Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
When the abandoned carriage came into view, Lucas’ rage reached new levels. It was covered in blood, and the horses that had been pulling it were set free. Scattered around the area were bodies. Lucas recognized most of them as his men; four of them were strangers.
And one, the closest corpse to the carriage, had a knife lodged in his chest that Lucas knew to belong to Flora. The one he’d taught her to throw.
“I daenae think any of our men would have used their blades,” Matthew said, dismounting his horse as he assessed the scene. He looked over the body, almost as if he thought there might be a third party involved.
“Nay, that wasnae one of the guards,” Lucas agreed, already examining the treeline in search of their escape route. “It was Flora. That’s one of the knives I gave her.”
“Then she’s givin’ them hell,” Matthew muttered, reaching down to touch the dead man’s neck. “They cannae have gone far. The body’s still warm. James must have woken up just after the girls were taken.”
“I pray ye’re right,” Lucas said, trudging forward when he spotted a trampled-down patch of earth. “It looks as though they’ve left on foot. I daenae ken where their steeds went.”
“Probably fled durin’ the fight if I had to guess,” Matthew said.
His brother went silent then, the two of them listening to the forest, picking apart natural sounds from the invasive ones.
It was eerily silent, though, the animals likely fearful of the predators in their midst. If it weren’t for the trail and the signs of continued struggle, Lucas might believe they were going in the wrong direction.
After several tense, silent minutes, a soft whimper drifted through the quiet. It was followed by a man’s sharp command to stop. The sound, the knowledge that someone was speaking to Elizabeth or Flora in such a way, made Lucas feel like a feral beast.
He and Matthew rushed in the direction of the exchange at the same time, their swords drawn. They spotted the group quickly. Five men were carting the girls. Elizabeth was crying, reaching desperately for Flora, kicking at the man holding her.
And Flora…
Blood dripped down her face, cresting over the swollen expanse of her cheek. Her hands were tied, her hair a mess from where she’d clearly been dragged. Yet, despite the fear in her eyes, there was the determination that he’d seen on the day he rescued her from the hunt.
He acted before the men realized they’d been followed. His first target was the one closest to him. In any other instance, Lucas wouldn’t have pierced through the man’s back, but men who hurt women, men who hurt his women, didn’t deserve any honor.
As he yanked his sword back, Matthew rushed forward, his eyes locked on the two men escorting Elizabeth. He ruthlessly sliced at the hands of the man who wasn’t holding his daughter, causing him to drop his weapon. His shoulder connected solidly with the man’s core, knocking him to the ground.
Lucas didn’t have time to observe, nor be glad at how efficient his brother was. Now that he’d started this fight, Flora was in much more danger than she’d been before. He had to move quickly before they hurt her further.
He ran at the two of them fast, his weapon at the ready, his face a twisted, animalistic snarl. It was a threat enough to make them release Flora. As they pulled their own blades, Lucas attacked.
The man furthest from Flora was his first target. Keeping an eye on the second, Lucas swung ruthlessly. His opponent barely avoided a killing blow, jumping back moments before the steel connected with his body.
“The more ye struggle, the more I’m goin’ to make this hurt,” he growled. “Ye’re dyin’ either way, though.”
“Ach, ye think ye can take two of us?” the man snapped back, though it was shaky, thrown by the near miss.
Lucas didn’t indulge in the conversation any further. He attacked again, not allowing lesser men to distract him with words when they were physically incapable of keeping pace with him.
This time, he feinted toward the first man before swinging at the second.
His sword found its home in the flesh of his enemy’s side.
Even before he fully removed the blade, blood seeped through his clothing, dark and viscous.
It still wasn’t enough to make up for what he and the others had done to Flora and to Elizabeth.
With as much force as he could, Lucas threw the man to the ground, already turning toward the other before his body hit the dirt. He sneered, anticipating the man’s first move, side-stepping the arching swing. Then, he answered with his own volley of blows.
Lucas caught the man’s arm in a savage strike, cutting through the fabric and digging into his skin. He pulled back, the edge of his blade dripping crimson. Leaving no time for him to recover, Lucas drove the blunt end of his sword into his shoulder.
