Page 78 of Bride of Ice
But not by Colban.
Love conquers all?
Surely the Lowlanders didn’t really believe that. Aye, civility was useful in negotiations. And diplomacy was helpful when seeking peace. But when it came to war, a sturdy claymore served a man better than Cupid’s arrows.
Still, as he watched Hallie rise and turn to leave the courtyard, he felt a bolt of longing pierce his heart. Remembering the silken threads of her hair between his fingers. The sparkling crystal of her melting eyes. The spicy-sweet taste of her warm mouth.
“Did you like the play, Sir Colban?” Isabel called up to him.
“What? Oh, aye.”
“I’ll bring up your boot when I’m finished here.”
He gave her a preoccupied nod.
“Did you know ’twas me?” Brand yelled out, removing his hat. “’Tis a good disguise, aye?”
“Brilliant,” Colban replied, distracted as he sought Hallie, who had disappeared into the crowd.
“What did you think of the dragon?” Ian called out from atop the curtain wall. His arm was wrapped companionably around one of the dragon’s legs. “I used a bellows to make the smoke. I wanted to use Greek fire, but—”
“I told him ’twas too dangerous,” Gellir chimed in beside Ian.
“Impressive,” Colban said vaguely, unable to locate the Valkyrie.
Gellir spoke to his brother. “I don’t think he knows about Greek fire, Ian. I don’t think they have it in the Highlands.”
Suddenly their words sank in, and Colban gave the lads his full attention. “Hold on. Greek fire? Ye know how to make Greek fire?”
“’Twas a bit tricky figuring it out,” Ian said, “since the formula is a secret.”
Gellir was right. They’d never encountered it in the Highlands. Foreign armies had never invaded that far north. But the horrors of Greek fire were legendary. Unable to be extinguished, the vile substance clung to whatever it contacted—stone walls, armored men, even the surface of water—and burned for hours. If Rivenloch truly held the secret to Greek fire, they were a formidable foe indeed.
“Anyway,” Ian continued, “I think the peat worked to good effect, though Sir Rauve may need a new helm.” He knocked on the dragon’s steel head. “This one’s gone all smoky inside.”
Colban was only half-listening.
Part of him was worrying about the possibility of Rivenloch using Greek fire to kill his clansmen at Creagor. He was calculating the chances of confiscating Ian’s notebook again, where the formula for the destructive substance was probably recorded.
And part of him was distracted once more by the beautiful Viking princess he’d finally spotted in the crowd, making her way to the great hall.
Love conquers all?
Then what bloody use could Hallie possibly have for Greek fire?
Chapter 21
As she walked stiffly across the courtyard, Hallie wished she’d let Ian use his mix of Greek fire for the dragon. The conflagration might have been a useful distraction from the heavy-handed message Isabel had delivered in her play.
Love conquers all.
Bloody hell.
Now that she thought about it, it was hardly a fit rallying cry for a clan of warriors in charge of defending the Scottish border. And it was a weak warning indeed to someone bent on claiming the neighboring castle.
Rivenloch’s byword should be Loyal and Invincible.
Or Always Up for Battle.
