“I made my fair share of mistakes.” Slowly, Ness reached up and gripped her wrists. “I was so busy trying to fix the problems when I should have been assuring the people. ’Tis about love, Ava, and I did not realize that until I fell in love with ye.”
Her heart skipped a beat. How long had she been waiting for this moment? He had woken up stronger, and she smiled. She was so proud of him. “I verra much want to hear those words again, but this isna the time.” She didn’t want to leave him, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to make it to Melli. “Ye have to stay here. I will fetch Melli and return.”
“I will be here, my love. I doona want to be a part from ye again.”
Reluctantly, she withdrew from him. Turning, she raced along the shores in hopes that her mare hadn’t wandered off. “Melli!” Calling to it like she would a dog, she feared that it was useless. She hadn’t bonded with the horse. It would probably run from her voice rather than towards it.
When she reached the clearing, she looked up at the bridge. The crowd that had gathered there before had dispersed, and she couldn’t stop herself from scanning the river. “Nicholas, please be alive. Please.”
There was a crunch of leaves behind her, and she whirled around to the patient face of her mare. Her ears twitched, and she looked at Ava in annoyance as if she were wondering what had taken Ava so long.
Wrapping her arms around the horse’s neck, she hugged Melli and gave her a big kiss. “Come. We need to get Ness back to the keep.”
Thankfully, Melli seemed to understand that this was not the time for her to give her any attitude. The horse trotted along behind her, but she didn’t breathe easy until she saw that Ness was still leaning against that tree with his eyes open and searching for her.
“Ye came back.”
“Ye really have to stop saying that,” she chuckled hoarsely. “Ye stop sending me away, and I promise that we willna be apart again. Come. Up in the saddle.”
Ava was thankful to see that he had more vigor and energy as he hoisted himself up in the saddle. Quickly, she scrambled awkwardly behind him. “All right, hero. Time to go save yer clan.”
Despite their wet clothes, warmth radiated between then, and she gripped him tight as he urged Melli to head toward the keep.
She prayed that they were not too late.
Pain throbbed in his chest and his leg, and he was still weak from his dunk in the river, but the thought that Nicholas could be dead and the strength of the incredible woman sitting behind him spurned him forward.
Ava was tense and silent during the ride back to the clan. He wanted to put her at ease, but he wasn’t sure what they would face. He wanted to tell her to stay back, but he knew that she wouldn’t listen. She wasn’t going to leave his side, and he both hated it and loved her for it.
She made a small sound in her throat, and he scanned the area. It didn’t surprise him to see the crowd gathered at the keep as Cormac stood in the rubble. His voice boomed as he spoke and carried. A natural leader. It was a shame that he had such darkness in his heart.
“I fear that we were not able to save Ness, but we must see the silver lining with his demise. I know many of ye were revolting against his power. Although he his part of this clan, he didna have our best interests at heart. With Ness’s death, ’tis my greatest pleasure to announce that I am now yer laird,” Cormac boasted. “And everything that I have promised ye will come to pass. No longer will we rely on our neighbors for sustenance. Once we extricate ourselves from the alliance, an alliance with a clan who is responsible for many Fenton deaths, we will stand strong, and our enemies will fear us. There will be no truce, only the bloodshed of our enemies!”
His roar was met with silence, and Ness smiled softly. When he dismounted and looked up at Ava, she grinned. “Go show them what a real leader does.”
“Not without ye, Ava. Never again.” Holding out his hand, he held his breath, but she took it without hesitation. Guiding her to the back of the crowd, he squeezed his hand. “I believe yer speech is a bit premature, Cormac. Ye have not succeeded in murdering me just yet.”
The crowd turned immediately to him, and Cormac roared in fury and reached for his weapon, but Ness didn’t pay any attention to them. Instead, he focused on the people. “Fentons, I willna lie to ye. I have not been the laird that ye wanted. Many of ye feared that I would be like Errol, and in some respects, I have. For too long, ye have lived without believing that ye had no choice.” Squeezing Ava’s hand, he looked down. “I have recently discovered how important choices are in life. So, if ye want Cormac to lead ye, then I willna stand in his way.”
Cormac laughed. “Only a weak man would give up such power. Ye need strength to lead ye!”
“A strong man doesna need to murder to get to his new position,” a new voice shouted out, and relief swept over Ness when he saw that it was Nicholas imprisoned between four men. “He is Errol’s son. Has he told ye that? He believes, as his father did, that power comes with brute force.”
A gasp rippled through the crowd, and they all backed up from the keep. Ness knew that Cormac had lost them, but that didn’t mean that Ness could keep them. “I realize that I wasna here when ye needed me the most. That I was blind to yer plight. My constant trips to court have afforded us one bright spot. Some of ye have met my wife, Ava. She is the King’s cousin. ’Tis the dowry that he provided that Cormac stole in order to take control of the purse strings. She is more than her dowry, though. She has heart and strength and courage. She is the reason that I can admit my fallacies and beg for yer forgiveness. I focused on the problems that I could see. The crumbling keep. The closed roads. The dead land. These are all important, but so are the people. So are ye, and I will focus on that as well.”
