Chapter 26

The Final Showdown

Holly walked down the hallway with the knife pressed to her throat. As they got closer to the Laird’s room, she knew the chances of bumping into someone became more likely. If it were Eric, she could sacrifice herself, and he would take care of Fraser. If it were someone like Mirren, then they would both die, and Fraser would still go after Ragnall.

If she screamed, someone might get to Fraser in time to stop him, or it would only bring death to more people. No matter which way she looked at it, the situation was a losing one.

The only thing she knew for sure was that the Laird would want her to bring Fraser to him.

And then what? Do I run away and leave Fraser with Ragnall?

“Good lass,” Fraser whispered in her ear. “How much farther?”

“Not far,” Holly muttered, trembling in his grasp.

She took small steps forward, Fraser hot on her heels. They got to a corner and peeked around. She saw the Laird’s door, but the hallway was empty.

“It’s just up there,” she whispered.

“Ye’ve saved yer own life today,” Fraser admitted. “Unless ye are with child.”

Ice ran through Holly’s veins. They had crept through the castle together, and all she had thought about was how to save her husband. Now, she had to save herself. She did not know if she was with a child, but she had lain with Ragnall, so it was possible.

“Nay, I’m nae,” she stated, trying to remain calm with the blade pressed to her throat. “Nay, I wouldnae let him touch me. He is a monster. I cannae look at him.”

She felt Fraser laugh silently behind her. “Aye, he forced ye into it, did he nae? He would have forced ye into bed in time. Ye ken what he is capable of.”

“Aye, I do,” Holly agreed. She did know what Ragnall was capable of, but it was not what Fraser thought. “Thank ye for savin’ me.”

Fraser wavered a moment, and she thought he might let her go, but he tightened his grip on her a moment later.

“Dinnae toy with me, lass,” he hissed. “Ye will live today, but nae if ye toy with me, do ye hear?”

“Aye,” Holly replied, not saying anything else in case she antagonized him further.

She knew Fraser had lost his entire clan because of Ragnall, just as Ragnall had lost his entire clan because of Fraser. Death like that drove men crazy. Fraser had told her she would live, but she didn’t fully believe it. She was sure he would tear through the castle when he was done with Ragnall. She got the sense that Fraser was not here only to kill the Laird but to put an end to his own life, too.

“This is the room,” she whispered when they reached the Laird’s door.

She had thought about leading Fraser to the wrong room, but she knew it was not worth the risk. What room would she take him to? Was there an option where she would not die for her betrayal and he would still not go after Ragnall?

“Open it,” Fraser ordered.

Holly pushed the door open, and they entered together.

“Good, ye’re ba—” Ragnall started.

Fraser put a finger to his lips.

Ragnall was still sitting up in bed, with the bowl of soup in his lap, as he spotted Fraser holding a blade to his wife’s throat.

“She doesnae need to be a part of this, Fraser,” he said.

With the appearance of his enemy, the look in his eyes changed. While there had been weakness and confusion before, now there was a steely determination and strength.

His mind was willing, but was his body?

“Ye are the one who married her,” Fraser pointed out. “Is it nae, until death do ye part?”

“Take me and leave her,” Ragnall hissed.

“She’ll live as long as ye dinnae do anythin’ stupid,” Fraser drawled.

“Dinnae touch her,” Ragnall warned him.

Fraser slowly pushed the door shut with his foot as he and Holly fully entered the room. “Ye thought ye could escape me forever,” he stated.

“At least ye have come to face me like a man,” Ragnall replied. “Or as much of a man as ye can be with a lass as a shield.”

“I’m a man of tactics, nae brute force,” Fraser admitted. “Still, with ye in bed after our previous altercation, I dinnae think ye will be a problem this time.”

Ragnall tried to sit up straighter in bed. “I beat ye with injuries in the forest last time, and I will do the same again.”

“Aye, is that a fact?” Fraser asked. “Well, why do ye nae get out of bed so ye can face me?”

Ragnall held his gaze, but he didn’t make a move to get up. Holly knew it was physically impossible for him to get out of bed without feeling excruciating pain.

“Do ye think I’m stupid?” Fraser asked. “Aye, I ran away in the forest, but only because I underestimated yer injuries. I followed ye to the castle, and I might have caught up with ye if yer bonnie wife here hadnae helped ye. It was too dangerous to stick me head out. So, I bided me time, waitin’ for the right opportunity to strike, and now I have it.”

“Aye?” Ragnall asked. “So, what are ye waitin’ for? Why do ye nae come over here and teach me a lesson?”

Ragnall looked at Holly, and she could read the look in his eyes.

As soon as he lets ye go, ye run!

She knew she should run, but how could she? If she had run when they had been attacked in the forest, Ragnall might have been dead already. She should run and get help to stop Fraser from killing anyone else in the castle, but if she left Ragnall alone, he would face certain death, and she could not lose the man she loved.

“Fine,” Fraser said. He pushed her to the side, still keeping himself between her and the door.

Holly gasped and moved to run to the bed, but he stopped her.

“Uh-uh,” he warned, waving his sword and pointing it toward the wall. “Back!”

Holly stared at the tip of his sword. She backed up to the wall, needing her husband to leap out of the bed and teach Fraser a lesson, but that would not happen.

Fraser smiled, his teeth crooked and cracked, as if he had been chewing on stones. He didn’t look particularly remarkable in any way, but when he smiled, he looked like a wild animal.

