Page 28 of Her Scot of the Morrow
“Honestly, I preferred my 2-seater plane,” I said. “Although I always liked the speed of the bigger planes, I preferred the freedom and agility of my little one. It was just me and the sky and wherever I wanted to go.” I shrugged. “Within a certaindistance, of course, because it only holds so much fuel, but you know what I mean.”
“You do realize flying a plane that only seats two may symbolize you and your other half,” he pointed out.
Based on his thoughts, he was doing his best not to nuzzle my neck because it was too risky. If he did, he'd be compelled to inhale my scent and give in to his need to steal me away. Give in to his inner dragon, who had been flailing against what we were about to do every step of the way.
“And something tells me you preferred flying your two-seater plane alone,” he went on. “Or at least you thought you were alone.”
“Ididprefer flying it alone,” I admitted, seeing it so clearly now I’d embraced my dragon. “I found not just a certain thrill in it but much-needed solitude.” I couldn’t help but smile in reflection. “And you. It was the only place I let myself think about you, no matter how angry or hurt I was. It was my outlet, and I could fly however I wanted to let all my feelings out. Well, as much as you can in that type of plane.” I snorted. “Honestly, to get all of those feelings out, a stealth bomber would have been better.”
I was about to go on when the retinue up ahead stopped, and I realized we must be close to the next leg of our journey.
Now, all I could do was pray it kept us together rather than ripped us apart.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
–Sloan–
WHILE I LOATHED every step that brought Willow closer to Dugal and Elspet, I could admit I was remarkably proud of her. Not only for the way she interacted with my people, who took to her as easily as I had so long ago, but because of her courage. Despite facing the possibility of shifting again and wearing the entiregem over her dragon’s heart that would change everything, she was willing to do it for my,our, people, and I respected her a great deal for it.
Heading for the king and doing whatever he commanded, even if it meant losing her to Dugal, should have been something I committed to from the beginning for the sake of king and country, but it was beyond me. Beyond what I was capable of when it came to the mere thought of letting her go. I wasn't sure I could do it, even if I had no other choice. I protected those who mattered most, not just for Scotland here and now, but Scotland’s future.
So giving her to a monster went against everything I stood for.
And Dugal was every bit the monster he was yesterday, so I prayed it didn’t come to that. All I could do now was stay by her side and be there if she needed me. And pray that was enough.
When our retinue slowed ahead, I thought we had intercepted the king sooner than expected until I heard swords clashing and realized we were under attack. I swung down from my horse and pulled Willow after me moments before an arrow whizzed by our heads.
“I know you said as much back in New Hampshire, but do you truly remember what I taught you about defending yourself?”I asked Willow within the mind, unsheathing the Viking blade and keeping her cushioned between me and the horse while scanning the area, trying to figure out which direction the attack was coming from. All I knew was it had to be the Sutherlands. I just couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t sensed them sooner because we were still on MacLeod land.
“I do remember how to defend myself.”Willow pulled out the blade I had given her earlier.“No worries.”
But I did worry, and with good reason, it seemed, when three sizable warriors emerged out of the woodland.
“Stay behind me, lass,”I ordered, praying she listened as I faced off with the men, not bothering to look for the warriors traveling with us because they were a ways off fighting.
“Who are ye?” I growled, knowing better than to flash my dragon eyes until I knew what clan they were from, because they weren’t wearing Sutherland colors, and if possible, dragons were to remain discreet. “Because ye’ve ambushed the king’s men on MacLeod land.”
They didn’t bother answering, only eyed Willow with a little too much interest before attacking. I might not be Lucas, but I could more than hold my own, especially when defending my mate. So I swung the mighty Viking sword and clashed blades with two men at once, keeping an eye on the third who was trying to figure out a way around me to get to Willow.
“The two I’m fighting are a distraction so the third can get to you, Willow,”I warned her within the mind as the men came at me harder, creating sparks as our blades crashed against one another in the blustery, cold forest.“This is a well-orchestrated ambush, so keep your blade at the ready because I dinnae doubt they’re here for you.”
“Yet they’re not wearing Sutherland colors,”she pointed out.“So what are we thinking? Hired thugs to make it seem like the Sutherlands aren’t trying to steal me out from beneath the king’s nose?”
“’Tis possible.”I blocked one sword and thrust a dagger at the other, catching him in the thigh.“Whoever they are, they fight well, so I’m leaning toward them being Sutherlands with no dragon blood.”
“And what about them?”she wondered.
There was a frown in her internal voice, and with good reason, because several more warriors had just appeared out of nowhere. It was more than a little alarming, if I were being honest, when I couldn’t get through to Broderick, hoping he’d send backup, because that meant we were way too close to Sutherland land. There had once been grey areas that prevented long-distance telepathy between dragons, but those areas were rare, and my understanding was that Aunt Chara had addressed them years ago.
“Or Elspet has her bony fingers in this somehow,” Willow said, warning me to watch out as a fourth man rushed me, leaving Willow vulnerable.“Remember, she was messing around with our tree, trying to access its magic.”
She was, and that made more sense than my theory, given I was almost certain gray areas didn’t exist anymore. When more and more warriors rushed my way, the man focused on Willow shot past me, and even though she did well holding her own with a sword, we were going to be in real trouble if we didn’t get helpsoon.
“Can you access the Morrow?”I wondered, pretty much knowing the answer before I asked, given the tree wasn’t here. Yet her dragon had accessed it in the sky and delivered us to the MacLeod battlement, so maybe it was possible.
“I don’t think so.”She ducked beneath the blade swung at her and cleverly used a nearby tree to stay one step ahead of her opponent.“I’m not sure what I did last time other than try to protect you, so maybe it’ll kick in soon because there are far too many of them, Sloan, and they seem determined to kill you rather than take you prisoner.”
“’Twill be all right,”I assured when I heard her inner voice wobble with fear, not for herself but for me. I punched an oncoming warrior in the gut, spun, and side-kicked another before clashing blades yet again.“If need be, I’ll embrace my dragon and be done with this lot.”
