Page 25 of Intrigued By A Highlander (Highland Revenge Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER 25

S teel clashed before Knox’s boots hit the ground. The enemy poured from the trees like a dark tide, far more than he’d anticipated. It wasn’t a skirmish. It was a slaughter in the making.

He didn’t wait for the weight of the battle to shift. It already had.

“DRU!” he shouted over the roar of steel and shouts, his eyes cutting through the madness to find her.

She dismounted, defiance carved into her lovely features ready to fight.

“Nay,” he growled, pushing past two of Torrance’s men already locked in a desperate stand. He reached her just as a wild-eyed brute charged from the left.

Knox struck fast—blade meeting bone with a sickening crack—but the man was only the first. More were coming.

“This is a slaughter,” he said low, grabbing Dru’s arm. “We need to go. Now.”

Her mouth opened in protest, but he didn’t let her speak. Not here. Not with blood soaking into the ground and warriors falling fast.

The leader of Torrance’s warriors fell against Knox, his face bloody. “Go and let Lord Torrance know what happened here.” He turned and blocked a wild-eyed warrior from reaching Knox.

Knox yanked Dru toward the mare, pounding the earth agitated.

“Up!” he barked, shielding her as an arrow struck a tree behind them.

He slashed another attacker who managed to reach them as Dru swung up into the saddle, then he vaulted up behind her in one smooth motion.

“Hold on,” he warned, gripping the reins.

Then they were gone, hooves pounding and the shouts of battle fading behind them as the forest swallowed them whole.

Branches whipped past them, scratching Knox’s arms as he leaned low over Dru, urging Star faster. The mare responded, hooves pounding the ground, her breath loud and ragged in time with their own.

Behind them, the sounds of battle still rang out—shouts, screams, steel—but they were distant now. Not distant enough.

Knox risked a glance back.

Three riders.

No—four.

Dru twisted to look, but he growled, “Eyes forward. Hold tight.”

She obeyed without question, tucking low against the mare’s neck, her hands gripping the reins as Knox shifted his weight, pulling his blade free again.

“Faster, lass,” he murmured to Star, his voice low but firm. The mare surged forward with a burst of speed, weaving through the trees with wild grace.

A shout rang out behind them, and the thundering of hooves grew louder.

“They’re gaining!” Dru yelled.

Knox didn’t answer. There was a bend in the trail ahead, a narrow ravine just beyond it. He remembered passing it… a drop too steep for horses.

“Hang on,” he said again, and this time there was warning in his voice.

They reached the bend. Knox hauled the reins hard, jerking Star left off the trail and into the underbrush. The mare stumbled but recovered, crashing through low ferns and brambles.

The ground tilted. Dru gasped.

“Jump!” Knox shouted, and a heartbeat later, the world dropped away.

Star leapt.

They landed hard—down the slope and into the narrow ravine—mud spraying, rocks skittering beneath hooves. Knox threw an arm around Dru, keeping them both steady as Star struggled to stay upright.

The shouts above faltered. One rider tried to follow, but his horse balked and reared. Another wasn’t so lucky—horse and rider tumbled down the slope in a flurry of limbs and screams.

Knox didn’t wait to see the outcome.

“Go!” he urged Star again, and the mare bolted forward, splashing through a shallow stream as arrows hissed past them from above.

He didn’t know where they were headed.

Only that it was away from sure death.

The forest thickened the farther they went, the trees growing dense and close like a protective wall. Star’s breath came in heavy bursts now, each step slower than the last. Knox finally eased her to a halt beneath a canopy of twisted pines, where the light barely touched the mossy ground.

Knox slid Dru down off the mare first, legs unsteady when her feet touched the ground. He kept hold of her until he was sure she was steady enough on her feet to let go. Only then did he follow, every muscle tight with the need to keep moving—but even he knew they had to stop. If only for a moment.

The silence pressed in around them, broken only by Star’s labored breaths and the distant call of a crow overhead.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, voice low, eyes anxiously sweeping her garments for blood.

Dru shook her head. “Nay. You?”

