“You she-devil!” he roared and leapt for her, but she scampered back, stumbling over some gnarled roots sticking out of the ground. She screamed as she fought to maintain her balance, steadied herself, and then took off through the thick branches toward Callum’s voice. He would help her and Maria. He had to.
She shoved tree limbs out of her way as she blindly ran, unsure if she was even heading toward Callum. Behind her footsteps pounded. “Callum!” she cried out. “Callum, where are ye?”
“Keep calling me,” Callum answered, his voice loud and clear. “Lead me to ye. We’re coming.”
“Ready yer weapon!” she yelled, running, tripping, and falling to her knees. Wood cut into her palms, but she ignored the pain and scampered to her feet once more. Behind her, Godfrey’s footsteps pounded closer. She ran through a thick bramble, thorns tearing at her sleeves and slicing the skin of her arms and hands. When she came out the other side of the thorny brush, she smacked into Callum and almost fell backward at the force of the impact.
“Callum,” she sobbed, reaching out for his arms and clinging for one breath, not caring for a moment that he, too, was her enemy.
“Shh,” he demanded harshly, and before she knew what was occurring, he shoved her behind him as Godfrey broke through the bramble with a roar, sword raised high. Callum sprang forward and sent his blade straight through Godfrey’s heart. The man teetered for a moment before he crumpled to the ground.
Marsaili clenched her teeth against the horrid gurgling sounds Godfrey made, and then he fell silent. She began to shake violently, her teeth clanking loudly. Behind her, twigs snapped, and aware of how defenseless she was without a weapon, she scampered toward Callum’s side as a man appeared like a mist from the darkness. In the moonlight, she could barely make out his face. When she realized it was Callum’s brother, her legs shook even more, but this time from relief. Immediately, she became aware of Callum’s heat and his masculine smell.
He turned to her. “Are ye unharmed?” he asked in a voice that sounded truly concerned.
For a moment, she could not speak. She had dreamed of seeing him again for so long. At first, the dreams had consisted of his begging her for forgiveness and giving her explanations for why he’d lied, which were always understandable even if unacceptable. In her fantasies, he would cup her face and kiss her while whispering his love. Later, the dreams had turned to ones where she would see him and be a fine and beautiful lady. His regret for forsaking her would be plain on his face. Never had her dreams consisted of her on the hunt for their child, because she had long ago gathered all her will and used it to not think of the dead bairn for fear the thoughts would drive her mad.
But now, standing before the man she had loved and whose child she had borne, she longed to tell him that they had a son who was alive. But he was a deceiver, not someone she could trust, no matter how honorable he might appear. He was, she realized in that moment, as cunning as her father. The realization filled her with a bitter sense of irony: she had given her heart to a man just like the very one she detested more than anything on this earth.
“Marsaili?” Callum asked, and then to her utter shock, his hands were cupping her face. “Are ye hurt, lass?”
She shoved his hands away and turned in the direction she thought Maria was in. She got no more than five steps before Callum grabbed her by the arm and swiveled her toward him. His brother stood just behind him. “Release me!” she demanded of Callum. “Maria was felled. She needs me!”
He released her at once but fell into step beside her with his brother behind them. “Are ye injured?” he asked again.
As she strode through the woods, shoving branches out of the way, she said, “What concern does a liar and a user have of how another fares?” Sweat dampened the hair at the base of her neck, her stomach tightened and roiled, and she realized with frustration that she was waiting, almost hopefully, with bated breath, to hear what he would say.
“None, usually,” he said, answering after a long pause. His voice sounded odd, resigned, she thought with confusion. He inhaled an audibly long breath. “However, guilt of my past actions compels me to now be concerned.”
All the anger and resentment she had stored within her released like a rushing river. “Ye can keep yer guilt. I dunnae need nor want it,” she snapped, while ducking under a low-hanging branch. “What I will take is two daggers for myself and Maria, if ye please, and a bag of coins to travel.”
“Ye kinnae travel without men to guard the two of ye,” Callum said. The unbending tone he used ignited her anger further.
“I can, and I will!” she rebutted. “And if ye will nae give me weapons and coin, then I dunnae have further need to speak with ye.”
“Marsaili,” Callum said, halting her once again by gripping her arm. Exasperation and what almost sounded like a plea was in his voice, “I kinnae allow ye to set out without protection. I dunnae ken how ye came to be at my home and wagered away to a man like Cedric, nor do I ken who the man I killed is and why he was after ye, but ye are in danger when traveling with no companion other than a woman. Ye need an escort to wherever it is ye are going.”
“Release me,” she demanded, frustrated that his touch on her arm stirred feelings of desire that she’d rather forget.
He did so at once, and she slowly turned to him, gasping at how close he was. He must have taken a step toward her without her hearing it. She tried to put distance between them, but the brambles stopped her. She craned her head to look at him, very aware that his presence was every bit as commanding and overwhelming as it had been three years ago when they had first met.
“Quit following me,” she demanded, his answer a snort and his brother’s a snigger. She ground her teeth as she continued to stomp through the forest. Twigs and dry leaves snapped underfoot as she went. After a short bit, she started to worry that she could not actually find her way back to Maria. She stopped and called to her friend, but no response came.
From behind her, Callum said, “I can locate her for ye.”
She absolutely did not wish for his aid, but she did not see another choice. Maria could truly be hurt. “Then get on with it,” she barked, not caring how ungrateful she sounded. The man deserved her ire.
He and his brother moved past her and bent low to the ground. She could not see what they were doing, but she heard them.
“Up ahead,” Callum said.
“Aye. And to the right,” his brother went on.
“Ten paces.”
“Give or take a pace,” Brice replied.
Both men stood and started walking. Marsaili had to triple her strides to keep pace with them. But within a few minutes, they led her to Maria. Marsaili dropped to her knees and gently shook her friend.
