There was no hesitation in his voice. No question of whether she’d imagined it. Just action. He straightened and whistled once, sharp and low.
Stephen’s head snapped up, completely abandoning his flirtation with a merchant.
“Time to go,” Theo announced in a firm voice. “Now.”
Lavina gathered Amber into her arms immediately, still shaken. Theo reached for Maisie, who looked confused but obeyed without complaint.
He moved quickly but calmly through the crowd, steering them with quiet urgency toward the smithy at the far edge of the village—the place he trusted most when the world threatened to implode.
Lavina clutched Amber tighter, her heart pounding against her ribs like a war drum.
But even in the fear, there was trust. For Theo was like a steady rock at her side. The terrain was unfamiliar and alarming, but this was his clan, his family; Lavina had to trust they would keep their word.
“To yer left,” Stephen grunted.
“I ken,” Theo muttered. “They’ve been followin’ us since two shops down. We’ve got to split.”
“I’m nae leavin’ Maisie,” Lavina barked.
She snagged Maisie’s arm, refusing to let her out of her grasp either.
“Ye cannae hold on to both, lass,” Theo reasoned, his voice calm. “Ye need to mind yer sister, ye hear? She’s yer responsibility, and she trusts ye. But ye’ve got to trust me and follow Stephen.”
“What? Wait, I’m nae about to leave ye here to fend off these bandits.”
“Aye, ye will,” Theo snapped, pulling his blade from its sheath. “Ye’re a better rider than me. Ye get Lady McGowan back to the keep. Do ye hear me?”
“Theo, nay. Please, have Stephen watch Maisie,” Lavina pleaded.
“Maisie isnae Lady McGowan. Ye are. And I warned ye, lass, did I nae? I told ye, I’d pick ye. Now, give Amber over to Maisie. The lighter riders need to go first.”
“Ye cannae do this,” Lavina begged as Stephen pulled her to the horses.
“Stephen, get them out of here,” Theo ordered. “I’ll give ye as much time as I can.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Come on, ye’ll nae set one foot past me,” Theo growled.
He swung his blade, checking the grip of his fingers around the hilt.
The sword felt like an extension of his arm. He wielded it as if it had sprouted from his very bones.
Calming his heart and steadying his breathing, he waited for the bandits to make their move. The hiss of a blade being unsheathed tickled his ears. He spun.
Steel clashed against steel as his sword hit the first bandit’s blade.
The force of the blow sent sparks flying, and the momentum drove the bandit backward. Holding his ground, Theo twisted, purposefully throwing his cloak up as a distraction as he drove his blade into the second attacker.
The man crumbled at his feet, giving him the perfect line between him and his foes.
“I would have let ye go with yer lives, but now, ye’ll end up just like him,” Theo growled as another bandit rushed in from the side.
This was the very reason Theo had trained since he was a boy. The nightmarish foes tormenting his dreams were real. And here they were, ready for him to knock them into the grave for the final time.
“Cocky, but ye’ll find me blade to be the one to cut ye,” a rough, whizzing voice proclaimed as pain lanced through his side.
Stumbling, Theo regained his footing quickly to find yet another bandit, taller than the others, staggering closer to him. The dagger in the man’s hand gleamed red with Theo’s blood.
