Chapter 33
Lily coughed as the smoke infiltrated her lungs and made her chest burn. She hated that she was locked up in here, with Fletcher’s hawkish eyes piercing hers like he was waiting for her to say something.
I should have known.
She swallowed hard to push down the lump in her throat. Tears stung her eyes as she thought of Killian one last time, and what he would do when he realized she died in this fire.
“You cannot do this, Fletcher,” Lily said, trying to make Fletcher understand how wrong it was to burn all Killian had to the ground. “This is your home too. This is your life… you cannot burn it all to the ground. Think about this, Fletcher. I can plead with Killian for his mercy… I can—”
“I dinnae need ye to plead for me, lass,” Fletcher cut in before she could say anymore. The madness in his eyes sent more spiraling waves of fear through her. “I will kill ye here and have Killian watch as yer remains burn to the ground. If I cannae be laird, then no one else will be.”
Lily fought the tears stinging her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, sniffled hard, and then swallowed. All she could think of was Killian.
I will never get a chance to see him again—to say goodbye.
“I told ye I would burn this place to the ground,” Fletcher growled. “Ye will burn with it.”
“Killian is coming,” Lily challenged, mustering up the courage, even though the heat from the flames were already scalding her skin.
Lily tried not to choke as she coughed some more. Her throat felt parched, her eyes burned at the corners, and Fletcher’s smile made it harder to calm her rising panic.
I can’t die here. I can’t die when I have not told him how I feel.
Lily knew she should have said the words. All this time, she had kept wondering what her growing feelings for Killian meant.
I should have told him.
Lily knew she would regret dying if she did not tell Killian how much he meant to her.
If I don’t find a way to let him know I love him, I’ll never be at peace.
As her thoughts drifted towards what to do next, Fletcher approached her again, and this time, he grabbed the bars of her cell.
“Ye shouldnae have come here. Ye shouldnae have tried to convince him about Laird McLennan’s innocence.
I had it all planned out. I kenned I could kill him in the end, but ye ruined all of that by saving his life countless times.
At first, I thought if I kept trying, I would find a way in the end, but now… now I just end it myself.”
“Killian will notice I am missing, and he will come for me.”
“Nae if he dies on his way here.” Fletcher’s cold eyes pierced hers and caused a nauseating feeling to rise in her stomach. “I have my men handling that. Killian will not make it into this keep alive if he dies in battle with Laird McLennan.”
He shot her a cruel smirk. “Goodbye, milady,” he told her one last time as he backed away from the dungeons, then headed out.
Lily’s heart dropped when she realized she was all alone, down in the dungeons of the burning keep.
Will Killian ever find me here?
She gasped, found her voice, and yelled at the top of her lungs, hoping someone would hear.
“Killian!” she shouted. “Someone—” Smoke invaded her nostrils and blocked her lungs.
The tears stung her eyes hotter as she coughed. “Someone help!! I am in here… I am…”
Lily’s screams for help did nothing. Her hollow voice only hovered around her till she felt weak and dizzy.
The flames etched closer now. It was led by the blinding thickness of smoke. The fog encroached on her cell first, and she fell to the ground, scrambling away from the smoke like it would sting her skin.
“Killian,” she called out again. Her heart seized with panic, and she felt the first wave of dizziness hit her as she inhaled the smoke.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and she tried to call out to Killian one last time, but only a croak left her lips.
She could not give in to the darkness just yet. She knew she had to fight it if she was going to live.
I need to find Killian… I must tell him.
“I love you,” Lily whispered as she let out a sigh and let the weakness take over.
If this was her end, then she could say she had lived a good life.
Lily had found family. She had also found happiness here in MacColl. Here, she had found love, and that was more than enough for her. She had just one regret. Killian would never know how she truly felt.
Lily couldn’t tell how much time had passed as she slid in and out of consciousness. Smoke was everywhere, and she couldn’t make out a single thing in her line of sight, but when she heard Niamh’s familiar voice calling out to her, she cried out again with the last of her strength.
“I am down here!” Lily screamed at the top of her lungs. “Niamh!”
She heard Niamh rattle the bars and then yelp as she withdrew her hands immediately.
“I cannae open it. I shall get Fletcher… I shall come back.”
“No,” Lily managed, but she doubted Niamh heard her because she was running down the hallway to get help.
As Lily’s eyes fluttered shut again, she tried to calm herself with one thought.
Help is on the way.
Killian would come for her, she was certain of it. He would come, and she would get the chance to tell him how much she loved him.
Killian made it inside the keep through the chaos, but he could not find Lily or Niamh anywhere.
“Lily!” he yelled, rushing towards the stairway just before it collapsed in front of him.
The servants clamored to get out of the keep, and he ran towards his study, coughing as he made his way through the gusts of smoke.
