Page 104 of Black Heart

“They’re gonna get themselves killed!”

* * *

“Get yer hands off her!”

“Make a choice!” the bastard said, giving Macha’s hair a violent twist that had her crying out. “Yer life or hers?”

“Mine!” Tadgh shouted without hesitation.

“So be it,” the king snarled as he shoved his daughter aside, pulled out his sword and swiftly slid it through Tadgh’s stomach, his men tightened their hold on Tadgh as he calmly accepted his fate. He’d do anything to keep her safe.

“Ye bastard!” Shayne roared. “I’ll kill ye!”

“Yer dead! Dead!” Liam shouted as the rest of his brothers fought and screamed, desperate to get to him and kill every man in sight, but Tadgh could barely hear them over his wife’s cries. She was in pain, so much pain and there was nothing that he could do to stop it. He only prayed the baby waited just a little while longer until his brothers could get free and protect it.

Clenching his jaw tightly, Tadgh forced himself not to cry out in pain as the king slowly, so goddamn slowly, pulled the sword out, making sure that Tadgh felt every ounce of pain. He wouldn’t make a sound of pain, too afraid that he’d use up the last of his energy when he needed to save it to beg for his wife and brothers to be spared.

He could accept his fate as long as Macha was left unharmed, able to raise their child and that his brothers could be there to protect them. It was the only thing that kept him from fighting back and taking as many of the king’s men with him as he could. The only thing that he wanted above vengeance was the knowledge that his family would survive this.

“Do ye truly believe that she’s yer soulmate?” the king asked tauntingly as he gestured for a guard to grab Macha when she tried to go to him.

“Aye,” Tadgh admitted, knowing that there was no point in lying and fearing what the king would do to Macha if he tried.

“I see,” the king murmured, sounding thoughtful as he pulled out his short sword and pointed it towards Tadgh’s chest, probably expecting him to beg for his life, but he wouldn’t. This was the bargain for his family’s lives and he would gladly pay it.

“Then, where yer soul goes, shouldn’t hers follow?”

It took a few seconds for the king’s words to sink in and by the time they did, it was too late. The king grabbed his own daughter by the hair and thrust the small sword into the right side of her chest, a killing wound. It was a wound that he’d inflicted hundreds of times into his enemies’ chests. It was designed to cause a slow painful death with no hope of recovery.

“Ye bastard!”

Keeping his eyes locked on his wife as she fell helplessly to the ground, Tadgh grabbed the sword at his throat, barely noticing or caring as the blade sliced through his fingers and shoved it away as he grabbed the wrist that held it and with a well-practiced move, snapped it. He took the sword, turned it and thrust it back, killing the man before he could react. He quickly killed the man to his left as he pushed up on his trembling legs and went after the bastard that he should have killed a long time ago.

He was barely aware of the commotion going on to his left or the screams of agony as he moved towards his prey. Before he could get within striking distance, the coward grabbed Macha by her hair, tilted her hair back, exposing her throat to the sharp blade of a dagger.

“Not another step,” the king warned.

“Ye won’t be leaving this field alive,” Shayne promised hoarsely as he stepped up beside him.

“Yer life is mine for the taking,” Liam swore, stepping up to his left and claiming the right to kill the king. Tadgh didn’t waste his energy arguing, not when the only thing that mattered was that the king died this night.

“Tadgh,” Macha said, sobbing as she pressed one hand to her wound and the other over the baby that she would never hold.

“Drop the knife,” Finn said coldly, coming up behind the king while Connall, Aidan, and Quinn disposed of the men protecting the king’s back.

His brothers were badly injured but determined. The king’s smug smile froze on his face as his eyes quickly darted around the clearing and whatever he saw had him dropping his hold on Macha’s hair, but he didn’t move the blade away from her neck.

Using his sword as a staff to support his weight, Tadgh quickly looked around and saw the reason why. All of the king’s men were either dead or dying. Months of running ended tonight.

Keeping his knife firmly against his daughter’s throat, the king reached into his robes and pulled out a smooth grey stone. Holding it over his heart, the king locked eyes with him.

“Ye will all pay fer this, this I swear! Ye will never know peace or true happiness. Ye will forever walk this earth as slaves. Ye will pay for stealing from me! Ye ruined me over this nonsense of soulmates and true love, so I curse ye all to hell and back and ye soulmates along with ye! May ye only know pain and suffering for eternity and ye soulmates suffer fer what ye did to me this day! Ye will always meet with death!” the king shouted, but none of them heard him. None of them cared for the nonsense that he shouted.

Finn placed his hand over the stone, ripping it out of the king’s hand. “And ye as well, ye dumb bastard!”

Quinn quickly reached down and placed his hand around the blade, separating it from Macha’s neck and taking the slice that would have ended her life too quickly. As it was, she only had a few precious moments left. He was about to lose her and their child, Tadgh realized. Raw agony ripped through him, tearing an unholy roar from his throat as he picked up his sword and swung, slicing the king’s neck open from ear to ear.

“Macha,” Tadgh whispered, his heart breaking as he released the sword and dropped to his knees before her.

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