Chapter 5
This is goin’ to be more complicated than I thought.
At first, Kenneth thought he could control the situation, but the brush of Leana’s body against his own was driving him crazy. Having her so close, without being able to touch her, was proving to be difficult. Something he wasn’t particularly familiar with.
Although he avoided it, he couldn’t help but stare at her from time to time. In fact, he found himself looking for excuses to do so.
Despite her stubborn streak, the healer was a beautiful woman, with thick hair framing her heart-shaped face, and a nose covered in freckles like constellations.
Her skin was lightly tanned, and from the way she looked at the forest, Kenneth assumed that she was probably comfortable with hard work, or fieldwork. More than that, he liked it because it showed that she was a strong, independent woman who could stand on her own two feet.
In his many travels, Kenneth had discovered that not all women were like the ladies of the castle—quiet, obedient, and submissive. In fact, he had met female pirates in many ports. Brave, independent girls who were not afraid to make their own way in the world.
He had also met healers like Leana and other kinds of women. Those women did not always have many choices or decent ones, but Kenneth respected a strong woman who feared nothing.
It was that strength, perhaps more than anything else, that had drawn him in. For even halfway to the castle, and though they had barely exchanged a word or two, the lass did not look intimidated. On the contrary, he was sure she was still looking for a way to escape.
“Ye said… Ye said ye needed me for a month,” Leana murmured after some time.
It seemed she had been considering her words.
“Aye.”
“Is there a compelling reason?”
“I wouldnae have bothered if there wasnae,” Kenneth replied.
Instead of angering her, his answer seemed to soften her. She turned slightly toward him, her hood pulled back over her face. Even then, he could see the deep blue of her eyes, and it was easy to get lost in the dark pink of her lips.
“Ye ken, if that was the case, ye could have written to me. Ye wouldnae have had to kidnap me. I would have come willingly,” she assured him.
“Maybe. But ye would have been late.”
And I cannae wait a minute longer than is absolutely necessary.
“Anyway, I think there were other, less abrupt ways ye could’ve summoned me.”
“There werenae,” Kenneth replied simply.
Leana scoffed in annoyance. “Are ye always stubborn?”
“And are ye always so inquisitive?” Kenneth shot back.
“Aye.” Leana looked proud. The way she squared her shoulders, one would think she was trying to show him that she wasn’t afraid of him. “I never hold me tongue. If it bothers ye, ye can let me go. I’ll find me own way.”
“If I resented yer impertinence, lass, I would have gagged ye again.”
Leana seemed to be reading between the lines. Or so he thought. Her eyes were wide for a moment, her lips parted in shock.
She frowned slightly, and again there was that stubborn, adorable expression that made Kenneth realize he was enjoying his argument with the healer more than he had initially thought.
Unfortunately, he had little time to enjoy this minor discovery.
“Me Laird, look out!” one of his men shouted as he galloped back down the road.
An arrow flew toward them along with the warning, leaving Kenneth little time to react. He wrapped his arm around Leana and pulled her to his chest as she held back a gasp, while he held the reins with his other hand.
They narrowly dodged the arrow, but a second flew through the air and caused the horse to rear. Its forelegs soared through the air, while the screams of bandits chasing the men, trying to rob them, rang out in the air.
Leana screamed as well. She held on to Kenneth, for want of a better way to keep her balance, and buried her face in his beefy chest as he tried to control his horse.
But one of his men’s horses had galloped away, and the beast collided with his own in mid-flight. Leana and Kenneth fell off the horse, with her screaming in terror, clinging to his neck.
Time seemed to stop and speed up then, and Kenneth had only a moment to react—a moment to embrace Leana with all his might and twist their bodies so that he took the brunt of the impact.
His right hand closed around her slender hip, and his left hand tangled in her dark tresses as he held her close to his chest.
He heard her whimper, the neighing of horses, and the scream of one of his men just before his back hit the ground hard. And then the world went completely black for a moment.
Everything disappeared, leaving only the feel of Leana in his arms, her heart beating in tandem with his own for the first time.
“Me Laird!” his men shouted as they rushed toward him and Leana. “Me Laird, hold on!”
