mother accuse Archer of such wicked acts. "He is a rough man, and he has fought many wars, but I was there. I saw what happened. Archer is innocent; he did not kill that man!"

Blair had tears in her eyes too as she crossed over to Maeve, took her hands, and pleaded. "I cannae stand the thought of ye being in danger, me child. Ye were gone for many years, and in all that time, I hated myself. If anythin' happens to ye, I will never forgive meself for nae being able to protect ye or yer sisters."

Tears rolled down her mother's cheeks and seeing them broke Maeve's heart. She pulled her mom close for a tight hug and gently ran a hand down her back to console her. "Archer will protect me, mother," Maeve murmured in a sotto voice. "I trust him, and I want you to trust him too."

When Blair pulled back after a while, she nodded and wiped her cheeks with both hands. "Yer sisters and I will return to Devlin tomorrow, and I will plead with yer brither to send men to Devlin. We are his allies after all."

Blair's words made joy leap through Maeve's heart. With tears in her eyes, she whispered, "Thank you, mama."

That night, Maeve and Archer made love with trembling breaths and hushed whispers. She lay awake by his side after that, reliving the horrific image of Laird MacGuire dropping to the ground.

Maeve chilled, and the gnawing knot in the pit of her stomach made her restless throughout the entire night. Am I making the right decision by trusting Archer?

When she was certain Archer was fast asleep, she got out of his bed, and left his chamber for hers. Maeve sat by her table with a quill and wrote Gilbert Hampton a letter.

She had made her decision, and she would never leave Archer or return to England regardless of his threats.

I trust Archer, she thought, her heart humming and experiencing sensations she never knew existed. He had given her no reason to not trust him so far.

As she penned down the words, she hoped it would be the last time she heard from Gilbert. This was her new life now, and she chose to make a future here.

I do not care for the consequences. Maeve knew they no longer held her bound.

She handed the letter to Dahlia with strict instructions to pass it onto the Clan's messenger. Archer was still sleeping soundly when she slid into his bed sometime later and snuggled up close to him.

His arms came around her, and she felt complete, but somewhere in that bliss, a nagging thought sprouted deep in her mind.

What if in the end, Archer could not protect them all?