“Nay,” he said, looking over Star to make sure she wasn’t injured and relieved to find she hadn’t been harmed.

Dru’s gaze darted back the way they’d come. “Do you think they’re still following?”

“Not through that ravine.” He stepped closer, brushing a fallen pine needle from her shoulder. “But we’re not safe yet.”

She looked up at him then—really looked—and the fierceness that had filled his face before had softened into something else. Something raw.

“You were right,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “That was a slaughter. No one was meant to live.”

“And a message,” Knox said, snagging his arm around her waist and easing her against him.

She pressed her head to chest, relieved to hear his heart beat strong and heavy when if not for his swift, decisive action, he would be lying dead with Torrance’s warriors, and she would be lying there with him.

She shuddered. “Whoever it is who wants me dead is letting Torrance know that nothing will stop him from getting his way. Only intense hatred can drive such determination. Do you think they heard the news that the urchin Dru was Autumn?”

“It’s likely and since you were with me, and it was known I was searching for her, they may have assumed I found her.”

Dru’s eyes grew heavy with worry. “And if the MacTavish brothers don’t quell the news, they just might believe it. So, where do we go from here?”

Knox’s eyes darted around, though he didn’t turn his head and when Star snorted and pounded the ground, he yanked his sword out of the sheath strapped to his back and shoved Dru behind him.

“She’s doomed,” the voice called out.

“And so are you?” Knox shouted back. “And don’t bother to try and convince me that you aren’t alone. You would have attacked by now if there was more than one.”

A crunch of leaves was heard, then a man of generous size stepped into view. “There is talk you are a great warrior. I am honored to be the one who kills you.”

“I wouldn’t be so fast in claiming victory,” Knox cautioned.

“True,” he acknowledged with a nod, “but I rarely lose.”

Knox nodded as well. “I never lose.”

“Another honor I have.”

“Go to Star,” Knox ordered in a whisper over his shoulder to Dru, not taking his eyes off the warrior.

“I’m not leaving you,” she said in a firm whisper.

“If necessary, you will,” he demanded and didn’t give her a chance to argue. “You must. We need to consider you may be with child and above all else our child must live.”

Dru had given no thought to that since Knox had last mentioned it, and she had forgotten to speak with Mave about preventing it. So, there was a chance he was right.

“He or she is part of us. We can’t lose that,” he whispered. “Protect yourself for our child’s sake.”

“Please don’t make it necessary for me to do so,” she murmured.

Knox wished he could glance in her eyes, see her face if this should be—he drove the condemning thought from his mind. He never entered a fight with doubt, and he wouldn’t start now.

“So, be quick about it,” she said and stepped away from him.

“I will make it swift and painless for you,” the man said, then looked to Dru. “Not so for her.”

That was all Knox needed to hear. His anger surged. “And not so for you.”

The man grinned and with a roar charged at him.

The man might be large, but he was no skilled warrior, Knox avoided every swing easily, not so his opponent. It made him wonder if it was lack of skills or an unrevealed injury. After several slices that were meant to disable, and kill slowly, the man stumbled and fell to the ground, blood soaking his garment, rendering him helpless.

“You are a great warrior,” the man said, lying on his back, his sword in his hand but too weak to lift it.

“Tell me what I want to know, and I will end your life swiftly, otherwise I will leave you for the animals to feed on,” Knox threatened.

“I will gladly be fodder for the animals, rather than offer you any help,” the man said.

Dru approached him. “Why suffer?”

The man nodded at Knox. “He understands.” He stared at her, tenderness in his eyes. “You look just like your grandmother. Petite. Pretty. Honorable. Too bad your mother hadn’t been more like her.”

“Why does my mother’s people want me dead?” Dru asked, surprised she had a family she knew nothing about. “I know nothing about them. I have done nothing to them. I want nothing from them.”

“Yet your mother took everything from them.” He shut his eyes for a moment. “Do what you will. I will say no more.”

“Whatever my mum did, she had to have done it long before I was born. It must be a burden to carry such revenge for so many years. I refuse to be part of such long-standing hatred.” She turned to Knox. “I will not see him suffer.”

Knox nodded and Dru walked away, turning her back on the scene.

