Feet braced against the shudders rumbling through the ship, Rónán damned the lack of wind, which would have allowed them to evade the attack. He faced the crew as they lined up against the rail, weapons drawn. “Dinna allow the bastards to lash theirship to ours.”
Even as he said it, the enemy swung onto the deck of theAodh, thick lines ofrope in hand.
Lord Sionn lunged forward and drove his sword into an attacker’s chest.
The man stumbled back; the noble shoved him over the side, then whirled to face the next aggressor.
Paces away, Lathir slew a warrior trying to tie a line onto their cog.
Rónán slashed an attacker, turned toward the next.
Amidst the clash of blades, several warriors managed to secure the English ship alongside theAodh.
The vessels scraped as a swell rolled beneath. Rónán kept his balance while he defended against another invader.
“Attack!” the English ship’s captain boomed.
Enemy forces poured onto their deck. Shouts, the roar of men, and screams of painfilled the air.
Rónán cursed the sheer number of fighters boarding their vessel, more so the number continuing to surge from the English ship’s hold. God’s truth, ’twas far from a simple cog designed to keep watch of the coast, but as his sovereign had warned, a warship assigned to halt Lord Sionn from aiding the Bruce.
He glanced at Lathir.
Determination narrowing her eyes, she wielded her blade against an opponent. Their weapons scraped free. As her foe raised his sword, she drove hersgian dubhinto his heart. On a gasp, he crumbled. Appreciation filled Rónán as she secured her dagger, spun to meet thenext aggressor.
“Fire at the bow!” one of their crew yelled.
“Another fire at the stern,” Lord Sionn roared as he slashed his sword across his enemy’s neck, then swung at the next invader.
After disposing of the next attacker, Rónán caught a blur of flames climbing up the wooden mast and engulfing the sail. A cool gust hurled across the deck, fanning the flames of the fires spreading across the deck. God’s truth, the bastards were casting torchesonto theAodh!
The tang of the sea melded with blood as another swell rolled beneath theAodh. Rónán glanced around. Though the English had suffered significant losses, the Irish noble’s men lay scattered across the deck, but ahandful alive.
“Father!”Lathir shouted.
At the panic in her voice, Rónán turned. Two Englishmen were dragging Lord Sionn toward their ship. Rónán drove his blade into his attacker, then jerked his weapon free. He kicked away the next charging warrior, and hacked through the melee toward the noble.
Lord Sionn’s gaze met Rónán’s as a third guard pulled his struggling form onto the enemy ship’s deck. “Protect Lathir!” he roared.
The crush of enemy men blocked Rónán’s view of the noble. Blast it, there were too many Englishmen between him and the earl. He glanced toward Lathir. Her teeth were clenched, and both fear and determination glittered in her eyes as she backed away from the four Englishmen trying tosurround her.
Terror surging through Rónán, he lunged toward her, slaying two of the guards by the time he’d reached her. “Place your backagainst mine.”
She coughed in the smoke. “My father!”
“We will rescue him.” How they would do that was another matter. That the enemy hadn’t killed the noble outright offered a thread of hope that they intended to hold him for ransom. Nor at the moment was that their greatest concern.
“Seize the earl’s daughter,” an Englishman yelled.
As the man reached for her, another swell rolled beneath the cog. TheAodhlisted. Stumbling back, the assailant caught the rail.
Smoke billowing around them, Rónán grabbed the side of a partially burned small boat secured near the bow. He caught Lathir’s hand, tugged her against him as she started to slide past him. “Hold on to me!”
“’Tis sinking; return to the ship and sever ties!” the captain yelled. “We set sail for Ireland!”
A warrior still gripping the rail called back, “What of the earl’s daughter?”
“We have the earl,” their leader replied, “she isna important. Hurry!”
