Page 45 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
All Adam wanted was to have his sister back and return to how things had been before.
Emily stepped away from Lady MacNiall, a weight in the pit of her stomach as she realized the true nature of the future laid out before her.
“I should rest,” she insisted. “Thank ye for showin’ me these,” she finished weakly and then walked out of the room as quickly as she could.
She wasn’t sure where she was headed, but she could feel the panic building within her.
I need air.I have to get out of here.
16
Emily ran through endless corridors, surrounded by unfamiliar doors and passageways.
She somehow managed to find her way to the ground floor of the castle and was about to go outside to clear her head when someone cleared their throat behind her.
She turned to find a manservant standing in the corridor, carrying a bundle of letters. “M’Lady, this was delivered for ye today.”
Emily’s eyes flicked about the interior of the castle, her body thrumming with energy from the encounter with Lady MacNiall. She stared at the man, trying to gather her thoughts.
“Th-thank ye,” she said distractedly as he handed her a letter with a low bow and retreated into the corridor behind him.
The worry that had been nagging at her increased tenfold as she recognized Bruce’s handwriting on the envelope. She moved quickly into a secluded corner and tore open the letter, her eyes widening as she read the brief missive from her brother.
Emily,
Do not despair! I am coming for you. If I have to kill every one of Stewart’s men, I will find you and bring you home. Father and I will not rest until you are safe.
Bruce.
Her fingers shook uncontrollably as she read the letter several times, taking in deep breaths as she contemplated the meaning of those words.
Bruce was going to try and fight his way out. The idea terrified her more than anything else about her future. Her brother’s stubborn face flashed through her mind, and she could well imagine he was going mad from the lack of news—just as Adam had intended Stewart to.
Emily looked ahead of her at the dull cobbles of the courtyard. She had agreed to come with Adam in the hopes that her family would be protected, yet now they were in just as much peril as before.
She swallowed, shuddering from the cold breeze that drifted through the halls. The panic she had been trying to suppress overrode everything else.
I have to get to them.If I dinnae try, he will be killed for sure. If he sees I am alive, all will be well.
She tucked the letter in her bodice and walked stiffly to the entrance to the castle.
The courtyard outside was dark beneath the gathering clouds, and several guards wandered about their posts. The gates were open. There was a relatively clear path to them if she could get past the stables.
She had one chance. If she tarried now, she might never have another opportunity. Bruce and her father were the priority, and she had been foolish to think they would sit back and leave her here alone.
She backed away from the castle entrance, knowing if she left that way, the guards would see her.
She went back toward a side door, leaving through another route, and found herself stepping outside near the statue of the pegasus again. It was still leaping upward, forever attempting to reach the sky, but it never would.
Something about the sight of it made her incredibly sad.
Ignoring a foolish pang of unhappiness as she thought of leaving MacNiall Castle so soon, she proceeded slowly to the edges of the castle walls, moving on tiptoe so as not to be heard.
There was a rumble of voices from the stables as the servants saw to the horses. Emily ducked behind some barrels at the edges of the stalls to avoid being seen. She was in luck, as the guards in the courtyard walked up the stone steps to the battlements and the way before her was suddenly empty.
Her dress was completely impractical for the journey that lay ahead of her. Her shoes were thin, and she could already feel the uneven surface of the cobbles beneath her toes.
But I have to try.
