Chapter Twenty-One #2
Her cry split the chaos. His heart stopped at the sight of Destiny being torn from the arms of those she had defended.
“Destiny!” His roar shook the courtyard as he cut his way towards her, every strike of his sword clearing a path. The horn of retreat sounded from the Mackenzie lines, and the attackers pulled back, dragging Destiny with them through the shattered gates.
And then he saw him.
Her father.
Alexander Gunn sat tall on his horse just beyond the smoking wreckage, his plaid streaked with soot, triumph gleaming coldly in his eyes.
Destiny was dragged through the mud towards him, fighting every hand that held her, until she was thrust before his mount.
Her father swung down from his saddle with surprising speed, boots splashing in the muck as he closed the distance.
He seized her arm, yanking her upright, and with the other hand, he levelled a blade beneath her chin, its edge catching the early morning light.
“Cameron Munro,” Gunn’s voice cut across the battlefield like a war-horn. “Yield, or she dies here and now.”
The fighting paused. The clash of steel died in mid-air. Men stalled where they stood, turning beyond the shattered gates where Alexander held Destiny captive.
At the centre of the courtyard, Cameron froze, his chest heaving. His gaze locked with Destiny’s.
Her eyes, bright, fierce, unbroken, met his. She shook her head once, sharply.
Do not yield.
Cameron’s hand clenched around his sword hilt, rage and terror coiling inside him.
Alexander’s voice rose again. “You can end this by returning the Mackenzie you hold. Do it, and I will release your wife unharmed.”
Cameron stepped forward, his muscles taut. When he spoke, his voice carried clear and steady across the devastation.
“You are a fool, Gunn. The prisoner is gone. He left Foulis three days ago, under escort to the king. And you were told this. Both your clan and the Mackenzies received my message.”
A ripple of shock rolled through the Mackenzie ranks. Voices rose, confused, angry. Destiny saw her father’s eyes flare with fury at the truth laid bare.
“Gone?” Alexander spat. “You expect me to believe you would defy me?”
Cameron’s jaw hardened. “I chose to obey the Crown. Not the madness of clans who cling to vengeance.”
Gunn’s expression twisted. He gripped Destiny’s chin, forcing her to look at him, his fingers bruising her skin. “Then you’ve left me no choice. If you cannot give me the prisoner, I will take what you value most.”
The blade pressed harder against her throat, drawing a thin line of red.
“Father, nay,” Terror and fury surged through Destiny’s words. “This is madness.”
But Alexander Gunn did not yield. His gaze stayed fixed on Cameron, wild and unrelenting, as though Destiny were nothing more than a bargaining chip he was willing to shatter.
Cameron’s vision tunnelled, blood roaring in his ears. He could not give Gunn what he demanded. The prisoner was already with the king, beyond reach, protected by royal authority. To yield now meant betraying his clan, unravelling every sacrifice made to send the prisoner safely away.
Yet Destiny stood with steel at her throat.
Every heartbeat dragged him closer to an impossible choice.
The Mackenzies roared their challenge, drums pounding like thunder. Cameron’s men looked to him, waiting, expecting, desperate. Mothers clutched children in the burgeoning light. Warriors on the wall stood frozen in grim expectation.
“Yield!” Gunn bellowed. “Return the prisoner you claim is gone or watch your wife bleed into the mud.”
Cameron’s chest heaved. “I told you. He is gone. He is safely in the king’s protection. You cannot retrieve him.”
A howl of outrage tore from the Mackenzies.
Gunn’s fury ignited like oil on flame. “Then I’ll take what remains to me.” He jerked Destiny to her feet. “Bind her hands. We leave now.”
“Nay,” Destiny kicked and twisted, her voice rising in fierce defiance. “Hold, Foulis.”
Her cry sliced into Cameron like a blade. She was dragged towards the waiting horses, towards captivity, towards darkness, and he could only watch, his heart tearing in two.
Every instinct screamed at him to charge, to cut through the Mackenzies and haul her back into his arms. His men watched him, hands white-knuckled on their weapons.
But Cameron saw the trap. Saw the archers nock their arrows. Saw the outnumbered Munros. Saw the walls that would fall if he made the wrong move.
One order could destroy them all.
His throat felt carved from stone as he shouted across the field, “If you harm her, Gunn, the Munros will not be your only enemy. You will answer to the king himself for the bloodshed, for this treachery.”
Alexander only laughed, a cruel, hollow sound. “The king? He sits in comfort far from here. I care nothing for his judgement. I’ll kill his messenger if I must, and I’ll kill my daughter if it serves me.”
“Father, please,” Destiny’s voice cracked, filled with half fury, half anguish. “I am your daughter—”
“You are mine to use as I see fit,” he snarled, dragging her up onto his horse before him.
Cameron surged forward, but his men threw out their arms to stop him as Mackenzie archers drew their bows in unison. One more step and they would cut him down where he stood.
His heart pounded, torn between clan and wife.
Silence fell again, heavy, suffocating, as everyone waited for their laird to choose.
Gavan appeared at Cameron’s side, gripping his arm hard. “Let her go. We will find another way, Cameron, one that does not doom us all.”
Cameron’s grip on his sword tightened until the leather creaked.
And for the first time in his life, Cameron Munro faltered.
Beyond the walls, the Mackenzies jeered, their drums rolling like storm thunder as Destiny’s captors turned their horses north. Her gaze found Cameron’s, blazing, unbroken, even as she was wrenched away.
“Do not yield,” she cried one last time. “Trust me, Cameron.”
And then she disappeared into the morning, swallowed by the enemy’s lines, leaving Cameron standing on the ruined field with nothing but the echo of her voice and the crushing weight of the choice he had not been allowed to make.