Bride of Ice (The Warrior Daughters of Rivenloch #2) - Glynnis Campbell Page 0,21
pieces across the coverlet. As the door swung open, Colban instinctively leaped from the bed to defend the lad.
In the doorway stood the Valkyrie. She was breathless and beautiful. Her blue eyes were cold and fierce.
Hallie had been scouring the castle for her missing youngest sibling all day long. He hadn’t shown up for supper, and now the clan was gathering for the last meal of the day.
There was still no sign of her parents. Ian was her responsibility. She needed to locate him before the inquisitive lad heard about the hostage and made it his mission to question him.
She’d checked the storeroom to be sure Rauve had concealed the tunnel entrance and that Ian hadn’t escaped through the passage.
She’d searched the dovecot where he sometimes liked to observe the birds.
She’d looked in the armory, where he spent hours designing armor plate and war machines.
Finally, she’d been forced to give up. She’d told herself Ian would probably turn up before nightfall. After all, he’d have to eat eventually.
So would Rauve.
When she came upstairs to relieve him, Rauve was slowly pacing along the hallway, bored with the task of guarding the door.
“Go on to dinner,” she told him. “And take your time.”
“But the prisoner…”
“He won’t know you’ve gone. I’ll watch the door.” As Rauve left, she had a second thought. “Bring a platter up when you return. I don’t want to starve the hostage.”
Rauve was long gone when Hallie, leaning back against the opposite wall, began staring at the door, transfixed by a sickening thought.
Ian had wanted peace and quiet. What was more peaceful and quiet than her parents’ abandoned bedchamber?
“Shite,” she breathed.
Dreading the worst, she braced herself and pushed away from the wall, hesitating as she reached for the door handle.
When she finally shoved open the door, her greatest fears were realized.
“Ian.” The word came out of her on a rush of air.
Ian sat cross-legged on the bed, no more than four yards away. But between Hallie and her innocent little brother loomed the scowling Highlander, menacing and deadly.
“Don’t be angry, Hallie,” Ian called out. “We were only playing chess.”
His sweet voice caught at her heart. He had no idea what peril he was in.
Curse the Fates. She’d brought no sword. And she’d just sent Rauve downstairs to dine.
The tension was palpable as Hallie and her captive stared at each other in silence, at a horrifying impasse.
Her throat closed with alarm, but she held her breath, maintaining an icy glare. She might fear for Ian’s welfare, but she dared not reveal that fear. Nor that she was at a disadvantage.
By the calculating glint in his eyes, the Highlander knew he had the upper hand. The lad was in arm’s reach. And by now loose-tongued Ian had probably revealed he was the laird’s son, therefore a valuable hostage.
“I promise I wasn’t boring him,” Ian added, as if that were her greatest concern.
Her little brother was a genius when it came to facts and figures, brilliant beyond his years. But he had the trust and naivete of his age, which was a tender ten years old.
Her throat thickened as she continued to stare at the Highlander. If anything happened to Ian…
And then a curious thing occurred. Colban an Curaidh’s hard brown gaze softened with kindness. His shoulders dropped. His fists relaxed. And he stepped out of the way.
“He didn’t bore me,” he said. “But he did beat me soundly at chess.”
Hallie was stunned. There was no reason for the Highlander to surrender. As a captive, he should do everything in his power to escape. She expected no less. She had fully expected him to seize Ian and hold him as a counter hostage.
But he hadn’t.
He’d done the gallant and chivalrous thing.
She’d always believed the tales about rough-hewn Highlanders. That they were savages. Undisciplined. Incapable of honor. Even he had tried to convince her he was worthless.
But his actions proved the stories wrong. Only a keen sense of virtue could prevent him from taking what would have been an easy means of escape.
Hallie released an awe-filled breath. She wondered if the Highlander could see the flood of relief in her eyes. Relief and respect.
She wouldn’t thank him aloud. But she conveyed her gratitude with a subtle nod of her head.
He nodded back. The hint of a smile graced his lips.
“’Tis time for dinner, Ian,” she choked out. “Come now.”
“But what about Colban?”
She winced. Colban. Apparently, they’d exchanged first names. What other information had they exchanged?