families on my account.”
“They will stay with their lady as is their duty,” Angus said. At her frown, he grunted. “’Tis the way of it, wife.”
Her ass hurt too much to argue. As she dismounted, Angus conferred with James.
“You will take first watch again,” the laird said. “I’ll take the second, though I doubt I’ll sleep much through the first.” At James’ furrowed brow, Angus explained, “this eve I will be confiding the truth into my five closest men. We’ve need of enough fighters who ken what they are up against.”
“I understand,” she heard James murmur. “If they don’t believe you, use the translation device.”
“Aye. ‘Tis already in my hand.”
Octavia blinked. She was getting rusty if she hadn’t noticed that Angus had absconded with the translator. Sure enough when she checked her baggage the thing was gone. She stilled. Either she was getting rusty or her husband was even sharper than she’d given him credit for. She suspected it was more of the latter.
Still, she was looking forward to getting back her privacy when they reached his home so she’d be de-rustifying soon enough. Angus had assured her that there was plenty of room for her to be alone when she needed to be. Octavia didn’t have much of a desire to be far removed from him, but she did want some space to practice her martial arts. As her sensei used to say, unpracticed skills get you killed.
She was mentally ready to retire from SEAL life; she was not, however, going to stop honing her craft.
Three men rode up from the village. Judging by the fatigue of their horses, they had apparently done so at a break neck pace. Octavia was instantly on guard, fearing they were here to report a dead body or two. As it turned out, they had ridden to meet with Angus—all three were one of his selected five men.
Just like Angus, Colban, and Niall, the three new Karrik warriors were tall, muscular men. Angus was quick to introduce them to her, which she appreciated. Alistair, as it turned out, was Angus’ younger brother. She had noted their dark hair and dark-eyed resemblance right off so she wasn’t surprised when their connection was revealed. Finlay and Oliver were distant cousins to the laird and his brother, both of them fair-haired and blue-eyed like Colban.
Colban and Niall had just finished erecting a tent for Angus to hold his meeting inside of when the introductions came to an end. Octavia went to sit with Dr. Kincaid and James while the meeting went down. For some reason she was even more nervous about this retelling of events than she was when she’d confided in Angus. She was just happy the laird was the one doing the retelling and she could sit her sore ass outside.
“This is crazy,” James said, smiling.
“What?”
“We’re in the fourteenth century. You’re married! And we now live in the Highlands.” He looked around, breathing in the fresh air as he did so. “I’ve always wanted to see the Highlands. Now I get to live in them.” At Octavia’s sigh, he held up a palm. “I know. We can’t let our guard down at all until the feeder is dead.”
She sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs. “I sound like a broken record.”
“But one that needs to be played again and again until it’s over,” Dr. Kincaid pointed out.
She gave him a sleepy smile.
“Have you noticed,” the doctor asked with a small laugh, “that Colban hasn’t brought up death once whilst we’ve encountered actual dead bodies?” He shook his head. “He’s an odd one, that bloke, yet I like him.”
“He’s a cool dude,” James seconded. “I like him too.”
“I wonder how any of them will feel about the three of us after Angus is done talking to them,” Octavia worried aloud. “If I was them, I’d rue the day we ever set eyes on us.”
James blew out a breath. “There is that.”
Dr. Kincaid couldn’t bring himself to disagree. “Right enough.”
Twenty minutes later, Octavia winced as she heard Colban groan before hitting the dirt floor. The translation device had obviously been used on him. She realized she wasn’t aware of how many languages Angus spoke so she had no idea which language Colban had just had his head sizzled in.
By the time all five men were done, James had learned for Octavia that they’d been taught Latin—or what in their time would have been ancient Latin. Her eyes narrowed. “I thought they already knew that.