Page 82 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“He’s mad—the priest. There are true men of God in this world who care for their people and love them unconditionally. He is nae one of them. All he cares about is power and takin’ what he wants. Me sister isnae the villain. He is.”
Fenella looked up at them all, glancing around and sniffing back the tears that were falling again. Her gaze lingered on Scott for a long time before she finally turned to Keira.
“He was so angry,” she whispered. “He was ragin’, tellin’ me I would be sent straight to hell if I went near ye—that I’d be cursed. I dinnae ken what to think. I am sorry.” She brushed a gentle finger over her injured hand and looked up with awe in her eyes. “Ye have a gift, Miss Keira.”
“I am sorry, Fenella,” Scott said hurriedly. “I lost me temper. I shouldnae have gotten angry with ye.”
Fenella looked up at him and blushed prettily.
“It is alright. I shouldnae have listened to the priest.”
“Come,” Scott said kindly. “I’ll take ye back, and I’ll carry eveythin’ so ye daenae hurt yer hand.”
“The housekeeper is goin’ to be so angry with me,” Fenella groaned.
“Make sure ye rest it as best ye can,” Keira said. “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll put more tallow on the wound. It should help with the pain.”
“Thank ye, Miss Keira,” Fenella said as she rose, and Scott came forward to help lift the coal scuttle and the logs, leaving some by the fire so that Keira could add them to the pile.
Fenella looked up at Scott gratefully, and he waited for her to get to the doorway before following her. They were just passing out into the corridor when they both turned back, Scott looking alarmed, and Fenella frowning as she looked over at the window.
“What was that?” Scott asked, instantly alert as a shout rang out from below them, and Keira felt fear uncoil in her gut at the sound.
Daisy tensed beside her as they all heard a familiar voice on the air. When she glanced at the window, there was a strange flickering light from the grounds around the castle. It could not be coming from the torches in the courtyard; it was too bright for that.
She stood up just as rapid footsteps sounded outside the room, and Noah appeared in the doorway, his eyes wide and fierce. He was dressed for battle, and Keira had never seen a man look more defiant, strong, and bold as he did in that moment.
Despite the way they had parted earlier that day, she was grateful to see him. He looked as though he was there to defend her, and her heart soared at the sight.
“What is happening?” she asked. In reply, he nodded his head at the window, waiting for her to move across to it. She did so, breathing heavily, almost too scared to look outside to see the truth.
She sucked in a long breath as she looked down into the lands below her.
On the ground, surrounding the edges of the castle on every side, were hundreds of torches. A huge crowd of people had gathered, their white upturned faces ghostly and terrifying in the cool evening air. She could hear the murmur of many voices and the dark chanting she remembered so well.
At the head of them, a familiar figure stood in his long black garb and bonnet. He held no torch, standing with his hands behind him, his back straight and certain, as though he had every right to be there. Upright and all-knowing, he seemed to dwarf every other person there.
Keira stared at that hated face until, as though sensing her presence, the figure looked up at the towering walls of the castle, a twisted, black expression on his handsome face.
“WITCH!” he screamed, the word echoing and bouncing around the castle walls like the tolling of a grim bell as silence fell across the crowd. “Come out and face yer punishment.”
Keira felt a hand rest gently on her lower back as Noah came to stand beside her. His presence, usually such a comfort, just made fear burst in her breast.
What will he do? No one must risk their lives for me. Please let there be nae fightin’.
She looked back at him, but Noah’s dark eyes were focused on the crowds below them. She could see the reflections of the torches dancing in his gaze.
“He is here then,” Noah whispered, his hand snaking around her waist as he pulled her close. “This ends tonight.”
CHAPTER31
“I must go down there,”Noah said, pulling away from her.
Before she could think about what she was doing, Keira found her fists clenched in his léine, the thick jacket he wore heavy against her nails as she pulled him close to her.
“Nay, dinnae go down there, please, they will kill ye.”
Noah put his hands gently over her wrists and disentangled her fingers from his clothes.
