Chapter 33

SCALPAY - SEPTEMBER 26, 1385

M oon directly above her, Aileen landed on Scalpay at midnight. Her breath swirled away from her mouth in curling vapor as she pulled her small boat upon the stony shore. Blowing warmth into her fingertips, she took a quick survey of the landscape. If she headed east, the catapult should be a half a mile away. Hoisting the bucket of pitch and the bow and arrows, she began the long walk over the hillside.

A feeling of grief settled over her as it had when Father died, and she felt herself struggling with the heavy wooden bucket. Dread filled her stomach tonight. Did she really wish to do this alone again? To break orders, again? If she didn't do it, would the mission be lost?

Pushing the questions aside, she decided the best course of action was to move forward and to keep moving. Take care of the catapult, return to Dun Ringill…

Except… could she row fast enough to escape by herself? Across the dark, fast-moving water? A sudden bolt of nausea hit her, and tears sprang to her eyes. If only Léo was here.

Tears blurred her vision and she tried to forget the look in his eyes as she said what they both knew—that they weren't right for each other. It'd affected her heart as if she'd plunged a knife into him .

A tear trickled out of her eye as she put the bucket down, sliding off the end of her nose and creating a perfect circle in the greasy pitch.

Things would be easier now. It would only take time. Wouldn't it?

Instead of following her, instead of helping her, Léo had forsaken her. Her heart protested again, and she wondered for the fourth time in an hour if she should have told him what was in the contents of that letter. If he knew who she was, why she had to keep going, would he have understood and acted differently? Could they have devised a better plan of attack, another way to take care of the catapult?

She sniffed. Unlikely. He didn't want a wife who was bold as an eagle, taking down sparrows in her territory. He wanted a woman like Théa. Calm, collected. A wife, a mother.

Pitch sloshed out of the top of the bucket as she struggled to heft it before climbing the hill. She snorted against her tears and ran her sleeve over her eyes, remembering his words. He loved Théa, but she was the woman who set his heart on fire. If that was true, then why had he agreed that they shouldn't be together?

She rested the bucket at her feet and wiped her nose. Why had she ended it at all? Why couldn't she have left well enough alone?

Hefting the bucket again, she sucked in a shuddering breath from a cold gust of wind, grateful for the breeze that cooled her heated cheeks. Counting her steps, she focused on the grassy hill in front of her, climbing, holding the muscles in her arm steady. At the top of the hill, she squinted down into the valley below.

In the basin of the hills, she saw the pine grove from the map. The catapult would be hidden within, along with the caterans she would need to sneak past. Breathing in, her nose blocked, she struggled against the clog, making noisy snorts.

She put her bucket down again and stuck her hand in her tunic, pulling out a handkerchief and struggled to blow. Come on. She blew again and it finally gave.

Against her will, tears started again, and she threw her hands up in frustration. Only two years ago, she was a bit lonely, but content in life. She hadn't wanted a husband then. She didn't need one now. Or a child. Lord knew she would make a miserable mother.

Or a wonderful mother to a curious little boy .

The thought popped unbidden in her mind and caused tears to run down her cheeks as she pictured Léo's son. Gabriel climbing trees with her, studying animals with her, learning her birdcalls. Suddenly she felt as if she'd lost not just Léo, but her child as well. A child to nurture as Maw had nurtured her.

Calling upon the reserves of her strength for the last time, she built faith within her chest and hefted her bucket, jogging toward the grove. It was time to complete the mission.

Slipping into the grove, she tried to get her bearings, knowing the catapult lay within the coppice only yards ahead. She placed the bucket on the ground, along with her bow and arrow. She needed a better vantage point.

Locating a tall tree, she found foot and finger holds, quickly moving into the branches of the tree. She walked along a branch, squinting in the darkness, looking for the distinctive shadow of a catapult, tent groups, men moving about. A cloud passed the moon and the clearing lit up with moonlight. It was empty. Except for one contingent of caterans bearing the standard of the Wolf, and Niall.

Heart pounding, she realized she'd made a terrible mistake. There was no catapult. No century of guards. It was a trap, to ferret out the informant.

A twig snapped below, and she squinted against the darkness again. Her stomach dropped. Léo. No. No. No.

She couldn't call to him, couldn't make Calum's distinctive owl hoot, the one bird call that required a functioning voice. He was heading right for the clearing. Looking for her.

Running along the branch, she tumbled into the next tree, and then the next, and the next. He wouldn't look up. He'd almost reached the clearing when she heard the guard.

"I see movement!"

He froze, looking up into the tree, and spotted her. A-I-L-E-E-N!

The guards moved across the clearing right for him. Her heart crushed and tears flooded from her eyes. It's a trap!

He registered her signs and ducked into the heather, but the guards kept coming, they'd seen motion.

Knowledge burst over her, and she knew with utter certainty she couldn't let him be taken. God had given them to each other, and she would die before letting him be harmed. In a split second, she knew what she had to do.

Dropping from branch to branch, she descended to the ground and ran through the heather he hid within, planting a foot on his back and springing over his crouched body, making the guard think they had seen her. Fire scorching her soul, she tore out of the heather and sprinted across the clearing as if she were trying to escape.

Six caterans hurtled after her, and she hit the ground, breath knocked from her lungs. Curling against the burn in her chest, she gasped for air, unable to breathe. She raised her hands to the air, knowing he was watching her. I love you, Lion! Run! Get out of here! Run!

The guards flipped her to her stomach, pulling her by her legs toward Niall. Air rushed into her smarting lungs and her hands clawed the ground, trying to slow them as they dragged her away from the only love she'd ever known.

At the edge of the clearing, she saw Angus and Eoghan wrestle Léo to the ground, their hands clamped over his mouth, a scream of horror in his eyes. Sobs escaped her throat as she saw the pain she caused him.

Stomach stinging against the cuts from the pebbles beneath her belly, she rasped in pain as the guards dumped her at Niall's feet.

He crouched down and grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her head up.

"Who do we have here?"