Chapter Twenty-Four

Thane

Thane did his best to calm his roiling belly, praying that the lass was not dead yet. She surely looked it. He also prayed that it wasn't Tamsin, but his gut told him it was. When he finally reached the coastline, he followed the path to the beach area, wary of the rocks and the crags that threatened to take him down.

The smell of the salty water caught him as it always did, and he breathed it in deeply, something he did to remind himself that he was free, that there was no spiteful mother hiding anywhere to slap him or beat his brother while he watched.

All the memories of past injustices surfaced as he raced toward the body, the hair becoming darker red the closer he came to it. The person's face was hidden beneath a blanket of hair, the strands interlaced with the green kelp of the sea.

He knelt next to the body, quite sure it was Tamsin, but he had to see her face to know for sure. Then the most wonderful thing happened—she moved. Covered in sand and sea and kelp, he gingerly pushed her hair back. "Tamsin? It's me, Thane."

Nothing.

He placed his fingers on the side of her neck where the blood beat the strongest, pleased to find an even pulse against his skin. She lay on her side, so he rolled her back into the grass, and her eyes fluttered open but quickly shut again.

"Tamsin?" He cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing the sand crystals away, doing his best to straighten her loose strands of hair.

Magni came flying down the hill toward him, one horse behind him. "The other horses are getting prepared for you, Chief. Artan will bring them along. Is she dead? Is it Lady Garvie?"

Thane lifted his gaze to the lad, surprised at how quickly he'd accomplished his task. "She's not dead, and aye, it is Lady Garvie."

Magni brought the horse as close as he could to him, and he was glad of it because there was no time to waste, or the lass would surely die. He had no desire to watch her pass in his arms.

"Hold the horse still. I'll lay her across and then climb up."

He lifted the lass, and she stirred, her hands clutching at his chest just before her eyes opened, falling on him, the fear inside so clear it was like a fist punch to his belly. When she recognized him, the look in her gaze changed instantly to one of hope, not what he expected.

There was something about the way she looked at him that warmed his heart. Did he even have a heart to be warmed? Sometimes he wondered if it had been ripped and stomped on by his mother so much that it had become minuscule and incapable of emotion.

Tamsin Garvie made him think otherwise.

"Magni, get on the other side so you can keep her from falling off while I mount. You'll have to follow us back up the path."

"I can do both."

He held Tamsin close while Magni arranged the horse. Then he did the oddest thing.

He kissed her cheek. "Tamsin?"

Thane held her close, looking at her flawless skin, the lips that should be pink and rosy instead of tinged with gray. Willing her eyes to open, he shifted her weight toward the animal to block the breeze, warming her up as much as he could.

But she didn't awaken.

He settled her on the horse, the beast only moving a bit until he patted its flank, then climbed up behind her.

When Thane sat her up to lean back against him for his heat, he caught a change in Magni's expression. The boy stared up at him and smiled. "She's awake, Chief."

"Tamsin?"

Her gaze settled on Magni and the words that came out unsettled him. "Alana? You are hale? Papa did not punish you?"

Magni said, "I'm not Alana, but I know where she is."

Tamsin gasped before her eyes closed again.

"Magni, we're going to take her inside and have Agnes change her into dry clothing. Then we're heading to Duart Castle. Are you ready for a journey?"

"Aye, Chief. And Lia too."

"And Magni? Great eyes. I don't know if I would have noticed her. You've saved a life today, lad. I'm proud of you. We'll meet you in the keep."

"Aye, Chief." The lad beamed, his brown hair wild from the sea breeze, but his smile lit up his face. Thane was pleased to have found the two cherubs, but now he had to focus on Tamsin.

He had to get her to Eli Grant at Clan Grantham.