Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Briana ran blind into the night, branches tearing at her skin, tears and the remnants of smoke stinging her eyes as she hurtled through the trees.
She could not see, and yet she was not as lost as she had been when she tried to flee.
Now she charged through the forest with purpose, fueled with panic and fear, determination and hope, and a fierce, furious love in equal measure.
Her brother had come for her, not because he cared, but because he saw fit to destroy everything she held dear, just as her father had done for her whole life. She had to run, had to get away, before the poisonous clan dragged her into their grasp again.
The cave. It was the only place she could think to go, the only shelter that might protect her.
She prayed that Theon would find her there and that he could lead the others to safety, but she did not even know if she was going in the right direction.
Her lungs burned and her legs felt weak, but she pushed forward anyway.
Coughing and stumbling as the smoke damage made it difficult to catch a breath, she burst out from the tree line and into a clearing she did not recognize.
Frustration pulsed through her. Where was she? How was she not at the burn? Where was the coursing river, the salvation hidden in the depths of the cave? She tried to turn, to flee back into the forest and try again but froze as shadows appeared in the trees.
Murmuring voices grew louder, not just behind her but all around her, and one by one the Cameron and MacFarlane men stepped from the trees, surrounding her from all sides. Some she recognized, most she did not, but all wore the same emotionless, cruel expressions in their gaze.
No sympathy. Only menace and loyalty to the lairds they served.
Briana shrank back as heavier footsteps sounded and a horse suddenly pushed through the circle, its rider mounted on the saddle like a throne.
She had never met him before, but she recognized him at once from the portraits she had studied every night in an attempt to get to know him before they met or even spoke.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and sandy-haired, with eyes so dark a blue that they looked black. His bearded jaw was strong and his muscles were toned, and he might have been handsome were it not for the look of cruel triumph that decorated his face as he stared down at her now.
Malcolm MacFarlane. Briana's betrothed had arrived to claim her at last.
"There ye are," he drawled. "What trouble ye've caused, lass. Ye do ken how tae make a mess. Still, never fear. I am a man who thrives with some excitement. A little rebellion can be good from a woman, so long as she's prepared tae be tamed."
She shivered at the dark suggestion in his tone and inadvertently stepped back.
"It's time tae come with me. Our weddin' day awaits," Malcolm told her. His smirk grew. "And our weddin' night. Have these outlaws given ye practice? Dinnae fear. I'm gracious enough tae accept a ruined lass, so long as she kens it means her entire bein' is mine tae do with as I please."
Fury burst through her fear as she imagined those disgusting hands anywhere near her.
"The only thing that would ruin me is allowin' ye anywhere near me," she snarled.
"Ye and yer father are murderers. Tyrants.
And me father and brother are there with ye.
I'll have nae part of it. Ye'll kill me before ye have me. "
Malcolm's lazy laugh was low and cruel. "Yer mother's death left ye uneducated in what place a woman has in this world, I see.
Ye speak as though ye have a choice. I will have ye, whenever and however often as I like.
That fire within ye will go out and ye will serve me until the day ye gasp yer last breath. "
She clenched her fists. "Or until ye gasp yers."
He chuckled again. "Oh, Briana, I'll so enjoy breakin' ye."
He nodded toward two of his men, and they moved forward, grabbing at her arms. Briana cried out in fear and outrage, twisting against them, kicking and jerking as she tried to escape, but their grips were iron.
They dragged her toward Malcolm's horse, and as they did, her eyes went to the sky and the stars.
And the treeline.
There, hidden in the branches, perched a figure donned in black—a figure she knew well.
Keir watched from above, his expression too distant to see.
Desperate hope cut through her fear as she stared up at him, and for a moment his blue eyes flashed in the darkness and she knew that he'd caught her gaze.
She held her breath, silently pleading for him to save her.
Then Keir turned away and disappeared into the branches.
Briana's heart cracked as she was left alone to her fate. Nobody would save her now.
It was over.
Graeme, Theon, and Noah stood in a loose triangle, back to back as they faced down impossible odds.
They were broken, bloodied, beaten, but all three refused to back down even as the flames swallowed their home and the Cameron men came in waves, relentless in their brute force attacks.
Iain had briefly retreated when Theon had scored a deep cut across his face, but the Laird's son pushed forward now, bolstered by the seemingly endless supply of men he had at his command.
"If we dinnae survive this…" he muttered.
Graeme nudged him with his elbow. One of his arms hung at an odd angle, but he still laughed through the pain as he said, "It'll take more than a wave of bloody Camerons tae kill us, MacKenzie."
Noah didn't speak, but Theon could feel his resolve mount, and Theon's own did too.
Keir was alive. Briana was safe. If the three of them were to die here, then at least it would be for something.
He prepared himself for the last push, glad that he'd at least go down battling those who'd once destroyed him.
Then a dirk whistled through the air, catching the soldier nearest to Theon in the neck.
Another, then another, and then a fourth flew toward them, the last only narrowly missing Iain Cameron, who had to throw himself to the ground.
Out of the shadows, silhouetted by the flames, Keir strode forward, a dark avenging angel as he tossed blade after blade, then grabbed his sword and cut down any man in his way.
"Brothers," Keir called. "Can ye nae manage a moment without me?"
Noah let out a disbelieving, exhausted laugh, and Graeme whooped. Something surged within Theon, and a renewed strength fell over all of them as Keir moved into place, completing the missing corner of the square. The Broken Blades. Unbroken.
The tide shifted. They fought as one, each bringing their own strength to cover the weaknesses of the others, each using their own ferocity to defend his brothers and press their advantage.
The odds were still overwhelming, but with the four of them together, nothing was impossible.
Graeme swung hard with his sword, the broad side of it smashing hard against several soldiers at once.
Noah reached for his arrows, not bothering with his bow as he jammed one into an attacker's eye.
Keir and Theon stood back to back, their moves a practiced harmony as they fended off those who would harm their family.
"Theon!" Keir yelled.
Theon's eyes were on Iain, who had retreated to the back of the group. The bastard was going to get away! His rage made him want to follow, but as he moved, Keir grabbed his arm.
"They have her!" Keir told him urgently. "Theon, Malcolm MacFarlane and his men—they have Briana."
Theon's heart seized and the world stood still around him. Keir fought off another attacker, then whirled to face Theon.
"I nearly let them take her and be done with it, but I couldnae, could I?" Keir growled. "Because we're nae monsters. We're nae butchers. We're nae traitors. And… she's one of us now, whether I like it or nae."
A soldier roared and threw himself at Keir's back, and Theon acted, thrusting out with his sword and cutting the man down at once before he could get close.
Keir nodded as their eyes met. "Go. Ye've nae got much time. And for God's sake, come home. East road. Past the cave."
The brothers turned to the line and fought as one, the two of them pushing fiercely until a break appeared, and Theon took his moment.
With one last glance at Keir and the others, he darted through the space and into the forest, blood pounding in his ears, praying that the other outlaws could hold their own until he returned.
He raced into the night, determined not to stop until Briana was safe at his side once more, though his body bled and ached and threatened to fall apart.
He would not lose her.
He would not lose anyone again. Even if the whole world went up in flames.