Page 66 of Craved By a Highland Beast

She hoped she had distracted them enough for Evan to get some advantage, at least. She didn’t have the chance to look back, not when her target was right in front of her, armed.

The archer was one of the smaller men in the group, but still larger than her, standing a good head taller. He seemed nimble, too, light on his feet as he jumped back when Bonnie approached him, watching her with a curious look.

It didn’t take long for him to lose all trepidation when he realized his opponent was a small woman. This was the mistake every man made, Bonnie knew—they underestimated her, thinking she was weak, lacking the skill they did. But Bonnie’s father had made sure his daughters knew how to defend themselves against foes twice their size. The biggest mistake they all made was to underestimate them.

Bonnie’s vision narrowed down to that man, taking in his stance and the way he gripped his knife. With a feint to the right, Bonnie forced the man to guard his left side and quickly shifted hands, switching her blade to the left with the goal of putting an end to this as soon as possible. The man was quick and perceptive, noticing the change in hands—he was just a fraction too late.

Bonnie’s blade pierced through the man’s flesh right under his ribs. For a moment, he seemed to be surprised by the pain, as though he couldn’t believe he had been struck at all. His eyes were wide as he stared up at Bonnie, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Even if the man was the enemy, even if he would have harmed her, she couldn’t stomach the fact that she was responsible for his death.

With a grunt, she pulled the blade out of him and let him fall to the ground, his blood seeping into the earth. There was no time for her to consider what she had done, to give the man any more thought. Instead, she grabbed his bow and arrows, stringing one and swiftly turning to the men fighting Evan.

She noticed too late that the sounds of the fight had stopped. It wasn’t until she took in the sight before her that she realized Evan had already been overpowered and that she, too, was too late in the end.

Two of the men from the crew were holding his head under the water as Evan jerked and flailed, trying to push them off. Water sloshed everywhere around them, soaking all three men, but the more Evan tried, the more he tired himself out. Bonnie could see it in the way his movements turned weak, his legs barely holding his body up, his arms going slacker with every passing moment.

“Unhand him!” she shouted, training her bow at the larger of the two men. “Unhand him or I will shoot!”

The men only laughed and Bonnie’s hands trembled with rage and fear for Evan’s life. Her blood rushed hot in her veins, every part of her demanding revenge.

“I already killed one o’ ye!” she said and it was then that their laughter died, as they saw their fellow soldier lying dead on the ground.

“But can ye kill us all?”

Bonnie looked at the man. He was still holding Evan under the water and he seemed unfazed to have Bonnie’s arrow pointing right at him. In front of her eyes, Evan slowly went still, all the fight draining out of him, and she realized she had no other choice.

There were too many men for her to fight on her own. Even if she was shooting her bow from a distance, there was only so far, she could get before one of them grabbed her. There was no time for her to get to Evan, to pull him out of the water. Her only chance was to beg them to let him live.

Slowly, she lowered her weapon, her stomach churning at the sight of that man grinning in satisfaction. It sickened her to see just how much he was enjoying inflicting this torture on her, on Evan.

“Unhand him,” she said once more. Before the man could answer, though, and before Bonnie could demand Evan’s release again, a dull thud echoed in her head, a skull-splitting pain radiating all over from her crown.

Within mere seconds, the world went black. The last thing she heard was the laughter of those men, cold and cruel, like the rattle of bones.

Evan squinted against the light in the room that, for a brief moment, seemed blinding, even though it was nothing more than a few burning torches. He blinked in confusion, trying to place the room, but it was not one he recognized.

He was not home.

Slowly, the rest of his senses caught up. His lungs ached, his back ached, and the skin on his wrists burned where it had chafed. He was bound on a chair, he realized, hands behind its back, the knots so tight that the rope was digging harshly into his flesh and even the slightest movement was enough to irritate his skin.

His head was heavy, as if it was made of lead. With great effort, he looked to one side, seeing nothing that could help him. Then, he rolled it to the other, and it was then that he truly woke, the sight alarming him into full consciousness.

It was Bonnie. She, too, was bound and her head had lolled forward, the strands of hair that had escaped her updo concealing most of her face. The only indication that she still lived was the slow rise and fall of her chest, and Evan breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted it. At least she was still alive. At least there was still hope.

“Yer awake. Good.”

A familiar voice spoke behind him. The memories rushed back to him—Ruthven’s men attacking, Evan trying to fight them off just so Bonnie could escape their clutches, two of them holding him underwater until he lost consciousness.

So, he was once again in Ruthven’s castle, only this time, escape seemed unlikely.

Does he ken everythin’, then? How did he find out?

Even as Ruthven walked around him, coming to stand right in front of him, Evan ignored him. He had no desire to hear whatever the man had to say. He’d rather Ruthven kill him than subject him to his endless talking.

Instead, he focused his attention on Bonnie, calling her name gently a few times to try and wake her. He wished to reach for her, to cradle her in his arms, but he couldn’t get out of his bonds, tight as they were. Ruthven’s men had completely immobilized his hands.

“Bonnie,” he said, trying once more, but still, Bonnie remained unconscious.

With an impatient sigh, Ruthven approached Bonnie, his boots thundering against the stone floor.

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