Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Isla was dragged down the hill. Her father held her hand, just like he had done when she was a child.
Then, she trusted him. He used to lead her through the glens and by lochs, teaching her about the world, telling her all kinds of stories.
She had loved him once, but now she couldn’t be certain that it was his true nature.
It might well have been another role he played to fool everyone.
“This must come tae an end. I will kill them all here and then stride intae their Keeps. That fool who calls himself King of Storms will kneel before me when I bring him Coll’s head.
The wolves are naething without their Laird and he is already off the board.
This is the day of my ascension,” he muttered like a crazed man, but there might have been nothing scarier than a crazed man who wielded so much power.
Isla could do nothing to prevent him. Even if she wrenched herself free he would be upon her swiftly. He was taller, stronger, and trained in the art of combat. The best she could hope for was that he gave her an opportunity. If so, she needed to be ready.
They raced through a thick forest and through a river.
The water sloshed around her lower legs and crept into her boots, making her feet squelch.
The eastern side of the Keep loomed before them.
The wall was smooth, and the sounds of fighting poured over the wall.
Isla cringed, sensing that Gavin was inside.
Was he alive?
Would she have to mourn another?
They approached a side door.
“Are ye there?” Laird Sinclair hissed. The door opened.
Isla’s heart lifted for a brief moment when she saw a guard dressed in MacLaren colors, but then he put his fist against his chest and bowed towards her father.
The request for help died in her throat as she realized that this was one of his spies.
Laird Sinclair was ushered in and smirked.
“Is that nae the sweetest sound Isla?” he said, basking in the echo of battlecries. “Let me take my rightful place at the heart of this clan, and soon the remaining lions shall kneel before me, or they shall be slaughtered.”
They marched into the Keep and made their way to the Great Hall. Laird Sinclair smirked as they came to the huge entrance that was carved to look like the jaws of a lion. Isla gulped, waiting for someone to come and challenge them, but nobody did.
Was it really going to be this easy for her father to get everything he wanted?
Where were Gavin and the others? She told herself that she couldn’t think about them now.
As with Iain, she had to put her duty first, and that duty was now stopping her father.
He couldn’t be allowed to rule the Highlands.
It would only be an era of madness. She needed to get his dagger, she needed to…
They entered the Hall, but they were not alone. “Greetings, Da. I hae been waiting for ye.”
To their surprise Kai was sitting on the lion’s high seat.
Laird Sinclair muttered a curse and then quickly yanked Isla in front of him, using her as a shield. He scrambled to the side of the room, the wall to his back, and held a dagger against Isla’s throat. He bared his teeth.
“Get out of my seat,” he rasped.
Kai shook his head. “It is nae yers. Ye burned yer own, remember? Ye shall never hae another.”
“And ye are gaeing tae stop me?”
“I already hae. We hae. Yer army is broken. The Pact remains strong. We did one thing that ye never expected, we worked taegether. We trusted each other. Alastair and Callum are dead. Isla and I disown ye. There is naething left for ye. The war is over. Yield tae the better opponent,” Kai said.
Isla gulped, tense against her father, unwilling to move in case the blade nicked her throat. A bead of sweat popped on her temple and trickled down the side of her face.
“Ye think ye are the better opponent? Ye hae never been close tae my equal even though ye are my blood, Kai. The war is nae over until I say it’s over. And would ye sacrifice Isla’s life? I dinnae think sae.”
He pushed the dagger deeper against Isla’s flesh. Tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t stop a cry of pain from bursting out. Her knees buckled.
“Let me gae and she lives,” Laird Sinclair whispered.
At that point, the doors burst open.
Gavin burst into the room, his blade stained with blood. Aidan and Coll flanked him. Gavin was a picture of rage when he saw Isla being held hostage. He started towards them, but Aidan held him back.
“Let her gae,” Gavin roared.
Laird Sinclair laughed.
“Look at ye, lads playing as men. Ye think ye are fit tae be Lairds? Ye hae nae idea what it takes tae lead a clan. Ye are all fools. Ye think this alliance will last? There hae been others who thought the same as ye and they were all proven wrong. War is the way of the Highlands unless there is one who stands above everyone else.”
