He nodded to his men and they fanned out, weapons drawn. “Ye know what ye have to do.”
They nodded and in smaller groups, scattered in all directions.
Jamie was left with ten of his hand-picked men. “We take the gates,” he told them. “Or die trying.”
They sprinted across the courtyard as a group of king’s men poured from the gate house with blades drawn. Jamie didn’t slow. He crashed into them, sword flashing, a kick slamminginto a guard’s chest hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs. He twisted aside as a blade whistled past his throat and drove his sword into the man’s gut, shoving him back into another king’s man.
All the outrage, the shock, the anger at having his home stolen from him, came boiling to the surface. A strange sound filled the air, and it took a moment before Jamie realized it was coming from himself, a bellow of unleashed rage as he swung and blocked, punched and kicked, teeth bared in a feral snarl.
His men moved with him as they fought. The king’s guards were good—but they were outnumbered now, pressed from all sides, and they were facing men of the Isles who were fighting for their home. One by one they fell or surrendered until suddenly there were no more king’s men in front of him, only the gates, and a ground strewn with fallen, groaning men.
He turned and saw that his men had retaken the battlements, the king’s guards kneeling in a line with blades pressed to their throats. In the courtyard, he saw that Tabitha and the household staff had followed him from the kitchens. Armed with cleavers, pans, pokers, and sheer fury, they had dragged down a group of king’s men.
Tabitha stood over them, chest heaving, rolling pin clenched in her hand. She met Jamie’s gaze. “That will teach them to take liberties inmykitchen.”
A laugh tore free from Jamie’s chest—short, incredulous, fierce.
It was done. Dun Arach was theirs.
“Find Phillip MacClelland,” he ordered his men. “Alive if ye can.”
He didn’t wait to hear the acknowledgment, instead sprinting into the keep. He bounded up the steps to the guest quarters, heart pounding for reasons that had nothing to do with the fighting.
He reached a door and didn’t bother knocking. He threw it open hard enough to slam it into the wall and burst through.
“Elise!”
He stuttered to a halt, looking around, but the room was empty. The bed was untouched. The coverlet neatly folded back as if nobody had slept in it. The room felt cold and desolate, and he knew with dread certainty that she hadn’t just stepped out momentarily. She wasgone.
Heart thumping, he turned, already running again. He thundered down the stairs and into the great hall where the people of the keep were gathering after news of its recapture filtered out. The cavernous space was filled with noise and chatter. Jamie cut through it all like a blade.
“Elise!” he demanded. “Has anyone seen Elise?”
People glanced uneasily at each other.
“No, my lord.”
“And Phillip?” he snapped. “Or the envoy?”
A pause. Then, more grim shaking of heads.
“Jamie!”
The door opened and Albie entered, supporting Andrea who leaned heavily on him as she limped towards Jamie. His housekeeper was pale, her dark hair loose and tangled, her gown torn at the sleeve. There was blood on her cuff—he didn’t know if it was hers.
He was across the hall in seconds. “What happened?” he demanded, taking her other arm and helping her to stand. “Are ye all right?”
Andrea swallowed, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m fine. But Elise… Phillip took her.”
The words slammed into Jamie’s chest like a hammer blow. “Took her where?”
“To the ships,” Andrea said hoarsely. “The king’s fleet sailed before ye got here. Phillip went with them. He said…he said theUlster fleet was approaching and he made Elise go with him to meet them.”
“Dear God,” Jamie whispered.
“She tried to fight him, Jamie,” Andrea said. “She tried, but Phillip threatened to hurt people if she didn’t do what he wanted. And he—he knows how her magic works now.”
Jamie closed his eyes. Elise was on one of the king’s ships. She was surrounded by enemies, by people who wanted to use her. And they would force her to unleash her power against Ulster.
