Chapter 1
Scotland, 1299
The rumble of hooves filled the air as the contingent of knights closed.
Lady Marie Alesia Serouge ran faster. Dropping to her knees, she shoved aside the tangle of brush and started to scramble beneath. Stilled.
Fragments of moonlight exposed the outline of a large, muscular male form.
The man turned. His face, savaged by shadows, focused on her. Even in the feeble light, his gaze burned into hers with ferocious intent.
Twigs caught in her hair as she jerked back. Her breath coming fast, she dared a glance toward the advancing riders before facing the lone warrior. She couldn’t leave cover, nor could she place herself in new danger.
The thrum of hoofbeats grew.
With a prayer, and careful to keep her distance, she pushed her way beneath the brush.
The knights thundered past, their mounts’ hooves casting dust, leaves, and sticks in their wake.
Through the branches, the stranger’s gaze remained riveted upon her.
Pulse racing, she edged back.
The stranger lunged toward her. With a groan, he crumpled to the ground.
Marie hesitated.
Another soft moan echoed into the night.
He was hurt! On edge, she scanned the darkened woods where theriders had disappeared over the horizon. Mayhap she’d erred and the knights were hunting this man? However much she wanted to believe that, she couldn’t take the risk. Furious that King Philip’s bastard daughter had escaped from his imprisonment, naught would deter the English Duke of Renard in his quest to recapture her.
On a groan, the wounded man rolled to his back.
She should leave. Flee while she could.
Marie grimaced. As if she could walk away from the wounded man without a care. The scent of earth melded with that of leaves and the warmth of the late spring night as she edged closer. A hand’s width away she halted.
An arrow extended from his left shoulder!
By his unsteady breaths and soft groans, she could tell he was in pain. The shaft must come out.
She must go!Even were she afforded the luxury of time, he was a stranger, nor did she know what had led him to this desperate end.
But what if he was innocent of a crime?
Blast it! She pressed her fingers against the well-corded muscles of his neck. His strong pulse beat against her skin.
A wolf howled in the distance, another replying nearby.
In the silken moonlight, she withdrew the dagger secured within the folds of her dress as she scoured her surroundings. A wolf could detect the scent of blood from a great distance. If attacked, this man would stand no chance of survival.
Unable to discern any immediate danger, she sheathed her weapon and refocused on the stranger. Her whole life had been devoted to helping those in need; how could she leave him here to die? Nor could she linger. She’d help him until his recovery was certain, then she’d depart.
Now, to find a place for them to hide. Marie scanned the grass and tree-shrouded landscape.
A dense blackness loomed through the tangle of limbs ahead.
A cave!
