Chapter 17 Future’s Truth
Future’s Truth
The murmur of high, anxious voices escaped from the meeting room. Una’s heart thudded in her chest. Behind her, Struan shuffled along, ankles chained together, flanked by Grahame guards.
Then Una heard her brother’s voice, and her chest tightened. She broke into a run, bursting into the meeting room. They all looked up at her.
The all included Freya, Kyla, Astrid and Kai. He was grimy and sweaty, hair plastered to his head. He breathed heavily, as if he’d been running, and tension was written all over his face. Still, he managed a weak smile when he saw his sister.
“Hello, lassie,” he croaked.
Una swallowed, unable to summon an answering smile. “What’s going on? Has the convent fallen?”
Kai shook his head. “Nay, quite the opposite. When we reached the place, Brendan was out scouring the countryside. It was clear that the Dickson soldiers had intel, and they have pulled back without warning.”
The hairs on the back of Una’s neck prickled. “Pulled back? Why? Are they retreating?”
He gave a harsh laugh. “I wish. Nay, we believe they are coming here. I rode cross-country to get here with the message—we trusted nobody else to take it.”
Una let out a ragged sigh, leaning forward to rest her palms on the table.
“Is Keep Grahame equipped for such a fight? For a siege, even?” she asked heavily.
Freya shook her head wordlessly. “The army went with Brendan.”
“They are returning,” Kai added, his voice cracking, “but night is falling, and the army will travel much slower than I can. They will not arrive till dawn, and perhaps not even then.”
Dawn. Outside, night was only just falling, the lavender twilight gathering up in the corners and spreading across the floors. The sky was a dark purplish color. It was cloudy, so there’d be no stars or moonlight to light the way.
“And when will the Dickson army get here?” Kyla asked, her voice trembling.
“Hard to say. They had left before I did. As I said, a single rider travels faster than an army, but they cannot be far behind,” Kai answered grimly.
“Perhaps my father is looking for me. If I were to hand myself over to him…” Kyla began, but Freya rounded on her furiously.
“Don’t say such things!” she snapped. “Kyla, if anything, ye should be fleeing the Keep to protect yerself and yer babe. There’ll be no talk of handing ye over.”
Kai’s gaze slid past them all to where Struan stood, silently, by the doorway.
“What of him?” he asked bluntly. “Do we hand him over?”
Una turned to face Struan, staring thoughtfully up at his face. His expression was grim, and he stayed silent.
He doesn’t know whether his father is coming to rescue him or punish him, she realized with a jolt. And perhaps he doesn’t care anymore.
Turning back to the others, she cleared her throat.
“We should see what Struan has to say about this.”
Eyebrows were raised. Freya looked bewildered. Kai scowled, folding his arms across his chest. Kyla, however, broke into a smile.
“Aye,” she said, sounding almost relieved. “Struan, tell us what ye think.”
He glanced around at them all, locking eyes with everybody in turn. He saved Kyla and Una for last. When his eyes met his sister’s, something flickered in them.
“I was pleased to hear yer news, sister,” he murmured softly. “Meal do naidheachd. Ye will make a fine mother.”
A flush spread over Kyla’s face. She nodded, lifting her chin, and met her brother’s eye.
“I hope my child can meet their uncle,” she answered steadfastly.
He gave a wry smile. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, eh?
Now, I can tell ye information about my father’s army.
I know how it operates. I know which man will be leading it.
That would be Keir, my father’s second-in-command.
He’s ruthless and vicious, and he’s longed to usurp me for as long as I can remember.
He’s dangerous, and he will be using this attack to prove himself.
But I know him, and I know how to take him down.
I’ll share this information with ye, along with a plan.
What’s more, I’ll fight for ye. Alongside ye, against my own father and clan.
If that doesn’t convince ye that I’m on yer side, nothing will. ”
“That’s good,” Kai ventured suspiciously. “And what will ye want in exchange for all this?”
“We can start by having these chains removed from my ankles,” Struan responded sharply.
Kai clenched his jaw, a muscle jumping in his cheek. He glanced at Freya, who bit her lip hard and made a blunt gesture to the soldiers. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the soldiers obeyed, stepping forward and unchaining Struan.
When he was unchained, Struan allowed himself a brief, flickering smile, stretching out first one leg, then another. Silence fell over the room, and Una found herself wondering whether Struan would make a mad dash for the door.
Nay, she realized with something like surprise. He’s not going to do that. He’s just… just not.
She couldn’t have said how she knew that he was going to stay with them.
Perhaps it was what the Abbess had said.
Perhaps it was Una’s own experiences. Perhaps it was because of what she’d seen in Struan’s eyes when he stood in his cell, telling her that he was only an animal in a cage and couldn’t be anything more.
He is something more. Or at least, he will be.
“After this battle,” Struan said slowly, glancing around the room, “my father will want my head. Believe me, once I stand up against him on the battlefield, there’ll be no forgiveness for me.
Ye may consider me yer enemy if ye like, but understand that I will be his enemy, too.
So, after this battle—assuming that we all survive—I want my freedom.
I want to leave this place, to make my way in the world as best as I can. ”
Kai glanced first at Freya, then at Una.
“I should not make this decision alone,” he said heavily. “The other lairds and ladies should be here. But there’s only me, and it’s fair to say that there’s no time to waste. I agree. Ye can run after the battle, for all the good it will do ye.”
Struan gave a tight smile. “There’s more.”
“Let’s hear it. Ye want supplies? Somewhere to live?”
Struan shook his head. His cool gaze raked through the room once more and landed squarely on Una. His eyes did not flicker.
“I want to take her with me.”
There was a brief silence as the implications rushed around the room. Kyla gave a squeak of alarm, while Freya, face impassive, reached for a knife at her belt.
Kai brought his fist down on the table, hard enough to make it rattle.
“How dare ye!” he hissed. “Ye cannot take my sister. Ye would take her straight to yer father.”
“What, the man who’ll want my head by the time he hears about what I’ve done? Nay, I think not.” Struan gave a short, mirthless chuckle, never once taking his eyes off Una.
The hair at the back of her neck prickled, and a shiver rolled down her spine.
“I’ll do it,” she heard herself say, voice cracking. “I’ll go with him.”
Kyla gave a soft, muffled gasp, pressing her hand against her face. Kai made as if to speak, but Una held up a hand to forestall him.
“I’ve decided,” she answered softly, meeting her brother’s eye. “Struan Dickson, in the unlikely event we all live to dawn, I’ll go with ye.”
Something flickered in Struan’s face. What was it? Relief? Hope?
It didn’t matter. Nodding brusquely, he stepped forward, snatching up a map of the Keep and surrounding grounds and unrolling it.
“Let’s get to work, then,” he said, his voice sharp and businesslike. “First things first. I want a sword.”