“Cormac says that the Brisbanes are poised to restart the feud. My children are afraid to go out and play,” a woman called out.
Seething inwardly, Ness met Cormac’s stare. “Gair Brisbane is married to the sister of my brother-in-law. He has sent supplies when I asked, and provided warriors when I needed it. He is our ally. The fight of the generations prior to us is not our fight. Ye have no fear from them. I give ye my word.”
“Cormac also says that our alliance is why we are still living in poverty,” another called out.
“Our alliance is the reason that we are still standing.” Gripping Ava’s hand, he slowly made his way through the crowd. “Cormac would have ye living in fear, unable to trust our neighbors, dependent only on him.”
“Just like Errol!” another called out.
“No!” Cormac shouted. Swinging his sword, he dropped down to the ground in front of them, but Ness didn’t even flinch. Immediately, ten men were between them, and not all of them were Ness’s men. “Stand aside! Ye willna take this away from me!”
“Fentons! Are ye with me?” Ness cried out.
“Aye!” Fists rose in their head, and Ness smiled. “Cormac, for the theft of our treasure, for turning people against me with yer false lies, and for attempted murder of me and my men, ye are hereby accused of treason and exiled from Fenton lands.”
Cormac bellowed in rage. “Ness Fenton, ye are a coward! Face me like a warrior!”
“No,” Ava whispered. “Ye are still wounded. Look around ye. The clan believes in ye. Ye doona have to prove anything to them.”
“Ava,” he murmured quietly.
Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “This is exactly what ye were trying to avoid. This is a reflection of the brutality of yer uncle!” People in the crowd shook their heads in agreement.
“Aye, but I willna back down from a challenge. I will give him one chance to withdraw.” Leaning over, he kissed her on her forehead to reassure her. When he stepped back, the group of men protecting him parted, and he walked toward Cormac. “Ye arena trained as a warrior,” he reminded his enemy. “I have shown ye mercy by allowing ye to leave and live out yer life elsewhere. Withdraw yer challenge, Cormac, for if ye go through with this challenge, ye willn
a survive.”
There were rules and traditions when it came to challenges, but as soon as Ness finished talking, he could see that Cormac was not going to adhere to them. He didn’t even had a chance to arm himself before the man’s face contorted with pure ugliness, and he charged with a monstrous cry.
Easily, Ness side-stepped him. Immediately, every armed man pulled out his sword and held it out to Ness. Grabbing one, he easily deflected the next wide blow.
“Ye are angry and untrained,” Ness said calmly. “Every move ye make is exaggerated and obvious. I have no desire to kill ye, Cormac. It does not have to be this way. We can be better than that.” He’d already shed enough blood earlier. He didn’t want to think about the bodies that he left on the bridge.
“Weak! Foolish! Undeserving of my father’s clan!” With every word, Cormac struck out with his sword, and Ness met every blow. Pain burned through his body, but he made no move to kill Cormac and end the battle. With every fiber of his being, he wanted to end things peacefully.
Finally, Cormac stopped and stared at him in anger and exhaustion. “Why do ye not kill me?”
“Withdraw the challenge.” Ness buried the blade of his sword in the ground and offered his hand. “WIthdraw the challenge and accept my mercy.”
Deep down, he knew that Cormac would never surrender, but it was the sliver of hope that forced him to wake every morning and face a clan who distrusted him. Still, it didn’t surprise him when Cormac moved without warning and rushed him with the sword outstretched. Grabbed the hilt of his own weapon, Ness deflected Cormac’s sword and kicked Cormac’s feet from under him. Flipping the blade around, Ness buried it in Cormac.
“I am sorry,” he murmured. “I wish that ye believed in another way.”
The crowd was silent as Ness looked up at them. “I trust that this is the last challenge that I must endure. I believe that we have peace in our future, but I will defend my right to lead this clan, but I doona ask ye to be my followers but to be my family, for that is how we will overcome our past.”
Through the crowd, he could see Ava’s smile of pride as tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Laird,” someone called uncertainly from the crowd. It was the young man who had stabbed him in the leg. “What will happen to the men who followed Cormac? I beg forgiveness for my acts.”
Ness looked him in the eyes. The logical thing was to hang him.
I am not my uncle.
“I will not shed any more blood. Will you help me rebuild our home?”
The man smiled in relief. “I will lead ye to the money!”
“All who followed him are forgiven so long as ye doona act against the best interest of the clan again.” Ness nodded at the man. “Take some of my guards. They will retrieve the dowry. Return quickly and get some sleep because I declare tomorrow a day of celebration for the future before us!”
There was a cheer in the crowd. Even those who doubted him could now see clearly that he was a worthy leader. And not a bloodthirsty warrior looking for power over them. He cared for them. Even though Ness reveled in the moment, he did not need forgiveness and acceptance only from his clan. Making his way back to Ava, he pulled her in his arms and kissed her as the victory sounds turned to teasing, but Ness ignored them.
“Come home with me?” he whispered as he pulled back and studied her. There was still pain in her expression, and he knew that now that the danger had passed, she would feel the sorrow of his sending her away. Wordlessly, she nodded.
