her helm and shield.
Colban clenched his fists on the ledge of the window as they warily circled each other.
Graceful Hallie looked impossibly defenseless against her aggressive brother.
Of course, that hadn’t stopped her from subduing Colban last night in the woods. And it wasn’t stopping her from challenging Gellir now.
Like a wildcat, she suddenly sprang, taunting him with attacks from all angles. Again and again she thrust and slashed, driving him back as he struggled to keep up his defenses.
Gellir staggered and floundered, barely able to knock her sword aside before the next attack came. After two dozen blows, she’d backed him against the wall.
“Now,” she said, “go get some sleep.”
Then she made the mistake of lowering her blade and turning away. While her back was turned, enraged Gellir raised his sword to lash out at her.
The breath caught in Colban’s throat as he waited for tragedy to unfold.
But Hallie whirled, anticipating his move and intercepting his blade in a grating slide of steel and sparks.
She shoved him away. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He nodded, and she shook her head, preparing to engage again.
He lunged at her.
She batted away his blade.
Gellir, gripping his hilt in both hands, took a swing at her throat.
She ducked beneath the sword, and it whistled through the air with such force it spun Gellir backwards.
Before he could turn round, she prodded the lad’s backside with the point of her sword, hard enough to make him yelp.
Colban could almost feel the waves of rage and humiliation roiling off of Gellir as he stumbled forward.
Brand, who’d been watching them from what he thought a safe distance, chortled with glee.
But the lad’s mirth was cut short when Hallie lunged toward him, jabbing his shoulder and proving he wasn’t quite out of range.
“What are you laughing at?” she asked Brand.
While Brand blinked in surprise and pain, Gellir crowed at his brother in smug approval, “Ha!”
Then, while Hallie was still engaging Brand, Gellir pried the dagger from the ground.
Colban’s eyes widened. His heart dropped. His mouth went dry.
Gellir was going to stab his sister in the back.
“Nay!” The word exploded from Colban’s lips, drawing all eyes to him.
But the dagger was already in motion.
Time stood still as Colban watched the blade, winking in the dawn’s light as it lunged toward Hallie’s defenseless body.
His heart stood still as well.
Chapter 13
Hallie’s ability to outguess opponents was her secret weapon. She was always one step ahead in any skirmish. It was how she knew Gellir would come after her while she was entangled with Brand. And how she managed to anticipate the dagger’s path toward her back.
If she hadn’t, that cursed Highlander’s sudden outburst might have thrown off her timing and caused considerable damage.
But she was already in motion. Wheeling reflexively, she swept her sword down to block the dagger, colliding with the blade at exactly the right spot.
Gellir dropped the weapon, shaking his hand from the impact, and glared at the Highlander.
Brand, still clutching his shoulder where Hallie had poked him, gaped up at Colban.
And Hallie turned a frosty glower on the man at the window. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Colban seemed taken aback. “What am I doin’? What are ye doin’? Tryin’ to get yourself killed?”
Even her brothers scoffed at that. The notion was ridiculous. Hallie had defeated half the knights of Rivenloch. She could certainly handle Brand and Gellir.
She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe you’re trying to get me killed.”
“What?”
“By distracting me.”
“Distractin’?”
“I don’t know how they spar in the Highlands,” she said. “But at Rivenloch, coming between two fighters is a sure way to get someone killed.”
“I wasn’t tryin’ to get ye killed. Bloody hell, I was tryin’ to save ye.”
Save her? For an instant, Hallie hesitated, struck by the impossible possibility that Colban the Champion was trying to be her champion.
Unfortunately, it was enough of a hesitation to allow her meddlesome sister to burst onto the scene, trailed by her retinue of young lasses, at the worst possible moment. Where Isabel had come from, Hallie couldn’t guess. The maid seemed to have a nose for intrigue and ears everywhere.
“Oh, Hallie!” Isabel gushed as she rushed into the courtyard. “Did you hear that?” She turned aside to explain excitedly to her companions, “Sir Colban was trying to save Hallie.” At her prompting, the lasses waved shyly up at Colban. “What a noble gesture,” she added dreamily, clasping her hands beneath her chin. “So chivalrous and romantic.”
“Stay out of this, Isabel,” Hallie warned.
“But Hallie, he just admitted he was