Page 131 of Laird of Steel
Once he extricated himself from the pavilion wall, he let out an animalistic growl and thundered toward her.
This time, instead of stepping away, she dove at his feet.
He tripped over her, dropping his sword, and fell with earth-shaking force onto his hands and knees.
She hopped up and waited for him to rise while Gellir backed his tiring opponent against a pavilion wall with a series of admirable, swift strikes.
When the beast found his footing, he didn’t bother trying to locate his weapon, but recklessly charged her again.
She didn’t need her sword either. She dropped it and charged in under him, aiming for his belt. Momentum carried him over her rounded shoulder, and he slammed to the ground on his back with such stunning force, it sapped the breath from him.
At that moment, Gellir gave the last remaining earl a hard clout to the helm with the butt of his sword that made the man slither to the ground.
Their enemies defeated, they faced each other, breathless and battered.
As they exchanged glances, she felt his gaze speak to her.
I love you,it said.
I missed you.
I thought I’d never see you again.
But then his eyes widened.
And that was when she saw it.
The clan armies around them were slowly advancing.
Chapter 22
“Audite! Audite!”A monk standing near Gellir suddenly bellowed, throwing back the hood of his cowl and raising a rolled parchment in his hand.
Gellir could not have been more dumbfounded. It had been astonishing enough to find the cunning warrior fighting beside him was Merraid—a discovery that filled him with a mix of emotions ranging from shock to joy, from relief to terror.
Now his cousin Adam had shown up. In the guise of a monk.
What they planned, Gellir couldn’t imagine. But Adam’s outburst had effectively put a halt to their imminent massacre, so he was grateful for that.
“I have brought word fromRoma,”Adam announced with a thick Roman accent. “From His Holiness himself.” He made the sign of the Cross.
The soldiers surrounding them gasped.
Gellir could only gape. Adam had certainly outdone himself this time. And he’d thought impersonating thekingwas audacious.
A missive from the Pope was rare indeed. In fact, Gellir couldn’t remembereverseeing such a thing. Aside from an interest in the new cathedral being built at St. Andrews, he doubted the Pope thought much about Scotland at all.
From atop the parapets came the voice of the king. “You there! Did you say His Holiness?”
“Aye, Alexander III!” Adam called back. “Are youRex Scotiae?”
“We are.”
“Then it is for your ears as well,domine.”
The defeated earls began to rouse. The bedraggled lass tearfully dabbed at the young earl’s bloody chest. Fertech took off his helm to rattle his brains back into place. The hairy man blinked back cobwebs. The redheaded earl cradled his broken nose. The short earl scrambled to his feet. And the beast managed, with the help of several bystanders, to peel himself off the ground.
The king cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled down, “Can we agree to a temporary truce to hear the words of His Holiness?”
