Page 140 of Bond of a Bewitched Highlander

"You did what you had to. Thank God your brothers trained you well. What else happened?"

"I rode away on Freya, but four guards chased me. They caught me. When I stabbed his calf, he flung me to the ground. I passed out, then woke up here. I picked the lock and freed myself. You ken the rest."

Stunned by her words, he stared at her in astonishment. She could've easily been killed by the bastards, thrice over. He'd known she'd trained in knife fighting for years, but had no idea she was so capable. "You're a survivor. How did you get me down here?"

"I dragged you, of course."

"'Slud! You're stronger than I realized. I had nay inkling you were such a force of nature."

The corners of her lips tilted up as she looked into his eyes. "Well, mayhap this is what I've been training for most of my life." She shrugged. "To help you and the selkies."

"Maybe so." Hearing sounds of battle in the distance, he thought of Torr, Gavin, Kenneth, and the others. "I need to be out there, helping the men!" He sat up but became so dizzy he almost blacked out again.

"Nay! You're going nowhere." She pressed him back gently. "Lie down."

He did, for he knew he would black out and bash his head. "Torr and Gavin could be hurt," he gritted out, teeth clenched, devastated that he wasn't well enough to help them.

"You're already hurt, and you've suffered enough blood loss," she grumbled. "You're lucky that bullet only grazed your scalp."

She was right, he knew. He would only be a liability out there.

He shook his head in disappointment, but this only caused his head to hurt worse. His thoughts were foggy, but one thing was obvious—he trusted her in this moment. She had saved his life by dragging him away from the fighting while he was knocked out.

But would he survive? Had he lost too much blood?

If he didn't make it out of here alive, he needed to get some things off his chest. He didn't want to die as a cursed selkie but as a man. 'Twas time he threw off the witch's control.

"Elsea, I need to tell you something."

"Aye?" Anxiety haunted her eyes.

"No matter what happens, I want you to know... I trust you."

"You do?" Tears glistened in her wide eyes in the torchlight.

"Aye, I trust you now for the first time in a long time. And... the truth is... I never stopped loving you."

"Oh, Brodie," she breathed and leaned over him, pressing her lips to his gently. "I've loved you since the moment I met you." Lying beside him, she wept against the side of his chest. "I trust you, and I thank God for you, Brodie."

"And I thank God for the angel sent to earth just for me. A wee warrior angel," he smirked. "But let's be honest, I might not get out of here alive."

"Aye, you will!" she stated firmly in her female warrior voice, rising up to glare at him, tears dripping from her eyes.

"Shh. Nay tears, lass."

Something crashed against the exterior door.

"Open up!" a man shouted.

"That's Talnaroch." Elsea leapt to her feet and grabbed his sword from a few feet away.

"Give me that." A need for revenge clawed through Brodie's chest, and he bolted to a sitting position. Lightheadedness nearly made him crash down again.

"Shh. I told you I'd kill the bastard," she hissed. "I was nay jesting. Use your dirk."

"Damnation, Elsea," Brodie growled. He wouldn't sit here and let her fight the knave alone. Dizziness near overpowered him, and he propped one hand against the floor. Soon, his head cleared a bit more, and he pushed himself to his knees. Bracing against the slick stone wall, he waited for the room to stop swirling around him.

Hiding at the corner near the steps, Elsea glanced back at him.