“We finally come face to face,” he snarled. “Ye dinnae ken how long I have waited for this.”

“I dinnae care how long ye have been waitin’ for it,” Ragnall spat. “I have been waitin’ far longer to end ye.”

“Och, that’s mighty big talk for someone who is still in bed,” Fraser taunted. “I’ll give ye a chance to get up first afore I kill ye. Come on, get out of bed!”

Ragnall took steady breaths, trying to remain calm, and Holly could see him thinking. She could see him gently shifting his body, trying to gauge the pain. She wished for a miracle, but none came.

Fraser swung his sword down, hitting the bed just below the Laird’s feet. “Come on! Face me like a man!” he barked. “Ye killed me family, and ye deserve to be punished for that!”

“Ye killed his family!” Holly shouted.

She hoped the noise would be enough to attract someone, but the healer had put the Laird in the quietest part of the castle to recover.

“Shut yer mouth,” Fraser warned, pointing his sword at her. He quickly pointed it back toward the Laird when he heard him groan.

Ragnall shifted as soon as Fraser threatened his wife, but the pain was too much, and it flooded his body.

Fraser let out a wicked laugh, reveling in the Laird’s pain and misfortune. “Ye can still save her,” he drawled. “Admit ye were wrong to do what ye did, and only ye will die in this room today.”

“Nay,” Holly gasped. “Nay, he wasnae wrong!”

Fraser pointed his sword at her again, and there was another groan from the Laird as he tried to get out of bed.

Fraser let out another wicked laugh. He pushed Holly roughly against the wall and went back to the bed, swinging his sword at the Laird’s feet. This time, Ragnall had to pull them up. The movement brought him more pain, and he groaned again.

“Och, this is goin’ to be so much fun,” Fraser said. He looked Ragnall in the eyes. “I’m goin’ to chop ye up bit by bit. If ye think that ye felt pain in the castle twelve years ago, then ye are mistaken. I want ye to feel the pain I felt when ye took me family.”

Holly wanted to argue with him, to inform him that the Laird suffered worse, but she didn’t want to antagonize him any further. It would only make it worse for the Laird.

“Aye, we both lost,” the Laird agreed. “Yet, it was yer family’s doin’. I willnae apologize for anythin’, and I ken ye willnae either, Fraser. We both ken this ends with one of us dead. I would point out that ye have nothin’ left, and I have everythin’, but it would do nothin’. Ye could have walked away from this, but ye chose death. Ye brought yer own end, Fraser.”

“Are ye done?” Fraser asked. “It was a braw speech, but buyin’ yerself more time willnae save ye. Nay one is comin’ to yer aid, Ragnall. It is too late for ye now. It is too late for both of us. I’ll kill ye and then meself. There’s nothin’ left for me after ye. There’s nothin’ left.”

Holly thought for a moment that Fraser might reconsider and just walk out of the room, but he was too far gone for that. He brought his sword down toward Ragnall’s legs, and the Laird had to pull his legs up, compressing the wound in his stomach.

Ragnall tried not to scream in pain, but he could not suppress it.

Fraser swung at him again, and Ragnall tossed the bowl of soup at him. There was a little left in the bowl, and it spilled out, but it was not hot. The bowl hit Fraser in the head, but it did little to deter him, and Fraser wiped his face quickly before bringing the sword down toward Ragnall’s chest.

A sword came up, and metal clanged against metal. Ragnall cried out in pain again, holding up the sword he had kept under his pillow. Holly wanted to shriek upon seeing the pain etched on his face, but she was stunned into silence. Ragnall had his sword, and there was a chance.

But she quickly realized how misguided that thought was. Ragnall was sweating, his eyes almost closed as the wound in his stomach throbbed with sharp pain. He was using all of his strength to hold Fraser back.

Fraser swung his arms to the side, pushing Ragnall’s sword out of the way, and he raised his sword again, bringing the point down toward the bed.

Ragnall gasped and rolled out of the bed, falling to the floor as Fraser’s sword pierced the straw mattress. It was not hard enough for the sword to get stuck, and he easily withdrew it.

Holly saw her husband writing on the floor in pain, scarlet staining his shirt where the wound had reopened, his sword hanging limply in his hand. Fraser turned to deliver the final blow. She did the only thing she could do in the situation—the one thing her husband had taught her.

Holly reached down to her ankle and pulled out her dirk. She lunged at the unaware Fraser and drove the dirk into his back.

Fraser screamed like a wild animal and swung around, tossing her back to the floor, knocking the wind out of her. Holly could only watch as he turned away from her, the handle of her dirk protruding from his back.

But as Fraser turned back, Ragnall was already on his feet. He was covered in sweat and swaying on his feet, looking closer to death than anyone Holly had ever seen.

Fraser grunted as he swung his sword at him, the pain evident from the dagger, but the Laird parried the blow with a groan.

”Ye willnae get to hurt anyone else I love,” Ragnall stated, glancing at Holly.

Ragnall lifted his sword, using the last of his strength, and drove it into Fraser’s chest.

Fraser fell like a felled oak tree, stumbling backward and tumbling to the floor with a thud, the sword sticking out of his chest. He gurgled, and blood tricked from his mouth as the light was slowly extinguished from his eyes.

Ragnall slumped to the side, his torso hitting the bed and blood spilling from his wound.

Holly scrambled across the floor to her husband, taking his hand. She held onto him tight as he began to slip away again.

“I love ye,” she whispered as he closed his eyes. “I love ye, Ragnall.”