“Ye are wrong,” Coll said.
“I am never wrong,” Laird Sinclair said. His breath was warm against Isla’s cheek. “Even if ye did kill me it would only be a matter of time before the strongest of ye wanted tae conquer the others, before ye start disagreeing with each other, before ye hae tae put yer clan above yer friendship.”
“I hae heard enough from ye,” Gavin said, wrenching himself free of Aidan’s grip.
He strode forward, although he still kept some distance between himself and Isla. If Laird Sinclair decided to stab her, there was no way that Gavin would make it to her in time.
“Let her gae and surrender,” he said.
Laird Sinclair twisted the knife. Isla whimpered again. The blade pinching her skin and causing a drop of blood to pour out. It traveled along the blade and then dripped to the floor, another reminder that he was still in control.
“Ye cannae stay there forever, Da. Eventually ye will falter. Even if ye kill Isla, ye willnae make it out of this hall,” Kai said.
“I can guarantee that,” Gavin snarled.
Isla could feel her father’s heart quicken. His breaths became shallow. She turned her head slightly and noticed how his eyes flickered, as though he was calculating things.
“Aye… perhaps ye are right. Sometimes the only victory is in choosing yer own end. I will nae be displayed for ye all tae humiliate me. People will ken the truth, that I was cornered by arrogant upstarts. My spies will continue the fight. My spirit will live on. I shall torment ye from beyond the grave,” he said, and took the blade away from her throat.
Isla noticed his wrist turning towards himself.
As soon as there was a gap between her flesh and his dagger, Isla snapped her neck back. There was a crack as her father’s nose was crushed.
He clutched his face as blood streamed from his nostrils. Isla ran away from him, straight into Gavin’s arms, while Kai, Coll, and Aidan swarmed around Laird Sinclair. He reached out for his dagger, but Kai kicked it away.
“It’s over, Da,” he said.
Laird Sinclair glared up at him, offering a feral stare. He looked at the children he had tried to break, each of them strong in their own right and even stronger when standing together. His shoulders slumped, but he was not out of words.
“Ye think ye will stand tagether. This Pact shall break like the last. It’s only a matter of time,” he rasped.
Aidan, Coll, and Kai gazed at each other uneasily. Kai then gestured towards the high seat.
“I kept it warm for ye,” he said to Aidan.
“What are ye gaeing tae dae with him?” Coll asked, looking at Laird Sinclair with a hateful gaze.
“He’s yer father,” Aidan said, looking towards Kai.
“Aye, but I’m nae the one who hae suffered most at his hand,” Kai replied.
Then, all eyes turned towards Gavin.
He and Isla clung to each other. He wiped the trickle of blood from her neck and also caressed her cheek. She nestled her head against his chest and felt calmed by the steadiness of his heart. She looked up at him and gave him an encouraging smile.
“It should be yer choice. Ye arrived in chains, and he tormented ye for sae long. I trust ye tae make the right decision,” she said, squeezing him.
Gavin turned his gaze towards the fallen fox. Laird Sinclair stared at the ground, unwilling to meet Gavin’s gaze. Gavin slipped away from Isla and approached Laird Sinclair.
“Look at me.” He had to repeat this again before Laird Sinclair lifted his gaze.
“I hae been filled with anger for a long time. I believed that all I wanted was revenge, but it was nae this that set me free. It was love. I dinnae make this decision because it’s what I want, but because it’s best for the Highlands, and because it is just. I ken that ye will never stop for as long as ye live.
Ye hae admitted as much yerself. Sae much blood is on yer hands.
Good people hae died because of ye, and it’s an affront tae them that ye should live.
Sae for all of them I decide that… ye must die,” Gavin said this not with any pride or delight, but with somberness.
The others all bowed their heads as well, although Laird Sinclair looked surprised. But he had finally been cornered and trapped. There was no way out for him.
Aidan motioned to a couple of guards. As he was dragged away, Laird Sinclair poured his last bit of poisonous vehemence, “Ye shall all pay for this. Ye will turn on each other and ye shall destroy yer people by yourselves. Mark my words, ye fools.” His word got lost the longer away he was led from them.
The war was indeed over, and a heavy weight settled upon those in the Great Hall.