Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The soft glow of moonlight spilled through the narrow gap in the curtains, casting silvery beams over the stone floor.
Lavina stirred beneath the furs as a faint smile curved her lips. Theo lingered at the forefront of her mind as she envisioned his hand trailing down her spine.
She arched her back and pressed into his pillow as she savored the purr of his low, husky voice, dripping with longing and desire. She turned toward the warmth she imagined at her side as her fingers reached for a chest that was no longer there.
It was a whisper of a motion that pricked her ear. Every hair rose and prickled as it dawned on her that she might not be alone, after all. She peeked through her eyelids, half expecting to find Theo by the fireplace. But the room was still. Too still.
Then, she heard a breath. She froze as she stared at the fire that had long since died to embers. Still, the chill biting her bare skin felt unnatural.
Instinct wrapped around her ribs like a vise, causing her breath to catch as she strained to listen. She wished she could calm her frantically beating heart; it drummed in her ears and hammered violently against her ribcage.
“Theo?” she whispered, hoping her voice would not tremble. But the terror wouldn’t release its grip on her. “Is that ye?”
The low groan of wood made her wish she could melt into the mattress and disappear with the shadows.
Someone was in the room, and it wasn’t Theo. He would have brought with him a calmness to the room, not the static grating on her nerves.
Determined to face her fear, she bolted upright, bringing the furs to her chest as her pulse roared in her ears.
“Theo? This isnae funny. And if that’s ye, Amber, ye can show yerself. I dinnae mind ye bein’ here.” Her voice cracked the silence like a stone thrown into a dry well. It was too soft. Too hopeful.
Silence answered, and she swallowed the fear down her parched throat.
Mustering her courage, she cried out Theo’s name before gulping in as much air as she could. Her nerves were shot. The silence was too heavy, too deliberate.
She peered into the shadows in the far corner of the room. It was a movement out of the corner of her eye that drew her attention to the door. The unease in the room settled heavily on her shoulders, sinking its claws into her.
Her body trembled as she tossed the furs off herself and collected her shift from the floor. It wasn’t much, but at least it would cover her nakedness. The last thing she needed was to bolt out of her chambers as bare as the day she was born.
No, she was Lady McGowan, and she’d present herself as such.
Slipping her arms through the sleeves of her robe, Lavina moved to the balcony door. The cool night air might be enough to chase away her troubling thoughts and lingering feelings. Surely there was no danger here. She was with Theo now. His keep was secure and safe.
No, it was nothing but a night terror that could be easily dispelled with a hard slap of fresh air.
The night was boggy and did nothing to brighten her mood. She glared at the pile of stone that the lightning had struck on her wedding night. She wondered if Theo would ever have it fixed, or if it would be permanently a part of their home now.
But Lavina hadn’t come outside to ponder over the ruins at her feet, but the worry that continued to twist her stomach into knots. Why couldn’t she shake the feeling that something bad was brewing?
Every inch of her body tingled as a dread she couldn’t explain coiled in the pit of her stomach.
A thought began to torment and tease the frayed edges of her mind. It was a thought she didn’t want to voice, but somehow instinctively knew it would claw its way out sooner or later.
A soft, muffled sound pulled her out of the mire of her thoughts. She glanced over what was left of the railing and screamed.
“Guards! Breach!”
Terror and panic assaulted her like marbles bouncing off cobblestones. Out of the chaos, only one thought rang out clearer than any bell.
“Maisie.” Her name tumbled off Lavina’s tongue like a prayer.
Her gaze flicked to Maisie’s window. At first, she saw nothing but the curtains. But then, there it was—movement.
“Nay!” she cried out as she turned on her heels and made a beeline for the chamber doors. Her worst nightmare had become a reality. “Maisie, I’m comin’. Please, God, nay.”
“Lavina!” Theo’s voice rang through the madness, firm and true.
Lavina paused to give him a moment, but that was all she could afford. Maisie’s life was in danger, and there was no way she was going to stand by and do nothing.
“Lavina, ye need to get to the council chambers. Stephen will show ye the way,” Theo urged, grabbing her by the shoulders.
