drew abreast of her again. “There’s naught wrong with showing emotion. It does not make you weak. Mayhap you wouldn’t be so tough on yourself if you’d let your emotions show once in a while.”
She glanced over at him, surprised he’d paid so much attention to her. Surprised that he understood her at such a deep level. Had anyone ever bothered to look so closely? She glanced at the forest next to them, checking the area for reivers, but nothing stood out to her. Her gaze returned to the path in front of them. Perhaps she could catch a view of her grandsire and the bastards who held him captive.
It had to be that distraction that led her astray. Always alert to her surroundings, she was totally taken off guard when a horse came out of the woods. Before she could grab her bow, an arm snaked around her waist and lifted her onto another man’s lap.
She fought and managed to land one punch to the jaw of her attacker, but what happened next was something she’d never forget.
“Dyna, stop, would you? You’re going to ruin everything, so I had to get you off the main path quietly.”
“He’s wearing a Grant plaid, Diamond,” Derric said loudly. “Stop fighting.”
Shock overtook her, but she stopped swinging and did her best to sit up as the horse slowed. Whipping her head around, she looked straight into her captor’s eyes.
“Loki?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Loki Grant grinned, leading her back off the main path and shouting over his shoulder, “Kenzie, get her horse.” He rode to a hidden clearing that had been concealed behind a thick line of trees. A quick glance told her Derric was following directly behind them. “I’m sorry for surprising you, but you would have ruined our plan.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, jumping down from his horse as he soon as they slowed down. “We have to go after Grandsire.” When he finally dismounted and stood in front of her, she shoved at him.
Loki just gave her a sly grin. “Uncle Alex came to me after he left Cameron land. He wanted to make sure the English wouldn’t kidnap any more Grants just to get to him.” He stood there with his hands on his hips, over two score of warriors behind him, all wearing Grant plaids.
They had help.
“He told you? Why did he not tell me?” Her insides twisted and turned at the thought that her grandfather trusted Loki more than her.
Apparently, she did a poor job hiding her feelings because Loki took one look at her and said, “Mayhap he asked me because he wanted to come at the English with a different force. They’d know to watch the Clan Grant warriors on your land, but no one would suspect my involvement. The English are quite ignorant, as you know. The man had his reasons,” Loki said, patting her shoulder. “He asked for my assistance, and after all he’s done for me, I certainly couldn’t turn him down.” As a bairn, Loki had been adopted by Alex’s brother, Brodie, and his wife, Celestina, after they found him living in a crate behind a tavern. Alex Grant had given him his own castle, Castle Curanta, where he and his wife, Bella, took in other orphans and abandoned children. They also had two bairns of their own, a lad and a lassie.
“What exactly did he ask you to do?” Derric asked, jumping down from his horse. Then, as if realizing he had yet to introduce himself, he nodded. “Derric Corbett, pleased to meet you. I’m relieved we’ll have your assistance in getting Alex Grant away from the English.”
“Aye, we’ll take care of them soon enough. Alex asked me not to tell anyone from his clan what he was planning until it was too late to stop him. I know you’re upset he didn’t confide in you, but if he had told you, you would have needed to tell your sire, your laird, his siblings, his children, and so on. I didn’t have to tell anyone, so I could do what he asked without upsetting his clan and all his allies. Don’t take it too hard, Dyna. But I think I’m safe revealing the truth now.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Uncle Alex told me to take the garrison out and leave no survivors. He aims to send a message, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
Dyna turned to the sea of warriors that had been gathering behind Loki. She recognized many of