Page 150 of Long Live the King

He unwound a bandage and bound it around her shoulder and arm, holdin’ it close tae her side. Then he cleaned her palms and wiped the skin with an ointment, and wrapped them with white bandages. She said, “Feels better already.”

Quentin opened a jar of medicine and poured three pills intae her palm. He passed her a bottle with water.

She said, looking down on the pills, “I don’t know, I might get pretty loopy, seems like I might need my wits about me.”

Quentin said, “I know you’ve been through an ordeal and this is all scary, but we’re going to a really nice castle, you’ll have a bed and a warm meal. Take the medicine.”

She popped them in her mouth and drank a long draft of water tae wash them down.

I said, “We hae a cart or a horse, both are likely tae cause ye discomfort.”

“I’ll take the cart, if that’s okay, the horse is kinda... It’s all a lot for me to get used to.” One of the horses stamped and snorted. Her face drew down.

I helped her up and with an arm for support brought her tae the cart. She was covered in dirt. I brushed a twig from her hair and got her sittin’ in the middle on a burlap sack. I dug through one of the packs on my horse and found a plaid tae wrap around her shoulders, fussin’ with gettin’ it tight and tucked in so thather arm was stationary. We were verra close while I worked and then I said, “I am sorry.”

She blinked and looked as if she might cry.

“It winna be a long ride, Mistress Ash, I will do my best tae keep ye comfortable.”

Sean and Liam checked the harness for the horse and then we headed toward Balloch castle.

CHAPTER 63 - ASH

BALLOCH CASTLE

Popping my shoulder joint back in place improved the pain immensely, but all the rest of this situation was insane. I was lying in a cart, being dragged around by horses. I had been in a shootout, Lochie had done something to me that scared me and hurt terribly, and now we were going somewhere — where were we going?

To a castle.

None of it made sense, but there was a Florida boy here. That was weird. Did that mean this was a dream?

None of it seemed real.

I realized that the cart was metal, and the wheels had rubber tires. Near me was a nameplate — TuffCart. It was bouncing me, but they were pulling me slow, trying to keep the bouncing to a minimum. I was actually getting lulled to sleep, probably the effect of the drugs, too. Watching the trees go by, an endless woods, what woods? I was definitely feeling, loose. Looser. Looserer.

The cart rolled, the movement shifted side to side. I looked up at Lochie, he was up on a horse, riding beside me, backlit by sun, hot, straight backed and competent, gosh he was hot. Roll shift, shift roll.

He looked down, his expression was really concerned about me.

Yeah, well me too.

“Ye well, Ash?”

I raised my good arm, my hand wrapped in white bandage, and pointed at him, “You are not real, m’laird.” I giggled.

His jaw clenched.

None of this is real. Do you hear me? None of it.

CHAPTER 64 - KAITLYN

BALLOCH CASTLE

Finally Archie yelled down, “Mammy! They’re coming!”

Jack and Hayley applauded, I stood in the open gate watching down the causeway, but there was something off about the scene. It took a few moments of watching, the group in the far distance, before I realized that two of the horses didn’t have riders. Magnus wasn’t with them.

I heard a loud scream from the walls and turned as Archie collapsed on the parapet.

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