Knox looked down at the man, his face troubled. “You hold your tongue out of honor, yet she speaks and acts with honor. Now you die a dishonorable death.”

The man raised his chin. “Her mother left us no choice.”

Knox drove his sword into his chest, bringing a swift death.

He went to Dru, got them both mounted on his mare and rode away.

“Do you think more will follow?” she asked, peering past his shoulder to keep watch.

“Nay. I think he is the one who tumbled down with his horse into the ravine. He was left injured, and he no doubt raced to reach us, worsening his injury and the reason why he fought so poorly and why he had no horse with him. When the others saw him get to his feet, they probably figured he would eliminate us. We are safe for now.” He hugged her with one arm. “One other thing, he spoke of honor, and he wore fur skins. The clans further to the north pride themselves on honor and wear fur skins more than any other clan in the Highlands.”

Dru hated to admit it, but what recourse did they have? “I don’t think we have much choice. I think the safest place for us is with Lord Torrance.”

“Aye, he has enough warriors to see that you’re kept safe,” Knox agreed.

“There is someone I’d like to stop and speak with first, Albert. He came from a clan in the north, a marriage bringing him here years ago.”

“That would work perfectly. I was told Lord Torrance stays at a small clan that is about a day’s ride from Albert. We can speak with him first, then head to Lord Torrance. But we will need to be careful. We don’t want anyone to learn we survived the attack. We’ll head that way now and find shelter before dusk.”

He directed Star in a different direction and he, as well as Dru, remained quiet and alert, watching for unexpected company.

The cave was small, little more than a hollow carved into the hillside, but it gave them shelter from the chilled wind and the fading light. By the time they discovered it, dusk had slipped its fingers across the sky, painting it in soft grays and quiet golds.

Knox knelt to build a fire, his hands steady even as his mind churned. Each spark that caught on the kindling seemed too loud in the hush between them.

Dru sat close, her back against the earthen wall, arms wrapped around her knees. She hadn’t said much since they had left the dead man behind.

Knox glanced over. Her eyes were distant. Haunted.

“You warm enough?” he asked, his voice low.

She nodded without looking at him. “Aye.”

He studied her for a moment longer, then stripped off his cloak and gently draped it around her shoulders.

She didn’t protest. Her fingers clutched the fabric like it anchored her, but it was his familiar woodsy scent that calmed her. It was as if she was wrapped snug in his arms.

“I keep thinking about what he said,” Dru said when he dropped down beside her. “That they’re hunting me because of something my mother did. Because of her choices.”

Knox did what he’d been aching to do and what he knew his wife needed. He eased her into the crook of his arm, hugging her close. His hand massaged along her arm to ease the tension he felt there. “I cannot imagine what your mother could have done that would spur such vengeance on her daughter.”

“I thought the same myself.” Her voice cracked. “Why didn’t she tell me? Warn me?”

He reached for her hand—cold, tense—and laced his fingers with hers.

“With so many years past, maybe she thought it was done and no longer needed to be concerned about it. After all, she worried enough with what plans your father would have for you.”

She looked up at him. “There is also that to worry us.”

He lifted her hand to his lips to kiss it. “Not tonight. Tonight, there is only you and me and our love.”

“I like that—just you and me.” She smiled. “Though there may be one more.”

He looked puzzled, his brow wrinkling, then it spread wide as did his smile that suddenly appeared. “The chance you may be with child.”

“Aye. I hadn’t thought of it since you last mentioned it and I completely forgot to ask Mave for something that would prevent me from getting with child. Though if I were already in that way, I would not want to take anything that might cause me to lose your bairn.”

“It struck me at that moment that I might not only be losing you and the thought ripped at my heart. I could not fathom the thought of our bairn never taking a breath. I would do anything to keep you both safe.”

“I may not be with child,” she said, feeling a twinge of disappointment. Bairns had been the furthest thing from her mind but then so had marriage and here she was now happy to be married and disappointed that she might not be with child. How life had changed since meeting Knox.

He leaned his head down to nuzzle her neck, then whisper, “We can make sure of that, if you’d like?”

