“Get them, I told you,” Kelvan said.
Another axe caught the next man who moved right in his chest.
“Get them!” Glenna yelled, standing up in her stirrups and pointing.
Merryn dropped out of her tree and marched forward. Broc had never been so proud of her. She strode toward Kelvan but stopped next to Simone. None of the men dared move because of the axes.
Even the ones coming from the beaches stopped to watch.
Eli dropped out and stood on the other side of Simone.
“Merryn? You think I’m afraid of you?” Kelvan began to laugh, but not for long.
“I’m glad you remember me. This is for my sister.” She fired one arrow and hit him in the shoulder, and he screamed like a wee lass.
“You bitch!” Glenna shouted.
“You were warned,” Simone said, setting her arrow free and catching Glenna in her eye. Glenna fell off her mount, her death quick. Kelvan took one look at her and headed into the trees, trying to yank out the arrow in his shoulder.
Suddenly, there were men everywhere.
The Grant warriors and archers made a line, protecting Kyla and Grant. Maitland handed his bairn to Kyla and grabbed a sword from one of the dead men, joining the fight.
Broc pulled Merryn in next to him. “Just fire, lass. We’ll move toward my sire to get my mother to safety.”
He fought each man as they came forward, but the melee was a battle like he’d never experienced. They were losing quickly because there were so many men coming at them from everywhere.
Simone grabbed Merryn, running toward the copse. “Back in the trees, Eli.” The archers left while Meg and Eva stood behind their husbands.
Uncle Connor yelled to him, “Broc, we’re fighting from here. Move in this direction and I’ll get Kyla.”
Broc swung and swung, the sound of metal clashing so loud it was something he’d never forget. Screams of pain, grunts, moans, bellows—the sounds of battle echoed through the air. Broc thought his shoulders were about to fall off, but he couldn’t stop.
He could see his father’s face on a horse not far from him, staring at him. “A little farther, son. I’ll get her.” His father and Uncle Connor struck down any man who came near them, all on foot.
Arrows took men out, axes sent men screaming, and swords cut paths of blood that dripped rivers in the dirt beneath their feet, but the battle continued. Then Alasdair let out a war whoop when John’s sword lit up, the blue color bathing the entire area.
Broc heard a loud noise, a sound that made him fear more men were coming, but then he and his comrades all began to laugh at once. He’d never heard a sweeter sound in his life.
The Grant war whoop was so loud it was nearly deafening behind the rumble of the horses’ hooves shaking the ground. Two hundred or more Grant guards covered the area, taking men down right and left. They battled on for only about half the hour before the rest of Kelvan’s men retreated, running back on their ships and into the forest.
Uncle Connor came straight toward Kyla while Logan and Magni helped Simone onto his horse and headed into the woods, though Broc had no idea why. Broc turned around to find his mother with a wide smile on her face. He picked her up and carried her over to the two horses waiting for them, Uncle Connor on one side, his father on the other.
Uncle Connor tipped his head toward Finlay, so Broc handed his mother over to his father.
Uncle Connor said, “Well done, Broc. You fought like my sire did in battle. The same swing, the same gumption. I’m quite sure Logan and Simone went after Kelvan. And Glenna? She got what she deserved from Simone. As fine a shot as I’ve ever witnessed.” Then his uncle grinned, something he hadn’t seen much of lately. “Da would be proud.”
Maeve and Lia galloped toward them, the other horses opening a path, Maeve sobbing while Maitland brought Grant back to his mother’s arms. The lad fell asleep within moments. Maitland kissed her. “It’s over, love. And Grant had a big part in finding Alasdair, John, and Kyla.”
“Maitland, you’re covered in blood. Are you hurt? Did Grant get …”
“He’s fine. Neither of us were injured.”
“Then how did you get… Never mind. I don’t wish to know.”
Broc cleaned his weapon on the grass, sheathed it, and went to find Merryn standing near a tree. “Sweeting, you are hale?”
Tears covered her face. “Aye, but he got away. Kelvan got away.”