“Ah!” the man screamed as he collapsed onto his knees. He held the injury, grimacing up at Lucas. “Ye damn bastard!”
Lucas raised his sword, ready to deliver the final, killing blow, when Flora spoke, broken but a voice of reason in the cloud of his suffocating rage. “Nay, Lucas. What if he has information? One of them needs to be able to speak.”
His sword came down, lodging itself firmly in the man’s shoulder. Another pained sound escaped him, but somehow, Flora had become the voice of logic. Lucas spared him for now because she was right.
He had no idea if this was a targeted attack or if the men were simply a group of bandits. They could be part of the larger organization that they were hunting down. Or worse, they could be involved in another syndicate of men that hurt women and girls for their own sick thrills.
“Ye’re right,” Lucas said, his voice barely audible over the cries of anguish coming from below him. “Ye’re absolutely right, Flora.”
He looked over his shoulder then, finally checking in on the battle his brother was fighting. One man was dead, and the other would be soon. Matthew went straight for the man’s heart, thrusting him to the ground with all of his body weight.
As soon as his hands were free, Elizabeth launched herself at him. The sobs she’d been trying to stifle broke free. She buried her face in her father’s neck, her little hands clutching at the back of his doublet as she sought comfort, reassurance, steadiness.
Letting out a shaky breath, Lucas turned his attention to Flora. The bleeding just beneath her eye had slowed, a scab beginning to form. Her cheek was bruised, and her shoulders were slumped, but she was alive.
He stepped over the man still writhing in pain on the ground, knowing that he wasn’t going anywhere soon. Slowly, so as not to spook her, Lucas knelt in front of Flora. She didn’t flinch or try to get away when he reached forward to push her hair from her face.
With a gentle touch that contradicted the violence he’d just enacted, he traced his fingertips over the curve of her face. She hissed slightly, only half a breath, when he grazed the most tender spot. Still, she let him examine her, staring up at him with a trust he never thought he’d see from her.
“Are ye all right?” he asked, the question feeling insignificant, the answer obvious.
“Aye,” Flora whispered, her eyes flitting behind him to the reunion unfolding. The corner of her mouth twitched, her body seeming to sag with relief. “The only injuries I sustained were on me face. I suspect it would have been much worse had they managed to get away with us.”
“Ye’re right about that. Ye took out one of their men,” he said, low and private, just for her. He reached for the restraints binding her wrists, untying them deftly. “I cannae imagine they were too happy about it.”
“They werenae,” she confirmed, a sound that might have been a laugh in any other circumstance slipping past her lips. “I was sure they were goin’ to kill me right there in front of Elizabeth. The way he spoke…”
“But they dinnae,” Lucas said firmly, not allowing her to finish the thought.
It was pure luck that they hadn’t, pure luck that he’d been alerted to the abduction.
“But ye made our job easier. If it werenae for that, I daenae ken if we would have been informed of what happened to ye until it was too late. At least one of the guards survived. He made it back to the castle.”
“Ryan?” she asked hesitantly, as if she were afraid of what the answer might be.
“Nay, it was James,” he replied, dropping his hand from her cheek. “I daenae ken if Ryan survived. We dinnae stop to check any of the bodies for survivors. Our focus was findin’ ye and Elizabeth. I will send men to check for survivors as soon as I am sure ye’re safe.”
Flora nodded, staring at the dirt, worrying her bottom lip. After a beat, she said, “If it werenae for ye, I wouldnae have been able to defend Elizabeth and myself. It wasnae enough to keep them from takin’ us, but—”
“There were too many of them,” Lucas said, catching her eye to ensure she understood.
He waited until he had her full attention to continue.
“They overwhelmed yer guards. The fact that ye were able to stop even one of them is a miracle. And if it was because I taught ye how to use a knife, then that means I did me job. I’m proud of ye, Flora.
I told ye that ye were a fighter, and ye proved that today. Ye saved yerself and Elizabeth.”
And he meant it with a certainty that was staggering.
With a force stronger than a physical blow, Lucas realized that he was in love with her.
Somewhere between rescuing her from the hunt and stopping a second abduction, she’d wormed her way into a place that he didn’t think another person would ever inhabit.
Flora held onto Elizabeth, stroking the girl’s back as they waited for Matthew to return with the horses.
