Page 38 of Highlander the Conqueror

Clyde was one of his most skilled and seasoned warriors and had been with him since he took command of a Gallowglass troop and grew it into the most feared and victorious troop to fight against.

With no argument from Slayer, Clyde said, “I will leave in the morning and return before you can miss me.” He looked about to say more but held his tongue.

“Say what you will, Clyde.”

“You are a wise leader who makes wise decisions. It would be wise of you to leave here soon and take residence in the castle now that so many more mercenaries fill the area.”

“My thought as well, Clyde. We leave here in two days.”

* * *

Two days.Sky managed to catch the two words. Her heart turned heavy, and she glanced over the flourishing garden. “I wish I could be here for harvesttime, but I fear that will not be possible.”

Another warrior suddenly appeared to speak with her husband and Clyde stepped aside, walking toward the cottage to stand and wait.

She made her way toward him. He was a large man and older than most of Slayer’s warriors she had seen. “Can I offer you something? A brew perhaps?”

He stared at her, and she wondered if it was her eyes that seemed to leave him speechless.

He coughed as if clearing his throat. “Nay. But thank you.”

She did not know what else to say to him, never having spoken to any of Slayer’s warriors. She had been foolish to try and speak with him, learn something he had told Slayer. His warriors would never reveal anything to her.

She smiled. “Stay safe, Clyde.”

He looked at oddly at her.

“Do I have your name wrong? I thought I heard Slayer call you Clyde.”

“Aye, that is my name and again, thank you.”

Slayer called out to him.

Clyde went to walk away but stopped briefly to say, “Lord Slayer will keep you safe, Sky.”

She smiled as he walked away, the warrior having acknowledged her by her name as someone who did not fear her would do, and it pleased her.

She turned and felt a catch in her chest as she stared at the cottage. She had left the window and door open to let in an oddly sunny and warm spring day. She was not prone to constant tears, having learned they did little to help a situation, but she felt them now pooling in her eyes. She had found a spark of happiness here with Slayer, something she had never expected to find. Something she did not want to lose. But there was the worry of the danger she and her sisters still faced and concern for Slayer’s safety as well with his brother having been killed and his father poisoned. And there was her husband, a feared Gallowglass leader she needed to come to know more about, love even more, and fear even less.

“Sky.”

She brushed away the tears before they could fall and turned to face Slayer with a smile.

Slayer went to her, his hand hurrying to grip the back of her neck as concern filled his eyes. “Why do your eyes glisten with tears? Are you in pain? Did you hurt yourself in the garden?”

She gave no thought to making an excuse. She spoke the truth to him. “Nay, I realized that our time here will end soon and I will miss being here alone with you. I have very much enjoyed our time together and I will always cherish the memories we made here.”

“Our memories don’t end here,” Slayer said, her words sounding as if their time together was coming to an end, something he would never allow to happen. “We have the rest of our lives to fill with memories and I look forward to making them with you.”

His remark touched her heart since to her it said that he cared for her and that gave her hope that someday he might come to more than just care for her.

“As do I with you,” she said.

He kissed her, a more demanding than gentle one, and she felt the tension in it. Something disturbed him.

“What’s wrong, Slayer?” she asked when she managed to break the kiss.

“Nothing,” he snapped and claimed her lips again so forcefully that her bottom lip caught on one of her teeth and she gasped in pain.

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