Page 24 of In Bed with a Highland Beast

Lucia shot him a warning glare, but Alaric ignored her. Portencross Castle was far from where they were and Alaric needed to know just how much time all this would take. No one had told them how far their safehouse was. No one had told them where they were going and he didn’t like travelling without knowing the destination.

Callum gave him a curious look from the other side of the flames, eyes narrowing. “Why? Is that too far fer ye? Has the travellin’ tired ye out?”

“I’m only wonderin’ where ye are takin’ us,” Alaric said, his choice of words entirely deliberate. It didn’t feel as though he and Lucia were following the Ravencloaks as much as being dragged all over the land by them, and if they were going to make it all the way to the west coast, then he wanted to know their destination, at least. If he ever got the chance to write to his brother again, he needed to know where they were heading. “An’ I am wonderin’ why ye havenae told us.”

Callum paused, pinning Alaric with his gaze. Then his stony expression changed into a small, strained smile. “All in due time,” he said. “Are ye concerned, Alaric? Is there somethin’ that bothers ye?”

“I already told ye what concerns me,” Alaric said flatly. Next to him, he could feel Lucia tense as he stood, glaring at Callum. “I’d like tae ken where me an’ me wife are headin’.”

Callum’s gaze slid from him to Lucia, but Alaric never once took his eyes off him. He only stared, as if daring him to give him an answer he wouldn’t like.

“An’ ye shall find out soon enough,” said Callum after a short pause. “All ye need tae ken now is that we are headin’ tae that town.”

It wasn’t the kind of answer Alaric wanted and so he was about to protest the lack of information when Lucia grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, much to the amusement of the men around them. Alaric could hear them whispering among themselves, joking about Lucia holding the reins and him being the wife, but he couldn’t care less about any of it. All he cared about was Callum and that look that he continued to give him, half irritated and half intrigued, as though he was trying to figure him out.

Alaric sat quietly after that, listening to Callum’s plan. He detailed everything, from the exact minute they would arrive to the positions of every man once they would begin their attack, and Alaric soon realized the Ravencloaks were more like an army than a gang of brigands and mercenaries. Callum led them with the organization and discipline of a war master, of someone who had spent his entire life learning and applying strategy. Where had he learned all this, Alaric wondered? Was it simply through years of trial and error? Did he have a predecessor, someone who had taught him everything he knew?

He didn’t know, nor could he ask, considering how Callum had just reacted to him asking questions. Instead, he remained silent and listened to the plan, taking in all the small details as he tried to figure out a way to minimize the damage the Ravencloaks would cause.

Lucia woke to two pairs of strong hands grabbing her—one of them closing around her wrists and the other around her ankles,a gag shoved into her mouth and a loose cloth bag over her head. It all happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to scream. She couldn’t even react at first, her entire body going rigid with shock and fear at the unexpected attack, but soon her instincts kicked in and she began to thrash in the men’s hold, twisting her body violently as she tried to escape their grasp.

She heard one of them curse; a gruff, familiar voice, followed by someone shushing him. In her senseless thrashing, Lucia managed to get one of her legs free, slipping out of her attacker’s grasp and kicking madly around in the hopes that she would get to reach someone and deal enough damage for them to let her go. Before long, though, footsteps thundered around her and another pair of hands grabbed her, the three men holding her securely in their grip.

Near her, she could hear Alaric grunt and struggle, surely trying to free himself much like she did. It was pointless, though. Lucia knew what was coming.

These were not simply some attackers who happened to find their camp in the middle of the night. No one could sneak up on the Ravencloaks like this now that Callum had tightened the security around the camp ever since she and Alaric had attacked them.

These were Ravencloak men and this was Callum’s real plan. There would never be an attack on that town, Lucia knew. It had all been a ploy to feed them false information and see if they would reveal anything should they fall in enemy hands.

A loyalty test. How quaint.

It was going to be far from enjoyable. Loyalty tests never were and their subjects usually took several days, if not weeks, to heal from the damage dealt to them. Still, that was the least of Lucia’s concerns. They couldn’t hurt them too badly, not when they needed them as part of the group if they passed. What concerned her was that Alaric could spill everything to them in an attempt to save them, since they had no real loyalty to the Ravencloaks. If he wanted a way out, then this could be it for him.

I must find a way tae warn him. I must tell him it is only a test.

But how could she do that? She was bound and gagged, and the bag over her head allowed her to see nothing but flashes of light, undoubtedly from the fire and the torches that were still lit.

Before long, Lucia was tossed to the ground, landing onto her back. Alaric soon joined her, his body thudding against the hard soil as he landed with a groan. Could she whisper to him, she wondered? Could she try to reveal what she knew without the other men hearing her?

It was unlikely. The others were silent, so that neither she nor Alaric would recognize their voices, and so they would hear her speak, even if her voice was barely more than a whisper. Perhaps she could play the role of the concerned wife, she thought. Perhaps she could seek Alaric out blindly, get close enough so that he would hear her but no one else. If he was panicking, though, if he was too shocked to hear her, then it wouldn’t matter.

The first blow came then—not to her, but to Alaric, who groaned in pain next to her. Soon, a fist collided with her stomach, too, forcing her to curl in on herself as the pain spread over her torso. Lucia breathed through it, trying to let the pain pass through her. What disturbed her the most were the grunts coming from her right as the men dealt blow after blow to Alaric—much more vicious with him than they were with her.

“Tell us what ye ken about the Ravencloaks,” someone said. It was a voice Lucia didn’t recognize, though whether it was someone she hadn’t talked to yet or someone who had simply changed his pitch, she didn’t know. It was a gruff, menacing voice, one that sent a chill down her spine.

Lucia remained silent and, much to her relief, so did Alaric. With any luck, he wouldn’t speak at all, no matter how much the men hurt him, but Lucia knew better than anyone that everyone had their limits. If they hurt him enough, why would he continue to remain silent? For all he knew, these were enemies of the Ravencloaks and giving them what they wanted would only set him free.

“Where is their next target?” the man asked, this time his voice sounding close to Lucia. When she didn’t respond, another hit followed, this time to the side of her head, forcing it to the side. It wasn’t hard enough to disorient her, though, or to deal any real damage, but rather just enough to rattle her, as if they knew just how much force they had to use. “Speak!”

Another blow, this one once again to her stomach, and Lucia coughed, the breath knocked out of her. She groaned as sherolled onto her back, her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself. As much as her mind knew she wasn’t in any real danger, her body was still experiencing the shock and the pain.

“Lucia!” Alaric called from next to her, the sound of her name followed by those of a commotion. It took her a few seconds to realize Alaric was trying to put up a fight once more, trying to reach her. “Let her go! She doesnae ken anythin’!”

“Lies!” barked the man. “How can she nae ken anythin’ when ye’re both with the Ravencloaks?”

“She doesnae,” Alaric insisted. “Nae one tells her anythin’. Why would they tell a lass?”

It was a valiant effort to save her, Lucia thought, but one that was in vain. Even if those men were real enemies, then they wouldn’t believe Lucia knew nothing about the plans, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care.

---