Bride of Ice (The Warrior Daughters of Rivenloch #2) - Glynnis Campbell Page 0,127

from his side. That concern was dwarfed by the fear that Hallie was dead. And by the stunned silence on the field, that fear was shared by all.

Even the crazed warrior.

The man staggered, dropping the bloody claymore from his trembling gauntlets.

With an awful sob of horror, he stumbled back and then tore away from the field. Most of the Rivenloch clan chased after him. But he leaped onto an enormous warhorse and rode away at neck-breaking speed.

Colban fell to his knees beside Hallie. His heart pounded against his ribs.

She couldn’t be gone. He refused to believe she was gone.

Yet she lay as still as death.

Even when he brushed her hair back from her face with his gloved hand, she didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe.

He clapped her lightly on her cheek. Tried to revive her. There was no response.

“Hallie,” he croaked, pressing her hand between his own, praying silently while the crowd whispered in speculation.

“Is she…?” It was Laird Deirdre. She had gone white. Her pale lips trembled.

Beside her, Brand looked on in worry, probably blaming himself. And beyond Brand stood Gellir, as rigid as stone.

Colban shook his head, refusing to consider the possibility. He grasped Hallie’s shoulder and gave it a hard shake. Then another. Then a third. To no avail.

Forgetting his secret identity, he tore off his helm and bent closer. He ignored the gasps of recognition from the crowd, lowering his ear to listen for her breath.

No air issued forth.

He pulled off his gauntlets. In desperation, he wrenched up her shirt of chain mail and tore open the buckles of her cotun. Placing his palms atop her leine in the middle of her chest, he pressed down repeatedly, trying to force her lungs to work.

He paused. There was no response.

“Wake up, Hallie!” he demanded, resuming his pumping.

He paused again. Still no response.

“Damn ye, wake up!”

He applied pressure again and was almost ready to give up when a curious image popped into his head. An illustration he’d seen in Ian’s notebook. Instructions on making a ball out of a sheep’s bladder.

The sketch showed a lad blowing air into the flat bladder to inflate it.

Could such a thing be done with lungs?

He acted on instinct, ignoring the crowd’s murmurs of shock and disapproval. Bending close, he covered her mouth with his in a kiss of desperation and blew lightly between her lips.

Nothing happened.

Maybe it required more. He took a deep breath and blew with greater force. This time he felt her chest rise as her lungs filled.

The air came rushing back out.

He tried again.

The air rushed out once more.

With the third breath, he began to feel lightheaded. But he didn’t dare stop.

This time, as the air flowed out, she coughed awake, and her eyes fluttered open.

The last thing Colban heard was a great gasp of awe from the clan.

The last thing he saw was Hallie’s confused face.

The world went black, and he toppled over, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

“Is he going to be all right?” Hallie knotted her fingers.

Colban was awake, but exhausted from his ordeal, stretched out atop Morgan and Jenefer’s bed. Morgan, staring down at his right hand man, shared Hallie’s worry. Jenefer too looked on with fierce concern.

The healer, Bethac, an old woman with a cheery face, patted Hallie on the arm and gave her a wink. “Och, aye. He’s lost a good bit o’ blood. But the cut is clean and shallow.”

A linen bandage encircled Colban’s waist now. But Hallie had seen the nasty gash that cut across several inches of his abdomen. She’d let him squeeze her hand while he endured every agonizing stab of Bethac’s needle as she stitched the wound shut. She’d stared into his eyes, lending him her strength as sweat beaded his face and he clenched his jaw against the torment.

Bethac packed her herbs and tools into her satchel. “Colban always was a fast healer. Weren’t ye, lad?” She gave him a fond pat on the cheek. “Ye’ll be good as new in no time.”

After the healer left, Jenefer bit out, “I only wish we’d caught the bloody villain who did this.”

Morgan sighed. “I’m just grateful no one else was seriously injured.”

Colban murmured, “I’m glad no one was killed.”

Jenefer and Morgan’s eyes locked pointedly on Hallie.

She squirmed uncomfortably. She’d already heard the tale numerous times from her siblings. How she’d looked like she was dead. How Colban had performed a miracle, breathing life back into her. But now she wanted to focus on Colban. And she’d just as