Page 83 of Tempting the Highland Devil
Arran saw the glint of mischief in his eyes as he tilted his chin up as if giving Arran closer access to his neck.
“Ye see Laird MacGregor, the thin’ ye dinnae ken is that it is ye who has taken everythin’ from me.”
“What are ye talkin’ about?”
Laird O’Neil crossed his hands behind him and stayed unflinching even as he held Arran’s gaze steady. “Yer faither’s war against the northern clans took me wife, and then ye…I was supposed to wed the lady, and her dowry would have been mine!” Corded veins erupted in the man’s neck when he screamed out his words.
“Is that what this is about? Her dowry?”
“This is about revenge, Laird MacGregor. This is about ye thinkin’ ye can take anythin’ that ye want regardless of what others might think! This is about me takin’ what was meant to mine anyway. I will watch ye lose everythin’ ye have, just like ye have done to me. In the end, Lady Yvaine will be mine, and naythin’ else will matter.”
“She will never be yours. There isnae a way ye would have won her hand durin’ the games,” Arran chided him. “Ye are weak, and ye cannae go after yer enemies by yerself. Ye prefer to do it by sendin’ bandits and harmin’ the innocent. Yvaine would never have settled for a man like ye.”
Laird O’Neil shocked Arran with his next laugh, and then Arran moved his sword to strike him down, but an arrow pierced Arran’s chest before he could make the move. The contact left a ripping sensation searing through his chest as it tore through flesh and hit deep. Blood seeped.
“Me laird,” his men screamed, and another fight broke out amongst the men. Arran pulled out the arrow from his chest and leapt into battle like nothing happened. His eyes remained on Laird O’Neil’s as they fought.
He took charge of the moment, knowing that he would end the laird once and for all. More arrows came flying out of the bushes surrounding them, and they took down Arran’s men easily.
Arran got pierced by another on his arm. Arran groaned as he dropped to his knees and tried to pull the arrow out. He felt the first wave of dizziness kick in after Laird O’Neil took the chance to land a blow to his head with his feet.
Pain seared through Arran’s head when it landed on the ground. He coughed and tried to get up again, but another arrow flew in his direction and pierced his chest. His cry of pain filled the air, and his vision blurred a little bit before he realized something was wrong.
“That pain ye feel is a sign of yer insides fallin’ asleep, but dinnae worry. The potion the arrow is laced with willnae kill ye. I still have need for ye, and I shall spare yer life until then.”
Arran coughed again and tried to speak, but he could not find any words.
Laird O’Neil delivered the final blow to his head, and Arran groaned as one thought popped into his mind, filling him with the deep sense of regret.
Yvaine,Arran muttered as he dropped to the ground, unable to move. He should have told her of his feelings when he had the chance.I should have told her I love her,he thought with regret burning deep into his soul. Tears filled his eyes as he lay limp on the ground and watched Laird O’Neil’s archers take down all of his men from a distance.
Arran had promised to return home safely to her.I had promised a future with her.Now he was not so sure he would get the chance to see her again.
44
Where am I?
Yvaine had opened her eyes to find herself in a carriage. There was no one else inside, and she quickly opened the window compartment, so she could peep outside. It was broad daylight, and the horse leading the carriage neighed before it continued its bouncy trot down the rocky path.
Yvaine’s heart hammered in her chest as she tried to think of what was happening.Isabella had come to my chamber with a strange man who knocked me out.
Another groan escaped her lips when the slicing pain in her head worsened. Yvaine knew her brother and Killian would be searching everywhere for her now.
But what about Arran?Panic rose in her throat as she thought about him. If he was out there searching for the culprit, then who was responsible for kidnapping her this time?
The carriage came to an abrupt stop a moment later, and the forceful jerk made her lurch forward. She yelped when she fell forward and hit her head on the wooden frame again.
Yvaine was yet to recover from the jolting pain in her head when the door opened.
“Me lady,” a soft familiar voice called. Yvaine gasped, and her eyes widened as she saw Laird O’Neil peering into the carriage at her. She sighed once she saw him, and relief flooded through every inch of her.
“Laird O’Neil,” she cried out, and her shoulders slumped forward. “Ye saved me once again.”
“Ye are in luck, me lady,” Laird O’Neil answered before he extended a hand to her.
Yvaine didn’t hesitate to place her hand in his. After he helped her out of the carriage, his smile widened, and he reached out to brush off the strands of hair falling to the sides of her face away.
She licked her hips and sighed. “I am forever indebted to ye, Laird O’Neil.” Yvaine looked around to see that there was no one else with them. Even the men riding the carriage were nowhere in sight, and there were no bodies on the ground to show that he fought and killed them.
