Ian will find me.
And until that moment came, she would continue fighting with every breath she had left.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Ian crouched low behind a rocky outcrop, his sharp gaze sweeping across the raider camp below. Fires flickered in the darkness, throwing restless shadows over rough tents and scattered crates. Armed men moved about the clearing, some drinking, others sharpening blades, while horses stood tethered along the tree line. The sight of them alone filled him with cold fury.
Then his gaze shifted toward the center of the camp. There, beside the largest fire, sat Arianna.
She was bound to a rough log, her wrists tied and her cloak hanging loosely about her shoulders. Even from the ridge above, Ian could see the proud lift of her chin and the straight line of her spine. She looked tired, perhaps bruised, but unmistakably alive.
A breath he had not realized he was holding escaped his chest.
She is alive.
Relief surged through him like a sudden storm, yet it was quickly drowned beneath a rising tide of rage. The sight of ropes around her wrists made his blood burn hot in his veins. These men had dared to lay hands upon her.
They had dared to threaten what was his to protect. Ian’s fingers tightened slowly around the hilt of his sword.
Beside him, Flynn studied the camp in silence before glancing toward him. “There are many of them,” Flynn murmured quietly.
Ian’s voice came low and steady. “We take her back… now.”
Flynn nodded once. Behind them, armed warriors waited in tense silence, their eyes fixed on the camp below. Ian rose slowly from his crouch and turned to face them.
“We will strike hard and swift,” Ian said.
The men leaned closer as he spoke. He pointed toward the far edge of the camp where the trees grew thick and dark.
“Ye four, circle around the east side,” he ordered. “Cut off their escape toward the river.”
The warriors nodded. Ian then gestured toward the cluster of tents near the center of the clearing.
“Seven of ye will charge the camp directly when the signal is given.”
One of the younger guards shifted uneasily. “That leaves only a handful with ye, me Laird.”
Ian’s gaze hardened. “That is all I require.”
He turned slightly and looked back down toward Arianna once more.
“Flynn and I will go directly for Lady McGuire, cutting down anyone who stands in our way.”
Flynn studied the camp again, his brow furrowed. “They have good numbers,” he said quietly. “They have somethin' that belongs to the clan,” he replied calmly. “And it wouldnae matter if they had a thousand among them. We go in hard. Brutal. Nay mercy.”
Several of the men exchanged grim smiles at those words.
One of the older guards cleared his throat cautiously. “And if they threaten the lady?” he asked.
Ian slowly turned toward him. The quiet fury in his eyes sent a ripple of unease through the gathered warriors.
“Then we kill every last one of them,” Ian said softly.
No one questioned him again. The men began quietly checking their weapons while Flynn moved closer beside Ian. The two of them studied the camp one final time. Below them, the raiders continued their drunken laughter, unaware of the storm preparing to descend upon them.
Ian’s gaze drifted once more toward Arianna. Even bound beside the fire, she carried herself with remarkable strength. She had not slumped in defeat nor bowed her head in fear. Instead, she sat upright, her shoulders squared as if she still held command of the very ground beneath her.
A fierce pride stirred within Ian’s chest.
