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“All right.” He looked at Amber, who was still rooted to the spot. “Speak. Fast.”
Every man in the room glared at her, their attention heavy and estimating. Damn it. She could be wrong about this, and what then? Would she condemn the battle and the whole war to failure?
She walked towards the table on weak legs but a straight back. She’d give her best advice and let them decide if it was a good plan.
“You should ambush them with your own ambush.” She leaned over Owen’s drawing and drew a line an inch from the dots he’d marked on the mountainside. “Put a line of archers here. As many as you can, and let them attack these guys from behind and above. At the same time, have your Highlanders launch at them from the side, as Owen suggested.”
Owen nodded, pride shining in his expression. The Bruce propped his hands on the table and studied the diagram closer. “The main threat will be too busy fighting both sides. And the knights will finish those who block the Pass.”
He looked at Amber again, surprise and a hint of respect shining in his eyes. “Aye. This will work.” He turned his attention to a handsome man with long, dark hair and the longest beard in the room. “Douglas, yer men will be up on the mountainside. Ye and they ken how to move quieter than a cat.”
He looked at Owen. “Since ye ken the land, I want ye to lead the Highlanders and attack from the side.” He pointed at the dots.
Owen’s chest puffed up. Amber thought he’d stopped breathing. A smile threatened to spread his lips, but he tensed his mouth, and his eyes flashed.
The Bruce met Neil Cambel’s gaze. “I will lead the knights.”
Owen squeezed Amber’s hand under the table. She returned the gesture and intertwined her fingers with his. The connection of their hands sent electricity through her, a bizarre combination of desire and trust. Her whole body relaxed at the touch, filling with warmth and a soft, barely noticeable buzz. It was as though every cell in her body had come alive.
The Bruce looked straight at her. “I want ye to fight with us.”
Could she serve another leader who could use her so easily in his manipulations? A man who had all the power? She couldn’t do it again.
“No.”
The air became thick and charged. Every single man’s gaze stared at her in disbelief. The Bruce’s eyes turned as sharp and as dangerous as a snake’s.
But the worst response was Owen’s. He gaped at her with the pained expression of someone who’d just been betrayed.
Chapter 25
Owen felt his nostrils flare. Amber held her chin high, her back straight, her face not faltering under the heaviness of the gazes of a dozen battle-clad warriors. How could she say no when his people so clearly needed her, when the king himself had asked her to join them? If Owen wanted to be a successful leader, he needed to have all the best people on his side.
“Nae?” the king asked, his voice low and full of the apprehensive calm of the air before a storm.
Even as angry with her as he was, Owen realized she might be in danger now, and every part of him dashed to protect her. He shifted to stand between the Bruce and Amber.
The Bruce was a good leader, a strong warrior, and the king Owen was ready to lay down his life for. But Amber should make no mistake. He was ruthless. He was powerful. He could also be cruel.
After all, he’d murdered his opponent, John Red Comyn, in a church and proclaimed himself king. He’d raided and burned all of the Comyn lands in the east. He was a man who showed no mercy to his enemies.
Owen hoped Amber wouldn’t become one. And that he wouldn’t need to choose between the woman he loved and his king.
“No,” she repeated.
Hell…
Out of the corner of his eye, Owen saw his father’s face tighten and harden like a rock. Uncle Neil’s eyes bulged, darting between Amber and the king. The rest of the men stood immobile like statues. Only Craig moved, shaking his head.
“Ye can fight, canna ye?” the Bruce said, his voice still low. “Ye’re a mercenary and fought for Mackenzie, aye? And if ye fought for Mackenzie at Inverlochy, ye fought for me.”
Amber nodded, swallowing.
“So am I to assume ye dinna stand by yer own battle plan? How do I ken ye’re nae a spy hired by my enemies?”
“Amber isna a spy,” Owen said.
The Bruce looked at him like he were a noisy fly.
