Page 96 of Intrigued By A Highlander

They landed hard—down the slope and into the narrow ravine—mud spraying, rocks skittering beneath hooves. Knox threw an arm around Dru, keeping them both steady as Star struggled to stay upright.

The shouts above faltered. One rider tried to follow, but his horse balked and reared. Another wasn’t so lucky—horse and rider tumbled down the slope in a flurry of limbs and screams.

Knox didn’t wait to see the outcome.

“Go!” he urged Star again, and the mare bolted forward, splashing through a shallow stream as arrows hissed past them from above.

He didn’t know where they were headed.

Only that it was away from sure death.

The forest thickened the farther they went, the trees growing dense and close like a protective wall. Star’s breath came in heavy bursts now, each step slower than the last. Knox finally eased her to a halt beneath a canopy of twisted pines, where the light barely touched the mossy ground.

Knox slid Dru down off the mare first, legs unsteady when her feet touched the ground. He kept hold of her until he was sure she was steady enough on her feet to let go. Only then did he follow, every muscle tight with the need to keep moving—but even he knew they had to stop. If only for a moment.

The silence pressed in around them, broken only by Star’s labored breaths and the distant call of a crow overhead.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, voice low, eyes anxiously sweeping her garments for blood.

Dru shook her head. “Nay. You?”

“Nay,” he said, looking over Star to make sure she wasn’t injured and relieved to find she hadn’t been harmed.

Dru’s gaze darted back the way they’d come. “Do you think they’re still following?”

“Not through that ravine.” He stepped closer, brushing a fallen pine needle from her shoulder. “But we’re not safe yet.”

She looked up at him then—really looked—and the fierceness that had filled his face before had softened into something else. Something raw.

“You were right,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “That was a slaughter. No one was meant to live.”

“And a message,” Knox said, snagging his arm around her waist and easing her against him.

She pressed her head to chest, relieved to hear his heart beat strong and heavy when if not for his swift, decisive action, he would be lying dead with Torrance’s warriors, and she would be lying there with him.

She shuddered. “Whoever it is who wants me dead is letting Torrance know that nothing will stop him from getting his way. Only intense hatred can drive such determination. Do you think they heard the news that the urchin Dru was Autumn?”

“It’s likely and since you were with me, and it was known I was searching for her, they may have assumed I found her.”

Dru’s eyes grew heavy with worry. “And if the MacTavish brothers don’t quell the news, they just might believe it. So, where do we go from here?”

Knox’s eyes darted around, though he didn’t turn his head and when Star snorted and pounded the ground, he yanked his sword out of the sheath strapped to his back and shoved Dru behind him.

“She’s doomed,” the voice called out.

“And so are you?” Knox shouted back. “And don’t bother to try and convince me that you aren’t alone. You would have attacked by now if there was more than one.”

A crunch of leaves was heard, then a man of generous size stepped into view. “There is talk you are a great warrior. I am honored to be the one who kills you.”

“I wouldn’t be so fast in claiming victory,” Knox cautioned.

“True,” he acknowledged with a nod, “but I rarely lose.”

Knox nodded as well. “I never lose.”

“Another honor I have.”

“Go to Star,” Knox ordered in a whisper over his shoulder to Dru, not taking his eyes off the warrior.

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