Page 61 of The Speed of Lightning
At last she clawed her way up the rock and slipped back beneath the gorse. She sprinted for the trees’ edge. The clearing yawned before her—twenty yards of open ground.
She sucked in a breath and ran.
Something skittered after her. She burst through the hedge, pounded across the yard, wrenched open the bothy door, and slammed the bolt home behind her.
Bog sprang up, erupting in a flurry of barks. The noise jolted Calum awake and he tumbled from the bed, grasping for his sword, eyes wild until he saw her. He pressed a palm to his chest, dragging in a breath.
“Saints, lass, you scared me half to death.” He squinted a sleep-heavy stare at her. “Where’ve you been?”
“I—” Her mouth worked soundlessly, fear choking her words.
He shook his head. “Still too afraid to relieve yourself in the bothy?”
Freya licked her lips. It wasn’t a lie. She nodded.
“Och, I told you I don’t care about that. You ought to have lived through staying with David MacKenzie on mission. Nothing more disconcerting than watching him have a think on the pot in the middle of the night. I swear tae ye nothing you can do could possibly compare—” he gestured, brawny arms spread wide, the safety of his chest unintentionally held open to her.
Without bothering to wait, she sped into his arms, resting her head upon his bare chest, holding him tight. He was safe. He was here. Dear God, she couldn’t lose him.
His arms tightened around her, and he ran a hand over her hair, pulling a leaf from its lengths. “What’s the matter, lass? You’re shaking.”
She pulled back from him, looking up into his smoke-colored eyes, touching his face, needing to believe he was hale. “I—I—there was—there?—”
Her hands clung to him, trembling. Only now did she realize how deep her feelings for him ran. “I th-thought something had happened to you.”
His brows knit. “I’m hale. What happened?”
“I was in the woods. I heard something…and I panicked.”
His gaze swept over her—cloak flipped inside out, leine ripped from toe to hip. His face darkened, murderous. “Who touched you?”
She shook her head fast. “No one. I thought someone was chasing me. I ran, hid in Somerled’s cave. That’s how my leine tore.”
He pulled from her grasp and yanked on his kyrtill. “I’m going to look.”
“You cannae.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. She grabbed at him, pleading. “Please, Calum, dinnae leave me. What ifsomething happens to you? My father will come for me—Rory will claim me—and I cannae bear the thought of losing you. Please, stay!”
Eyes wide, he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Freya, what happened?”
“I-I went to Lealt, to Gavina and Fraser’s.”
His brow furrowed, lip jutting in confusion. “Why did?—”
“Because it’s story night. And I—I am the Storyteller.”
Chapter 16
LEALT, JURA - NOVEMBER 11, 1386
Calum blinked. “You’re what?”
Freya nodded. “The Storyteller.”
His head swam, fogged from sleep, as he fought to understand her words. “What do you mean?”
She drew in a wet breath, her heavily lashed eyes flicking up at him. “I’m sorry, Calum. I swear to ye, we never meant to put anyone at risk. We only meant to help. Please—dinnae be angry.”
He stared, reeling. “What are you telling me, exactly? Who is we? You and who else?”
