Page 1 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
CHAPTER1
“Burn the witch!”
Keira stumbled, her hands colliding with the rotting bark of a fallen oak tree that lay across her path.
Her labored breathing puffed out in roiling clouds as she panted into the chilly evening air. Her limbs screamed at her to slow down, but if she stopped running, they would catch her.
“Where did she go? She cannae be far, keep lookin’!”
The echoes of the villagers’ shouts floated above her on the wind in terrifying echoes.
Please let there be a place to hide,she thought desperately;please let me live!
The trees in this part of the forest were thick and dense. Keira had traveled here alone many times to collect mushrooms for her work. Previously, she would have said it was one of her favorite places to come, but no more.
She felt brambles and branches catching at her legs as she dashed through the thick bracken and undergrowth—she had to keep moving, no matter what.
“I saw somethin’ ahead,” someone shouted behind her, “that way!”
Glancing back, she could just see the lighted torches bobbing among the trees and the shadowy shapes advancing on her.
They cannae catch ye in the dark; nay torch can see high enough into the trees. Find somethin’ to climb—get high, dinnae move, stay silent.
The chill in the air bit at her as sweat poured down her back. She was not sure how long they had been pursuing her, but her body could not continue like this forever. She had to find somewhere to conceal herself.
She was unfamiliar with this area of the forest and not used to running at pace between the trees. It felt as though a thousand cobwebs had tangled in her hair.
“Fan out, dinnae let her escape!”
The tramp of the footsteps behind her seemed closer than ever as she waded through a particularly thick patch of ferns and headed toward a tiny clearing ahead of her.
She heard a shout as she approached the clearing, her head whipping around to see if they had seen her, and her foot caught fast in a tree root.
She put out an arm as she tumbled forward, falling against something solid, tall, and unmoving. She thought it was a tree until it grunted in surprise.
She ended up on the floor, the dried leaves beneath her palms, slimy and cold, as she looked up into the face of a man looming over her, his hands on his hips as he gazed down at her.
She stared at him in bewilderment. She had never met anyone in the woods before, and certainly not this late in the evening. He did not look like a bandit or a murderer, but one never could tell.
After all, I trusted a man because he was a priest, and now he is chasin’ me through the woods to burn me alive.
The man she had collided with was still staring at her, his mouth a hard line as his eyes ran over her tattered clothes and muddy dress. He had broad shoulders that blocked out the waning light filtering through the canopy and green eyes that almost perfectly matched the leaves above his head.
She had only seconds to observe his dark hair and the size of his bulging shoulders before she pulled herself backward and scrambled to her feet.
“I apologize, I dinnae see ye,” she said quickly, ready to turn and sprint away into the forest once more.
But the stranger was not looking at her any longer. He had turned at the sounds of the villagers and was watching their approach. Keira could see Lucas at their head, his cruel face twisted with fury. The torches grew ever closer in the gathering gloom.
Keira felt terror whip through her as she took a step back, determined to continue her escape. But, without looking at her, the stranger’s large hand flicked out and took hold of her wrist in a grip of iron. “Not so fast, lass,” he said, his voice low and gruff. He still had his back to her, and Keira found his disinterest in her predicament rather rude.
She yanked hard at her wrist, which finally got his attention. He appeared startled by her strength, but it was nothing compared to his. He barely moved more than half an inch as she tried to rip her arm from his grip.
“Please, ye have to let me go,” she said, wild with fear as she looked at the approaching crowd behind him.
“Do ye wish me to kill these for ye?” he asked, nodding at the approaching crowd, casual and calm in the face of her pursuers.
He was extremely tall and broad. He looked like someone who could fell a man with a single hit. Yet he had long, elegant features that seemed at odds with the brawn on full display across his body. His eyes moved over her figure again, taking in her battered appearance. Keira felt an absurd urge to run her fingers through her hair to smooth it.
