Chapter 17
“Land?” A rage like nothing he’d ever felt before swelled through Keegan, and he glared intensely at the man standing before him.
How could I have missed it? Of course.
The world froze into a stillness like ice as Keegan stood before Laird McCallum, who was demanding a piece of Brahanne land yet again. It always returned to the bloody land.
When Melissa had first been taken, when Magnus had fought against his father, and in the skirmishes they engaged in during Keegan’s youth, the bastard had always only wanted one thing—land.
His vision went blurry as the scene around Keegan crystallized into the horrid truth. Magnus did not care for Willow’s return, as she had predicted, and he had undoubtedly been using her arrangement with the MacMillans to obtain a piece of their territory.
It was just about the damned land.
And nae a single thought of his sister’s safety or happiness. Willow has only ever been a tool to get what he wants. She…
Thought and restraint left Keegan in a branding snap of lightning that he felt in his soul. Without so much as another word to the man, the laird unsheathed his sword and swung out at Magnus, looking to cleave the man’s head from his blasted shoulders.
“Ah!” The scream tore through the field as the McCallum tumbled backward.
Crimson flew through the air in a wild arch, flicking off the sharp edge of Keegan’s blade. He’s sliced through the man’s chest, tearing his plaid in two where it draped over his shoulder.
Only a moment later, the furious sounds of battle cries from both his men and the McCallums sound through the open field like the rumble of a great storm. He’d damned this exchange to hell and back, but Keegan couldn’t be bothered to care.
He had two missions now: get his sister back and see Willow to safety.
The eruption of battle was instantaneous and frenzied. Keegan could hear his brother call out from behind him, surging forward with the strength and aggression of a wild bear. Damon was at the laird’s side in less time than it took for Magnus to crawl backward and toward the safety of his men.
Keegan lashed out again, but the covering of a shield appeared between his sword and Magnus’s face. His man-at-arms was quick, and he leaped into action to serve his Laird and keep him from perishing on the field like he should have.
“Ye bastard!” Keegan hollered, smashing his blade down on the man-at-arm’s shield. “Ye were never going to accept the exchange! I ken yer slippery dealings, ye bloody snake!”
Magnus chuckled as one of his men pulled him away, but the pain from his wound still colored his expression.
“Ye and that damned Laird MacMillan,” he spat on the ground, “so verra concerned with honor and family. Ye will both see me men at yer doorstep soon enough.”
Then, archers popped up from their hidden locations on the hill.
Still, Willow had informed Keegan of her brother’s tactics, and his men were ready with shields that they swung around from their backs to protect them.
The arrows hit sturdy wood, leaving most of his men untouched and only a handful slightly wounded.
“How?!” Magnus screamed, but Keegan just smirked.
The volley was quickly over, and his men marched the line forward while several of his fastest warriors wove through the frenzy to seek out the archers directly.
“Ye willnae win so easily, Magnus.”
Rushing forward, Keegan tried to pursue him, but Magnus’s line of men was already reaching this middle distance.
The clash of blades sang around him as both of their warriors came toe-to-toe with each other, and Damon hauled Keegan backward before he could dive through the line in pursuit of Magnus.
“He isnae the concern! Get Melissa!”
It was a moment before Keegan could think past the rage that burned his blood. But Damon was right. They needed to get Melissa home. And they needed to regroup after all this. The laird was quite sure he would not be seeing the last of Magnus.
Chaos suffused the battlefield, and Keegan forced himself to resist the urge to turn and run for Willow.
He couldn’t even look behind him, for if he saw her in danger, Keegan was not sure what he would do.
Instead, he trusted her to the safety of Rodrick while Damon and him fought their way toward Melissa.
Damon was a braw fighter, and Keegan thanked heaven for the way the two of them worked together in battle. They had grown up training as children, and there were few forces they could not outmatch if they were fighting as one.
“There!” His brother called out, and Keegan looked where he pointed to see Melissa struggling against the hold of a McCallum warrior. “Flank!”
Keegan knew precisely what his brother intended and nodded.
Without another word, he fought his way to the backside of the warrior restraining Melissa.
At the same time, Damon circled around to his front.
Several bodies hit the ground as Keegan cut his way through, and when at last they were in position, Damon swung out at the man while Keegan braced his sword at the back of the man’s knees.
He went arse up as he was pushed over the blade, and the metal sliced through the skin of his calves, severing the vital sinew that allowed the man to keep standing.
“Argh!” he screamed, and Damon wasted no time snatching up Melissa and running back to the Brahanne warriors with Keegan.
More of the McCallum men stood in their way, but it wasn’t long before they dispersed, not looking to lose their lives or limbs any more than they had in an attempt to defend Magnus’s excuse for honor.
Keegan pulled Melissa along with Damon as they reached their men and took her to the safety of the carriage positioned at the bottom of the hill, behind where the battle started to die down.