He burst through the door, hoping to find Lily there, but it was empty. The heat from inside his study nearly scalded his skin, and he staggered out of the study again.
He made it back to the stairway and stopped the first guard he saw. “Have ye seen the lady? Lily? Have ye—”
The guard shook his head and hurried away from Killian before he could say anything else.
Killian let out a frustrated sigh before he saw Niamh running towards the exit, her breaths puffing out of her mouth.
“Niamh?” Killian stopped her before she could make it out of the keep. “Lily… Where is Lily?”
“In the dungeons,” Niamh revealed while panting. Her eyes were puffy from her tears, and her cheeks were blotchy. “She’s… Fletcher, he… she is in the dungeons.”
“Get out of here now,” Killian ordered her before he took off and headed towards the keep’s undergrounds where the dungeons were.
Once the fire consumed the entire keep, the dungeons would be buried beneath the debris. Killian had to get Lily out of there before that happened.
His heart pounding faster than it ever had, he ignored the smoke and found his way down there.
I must save her. I must tell her how I feel.
He would never forgive himself if she died without her knowing how much he loved her.
“Lily! Lily!” Killian yelled when he reached the cells.
His other prisoners had escaped, except her. Killian spotted her frame lying on the ground, and he took his sword, broke the chains locking the bars together, and then hurried inside.
She groaned when he lifted her off the ground. “It is all right, Lily. I am here now. I am here…”
“Killian,” she murmured, but he hushed her and lifted her into his arms.
Lily’s hands snaked around his neck, and he felt his heart ache with tremendous grief.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I should have protected ye.”
He made it to the keep’s exit in no time, and as he ran outside, he saw Fletcher and another group of men approach.
Relief flooded Killian once he spotted his man-at-arms.
“Quick, Fletcher, bring us the healer while the men put out the fire,” he ordered as he found a corner to lay Lily on the ground. “Find me the healer!”
Laird McLennan’s men drew closer to the scene, and Killian expected Fletcher to hurry away at his command, but Fletcher stood in the same spot.
Lily suddenly grabbed Killian’s arm and coughed. “Fletcher,” she whispered in a strained voice. “It is him.”
Killian slowly rose to his feet and turned to see Fletcher’s smirk tilting up the corners of his lips.
“I am truly sorry,” Fletcher said in a stiff tone. “I did enjoy servin’ ye, but it is finally time to take what I want.”
Killian drew his sword at the same time Fletcher did, and he saw Laird McLennan do the same.
“Ye’re outnumbered, Fletcher. It is time to drop your sword and give up.”
Fletcher’s laugh thundered hard around them, and Killian’s insides coiled with his anger. All this time he had spent plotting against Laird McLennan, but his enemy had been right in front of him.
But why? Why would Fletcher betray me this way?
“Yer brother would still be alive if he listened to me. All I wanted was my own gold mine here in the Highlands. All I wanted was to be independent. He didnae want that. He wanted me to serve him forever. He preferred to have me obey his every command… just like ye.”
Killian’s hold on the hilt of his sword tightened and so did his jaw. He would show no mercy. His last thought as he leaped towards Fletcher was that all of this was finally over.
Killian aimed the sword for the man’s neck but missed his first blow. Laird McLennan and his men joined in the fight against Fletcher and the men loyal to him.
With a loud cry, Killian stuck his blade in Fletcher’s gut when Fletcher lunged at him. The man’s jaw slackened, and his eyes widened as blood sputtered out of his mouth.
As Fletcher dropped to the ground, and coughed out more blood, Killian drew back his sword, touched Fletcher’s shoulder, then lowered his head to whisper to him, “I hope you burn in hell.”
Fletcher’s men fled as Laird McLennan ordered his men to kill them all. All that was left to do now was to put out the fire.
Niamh had Lily in her arms while one of Laird McLennan’s men helped wash her face.
The rest of the hours burned away till the fire licking up the walls became smoke.
Killian and Laird McLennan stood next to each other as they watched the servants and their men put out the fire.
“What kind of laird doesnae ken that his house is divided? How did I nae ken it was Fletcher all this time?”
Laird McLennan patted Killian’s shoulder once and offered him a soft smile. “Ye took care of yer people, regardless. Ye’re a good laird. Ye will get through this.”
Killian returned his smile before he extended a hand to him. “Call me Killian,” he said. “And I apologize for the wrong accusations.”
“Duncan,” Laird McLennan responded, shaking his hand steadily. “Our clans will be allies from now on, and all is forgiven.”
Killian’s smile stayed as he glanced over to where Lily lay in front of the keep, and as he watched her, his heart thumped wildly.
I love her.
Now, all he had to do was say the words to her and hope that she would say yes to spending the rest of her life with him.