At her approach, he motioned for her to sit before him.
She spread the blanket on the stone and then sat. As she settledagainst the solid warmth of his chest, the steady beat of his heart pulsed against her.
Drawing a deep breath, she stared into the sky. A trace of clouds edged the western horizon, and the moon, outlined by a ring of silver, hung over the treetops. “When I gaze into the heavens and see such beauty, it makes me wonder how anyone can revel in hatred.”
“Too often people focus only on their own gain, nae on what is right.”
The soft rumble of his voice was a balm to her bruised nerves. She nodded, thinking of the strife Scotland faced. “As King Edward?” He stiffened against her, and she knew she’d hit upon a concern uppermost in his mind.
“He believes his harsh actions are warranted,” Colyne said, anger pouring through his words.
“Though I disagree with his method, he is overlord of Scotland.”
“Earned through treachery,” he spat. “After Margaret, the Maid of Norway’s death, King Edward stated his good intent was in helping Scotland choose a king during their time of unrest. But, as many Scots suspected, his offer was naught but a guise in his efforts to claim Scotland.”
Marie hesitated. She couldn’t reveal her royal connection, but she needed to warn Colyne that King Edward would stop at nothing to seize a country he already considered his. “He is a determined man,” she said carefully, “and will not halt his aggressions until all of Scotland has thrown down its weapons and sworn fealty to him.”
His body tensed. “He can try.”
“I know.” The slaughter they’d witnessed today was but a taste of the butchery to come if the English king was allowed to release his full wrath upon Scotland.
“With France’s backing,” Colyne continued, “we have nae only the means but another force for King Edward to face.”
By the grace of Mary, he had no idea of how precarious Scotland’s ties were at this moment with France. If Renard had reached her father and convinced him that the Scottish rebels were behind her abduction, her father may have already severed the much-needed support for Scotland’s bid for freedom. “You are cold?”
She frowned. “What?”
“You are shivering.” Colyne wrapped the woven wool over her shoulders, then slid his arm around her waist and drew her closer. “Better?”
Until she spoke with her father, naught could make the situation better. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
He pointed east. “Over there.”
A flicker of white raced through the sky and then faded into the night.
His warm breath sifted across her cheek. “They say when a star falls, ’tis a gift bestowed from the fairies.”
Emotions tightened her throat and she nodded, unable to speak.
Silence stretched between them, his concern all but spoken in the whispers of the night.
She nestled against his muscled chest and laid her cheek against the hollow of his throat. “I shall try to rest.”
“Aye, you do that.”
Weary, Marie struggled to sleep. But only after hours of tormented thoughts about what would happen if she failed to reach her father, and with Colyne still holding her safe in his arms, did she finally fall into an exhausted slumber.
A battering of cool wind against his face woke Colyne. He grimaced. Somewhere during the dawn, he’d drifted off. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he took in the angry clouds rolling overhead. The gentle wind of last night now railed across the landscape with a harsh slap.
A storm was moving in.
Alesia shifted in his arms. Her thick mane of honey-colored hair framed her face and her lips were turned upward in a soft pout.
A yearning curled tight inside. What would it be like if he kissed her?
Thunder rolled in the heavens.
He grimaced as he scanned the darkening sky. It appeared a higher authority than he would remind him of the folly of such a thought.
