Page 109 of Desiring the Highland Laird
“I ken what ye have inside yer keep. I intend to take it from ye.”
Callum knew he referred to the keystone but didn’t want to acknowledge it. “And what is that?”
Rory frowned, his face going dark. “It calls to us. And we want it.”
Next to him, Malcolm stiffened in his saddle.
“And ye intend to kill to get it?” Callum asked.
“Aye, if that’s what it takes. Ye cannae beat me, laddie. Give up the keystone…and the lass.” He displayed his wicked grin.
Fury erupted through him as he stared at the man who had killed his da.
“Let us settle this like men,” Callum said, his tone calm. “I’ll fight ye for the stoneandthe lass. If I win, I keep both. If you win—”
Rory barked a laugh. Both Malcolm and Jamie snapped their heads to look at him. But Callum knew that even if he lost against Rory MacDonald, even if the laird killed him, Evie and the keystone were safely in the future. He prayed she had managed to use it by now.
“Ye wish to fight me, eh?” He laughed again. “Hand to hand, sword to sword. Aye, I ken ye’ll beat an old man like me. I also ken my army will beat yer army.”
Before Callum responded, Malcolm nudged his horse forward. “Ye’ll die today, Rory MacDonald.”
Then he turned his horse around and galloped back to their waiting men. Jamie hesitated a moment before he did the same, leaving Callum there alone. Anger welled up deep inside him at the hot-headedness of his brother.
“Ye’ve made yer choice. I’ve made mine. Godspeed, Callum MacLeod,” Rory said.
He and his men turned and headed back to stand with his men. The war drums beat louder. As Rory and his men approached, the cheers of his army went up as if they understood all too well what was about to happen on the field near Dundale.
Clenching his jaw, Callum rode back. He paused in front of Malcolm who remained stiff in his saddle staring straight ahead.
“Did ye mean to pick a fight?” Callum asked.
“I did what ye could no,” his brother replied, his voice flat and even. He had no remorse.
If Callum knew his brother—and he did—the moment they charged the field, Malcolm would go straight for Rory MacDonald.
*
Evie stepped throughthe gate, pulling it closed behind her as cheers went up. Her heart hammered like the war drum as she carefully made her way down onto the shore, stepping over large, jagged rocks. The sun had long vanished, plunging the loch and the beach in near darkness.
The light of the full moon rising over the water made it glisten with an ethereal glow. On any other night, she would pause there and think how magical the sight was. But this night was different. This night she was leaving Callum to return to the future.
She glanced down at the keystone nestled against her scarred palm. The lines were still faintly glowing as it emitted a quiet hum, much like the day she used it in the museum to fall through time.
Her throat nearly closed as tears welled in her eyes. She clutched the stone in her hand, careful to keep her thumb from brushing over the lines. She was certain that was how it had sent her back in time.
Evie started down the shoreline, the soft lapping of the water to her left. To her right, the curtain wall of the castle. Beyond that, the fighting men. More shouts in the night air. Her breath fogged around her. Her hands cold. Her feet numb. She managed to keep going, heading away from the castle. Away from her love.
If there was a flash of light, as Hamish had mentioned, she didn’t want to bring unnecessary attention to herself. She didn’twant to give MacDonald a homing beacon to find her. Or where she was. That is, if he got past Callum and his brothers in the first place.
In the distance, the clanging of swords clashing against each other sounded. She envisioned a horrible battle. She had never seen one in real life. She wasn’t certain she wanted to see one. She was certain she didn’t want to see anything happen to her husband.
The thought jarred her to a halt. She stood at the loch, peering out over the darkened water, listening to the battle in the distance.
Callum was her husband.
Hamish had made him promise on his deathbed to protect her—and he was protecting her by sending her away. But he had said something else. Hamish had told him she would do the same for him.
Was protecting him running away and returning to the future? No, it wasn’t.
