Page 1 of The Unencumbered Warrior
PROLOGUE
The crackling campfire cast flickering shadows upon the towering pines, their dark silhouettes stretching toward the starlit sky. The scent of burning wood mingled with the lingering metallic tang of blood and sweat, remnants of the battle waged earlier that day. Victory had been theirs, hard-fought and well-earned, and now, beneath the vast Highland sky, three warriors sat in the hush of the night, the weight of their deeds pressing upon them even as they drank to their triumph.
A chill threaded through the air, the kind that seeped into weary bones after a day spent beneath steel and fury. The ground was damp, autumn’s creeping breath curling mist through the underbrush, where unseen creatures scurried. Owls hooted in the distance, and now and again, the faint rustle of leaves hinted at movement beyond the fire’s glow. The woods held secrets, as they always did, but on this night, they merely listened, bearing witness to the idle musings of men who had danced too often with death.
Declan stretched out his long legs, his boots scuffing against the packed earth, and took a hearty swig from his flask. The firelight caught on the fresh cut along his cheek, a trophy fromthe day’s battle. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and exhaled, his breath a faint ghost in the crisp air.
“Tell me this,” he said, his voice rough but rich with the satisfaction of survival. “If you could have one wish—one thing, granted without question—what would it be?”
Raff, broader than the other two and with a devil’s glint in his eye, let out a low chuckle. He poked at the fire with a stick, sending a shower of embers spiraling upward. “A wish, aye? Well, that’s easy. I’d wish for a life of complete freedom. No battles, no wife clucking over me, no responsibilities. Just me and the wind, coming and going as I please.” He grinned. “A man ought to answer to no one but himself.”
“A selfish wish,” Declan noted, though there was no judgment in his tone.
Raff shrugged. “Mayhap. But I’ve seen too many men shackled by duty, by love, by burdens they do not ask for. Not for me.”
Declan leaned back against a fallen log, rolling his flask between his hands. His dark gaze lingered on the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes. “I’d wish to never have to search for a woman,” he mused. “I tire of the chase, of the endless games. Let them come to me instead—fall at my feet, even.” A slow smile curved his lips. “And only the bonniest ones at that.”
Raff snorted. “That’s a dangerous wish. Women have ways of tangling a man up whether he seeks them or not.”
Declan laughed, lifting his flask in a mock toast. “Then let me be tangled, so long as they come willing.”
“What about you, Rhodes?” Raff asked. “What would you wish?”
Rhodes, the quietest of the three, tilted his head back, considering the stars peeking through the canopy of autumn leaves that had yet to fall. The firelight played over the sharp angles of his face, deepening the shadows beneath his eyes. Hedid not answer immediately, and when he did, his voice held a weight the others had not. “Power,” he said at last. “I would wish for the power to dominate, so much so that no one would ever dare to confront me. Unbeatable in battle, feared by all, and always victorious.”
Delcan gave a low whistle. “A grand wish, that one.”
“Aye,” Raff agreed. “But what happens when there is no one left to defeat?”
“That’s the sad part,” Rhodes said. “There’s always someone who wants to fight.”
The fire popped, sending another wave of sparks into the air, their light swallowed quickly by the night.
The wind shifted then, carrying a whisper through the trees. A voice? Or merely the rustling of branches? The warriors tensed, hands drifting to their weapons out of habit, though no threat revealed itself. And yet, the air felt different, charged with something unseen, something watching.
From the shadows, a figure emerged, cloaked in darkness, its form shifting like smoke, as if it did not belong to the world of men. The flames did not touch it, nor did its feet make a sound upon the forest floor. But its voice, when it spoke, was deep and knowing, like the echo of ancient things.
“Three wishes,” it murmured, its tone almost amused. “And so, they shall be granted.”
A hush fell over the camp. The warriors, men who had faced death without flinching, felt a prickle of unease as the figure lifted a hand, its fingers curling as though weaving fate itself. The fire flared, casting long, twisting shadows, and then, as suddenly as it had come, the figure was gone.
The night pressed close once more, and yet, something had changed. The warriors sat in silence, the weight of unseen forces settling upon them. The fire burned low, its embers glowing likethe last remnants of a dream, or perhaps the beginning of a curse.
They had made their wishes.
And now, there was no turning back.
CHAPTER 1
One Year Later.
The crisp Highlandair carried the scent of pine and heather as Raff trudged along a well-worn path, his boots heavy with dust. He had wandered far, through valleys and glens, over rivers and mountains, a year since making that wish, yet he had nowhere to go. No home to return to. No kin waiting to welcome him back. He had thought freedom would be a gift. He had even laughed about the wish with his friends the next morning, believing it nothing more than remnants of a drunken stupor. But now, he saw it for what it was… a curse.
He pulled his plaid tighter around his broad shoulders as the wind picked up, biting at his skin. The sky hung low with thick gray clouds, threatening rain. Not that it mattered. He had no destination, no duties to tend to, no one to care whether he was dry or soaked through to the bone.
What had he done?
His name meant nothing. When he returned home to his clan he had been met with blank stares. His home was no longer his. His betrothed had wed another and his brother, Nathan, claimedhe had no brother. His mother—God help him—had looked through him as if he were nothing more than a passing traveler. The weight of it had driven him into the wilds, where he had wandered ever since, trying to find a reason for this freedom he had so foolishly wished upon himself.