Grasping her hand, he squeezed it and led her back to their cottage. As soon as their bedroom door was closed, she placed her hand on the wound across his chest. “Ye arena bleeding any longer, but I think we should see yer healer.”
“Ava.”
“At the verra least, we need to clean the wound. I read a theory in one of my parents books that dirt might be the cause of infections in some wounds.”
“Ava.”
Her eyes pricked with tears. “Ye nearly died.”
“And now ye know how I feel.” Grasping her wrists, he brought her hands up to kiss them. “In that water, all I could think about was that I was never going to have to have the chance to tell ye that I love ye. I thought I was dreaming when ye pulled me out. Ye may think that I am a hero, but ye, Ava, ye are my life. I will not send ye away again, I swear.”
“Even if ye did, I wouldna go. I love ye, Ness. My place is by yer side, and if that means that I must step more carefully and consider things more fully, then I will do that.”
“I doona want ye to change, Ava. I need ye, and so do my people. We will all look after each other. We will be stronger for it.” Pulling her into his arms, he held her and knew that with her by his side, he could look forward to the days ahead.
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Chapter 1
The bagpipes cut through the otherwise somber atmosphere beneath the gray skies as the long line of men, members from five different clans, marched down the last leg of the journey and pooled by the graveside of one Quinn MacFarlane. As he led the procession, Lachlan MacFarlane’s boots sank into the ground that was still soggy from yesterday’s rains. Beyond the expansive graveyard, the view was breathtaking and even in his dark mood, Lachlan took a moment to appreciate it. From the plateau, he could see the land of three different clans, two of which were responsible for the death of his beloved cousin. A light fog clung to the acres of woods, farmlands, and villages and only his keep, a large and proud stone castle that he was proud to call home, rose up and stood against the weather.
For the first time in years, the Fentons and the Brisbanes stood side-by-side without causing bloodshed. Once, they and the MacFarlanes were a feared alliance, but now Lachlan knew that at least one of those clans was responsible for the arrow that had ended Quinn’s life. He just wasn’t sure where to put the blame.
After months of playing peacekeeper to the violent feud, enough was enough. This morning, they would mourn and this evening, Lachlan would make his decision known. Either the fighting ended or he would take steps to strip Errol Fenton and Gair Brisbane from power.
Even now, he could feel the hatred simmering at his back, but he didn’t bother to turn around. The two feuding lairds were honor bound to attend the funeral, even though one of them was responsible for the murder. They were surrounded by two other clans, the Cunninghams and the Donahues, who were also members of an alliance. Anyone who dared to start a battle today would swiftly meet their end. The peace would continue today and for another two days in honor of Quinn and Lachlan would make sure that it didn’t start back up again.
Father Shaw waited until the bagpipes quieted before he launched into the funeral rites. When he paused, the clan’s seanchaidh, or historian, stepped forward.
“Quinn MacFarlane, son of Eanrulg, grandson of Hume, great-grandson of Camhlaidh, and kin to Lachlan, Calder, Balfur, and Elig MacFarlane. A direct descendent of our clan’s beginnings and a warrior and hunter who brought down the great wolf that took the lives of three of our children. Quinn also fought in the bloodied battle to keep our beloved safe and saved the life of our noble Laird.”
There were murmurs in the crowd as the historian continued to list Quinn’s many feats, but Lachlan was distracted by the reminder that Quinn had indeed saved his life when Lachlan had foolishly slipped away and joined the battle against invaders trying to take control of the Highlands. Five years younger than his cousin, Lachlan had always privately thought that his father should have chosen Quinn to inherit the lairdship, but Qui
nn had never seemed interested. He had a wilder side that enjoyed the hunt and the fighting. Too often, he told Lachlan that he would not be tamed as laird.
The low hum behind him turned to an outright chuckle and Lachlan could only assume that the seanchaidh was now going over Quinn’s additional conquests—the women who fell happily enough into his bed although none had stayed long enough to become his wife.
Finally, Father Shaw took back over and Lachlan’s throat tightened when it was over. As a cold fury snapped inside of him, he turned and led the procession back through the villages toward the impressive MacFarlane keep. For three days, the castle would host the neighboring clans and their families during the funeral celebrations while the other visitors who stayed would scatter among the land. Many brought food with them, so Lachlan was not worried about feeding them and those that couldn’t find housing would bed in the stables or erect encampments in the fields. It would be chaos, although, privately, Lachlan knew that Quinn would have adored it.
The women of the village and the female visitors lined the path to the keep, all of them nodding in reverence to the brilliant man they’d lost today. Maggie, his mother, and Freya, his sister, stood closest to the castle. Freya especially held grief in her eyes. She and Quinn had been particularly close and she was taking his death hard. She had wept since the moment they’d learned of his death, but she’d pulled herself together today and nodded at her brother with trembling lips. Next to her stood Kenzy, the sister of one of his warriors. For the past several months, he’d felt the pressure to marry and produce an heir. Kenzy was the most logical choice although he barely knew the woman. At least now, he could put the decision off. Traditionally speaking, he wouldn’t expect to marry during the three-month mourning period of his cousin.
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