She smiled eager to do so, but sound reason hit her like cold water in the face.

“Without knowing what the future holds for us, it would be selfish of us to endanger a child.”

Knox heard the disappointment in her voice, felt it himself, and agreed with her. “True enough. It would be selfish of us and yet we still couple, still take the chance of you getting with child. So then, we must somehow believe, deep inside, that we have a chance at a good life together.”

“Mave said we did.”

“I believe we are destined to,” Knox said, feeling it strongly.

She slipped her arm over his waist and hugged it tight. “I only wish we knew how to achieve that.”

“By taking it one day at a time,” Knox confirmed. “Trusting each other. Keeping our love strong and making loving every chance we get.”

She grinned at him. “Like now?”

“Aye, like now. It may not be the perfect place, but?—”

She pressed her hand to his lips. “We seize the moment when we can since we never know when the next moment may come.”

Knox moved her finger off his lips and lowered his head to kiss her.

Her arms went around his neck, holding on to him, fearful of letting go, of losing this moment, of never making love with him again. She would have gasped if their lips weren’t locked in a kiss, when his arm circled her waist and swung her down on the ground to toss his cloak off her and shove her own cloak out of the way.

He tore his mouth off hers. “I don’t want to take a chance and linger, though I would prefer to do so, but that wouldn’t be wise.”

“Then hurry,” she pleaded eagerly, “for my need for you is great.”

He chuckled. “It always is and glad I am for your hunger.”

Her brow wrinkled and she tilted her head. “Do I demand too much of you?”

“Never, wife, never,” he said and with her neck so exposed, he couldn’t help but nibble along it.

Dru groaned with pleasure. “If you continue that, it will be over for me before you even slip inside me.”

He didn’t hesitate. He hurried their garments out of the way and hurried to enter her with a quick thrust.

Her groans echoed softly in the small space like a passionate melody that enticed.

It still amazed her that they fit so easily, and he felt so comfortable inside her. She didn’t want to lose that magic between them, the soar of passion, the depth of love, the intense satisfaction and the peace that followed in his arms. They belonged together forever and always.

Knox captured her scream in his mouth when she burst with pleasure, afraid it would roar out of the cave and throughout the forest. Its power intensified his own explosive pleasure, and his groans joined her dwindling roar.

Moving his mouth off hers, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Dru.”

He was surprised when she said nothing in return, having always returned his declaration of love with one of her own. He rolled off her and took her in his arms as he did. He hugged her tight against him and waited.

She remained silent, unusual for her, especially after they made love. She always had to remark on how amazing, fantastic, magical it was as if she experienced it for the first time each time.

He finally had to ask, “What’s wrong, Dru?”

She looked up at him. “Will you love Autumn as much as you love me?”

He looked at her oddly. “Is that a trick question?”

“Nay, I am serious,” she said, the look of worry in her eyes confirming it.

He could see this was important to her, so he hastened to calm her concern. “My love for Autumn equals my love for you.”

“How can you say that when you don’t know her?”

He wanted to chuckle, but she continued to remain serious.

“Why don’t you tell me about her,” he said, adjusting her comfortably in his arms. “This way I will be prepared when I meet her.”

“That’s a good idea,” Dru said and went to speak, then stopped.

Knox waited, but she continued to lie quietly, saying nothing and he thought she may have fallen asleep. He jostled her softly. “Dru?”

“Aye,” she said and looked up at him. “I realized that I don’t know Autumn myself. I don’t know who she is. I feel as though I lost her.”

He could see the panic in her eyes, feel how she tensed.

“Nonsense,” he hurried to say. “You simply tucked her away to protect her. She will return when it is safe.”

“Aye. Aye,” she said, his explanation sounding reasonable to her.

“We need to get some sleep since we have at least a two-day journey ahead of us,” he said. “Your worries will be there tomorrow. Let them go tonight.”

Dru nodded, hoping she could do just that.

They lay wrapped around each other as the fire crackled softly, the world narrowed to warmth and breath and the steady rhythm of their hearts kept pace and sleep finally found them, freeing them of worry until the morrow.