Lucas stood over the only man out of the ten captors still left alive.
Matthew would bring men to haul him away, promising the girls that he’d be thrown in the dungeon and unable to hurt another person ever again.
“Ye’re nae hurt are ye?” Flora asked Elizabeth, looking over her shaking form. “There’s nay injuries ye’re hidin’.”
“I daenae think so,” Elizabeth answered as her arms tightened around Flora. “But I cannae tell. I daenae feel like I’m in me body.”
Flora’s heart ached. She knew the feeling all too well, and she hated that someone so young was experiencing it.
The sting dug in so much deeper, knowing that this wasn’t the first time Elizabeth had felt the terror of being kidnapped.
She’d been through far too much for her age, and there was nothing that Flora nor anyone else could do to remedy it.
As she continued to rub the girl’s back, providing as much comfort as she could, Flora’s attention shifted to Lucas.
He was standing a few meters behind the man.
He scanned the forest, his sharp gaze searching for any stragglers or opportunistic bandits.
His hand rested near the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it if any other danger presented itself.
She’d seen him in action before, but this felt so different than when he rescued her the first time.
The way he’d killed two men in front of her, nearly killing a third before she’d spoken up, was tinged with more than just the actions of a man dedicated to protecting any woman.
It was personal, running deeper than just the slight against Elizabeth.
And I think I like that possessiveness.
The sound of horses stomping through the underbrush made Elizabeth flinch. Flora tightened her arms around her, muttering, “It’s just yer faither and the men who are goin’ to help us. We’ll be goin’ back to the castle shortly. Nay need to be frightened, Elizabeth.”
“Aye,” Elizabeth said, finally pulling back from her hiding place and looking over her shoulder. Her body relaxed when she spotted her father. “Ye were right.”
“I ken,” Flora said, giving her a shaky smile as she untangled herself from her arms. “I’ll see ye when I get back to the castle, aye?”
Elizabeth was too focused on throwing herself into Matthew’s arms again to respond, but that didn’t bother Flora.
As she folded her arms around her body protectively, she watched Lucas give the guard orders.
Despite the earlier uncontrolled rage she witnessed, he was collected, every bit the confident, analytical leader she’d come to learn he was.
Eventually, the guards gathered the man and started on their slog back to the castle. Then, Lucas turned his attention to Flora. The fire in his eyes was still there, though it was tempered by a concern so deep it made her shudder.
“We must get ye back to the castle,” he said, kneeling in front of her, careful not to crowd her. “Ye need to be seen by the healer. That cut on yer face looks nasty, and I daenae ken if ye’re hidin’ anythin’ under that gown.”
“I’m nae,” Flora answered, though she felt much the same as Elizabeth. It was as if she weren’t in her body. Despite knowing that she had suffered injuries to her face, there was only a dull pang that reminded her of the trauma. “They dinnae do anythin’ but slap me.”
“Ye’re still bein’ thoroughly examined,” he declared before pushing himself to his feet.
He glanced at Matthew, who was loading Elizabeth onto his horse, giving him a nod to signal he could go ahead first. “And ye’re nae leavin’ the castle without me ever again.
I’m nae riskin’ somethin’ like this happenin’ for a third time.
Ye matter far too much to me. Next time, I willnae be responsible for the way that I handle savages like these men. ”
The way he said it, the conviction and possessiveness in his tone, made her feel desired. Not only that, but worthy of being desired. No longer did she think that situations like this ruined her. He’d more than proven that the actions of others, the actions of monsters, did not reflect on her.
“There willnae be a next time,” Flora said, taking his hand and letting him assist her to an upright position. “I daenae think anyone will try to mess with ye and the people ye care about when they hear about what ye did today.”
Lucas smiled, tired and warm. “I’m still nae takin’ any chances with ye,” he informed her, not letting go of her hand as he walked her to his waiting steed. “I meant what I said when I told ye that ye were mine. I daenae let anyone hurt what belongs to me.”
“I ken,” Flora said as he lifted her onto the saddle. She didn’t say that she was glad to be his, to be under his protection. It didn’t need to be voiced; she knew that Lucas would understand.
And I’m so grateful for it.