Magni walked in, holding on to Lia’s hand, and shouted, “Mama? Papa?” Then he ran to them, throwing himself at his mother, hugging her and burying his face in her lap. After a moment, he got up and hugged his father.
Broc moved over and knelt in front of the two. “Kelvan will no longer bother you. We’ve ended his entire operation. You are free to go. Who is the sleeping lad?”
Magni’s mother said, “They stole him from a place in Aoineadh Mòr,tried to send him away, but he was violently ill on the ships, so they brought him back. He’s to be sold in a sennight.”
The man looked at his wife and said, “We’ll not leave the poor lad here. He must go with us, but where will we go? They burned our village to the ground. Everything we had is gone.”
Alaric came in behind Broc with Lia. Broc explained, “Magni has been living on the Isle of Mull with Clan MacQuarie. I’m sure you can join their clan. If not, you are welcome to join us at Clan Grantham.”
Alaric motioned to them. “Can you both walk enough to follow us out? We have horses to take you back to Mull. There is no reason to stay here any longer.”
“I’ll help you, Mama,” Magni said, reaching for his mother’s hand.
The group headed down the passage, and all along the way, Magni babbled on, his joy contagious.
“You should see everything at Clan MacQuarie, Da. Thane is the chieftain, and he just got married. They’re going to have a bairn, and his wife makes the best fruit tarts and meat pies, and I help Thane with the horses, and you can live there with us, Da. You can help with the horses too …”
They stopped at the end and Magni looked up at Broc and said, “Please don’t tell anyone I cried.”
“Promise.”
They stepped outside, and Magni shouted for all to hear, “I found them!” Dyna and Eli came over to help the couple understand what was happening, getting them away from the main event in the center.
The boy who’d been sleeping trudged along behind them, confused by everything taking place. All three had been in the holding so long that they had trouble adjusting to the light of day.
Meg stared at the three strangers, then squeezed her husband’s hand. “Lennox, look. Remember the cook at Aoineadh Mòr? Do you suppose that could be their son?”
Lennox said, “Heavens above us, I hope so.” He approached the lad and asked, “Is your mother a cook in an inn at Aoineadh Mòr?”
“Aye,” he nodded, rubbing his eyes as he tried to look up at Lennox. “My name is Errol. Can I go home now?”
Meg teared up and said, “Aye, we’ll take you there.” They ushered the lad off to the side and found him something to eat.
Logan still sat atop his horse in the center of the clearing, Kelvan barely able to stand on his own, but Connor insisted. Logan whistled for everyone’s attention again. “The last just due goes to Merryn. Do as you wish, lass. I don’t need him for anything.”
Broc came over and nodded to her. She picked up her bow and nocked an arrow, then let it back down. “Broc, I want to, but I don’t know if I can hold it tight any longer.”
Broc said, “You aim, and I’ll help you.”
“I told you she was nothing but a liar and a weakling,” Kelvan shouted, his voice sounding quite odd.
Another horse came close and someone hopped down. “My thanks to you, Broc, but I’m going to claim just due for my family. Merryn, nock your arrow, and we’ll do it together.”
Tristan came over to stand behind his sister, watched her set herself, then stood behind her and reached over her shoulders to steady her arm. “Kelvan Mortimer, this is for our parents and our dear sister Nara.”
He pulled the bow with Merryn, and they let it go.
Kelvan would never steal another bairn.
Chapter Forty-Six
Everyone
Logan scanned the area. It was finally done.
Connor approached the head of his guards and gave them instructions to bury the dead and then head back.
“Where is he?” Logan asked Connor.
