Page 16 of The Fierce Highlander

The man stared at Leora, ignoring Noble. “I missed. I can’t believe I missed my mark. I never miss.”

Noble heard the words in his head before they left his wife’s mouth.”

“There is always a first time,” Leora said with a smile.

“At least I scarred you,” the man said with pride.

“Your name,” she ordered.

The man stuck out his chest. “Tavish.”

With a lift of her chin, Leora said, “I will wear the scar proudly and tell everyone how I was the only person that Tavish the marksman failed to kill.”

Noble’s men burst out laughing and Tavish’s face grew red with rage, and he went to lunge forward. Two sword blades were slammed flat against his chest stopping him.

“Who hired you,” Noble demanded, “and I will not ask you again.”

Tavish shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t tell you what I don’t know. The leader of a mercenary group offered coins to anyone who would kill the reddish blonde-haired daughters of the chieftain of Clan Murdock and more coins would be given with proof of their deaths. No one would take on the task once it was discovered that the Gallowglass was involved, so I was offered more than a generous amount of coins since I never fail at a task.”

“Until now,” Leora reminded.

Tavish scowled at her. “I may not get to finish the task, but someone will since someone badly wants you and your sister dead.”

“Who is the mercenary who offered this to you?” Noble asked.

Tavish spat on the ground before saying, “Why should I tell you? You are going to kill me anyway.”

“It is the difference between a quick, easy death or a brutally painful one,” Noble said.

Tavish laughed. “I choose my death, not you.”

It happened so fast that Leora stared, trying to comprehend that Tavish lay dead, blood pooling beneath him, his throat slit by his own hand. She turned her head away, her cheek brushing her husband’s chest and she rested her cheek against the thick muscle beneath his garment relieved to feel his strength.

He tightened his hold on her and lowered his head to rest his cheek to the side of her head and kept his voice low as he said, “You need to sit and rest until we are ready to leave.” He didn’t give her a choice. He walked her to the spruce tree, lowering her gently to sit beneath the wide branches. “Stay here until I come for you.”

She did not argue with him since he was right. She did need to rest and let her wound heal. She had to make sure to keep strong so she could get to Sky and make sure she understood the danger she was in and that she was to take the threat seriously. Also, to see that Lord Slayer was keeping her sister safe.

This was a nightmare and one she wanted to wake up from before it grew worse. The thought barely finished in her head when her husband returned.

He leaned down and with an arm around her waist brought her to her feet. “We leave immediately. More marksmen have been spotted.”

Leora was on his horse and in his arms and she saw as they rode away that not all his men rode with them, and the prisoners hadn’t left with them either. She thought of asking him about it, but exhaustion had taken hold of her, and she found her eyes growing heavy.

She slept on and off as they traveled, the pain in her head lingering but subsiding. However, she was relieved when they finally stopped.

“You are tired, you will rest before we continue,” Noble ordered once he lifted her off the horse and gave a quick glance at the cloudy sky that promised rain.

“There is just enough light that lingers for me to get a quick look at my reflection in the stream to see my wound. Then I will rest but not too long. The clouds overhead foretell of heavy rain, ” she said, knowing rest was necessary if she were to regain the strength the wound had robbed from her, but heavy rain could prove challenging.

“A few minutes, no more,” he said and walked her to the nearby stream. He had no intention of leaving her there alone. She was unsteady on her feet, and he could almost feel her exhaustion.

Leora was relieved he helped her to sit on the bank close enough to the water that she could lean over and hopefully catch enough of her reflection in it to see her wound.

She went to unwrap the cloth from around her head when Noble stopped her.

“I will remove the cloth for you.” And he did not wait for a response from her, he eased the cloth from around her head.

His touch was so gentle that her eyes drifted closed as he slowly relieved her of the cloth.

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