Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

" I t's getting dark. We'll have tae stop fer the night."

"Where?" Elara peered through the darkness. The moon had grown overhead, though it was slim, a peeking crescent in the sky, thus it offered little light to guide their way.

Kaden abruptly pulled the horse to a stop, and she gripped him tighter in alarm. He grunted suddenly in her grasp.

"Are ye well?" she asked, aware that her arms were not the only thing that had tightened around him. With her body pressed so near to his in the saddle, her legs had tightened too, brushing against the backs of his thighs.

"Just dinnae hold me that tight if ye want me mind tae remain honorable, Elara," he whispered.

Elara loosened her grip, though she couldn't let go of him entirely.

"There's a village down this hill." He gestured to a track leading off through the trees, just about visible in the silvery stars. "It would be a good place tae stop on our way tae see Laird Finnian. I could send a message back tae the castle too."

"Then, why are ye nae just taking us down the hill?" She nodded at the track. He angled his head around a little.

"Because ever since ye have arrived, I am nay longer sure who I can trust. Being around others, makes me wary. I dinnae ken when we might come across a spy," he murmured in the darkness.

"Well, we cannae stay here all night." She pulled on the back of his waistcoat. "So that means, either we camp out here, alone, or we go intae the village."

"It's a journey tae the village. Another hour at least, and it would be a difficult ride now it has grown so dark." Kaden turned his head up to the sky. "We could stop at the loch here on the right for a little while, give the horse some rest, before we make the journey."

"Aye, if ye like."

"Are ye feeling well?" Kaden asked as he flicked the reins and the horse trotted forward, somewhat sleepily heading toward a glistening loch that appeared on their right.

"Aye, why?"

"Because ye have nae argued with me fer some time. Ye must be feeling out of sorts."

"I'm able tae have a conversation without being argumentative, ye ken."

"That's better. Ye sound like ye again now," he said with a soft chuckle. She poked him in the back in frustration, but he laughed all the more.

He pulled the horse to a halt at the side of the loch, and Elara slipped down off the saddle first. She stumbled away toward the loch, somewhat relieved to no longer have her arms around Kaden.

It was hardly helping matters. Ever since she had found out at Liam's house that Kaden was supposed to have married Laird MacNaughton's daughter some years ago, she had felt incredibly frustrated.

It cannae be jealousy. I dinnae ken this man. It's just attraction.

These thoughts buzzed through her head repeatedly like bees, though she could do little to stop them.

Kaden moved to her side, leading the horse to the water so he could drink from the loch.

"Are ye going tae tell me what's bothering ye now then?" Kaden asked, not looking at her, but patting the horse.

"Naething," she lied.

"Really? Because ye have been acting differently with me ever since we went tae Liam's. It would have nothing tae dae with the fact he mentioned I was betrothed once, would it?" He looked at her with a knowing smile.

"Ye flatter yerself too much. I may have kissed ye once, but that meant nothing."

"And all the blushing ye dae?"

"That definitely means nothing," she said defensively.

He chuckled and walked around the horse, moving to stand beside her. Elara stood her ground, not wishing to seem weak by moving away from him.

"So, that kiss…" He hesitated, looking down at her through slitted eyes. "Ye were unaffected by it?"

"Completely."

"Ah, I see." Slowly, he angled his head to the side, bending down toward her. He hovered just above her, inches away from taking another kiss.

Elara's mouth turned dry at his proximity.

"So, if I kissed ye again, ye would push me off. Ye would despise it, wouldnae ye?"

"In every way." She turned her back on him, listening as he continued to chuckle loudly. "If ye would excuse me, I just need tae…" She gestured away into the trees.

"Dae what?" he asked, reaching for a bag of supplies that Liam had given them in the saddle and pulling out a flagon of water to drink.

"I need tae…" She trailed off again, gesturing to the trees. She could feel her cheeks heat and just prayed that the darkness was enough that he couldn't see her blush on this occasion.

"What are ye embarrassed tae tell me?"

"For Lord's sake, Kaden. I have just ridden for hours without rest. What dae ye think I need tae go and dae?" She waved at the trees haphazardly. "I hardly need ye watching over me whilst I dae it."

"Oh." He laughed. "Aye, all right. Off ye go. I promise nae tae come looking fer ye. Just scream if ye need help."

"Like I'd ever need yer help."

"There's adders in these trees, Fire."

"Dinnae call me that," she said heatedly, swiping a tree branch out of her way. "And I'd rather be bitten by an adder than saved by ye."

She ignored his laughter as she disappeared into the trees. It was dark, with what little light there was at this time of night struggling to bleed through the branches at all. Despite her nonchalance about adders, she broke a branch off the nearest tree and swiped at nearby bushes and long grasses, being certain there were no snakes nearby before she moved forward through the darkness.

When she found somewhere completely secluded and was certain Kaden had not followed her, she gathered up her skirts and relieved herself in the bushes. Very aware of every sound around her, she jerked her head when a tiny owl took flight from one tree to the next. She even looked twice at a bush bristling in the breeze, for it sounded like the hiss of a snake.

Lowering her skirts, she made her way back through the trees, in the direction of the loch which she could just about see shimmering in the distance. As she reached the last oak tree, she leaned upon it, watching Kaden who stood with the horse, patting him gently. He whispered soft words to it, resting upon him. The horse snorted, apparently taking comfort in his presence.

Elara released a shuddery breath as she stared at him.

He's nay killer. He's nay monster at all.

He was a good man, one so good that he would take care of a stranger who had been attacked by highwaymen. He had taken care of her, kept guard of her, and now could be soft and gentle with the horse at his side. She had seen many men take their horses' service for granted, but Kaden was not one of them. He ruffled the horse's mane affectionately.

She stepped forward, intending to speak to him, to have some sort of soft conversation when her foot became tangled in what felt like a long wispy tree root.

"Kaden?" she called to him.

"Aye?" He turned around from the horse. She tried to step forward again but couldn't move. "Are ye stuck?"

"Nay, I'm standing here because I feel like it."

"Aye, aye, enough dryness. What's wrong?"

"I cannae move me foot." She pulled sharply on her foot. At last, the root gave way, just as Kaden reached her, but it was not the only thing to loosen. Abruptly, the ground gave way beneath her. "Kaden!" she shouted his name.

What happened next took place so fast, she could not make sense of it. She felt an arm around her waist as she tumbled down through the ground. It was pitch black, completely dark and enclosed, her head hitting earth before she fell on something in a whirl of dizziness. The thing beneath her was hard as muscle, grunting in pain.

"What the – ah!" Elara tried to sit up, aware how dark and closed in everything was. She couldn't see what was in front of her, much less what was beneath her. A pair of hands on her hips had silence her, as she realized exactly what was beneath her, though she could see nothing of it.

It was Kaden. Somehow, he had turned them through the air as they had fallen into the ground, landing first, with her on top. His fingers dug into the curve of her hip, stopping her from moving any further as her knees drew up to straddle him.

"We're stuck. We're underground. God's blood, Kaden, we're underground!"

"Dinnae move, Elara." Kaden's hands tightened over her hips. "We've fallen intae a wolf trap."