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The soldier’s eyes narrowed and turned angry, and he made a move toward her. Reeve was faster and blocked his attempt.
To her dismay, another soldier appeared and stopped dead for a moment, as if surprised at what he saw. Without further hesitation, he advanced to join his comrades, though he circled around them and headed straight for Tara.
Fear gripped her, but didn’t stop her from raising her dirk and with a forceful snap she sent it flying. It landed in the soldier’s shoulder, sending him stumbling. Once he found firm footing, he turned and ran.
Reeve finished the two men and firmly grabbed hold of her hand.
“We need to get out of here,” he said.
“What of the one that got away?”
“That’s why we need to leave. If his wound doesn’t kill him, he will alert other soldiers, and they will soon be on our trail. And it seems that the soldiers aren’t questioning anyone they stop. They raise their swords and threaten. Something has changed with the king, and I’d like to know what.”
Reeve set a brisk pace; he had no choice, and she kept up, ignoring the steady throb in her ankle. She reminded herself that the pain of discovery and losing her chance at freedom would be far worse than what she was presently suffering. However, she feared the curse was rearing its ugly head, and there would be consequences to pay. It had always been that way. Had she truly expected it could be any different? She had wanted to hope, wanted to believe things possible she had once thought impossible. But was she being foolish, or did she continue to believe, continue to take a chance, continue to reach for a new life?
The fear and uncertainty that plagued her decisions and actions gave her the impetus to keep going, through the pain, the doubt, but mostly the fear; the fear of losing all hope.
They kept a vicious pace, and not once did she lag behind until she slipped on a snow-covered rock and went down before Reeve could grab her. He was quick to help her sit up, but he refused to let her stand until he had a look at her ankle.
This time, when her hand tried to prevent him from seeing the damage, he brushed it aside.
“Not this time,” he said. “I’ll have a look.”
They both cringed when they saw the swelling. It stretched the leather of her boot until it looked as if it would split.
“You should have told me,” he scolded, though Tara could see in his eyes that the scolding was for him.
“And what would you have done,” she asked, not wanting him to blame himself. “We need to get to your friend’s farm. We can’t let my injury stop us. We do what we must.”
“And you suffer for it.”
“And if it had been your ankle.” She shook her head before he could answer. “Don’t tell me that would be different or that you are a warrior and can bear the pain.”
He smiled. “If I can’t tell you either, then I’m left with no other reasoning.”
“Which means I do what must be done.” In so many more ways than Reeve would ever know.
“And I do what I must,” he said, and scooped her up in his arms before she could protest.
“You can’t carry me.”
“But I can, and I will.” He stomped off, ordering her silent when she tried to protest. And she realized that no matter what she said, he would ignore it. Besides, it felt good, so very good, to be off her feet, and, with a yawn, she rested her head to his shoulder.
Chapter 7
Reeve heard raised angry voices and stopped to listen. They came from Old Jacob’s farm. He feared the king’s soldiers had stopped to question them, though it also could be mercenaries hired by the king to torment those who supported the return of the true king.
Such incidents had grown in frequency with fear that the true king would soon claim the throne. The MacAlpin clan had sworn allegiance to the true king, and he and his brothers had been trained since they had been young to protect the rightful man who would become the King of all Scotland. And with their diligence, and God willing, they would soon see success. And then people like Old Jacob and his granddaughter-in-law Willow need fear no more.
But now was a different matter, and until the rightful king took the throne, Reeve and his brothers would do all they could to protect the people.
“Tara,” Reeve whispered, giving her a gentle shake. She had fallen asleep not that long ago. He had been glad, sleep relieving her of the pain.
She stirred, and while she was far from petite, she had been no burden. He had carried much heavier without difficulty. Besides, he favored the feel of her in his arms.
“You must remain silent,” he whispered, and her head quickly shot up, her eyes growing wide. “We’re at the croft, and so are others.”
She motioned for him to put her down, and he did so very gently. He took her hand and guided her to a spot amongst the trees where they had a good view of the farm. She limped, and he worried that the brief respite had not helped her ankle. But there was nothing he could do for her at the moment. He had to help Old Jacob.