Lavina couldn’t hear a word coming out of his mouth. Her mind was unraveling far too quickly for her to keep up.
“Maisie… There’s someone in Maisie’s room. He’s come, he’s here, is he nae? Micah’s found us.”
“Stephen, take her to the council chambers,” Theo barked with a glare.
Both men seemed to be having a silent conversation, but it wasn’t until Stephen had thrown her over his shoulder that she understood what they had discussed.
“Nay, put me down! Theo, ye cannae do this. Please, I need me sister,” Lavina pleaded.
“Aye, and I’ll get her for ye, I swear. But I cannae be worried about ye as well. Now, be the Lady McGowan our people need ye to be. Can ye do that?”
Lavina bobbed her head.
“Good. Now, listen to Stephen,” Theo continued. “I’ve given him clear instructions as to what to do and where to go.”
“What if I never see ye again?” Lavina whimpered, realizing this might be the last time she would ever see him alive.
He was, after all, going against the most ruthless man she’d ever known. The challenges he would face, she couldn’t fathom. All she could do was pray he’d come back to her.
“Dinnae talk like that. Of course I’ll see ye again,” Theo affirmed, his voice fading down the hall as Stephen took off with her.
“Dinnae fash yerself,” Stephen said. “The Laird will come back.”
“And how can ye be so certain?” Lavina asked, trying to hold on to a sliver of hope.
“The man is in love with ye,” Stephen answered as he set her on her feet.
“He’ll come back—ye’ll see. And he’ll have yer sister with him.
But right now, ye have a role to play. We’re about to turn the corner, and the servants will be lookin’ to ye for guidance.
Can ye be the one to give them that light? ”
Lavina swallowed hard and bobbed her head.
Stephen tilted his head and shot her a glare.
She rolled her shoulders back and stood straighter. “I’m ready,” she declared, just as the sound of chaos reached her ears.
Stephen nodded and grabbed her wrist. “Hold me hand and dinnae let go. I cannae carry ye over me shoulder in front of everyone out of respect. Ye must be able to handle the crowd. Are ye ready?” he asked once more, testing his grip on her wrist.
The keep was waking, and doors were flying open just as fast as questions were being shouted over the madness.
Lavina glanced around, unsure what she needed to focus on. If it wasn’t the guards barking orders, it was the bells clanging through the dead of night.
“What? Lady McGowan, we must make haste,” Stephen hissed when she drifted to the narrow window.
“He’s surrounded us,” she whimpered, despair and defeat stealing the very warmth of her being. She stumbled backward, dumbstruck by the sight before her.
Dozens of fires were burning in the night. The flickering orange flames stretched across the low hills and surrounded the keep in a fiery ring.
Lavina squinted as she spotted shadows moving between the fires. Her uncle had far too many men at his disposal. There would be no escaping it—Maisie would be taken.
The air around her grew too thin as she tried to pull in deeper breaths to no avail. Her mind was a whirlwind of chaos and confusion. But one thing rang out, centering her thoughts.
Maisie.
It was Maisie whom Micah wanted. If he were coming, she was going to need a plan to protect Maisie for as long as possible.
“There are so many,” Lavina mumbled, just as Stephen’s hand came down hard on her shoulder. “He has us outnumbered. He’ll breach the walls in hours. He willnae stop.”
The tears spilled over then, and her knees wobbled under her weight. She reached for the wall to steady herself as she fought down the terror threatening to overwhelm her.
“Ye need to pull yerself together,” Stephen gritted out. “Theo willnae let anything happen to ye or yer sister. Ye have me word on that, and his. Ye’re nae alone in this. We’re yer family now, and we protect what is ours.”
She stared at him, desperate to believe him, to let his words settle into her bones. But it was one little word that jabbed at the center of her being.
“Amber!? Dear God, where’s Amber?” She glanced around frantically.
Stephen’s brow creased. “Theo’s handlin’ that, too,” he answered. “He’ll nay doubt bring them both to the council chambers. But we need to get goin’ if we’re goin’ to meet them.”
Lavina glanced over her shoulder. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest as she allowed a flicker of hope to sprout within her.
Theo was still out there. He’d get Maisie and Amber.
“But he’s only one man,” she said.