Their shouts echoed, but Leana paid them no attention. For a moment, she thought she was dying, for everyone seemed to have lost their senses.
She could only focus on the man who was still holding her as if her life was in danger, even though he was unconscious. Though perhaps his life was in danger now.
Another Leana, probably a more coherent one, would have turned away from the Laird and run. And it made perfect sense to do so. At last, she had a chance to escape.
Instead, she reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking him violently, almost desperately.
“Me Laird, come on, wake up. Ye must wake up,” she pleaded.
Perhaps it was her voice or the fact that one of the bandits was coming toward them—she would never know—but Kenneth opened his good eye as the bandit let out a war cry.
And then everything happened so quickly. It was as if the world had been blurred, for Leana did not understand what was happening. She only felt Kenneth grab her by the shoulders and pull her out of the bandit’s path with incredible delicacy and precision.
Then, he drew a dagger that was strapped to his belt. As the bandit lunged at him, he flipped him over and plunged the dagger into his stomach and then quickly into his chest, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
The bandit held his breath for a moment, then let it out in a gasp, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as Kenneth stood up, the dagger still in his clenched fist.
By then, his expression had changed. It was almost frightening, yet beautiful.
Leana watched him with morbid fascination, comparing him once again to a god of night and shadow, for the sight of him, with his fist bloodied and his hair falling over his shoulders, could have reminded her of nothing else.
“Stay behind me, nay matter what happens,” Kenneth ordered.
For the first time, Leana nodded, almost submissively.
She understood that she could not disobey this one order. Especially as more bandits ran toward them. It wasn’t just one or two of them, but a whole horde. Leana easily counted ten.
The disadvantage was obvious, but that did not seem to intimidate Kenneth.
He swooped down on the first two in a series of complex and precise movements, landing a punch on one’s face while taking out the other with a thrust of his dagger.
Meanwhile, a third bandit joined the group and tried to restrain him.
His men were busy fighting their own battles, so no one rushed to his aid, but he did not seem to need it.
He drew his sword and cut down two more bandits with a single swing while another turned away.
At first, Leana thought the man was fleeing, but she soon realized that he was moving out of the way of an archer.
“Look out!” she shouted.
For a moment, she thought Kenneth had not heard her, but he moved out of the way as he hurled his dagger at the archer.
Two things happened at once: the archer fell to the ground, knocked down by the dagger, while Kenneth staggered backward as the arrow hit him in the shoulder.
For a moment, Leana held her breath. She thought that this time, the impact would knock him out of the fight, for no warrior—no matter how prodigious—could recover so quickly from a bad fall and an arrow.
But it was obvious that Kenneth was no mere mortal. No. He must be a god in human flesh, for he lunged at the rest of the bandits, sword in hand, taking out two more on the way before rejoining his men to finish off the rest.
In the end, the skirmish was over in about ten minutes.
Leana watched the whole scene with bated breath. She felt strange, as if she were seeing the battlefield not through her eyes, but outside her body. Her lips were parted in astonishment as she walked slowly, hesitantly among the lifeless bodies.
She watched in disbelief because, in all her years as a healer, she had never been on a battlefield. Even though it was there that her services were needed the most.
Fortunately, Kenneth’s men seemed to be safe.
It might have been different if their Laird had not intervened, but he seemed as good as his reputation.
The arrowhead protruded from his left shoulder, and he was kneeling on the ground, one leg buried in the mud, the other supporting his entire body weight.
His breathing was ragged, and his brow was slick with sweat, but that did not stop him from dictating orders to his men in a loud, authoritative voice.
“Niall, make haste for the nearest village. Bring the constable and as many strong, healthy men as ye can find. Have them search the forest, and make sure there are nay more bandits in the area. Tell them that their Laird has commanded them and that he will pay them well for their services.”
“Aye, me Laird!” Niall replied immediately. He was tanned, blue-eyed, and partially bald, but he had a thick reddish beard.
The blond-haired man, who seemed to be called Taran, was immediately addressed.
“Taran, ye will stay here. Gather the bandits’ weapons and pile them up.
We must make sure they daenae fall into the wrong hands.
