Page 19 of In Bed with a Highland Beast

Lucia shrugged a shoulder. “Everyone at our village said he was a terror.”

“Is that so?” Tiernan asked. “Well, we’re mercenaries. I should hope we’re all terrors.”

Lucia wasn’t going to get anything out of them, she knew, and especially not from Tiernan. They didn’t trust her, but that was not all. She suspected none of them wanted to talk about Ronan at all or that perhaps they were ordered to keep quiet about him. Either way, if she wanted to learn more about her brother and his death, she would have to be much more cunning than that.

Tiernan, if no one else at least, seemed like a clever man.

“Callum certainly seems a terror,” Lucia said, wondering if she could get some information on their leader if not on her brother.

Tiernan chuckled, but it was a humorless sound. For a moment, he glanced around and Lucia found that he was searching for Callum, as if he wanted to ensure he was too far to hear them. When his gaze fell on him, Lucia could have sworn that was a slight twitch of his lips, the slightest sign of disdain in his features.

It was curious, she thought. Did Tiernan not like Callum? Was there tension between them that she could exploit? Likely as it seemed in that moment, she would not yet risk anything. It was too soon and she didn’t yet know who, if any of those men, she could trust.

“We’ll be leavin’ soon,” Tiernan said. “Leave those fools tae their jobs an’ make sure tae dae yers. Just because ye can fight, it doesnae mean ye’re free tae be lazy now.”

There was no real bite behind Tiernan’s words but Lucia still took offence. She didn’t like being told what to do, nor did she appreciate being called lazy after everything she had done to get where she was. Tiernan, of course, knew none of that, she reminded himself, and so she only gave him a cold, tight smile that was more of a grimace than anything else.

Lazy! I’ll show ye lazy!

Clouds still lingered in the sky that morning when Callum gave the order for his men to strike camp so they could all depart. Alaric and Lucia had found them just in time, it seemed. Had they been only a day late, they would have missed them.

Whether that would have been better or worse, Alaric didn’t know. More than anything, he simply wanted to finish this mission—he had taken to thinking of Lucia’s plan as a mission in a desperate attempt to make the situation more familiar to him—as soon as possible, and so perhaps it was better that theyhad found them. Anything else would have only prolonged their journey and to Alaric, even a day gained was a victory.

Eager to find out more about Callum and the Ravencloaks, Alaric had been trailing the man all morning, but there was not much he had learned so far. Callum seemed to spend most of his time scowling at his men, barking orders, or simply strolling around, and Alaric had ended up spending more time on meaningless chores than he had on finding anything useful. It was only when he saw Callum approach the man Alaric had figured out was his closest advisor and confidante, a large and imposing man by the name of Douglas, that he thought perhaps he could finally hear something useful.

Following them at a distance, Alaric watched them intently but could hardly hear what they were saying as they walked to the river. Once they were near the bank, they came to a stop and Alaric took the chance to step closer and closer, silently making his way towards them under the cover of the rushing water. It was risky; if they saw or heard him, they were bound to question his motives and kill him on the spot, but Alaric would have never completed any of his missions if he cared more about his safety than he did about getting the information he needed.

The bank was slippery, the soil having turned into mud with the swift passage of the waters. The grass that grew over it only worsened the situation, and Alaric’s boots alternated between sinking into the soft ground and slipping over it, his breath coming out quick and foggy in the cold air. He crouched down, partly to keep his balance and partly to remain hidden, his hand skirting over the mud, and the closer he got to the two men, the clearer their voices became.

“We should have killed them when they first came here,” said Douglas.

Alaric didn’t have to wonder who it was they were talking about. It didn’t surprise him that Douglas would advise such a thing, either. Most, if not all, of the men in that clearing were suspicious of him and Lucia, wary and for good reason. Alaric could hardly expect anything else from them.

“Dae ye doubt me that much, Douglas?” Callum asked. “The lassie fought an’ won. A deal’s a deal.”

From where he crouched, Alaric could see Douglas—the slight purse of his lips, his arms crossed as he stared at Callum expectantly. When Callum said nothing more, Douglas asked, “An’ what if they’re lyin’?”

“Then we kill them,” said Callum. “Simple as that.”

This only confirmed what Alaric had already known. He and Lucia had to be very careful not to do anything that would draw to much attention to them, and yet there he was, eavesdropping on Callum and his right-hand man.

It was a bad idea. They had to gain their trust first and then they could figure out a way to learn more about the Ravencloaks and Lucia’s brother, even if that method would take much longer.

Will they ever trust us? Or is this naethin’ but a waste o’ time?

For the time being, Alaric decided it was best to retreat. Slowly, he crept over the bank once more, this time heading back to the clearing, but now his shoes were coated in mud and the trek back was more difficult than before. He moved as slowly as he could afford, looking around him to make sure no one was there to spot him, and that was when he saw Lucia standing nearby, watching him with wide eyes.

Alaric waved her off, but she remained there, glancing between him and Callum, but there was no reason for concern. Alaric had everything under control.

Or at least so he thought until his foot slipped on a particularly slick part of the bank and his hand shot out, looking for anything that would stop his fall. Small rocks tumbled down, disturbed by his movements, and in his haste to move, his feet stomped on the ground only to sink deeper and deeper into the mud, every minute motion creating a ruckus.

He was a dead man. There was no way Callum and Douglas—and even the entire clearing—hadn’t heard him.

“Help! Help!”

The sudden shrieks cut through all the noise he made, covering it up. In his haste, Alaric didn’t realize what was happening until he had managed to pull himself onto solid ground and saw everyone rushing to Lucia, who was in hysterics. Even Callum and Douglas ran to her, confused by her sudden screaming.

“A snake!” Lucia yelled, pointing frantically at the ground. “There is a giant snake! Be careful, be careful!”

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