Page 67 of Kilted Seduction
And the Highlands would fall - or at least, all their clans and possibly their allies as well. Aedan grimaced.
Then he saw the tension in Thora’s shoulders, a distant spark in her eyes. “Thora? What is it?”
“A chance. Our only chance. A moment o’ mayhem. If ye can flee, then aid will find us, and there will be hope o’ escape from thisdanger, and perhaps from all else. If we fail, the clans fall tae Clan Ross.”
A slight shiver passed over her frame, and her eyes cleared. “I had…”
“I ken. But… ye cannae expect me tae flee without ye.” Aedan swallowed. “I cannae…”
“But ye will. Ye must. ‘Tis the only way help will find us in time. And ‘tis the only way fer both o’ us tae escape. Ye must flee, and I must follow. That’s the way o’ it, if we both want to survive this night.”
The very idea made his guts twist and his heart ache. Even so… he had sworn to trust her visions, even if he trusted nothing else. “What must we dae?”
“I will free ye. Ye must run fer it. The chaos will give us a chance tae try and escape.”
“How shall ye escape, if I flee without ye?”
“Ye will see. ‘Twill be all right.” She offered him a wan smile. “Trust me visions, even if ye trust naething else I say.”
“I trust yer visions.” To his surprise, he realized it was true. He did trust her visions.
For all that she’d lied to him, he trusted her with his life, and with his escape.
“Stay still, and act as if yer dazed and I’m tryin’ tae help ye.”
That wasn’t a hard command to follow. He still felt as if his head had been split by a rock, and breathing too deep hurt more than he wanted to admit. Aedan lowered his head and shook it slowly, as if struggling to focus. Thora leaned carefully into his side, her hands busy with the ropes that bound him.
It seemed to take an eternity for the ropes to loosen, and more than once he caught Lachlan’s second-in-command watching them closely. Still, he seemed to see only two lovers and captives taking comfort in each other’s presence.
Finally, the bindings fell free. Aedan flexed his wrists, then shifted his weight, masking the gesture with a grimace, as if in severe discomfort. “What now?”
“Now, as soon as yer ready… run fer the trees.”
Aedan nodded, then took a moment to center himself. When he was ready, his muscles as relaxed as he could make them, he moved and kissed Thora quickly vowing to himself this wouldn’t be the last time.
His ribs and his head screamed in pain as flung himself forward and upward into a crouch. Shouts erupted as he barreled into the nearest guard. Aedan snatched the man’s sword from itsscabbard, then laid him out with a blow to the jaw. For one moment, he was tempted to turn back to Thora and attempt to free her.
She was already surrounded by two guards and Lachlan’s advisor. Their eyes met, and her warning sounded in his ears.Trust the visions.
It nearly tore him in two, but Aedan whirled and dove for the trees. Branches cut across his face like small whips as he plunged through the bushes and flung himself into a stand of trees. He flattened himself into the undergrowth, just as the soldiers from Clan Ross came stumbling by, searching for him. His chest hurt, and Aedan forced himself to take shallow breaths as he lay motionless in the foliage.
He had taken the first step and made his escape. The next move was Thora’s.
Thora watched as Lachlan Ross’s carefully controlled camp descended into chaos. Aedan’s escape had startled all of them, and now no one seemed to know what to do.
The warriors were milling about in confusion. Lachlan was shouting orders, his face scarlet with fury. “Find him! Capture Laird Cameron, and make sure he cannae escape!”
Everyone was rushing to obey, but no one seemed to know which way to look. Lachlan roared more directions, demanding men go north, south, east, west, to follow Aedan’s trail, but with the uncertain light, there wasn’t much of a trail to follow.
Thora watched the men scrambling about. She knew they wouldn’t find Aedan. She’d seen this in her vision. She needed only the right moment.
A small dagger from her belt allowed her to cut her bonds while no one watched her. She kept still as the ropes fell from about her wrists, watching carefully.
There! A moment when the fire was untended. Thora scooped up a rock and threw it hard into the fire. Sparks scattered all over the campsite. Most spluttered out onto the snow or damp ground, but some of them landed on dry ground and caught. Within minutes, a dozen smaller fires were blazing to life, and smoke filled the air.
New shouts sounded, this time tinged with panic. Thora watched as the fires spread, and the men were more focused on trying to stop the flames than watching her.
Carefully, she rolled to her feet. No one noticed. With a smile, Thora spun and darted into the trees, away from the camp.