As he passed Rodrick and his closest allies among the clan, Keegan yelled out for them to pull back to the horses for an escape.
“To me! They are done for! We must get the lady back to the castle! Daenae let a single man follow!”
The heartiest of his infantry allowed the others to get to their horses while holding off attacks from Magnus’s men.
They were specially chosen for their ruthless, unyielding battle prowess, and not a single McCallum man made it past Keegan’s elite group of warriors.
The frenzy calmed, and Keegan sat in the carriage with Damon and Melissa, catching his breath.
“Are ye all right? Have they harmed ye? Let me see ye.” Damon turned Melissa’s face this way and that, fretting over her like their mother might.
She waved him off, an exhausted chuckle slipping from her. As Keegan raked his stare over his sister as well, he could see the effects of even the last few moments on her. Melissa’s wavy brown locks were mussed and tangled, her familiar blue eyes drooping with lack of sleep.
“I am well, Brother. Will ye stop fussin' over me like a maither hen? I am unharmed.”
“I willnae ever stop frettin' over ye and ye will simply have to accept that.” Damon eyed Melissa with raised brows, but after a moment, he relaxed.
Damon’s shoulders slumped down for the first time in weeks, and he pulled Melissa into his arms and held her tight. Keegan could see the relief wash over his brother’s face—this piece of his heart returned to him.
“I feared the worst, Melissa. I thank God that ye’re all right.”
She patted him on the shoulder, encouraging him to let her go, which Damon did only after another firm squeeze. “I’ve missed ye as well, ye ox.”
The two of them laughed together, and a thread of joy strung itself through Keegan’s chest at seeing them reunited.
He adored his sister, but those two were the best of friends.
At times, he envied the relationship between them.
Still, he had been set to be Laird since he was born, and it came with his host of responsibilities that could pull him away from his family at times.
“I am verra glad to see ye unharmed, Melissa. We will get ye home and rested at once. I’m sure…I’m sure it was a horrid experience.”
Melissa’s smile persisted even as a flicker of discomfort flashed over her features. She turned to Keegan and went to him for an embrace. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she squeezed him.
“I was confident that ye would get me home again. And…” She hesitated—as if she worried about what she might say but then shook it off. “And I had a surprising ally while I was held within Castle McCallum.”
Damon and Keegan both stiffened and spoke simultaneously. “Oh?”
Melissa nodded. “The Lady Lilith. She was kind to me through the entire ordeal.”
“Me sister. Is she…Please tell me she is unharmed.”
Keegan turned toward the door to the carriage, and there stood Willow, holding open the door. Rodrick was at her back, and as the laird made eye contact with him, the man-at-arms nodded. The field was clear then.
And Magnus had indeed left Willow behind.
“Ye are Willow?” Melissa asked with her brows up, and she pulled Willow up into the carriage. “Aye. Yer sister is well. She was a gift to me in that place. And she spoke of ye often. Ye look so like her, except for the eyes. Yers are—”
“Hazel, where hers are blue. Aye. It was often the only way for the nurses to tell us apart.” Willow released a tired breath, and Keegan could see the sorrow and relief war in her eyes. “Thank ye, Lady Melissa. It is a great joy to hear that she remains safe.”
Melissa squeezed Willow’s hands. “She would say the same to hear of yer health. But then…why are ye still here?”
Keegan stiffened. There it was. Magnus had left Willow behind, and it was on him to determine how to tell the lass the truth. She turned to face him. Her face remained calm, but Keegan watched the bob of her throat as Willow forced herself to swallow.
“He…Yer brother broke the agreement. He demanded a piece of Brahanne land as well.”
Willow studied Keegan’s face, her eyes narrowing. She could tell that that was not the entirety of the situation. And it appeared that their positions were now reversed. He held something back from her, though Willow shook her head, and it was clear that would be a discussion for later.
“And what of the MacMillans? I had expected them to be at the exchange?” Willow asked, and surprisingly it was Melissa who spoke up.
“I heard yer brother and his men mention them on the field. Magnus said somethin' about them being disinclined to provide the bit of land yer brother demanded as payment for retrievin' you and deliverin' such a prize to them.”
Damon scoffed. “I had thought as much. Magnus was going to use the marriage as a way to claim more territory for himself, and the MacMillans caught wise to his plot. Turned him down. He had no use for Willow after that.”
Keegan wanted to smack his brother for the lack of softness. He needed to get them all back to the castle so that he might talk with Willow before her mind jumped to incorrect conclusions.
“We will return to Castle Brahanne to discuss anythin' else. Melissa requires food and rest at once, and I will not put off her care a moment longer.” Keegan called out to Rodrick, who still stood outside the carriage. “Ready the men and driver. We head back now.”
Without another word, Willow was settled onto the seat next to him while Damon and Melissa sat across from them. Keegan stared out the window for the entirety of the journey home, feeling the flames of Willow’s stare burning on the side of his face all the while.