If ye meet any travelers, tell them that ye are in me service and that I have entrusted ye with this task.
If there are able-bodied men among the travelers, command them in me name to help ye stack the bodies. ”
“Aye, me Laird!” Taran replied at once.
At that moment, Leana realized that he was the one she had pushed into the mud in her attempt to escape.
Though she was the least of their problems now, she still felt a little—just a little—guilty about it.
“Ye both have me permission to take the necessary steps in me absence. This is the Royal Pass and the main trade route to me lands, and I wouldnae have it compromised by a bunch of thieves.”
“Nay, me Laird!” the men barked.
Kenneth nodded, seemingly satisfied with their response, but Leana was too worried about him to care.
She took a step toward him, and he looked at her with a slightly pained expression. They might not notice it, but she did.
Just as he was a warrior, she was a healer, so it was her duty to recognize signs of pain.
Especially because, as they walked on, Leana's anxiety grew. She could see the blood spilling from Kenneth's body; crimson drops that, one by one, made a path into the thicket, following the Laird's footsteps.
“Kenneth…” Leana tried to call him, to warn him that they had to stop the bleeding, soon. The Laird's clothes were beginning to turn red, but the Laird didn't seem interested in hearing her. On the contrary, he was joking, almost as if there was nothing to worry about.
“Ah, ye’re already callin’ me by me name, lass?” he drawled, as he stood up. “Come on. We’ll walk to the castle. It’s nae far, and we can cross the forest to get there faster.”
“But ye’re hurt.” Leana emphasized. She needed Kenneth to stop so she could check his wound and make sure everything was in order.
“I’m fine,” he assured. “I’ve had much worse, lass.”
Leana’s lips pressed together just enough to form a thin line, but she didn’t want to fight him any further. She understood that he would not show weakness in front of his men.
So, she followed him.
Too focused on carrying out their Laird’s orders, Niall and Taran didn’t say goodbye before they left.
“Laird MacReid…” she called him again, as she realized he was deliberately ignoring her.
“So, we’re callin’ each other by our titles again,” he joked, but his voice was unyielding and harsh.
“Ye have to stop,” Leana urged, practically trotting to catch up, but he ignored her. “Please, Sir… I mean it, Kenneth. Stop!” she cried, reaching for him.
Her fingers barely brushed his sleeve before he twisted away, his movements fluid and instinctive, like a shadow slipping beyond her grasp. She lunged, but he was already out of reach, the space between them widening in a heartbeat.
He caught it, gripping her wrist between his long, thick fingers and pulling her to him while Leana's heart was racing with giddiness because of the unexpected closeness between the two of them.
How was he so quick to move? He didn't even give me time to react…
Startled, she looked up at him… only to feel his breath on her lips, close enough to taste. His piercing silver eye bored into her, brimming with a thousand unspoken words.
“I’m nae one to take orders, lass,” Kenneth whispered, low enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Leana’s heart rate quickened, but she kept her composure. “Ye will have to learn to do so. Ye willnae live long if ye daenae listen to me.”
She took a step back and placed a hand on his chest, feeling the muscles through the layers of leather and linen. “Ye need to let me look after ye. Yer wound can get infected—or worse, the arrow can be poisoned.”
Kenneth’s lips curled in a grimace. “In the castle, ye can tend to me wound.”
“Nay. I need to take care of it now.”
For a moment, Leana thought he was going to object. She was so ready for a long confrontation that she didn’t notice when he fell hard on a wide, flat rock behind her.
She fell on top of him, as he did not let go. Their bodies collided for only a moment before she managed to regain her balance, one leg resting on the rock. She pulled herself up and stared down at him as his plump lips curled into an almost victorious smile.
“Then get on with it, lass. But make haste.”
For once, Leana was at a loss for words, feeling her heart race dizzyingly in her chest as her hand remained on his chest.
They stared at each other, their eyes full of indecipherable words. Hers of fire and ice, his of silver and steel.
And even if he seemed unmoved, she could tell the truth by his pulse—that he was as troubled by her presence as she was by his.
Enough that a moment’s carelessness could inadvertently cause her to lose control over all her impulses and senses.