Page 85 of Tempting the Highland Devil
I will die before I let him make me his wife!
* * *
Arran groaned when the icy cold water splashed all over him and dragged him out of the darkness that consumed his mind.
He screamed out of shock and sat up on the bedding abruptly while panting.
“Ye are all right now; ye are all right,” someone chanted next to him. His hazy vision only allowed him to see the men in the cottage, and fear sliced through him as he recalled being knocked down by Laird O’Neil.
Arran’s body ached. He recalled the arrow shot at him, and his men killed before him.
“Arran!” the voice called again, and this time strong hands framed his cheeks. “Look at me…Ye are safe. There isnae need to panic.”
He slowly calmed down as his friend’s face came into view. Arran saw Duncan peering down at him with tightly knit brows and a panicky expression.
The roar in his ears slowed, and he finally stopped panting, so he could hear Duncan’s words.
“Do ye hear me? Ye are safe now.”
“How did ye…How are ye here?” Arran stuttered. He glanced down at his naked body wrapped under the sheets. “Why am I naked? What happened here?”
“Yvaine was kidnapped!”
Duncan’s revelation made him stiffen. Pressure built in his chest as he looked at Duncan who kept speaking. “She was taken by O’Neil’s men. Our guards caught one of them who invaded the castle while the others escaped. We interrogated him and found out that they brought her here. The prisoner led us to this cottage, but we dinnae see Laird O’Neil or Yvaine. I suspect he has headed for his castle.
“We got here in time to save ye from his men who were tryin’ to murder ye in yer sleep, though” Duncan said with a wry smile. “Their bodies lay outside the cottage.”
“Is she all right? Is she hurt?” he questioned, his lips quivering as his entire body shook. Arran glanced down at his nakedness again, and a lump formed in his throat. “Why am I naked here?”
He recalled being struck by Laird O’Neil’s archers, and the dizziness.
“Laird O’Neil must have orchestrated this to humiliate ye and make Yvaine hate ye. He brought in some woman from the inn and made her lay with ye on the bed while ye were naked.”
Bile rushed up from the pit of his stomach, and the hard wave of nausea that hit him nearly won.
“Dinnae worry, we will go find Yvaine and bring her back. We have enough men here. James rode out to Macmicking to bring us support. He might not make it back in time, but we have enough men to invade O’Neil’s castle.”
“How many days has passed since Yvaine was taken?”
“Three days,” Duncan answered. He sighed after a second then touched Arran’s shoulder. “Ye are in nay position to go to battle, so I need ye to follow two men and head back to MacGregor.”
“Never,” Arran refused. “I willnae let ye fight these men alone.”
“Arran listen to me…”
“Nay,” he insisted. “Yvaine is me wife, and I have failed to protect her. Laird O’Neil will die tonight, and it has to be by me sword.”
45
Yvaine stared at the flames in the fireplace for a long time. She was dressed in a white dress alone in the chamber Laird O’Neil locked her in, and her heart was in pieces because she could not bring herself to stop grieving for Arran.
Laird O’Neil made sure to remove every object she could use to hurt herself and had stationed a dozen men in front of the chamber, so she did not dream of escaping.
Her mind raced with different thoughts as she stood on that spot with tears in her eyes. Yvaine even considered jumping out of the chamber’s window because she would rather die than let Laird O’Neil win.
Yvaine thought of the best way out of her dilemma. Fighting him was of no use because he would outpower her with ease. She had no hope right now because she did not think anyone was coming.
The chamber’s door opened a second later, and she twirled around to see Laird O’Neil walk in. The smile on his face widened once he saw her. Yvaine battled with her disgust and the urge to scream as he walked to her and handed over the single lily in his hand.
