The Scot's Pursuit - Keira Montclair Page 0,74

sad and resigned.

“I guess I don’t know what sounds right yet. Much has happened, and I’m overtired. I must admit it doesn’t displease me. It does explain why my father…er, Denton hated me. Why he favored the lads.” She shifted to look at him again, a question on the tip of her tongue, but how did she ask such a thing…

He shook his head as if he knew her thoughts. “Nay, just you. I loved your mother, but she chose to stay with Arnald. He threatened to hurt you if she left him.”

Oh, how she wished she could see Alick—tell him what she’d learned and take comfort from him.

Soon, she promised herself. Soon.

They were surrounded by guards until they left, so they didn’t get the chance to talk again. They started moving along the path, two warriors in front of Branwen, to her surprise, and Jep in front of her. She noticed the men had both swords and bows hanging on the side of their mounts.

Apparently, they were indeed expecting trouble. She said a silent prayer that Alick would not be hurt.

They rode for about an hour, without anything remarkable happening, but the horses started moving differently, as if agitated by something. Whatever they were reacting to was not audible to human ears. The riders did their best to rein them in, but it did little to calm them.

Then she understood why.

They rode into a clearing, and the Grant war cry carried over to her with a warning. “Branwen, get down and run!”

Alick’s voice. She didn’t wait, instead hopping off her horse and launching into action. Her first impulse was to run, but instead she grabbed the bow off the horse of the guard in front of her and ran off to the side, running toward the arrows cutting through the clearing.

Dyna had to be here somewhere. When she approached the trees, she heard Dyna’s whistle, telling her exactly where to go, so she headed in that direction. She caught sight of her in the trees, along with Sorcha, who tossed several arrows down to her.

Branwen found a bush to hide behind and arranged her arrows before she started firing. Alick, Els, Cailean, and another fair-haired man she didn’t know had ridden in to attack the guards so she would need to shoot carefully to avoid hitting any of them.

Nocking an arrow, she took out one of the middle riders. Her gaze shot to the back of the group, but she didn’t see Kyla or her father.

If she had, she would have put an arrow in her father’s…nay, Denton’s black heart. Her name was no longer Denton. So what was it?

MacNicol. She was a member of Clan Grant and she would fight like a Grant.

She noticed Jep grab a sword from a fallen man and swing at one of Thane’s guards, but he took a blow to his shoulder, forcing him off the field. She nearly bit her lip bloody for worry.

Branwen was able to hit one more man, but then she missed with her last three arrows. Her hands were shaking too badly. The numbers had improved, but they weren’t in their favor, and Denton was getting away with Kyla.

Just as that thought passed through her head, three newcomers rode up through the trees. Els and Joya, and a third figure, a young lass with dark hair.

Could that be Chrissa?

Branwen felt like the air had all gone out of her.

What the hell was happening?

Chapter Twenty-Four

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that couldn’t have shocked him more. Three people had joined them, and one of them was his sister.

Chrissa dismounted from the horse she’d rode in on and, calm as could be, climbed a tree. Joya hung back in the trees, but Els joined the fight.

“Chrissa? What the hell?” Alick bellowed.

Els said, “She followed the guards when they left Grant Castle. Been hiding behind them ever since. Looks like you could use our help.”

“They have Mama,” Chrissa shouted back. “And that man right there tried to hurt me, so he’ll pay.” She pointed to one of the warriors even as she let her arrow fly. When she hit her mark, she bellowed, “Take that, you bastard!”

Hellfire if she didn’t hit the man square in his belly, causing him to grip the arrow and fall from his mount.

“Chrissa?” He wanted to shout at her, but this was not the time. He had to stay focused. He was lucky to have Els’s help.

At least he’d seen Branwen slip