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Yesenda discarded the arrow, then Iain watched her pull something from her leg stare at the tree line, then she took off in a sprint straight for the trees.
“No!” he roared. “Stay where you are!” But she ignored him.
Iain veered his horse in her direction.
He yelled to the others to see to the children, then he took off after Yesenda. Iain was just bringing up the rear when he watched her hurl a dagger into the air. He heard a loud oomph sound then rustling leaves before a body fell out of the tree. It landed with a thud a few feet away. A dagger lodged between the man’s eyes.
“Bloody hell, woman!”
He had seen no one achieve that before. Her reflexes were quicker than any mans.
As Iain pieced things together, he knew right down to his soul, Yesenda had lied to them all.
Yesenda emerged soon after from the tree line, and Iain did not hesitate. He rode towards her, his expression one of anger, and in one swoop he had her on his horse. Then he clicked his heels, and they rode back to the cottages.
“Iain! Put me down.”
“Be quiet!” he growled and tightened his grip.
When they reached his men, he issued orders to retrieve the body and secure the area.
By the time he reached the cottages, his fear for Yesenda’s was replaced with something he had not felt in a long time.Rage.
It startled Yesenda when Iain jumped down from his horse and plucked her off the saddle. They saw to the children to make sure they were all right and then Iain announced, “Yesenda and I need to talk, then we will all return to the Keep.”
The children nodded while they sat in the safety of the longhouse.
Iain grabbed Yesenda’s arm and dragged her towards his cottage.
“Iain? What is the matter with you?”
He could not speak; he was seething now. Iain clenched his jaw so hard he thought it would break.
“Iain? Unhand me.”
“Shut your mouth before I strip you in-front of everyone and tan your hide raw.”
She shut her mouth. He nudged her through the cottage door and slammed it shut, then said, “Start talking because I am hanging by a very thin thread. Who are you?”
“I dinnae ken what you mean, Iain.”
“Wrong! Try again,” he bellowed. “Who are you? Who was that dead man? And why do men keep trying to kill you?”
“Iain, you need to calm down. Tis not good for your health—”
He stepped closer, towering above her, and said, “So help me, love. Dinnae lie, or I swear you will not walk for a week once I take you over my knee. How does a woman raised in an abbey learn to catch bloody arrows and hurl knives into trees!” he roared.
“Iain, keep your voice down. People will think you are upset.”
“I am bloody upset!” he yelled. Then started pacing.
“Iain, there is a lot about me you cannot ken. I have made vows and I cannot break them because other people depend on me to keep them safe. I dinnae mean to upset you, but tis just the way it is.”
“Someone nearly killed you and the bairns. No secret is worth your life, Yesenda. God’s blood, he could have killed you today.”
“Aye, I’ll need to leave. I am a danger to be around.”
“Why?” he shouted. “Tell me why?” Iain was seriously losing his mind.
