Page 33 of The Mad Highlander

33

I ris braced herself along with the others when they heard footsteps from the other side of the door. A fist pounded at the wood, shaking the door.

“It’s done!” came the shout. “The battle is won!”

“It could be a trick,” Robyn suggested.

Margot fished the key from her dress pocket. “Nay, I ken and trust that voice. He’s a loyal servant.” As she walked to the door, she addressed the entire room. “We have won! We are safe! We have won! We are safe!”

The other ladies joined in with the chant. Iris joined in too after removing her hand from atop her dirk. Her breathing quickened to a point where she thought she might pass out, and she might have stumbled and fallen if Astrid had not taken her arm. Iris held onto the woman as they ambled toward the door.

Margot unlocked the door from the inside, and when it opened, a cool draft washed the room and swept up their worries, carrying them out of the room before they exited.

Iris focused only on her breathing.

The war is won. We are free! But at what cost?

“I cannae be happy until I see his face,” Iris whispered to Astrid.

“I ken,” she replied. “I’ll be with ye all the way. I long to see his face, too. And the face of yer brother.”

Two loves on the battlefield means twice as much can go wrong.

Iris and Astrid walked arm in arm up the stairs, blinking in the light of the later afternoon sun.

“It feels like we have been down there for days.” Iris only said it to have something to say.

“Aye,” Astrid agreed.

They watched as men limped back into the castle, and some of the clansmen led enemy soldiers toward the dungeons.

Astrid suddenly took her arm from Iris. “I said I would be with ye every step of the way, but I must get to the healin’ hut. We won the battle, but I can already see the toll it has taken.”

Aye, go,” Iris urged. She stood in the same spot for a second before she walked farther from the castle interior and through the courtyard. She scanned the area, her heart beating faster and faster, the longer it took to find them or someone who might know what had happened.

She walked toward the large arch leading out of the castle, and the sight brought a sickly feeling to the back of her throat. It was hard to see everything with the lay of the land outside the castle walls, but it was obvious there were a lot of dead. Spears were stuck in the ground like markers of those who had perished, and those who were walking back to the castle did not have a spring in their step. They might have won, but there was no celebration just yet.

“Oh!” Iris screamed out. “Oh!”

Iris might not have recognized him if it were not for his height. Cayden’s face was bloodied, and his clothes were torn in spots, smeared with black and scarlet. He walked with another soldier, their arms around each other.

Iris ran straight at him and leaped through the air, clamping onto him like a castle cat around a scratching post. She kissed him quickly on the lips, then the cheeks, neck, ears, forehead—everywhere. She did not care about the dirt and everything else. He had been through much worse than she had.

She kissed him a dozen times a second until he caught her face in his large hands and brought her lips firmly to his. Tongues did not dance this time. They moved their lips slowly as they inhaled each other, and the wave of euphoria rose through Iris.

“I love ye,” Cayden said when they came apart.

“I love ye, too,” Iris gasped. “I love ye so much.”

The Laird put her down and placed a hand on her cheek. He was weary and injured, but when he smiled, Iris’ whole world brightened. She placed her hands on his chest and gazed into his blue eyes—two pools of water in a mess of dirt and grime. She could have stared at him forever, but there was another hole in her heart.

“I, um, did he make it through?” Iris asked.

Cayden laughed so loud that his booming chuckle must have been heard all over the castle. He clamped his arm around the man next to him, and pulled him in close, shaking him.

“He did just fine!” Cayden announced.

“Oh, me goodness!” Iris stepped to the side and took the man’s face in her hands, turning him one way and then the other. “I barely recognized ye.” Iris quickly placed her hands on Ashton’s chest and pushed him backward with all her might. She pointed her finger at him and strode forward. “Ashton Whyte, ye are a dobber for goin’ out there and givin’ me the fright of me life when ye are only seventeen, and I’m yer big sister and supposed to be takin’ care of ye.” She quickly grabbed him and pulled him into her embrace. “And I’m so glad ye have come back to me, too. Ye protected me and the entire castle. Ye truly are a man now.”

Ashton wrapped his arms around his sister. “I’m glad to be back, and I can’t wait to finally go home.”

“Tristan?” Iris asked as she hugged her brother. “Is he?” She pulled back to face him.

“Ashton is the Laird of Castle McCabe now,” Caden said, confirming the ugly truth without having to speak it.

“I need to get some water,” Ashton said. “And maybe sit down.”

“Nae for long,” Cayden commanded. “Get yerself a drink, but then have a dozen flagons of ale brought to the great hall. Ye are a man now, Laird McCabe, and ye deserve to celebrate like one. Ye’ll drink with us tonight.”

Ashton licked his lips and then grinned. He looked a little more like his old self. He nodded at Cayden before heading toward the keep.

Cayden put his arm around Iris and led her away from the busy courtyard. They went up the stone steps and then up another set until they could look over the battlefield.

“What happens now?” Iris asked. “Me brother is the Laird, but what about the men.”

“That will depend on him. I ken they will follow him if he asks them. He will surely return to Castle McCabe with them, and we will have a proper alliance. They surrendered to us when they were beaten, and they dinnae deserve to be locked up or killed. The same goes for the Murdoch clan once I find them a leader. They willnae have the chance to choose one themselves. As for McReed, he can rot in the dungeon for his part in this.”

“That’s fair,” Iris commented. “And what about us? What comes next for us.”

Cayden pulled her in tighter to him. They both looked out at the toil the battle had taken on the land. So much waste of life and resources for no gain. They would have peace, and that was a small mercy.

“We will handfast,” Cayden said. “Today was a blight on our clan and the surrounding clans. We will nae celebrate the battle today, but we should celebrate tomorrow after our handfasting.”

Iris felt her heart lurch in her chest. “We’ll handfast tomorrow?”

“Unless ye want to wait.”

Iris shook her head quickly. “Nay, the sooner I can be wed to ye, the better.”