Page 125 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
Rhys.
Covered in blood, bruised across his jaw, hair mussed from the wind. His broad shoulders filled the doorframe like a shield. The moment their eyes met, the chaos outside melted away.
“I knew it would come to this, eventually,” he murmured. “I just hoped it would come after I’d built a better world for ye.”
He stepped forward, and Amara launched herself into his arms.
The embrace was tight, grounding. Her body folded into his, and for the first time since the flames rose behind them, she let herself breathe.
Rhys kissed the top of her head, lingering there. “Ye're safe. Thank God.”
A new voice—smaller, higher—broke the moment.
“Papa!”
Amara turned just in time to see Daisy barrel across the stone floor of the shelter. Her curls flew behind her, her cheeks smudged with ash.
Rhys dropped to one knee and caught her, lifting her into his arms with a choked sound that might have been a sob.
“Oh, mo chridhe,” he whispered into her hair. “Are ye hurt? Are ye alright?”
“I’m fine!” she chirped. “Mabel and Nina kept me in the cellar. But it was loud. I was brave.”
“Aye, I know ye were.”
Amara watched them, hand to her chest. She felt the tears threaten, but didn’t let them fall. Instead, she reached forward and tucked a strand of hair behind Daisy’s ear.
“Papa came back,” Daisy said, glancing between the two of them. “And ye came back too.”
“Aye,” Amara smiled, voice catching. “We all came back.”
Rhys lowered Daisy, and she went to find Mabel again, proudly announcing she had to help.
He turned to Amara. “Have ye seen Leighton?”
“Aye,” she said. “He’s here. But he’s hurt.”
Rhys’s face changed instantly. “Where?”
Amara led him past the cots and the injured, toward a shadowed corner where Leighton lay with a wrap across his ribs and bruising from cheek to collar.
The older man stirred when they approached.
“Rhys,” he rasped.
“Leighton.” Rhys kneeled down beside him, his hand resting lightly on the man’s arm. “I… I owe ye an apology.”
Leighton’s brows twitched together. “That so?”
“I questioned yer loyalty,” Rhys said plainly. “I let lies twist around me, and for that… I’m sorry.”
Leighton coughed, but he chuckled softly afterward. “Ye’re not the first to be caught in that boy’s storm. Finn had a gift for makin' trouble seem like a clever idea.”
Amara glanced between them, her hand curling around Rhys’s.
Robert appeared just then, his tunic torn at the hem, a long gash scabbing over his brow. “We’ve cleared the southern wall. Myles is patrolling the northern side. We’ll need to secure the outer grounds by nightfall.”
“Aye,” Rhys said, standing. He turned back to Leighton and nodded. “Rest. We’ll sort the rest.”
