Chapter 16 #2
Her heart fired by an inner strength and peace she didn’t understand, she pulled back from the wall.
“I have a plan,” she announced to the men. “Lochlan, I need a favor.”
“It appears your wife has abandoned you already,” Henry said as he rode beside Sin.
Sin refused to let Henry know how much those words hurt him. He would never admit to anyone, not even himself, that what he had really wanted was for her to stop him.
Right until the moment the castle had faded from his sight, a part of him had longed to hear Callie cry out that she loved him too much to see him die. That she would do anything to see him safe.
It was a fool’s dream and well he knew it.
“She does what she must to protect her people, much like someone else I know.”
Henry snorted. “We never thought we’d see you self-sacrificing for a putrid Scot. Nor bearing their mark. Tell us, Sin, what brought about this change in you?”
Sin didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
What had brought about this change? The gentle smile of a winsome maid who had reached deep inside his dead heart and restarted it.
Closing his eyes, he summoned an image of her face and held it dear.
What he did, he did for her. Now, she would be able to have the peace that meant so much to her. Dermot would never again dare to raise MacNeely arms against England and Callie would have her people safe and whole.
There would be no more bloodshed.
Henry let out a slow breath and when he spoke, it was without the cold formality of a king. “Sin, don’t make me do this. You are the only man I truly don’t want to kill. Give me something to save your life.”
“I can’t do it, Henry.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Won’t.”
“Damn you!”
Sin laughed at that and repeated the king’s words back to him. “If I am damned, it is surely for more than this small matter.”
Henry’s jaw flexed. “Very well. We shall take you back to London where we will make quite an example of you. Our only hope is that when your innards are being scraped from inside you while you’re still alive to feel it, you will still think this sacrifice a noble one.”
Henry kicked his horse forward and left Sin alone with his thoughts.
They rode through the day, only breaking for a small repast at noon. As expected, no one bothered to offer food to Sin. There was no need to waste supplies on a dead man.
Ostracized by all, he was left alone until they made their camp that evening.
Sin spent the night lying on the cold ground out in the open, chained to a log. He should be cold and uncomfortable, but thoughts of his wife stayed in his heart.
He’d always assumed he would die in battle. Felled by an enemy sword or arrow. He’d never dared to dream that it would be love that killed him.
While he’d only known love for such a short time,it hardly seemed right it would be the death of him and yet he could think of no better ending.
He couldn’t stand by and let Callie’s brother be taken and killed, nor could he have killed Dermot himself.
His days as an assassin were over. He’d left that part of himself in England and his heart he had left with his wife.
Now there was nothing left of him. He was an empty shell that existed only to remember Callie’s gentle face.
Closing his eyes, he took comfort in the knowledge that though he wouldn’t live out his life with Callie, at least he’d been fortunate enough to have her for a small span of time.
Dying was inevitable, but until the day she had turned that breathtaking smile on him, he had never really lived.
In the morning, Henry gathered up his troops and they began the long march that would take them home.
With every league they passed, Sin felt the distance from his wife profoundly in his heart.
How he wished they could have had one more day together.
One more night where he might hold her close and love her.
Why had he fought against her? It seemed so foolish now and if he could only have the time back, he would spend it in her arms, holding her close and loving her with the whole of his body. His heart.
Aye, to feel her lips one more time...
A strange sound from the woods alerted them.
“What was that?” one of the guards asked.
It had sounded like some sort of hoarse bird. Sin looked up to see a movement in the trees. Knights made ready as the royal guard encircled Henry.
From the foliage, they heard the sound of a single horse approaching. The air around him was rife with tension as the knights prepared themselves for battle.
The horse drew closer.
Closer.
Then, from the dense green forest before them emerged a large black stallion and a rider who wore ill-fitting black armor that was covered by a solid black surcoat.
But what caught his attention most was the banner the rider bore that flapped in the breeze.
It was the same dark green color found in the plaids his brothers wore and in the center was an oak trunk with a heart and four swords piercing and uniting the two with the words Strength in Fortitude embroidered across it.
It was a banner he’d not seen since his childhood, only then it had borne four gold swords. One for Braden, Kieran, Lochlan and Ewan. Now the second born sword was done in black, representing Kieran’s death.
His heart pounded at the sight and in an instant he knew the small-framed form on the back of his horse.
It was Caledonia—the pride of her people—wearing his armor and brandishing The MacAllister’s banner.
She reined to a stop just outside the small copse of trees and removed her ill-fitting helm. Tucking it under her arm, she leveled a scowl on Henry that would have made any shrew proud.
“Greetings,” she said proudly in an exact duplication of Sin’s words when he had gone out to meet his king, “Henry Plantagenet, King of England. I am Caledonia, wife of Sin MacAllister, leader of the MacNeelys, and I have come to reclaim my husband from your custody.”
The knights laughed at her. But Sin didn’t. His love for her washed over him and if he could, he would run to her and show her just how much he did love her at this moment.
Callie arched a queenly brow as Henry, too, laughed. “What is the meaning of this?” the king asked.
The tendrils of her coppery hair rustled with the breeze. “The meaning of this? It’s actually simple. Either you release my husband to me, or none of you will make it back to England intact.”
Henry scoffed arrogantly at her threat. “And what can a simple girl do?”
Callie smiled coldly. “I was told by my father of St. Mary of Aragon who single-handedly brought down an entire Saracen army with nothing more than her faith in God. He also spoke of an ancient Celtic queen named Boudica who brought Rome to her knees and burned London to the ground. He oft said that a woman was far more deadly as an enemy than a man, because men lead with their heads and women with their hearts. You can argue and win against another’s head, but never with their heart. ”
Henry feigned a yawn as if her words bored him. “We’ve no time for this, woman. Now, leave us.”
“Perhaps I am not making my position clear.” She gave a sharp whistle. The very forest around them came alive as man after man moved to stand in a circle around them.
A smile broke across Sin’s face as he recognized the men.
There had to be seven score Highlanders of both the MacNeely and the MacAllister clans who stood ready to defend him.
Never in his life had he hoped to see one man stand by him. Let alone an entire army of them.
He smiled as he saw his brothers standing with Dermot to the left of Callie.
A youth of ten-and-five ran to Callie who handed him her banner. “As you can see, you are quite outnumbered. If you don’t release my husband, then you will leave me no choice save to make your eldest son a very happy man this evening when he learns he is now king in your stead.”
Henry’s face went red in anger as he blustered at her audacity. It wasn’t often anyone got the better of him and Sin knew no woman had ever flummoxed him before. Not even Eleanor.
“You are willing to declare war for him?” Henry asked indignantly.
She didn’t hesitate with her response. “I am. Are you?”
Sin closed his eyes as he heard the most precious words of his life. She who believed in nothing but peace was willing to fight for him. He could die happily knowing that.
Still, he couldn’t let her do this. Henry would not rest until he buried her and her clan. A king’s reputation was all he had and if Henry lost face...
“Callie,” Sin said, waiting until her gaze met his. “Thank you, but you can’t do this. You can’t start a war over me. I’m not worth the cost.”
“You are worth everything to me.”
He couldn’t breathe as he heard those precious words. Dear saints, how he wanted to hold her and kiss those ripe lips that tasted of heaven. “For those feelings you hold, I thank God. But you must think through this. Look at the faces around you. They are your family.”
“As are you.”
Sin turned to see Fraser standing with his sword ready a few feet away from him. When the man spoke, Sin was stunned by his words. “You are a MacNeely and no one takes one of us without taking us all.”
“Aye!” the roar of the clan was deafening.
“And you’re a MacAllister,” Lochlan added. “Born, bred and raised.”
Tears welled in Sin’s eyes. He’d never expected anything like this. Never.
“We will not be held hostage,” Henry roared, then called for his men to stand ready.
The tenseness of the moment stretched out.
All of a sudden, Ewan shoved Dermot forward.
The boy stumbled, then regained his feet. He glared at Ewan who was looking about innocently as if trying to find whoever had pushed him.
Straightening his clothes, Dermot walked slowly toward Henry.
“Dermot,” Callie shouted, “get back here.”
“Nay, sister,” he said without looking back. He kept his gaze locked on Henry as if afraid to look anywhere else lest he lose his courage. “‘Tis time I quit hiding behind others and took responsibility for myself.”