He threw his head back before scoffing at the question.
I put one hand behind my back and thrust my fingers in the direction of the sword. I had no way of knowing whether my gesture would be noticed. With Eoghanan in the doorway, I hoped it would be less necessary.
“Has he wronged me? He has, though I doona believe he would ever see it that way. Osla’s love for Baodan killed her, no me.”
“Hmm…how do you figure?”
“If she dinna love him, then she would have kept our little secret, but she insisted that we tell him. At the time, I couldna allow it. So, ye see, she gave me no choice. The fault in that lies with Baodan.”
“Gah, you are one twisted, sick, son of a bitch.” I shook my head in disgust. Eoghanan needed to step in the room soon.
“Enough!” Niall moved forward quickly stopping when the point of his sword pressed into the center of my chest. “Eoghanan, I know ye are there. I am no the fool that ye all seem to think. Come out, or I shall run her through.”
Eoghanan stepped quickly from the shadows, his face white with worry, his jaw clenched tight. “Niall, if ye hurt her, I swear I shall kill ye.”
“Ye will kill me anyway, but I will no kill her right away. I will wait until Baodan arrives. I would verra much like for him to watch her die.”
His eyes glinted with madness. “And now so must you.”
Chapter 43
With the end of his sword pressed against me, I did as he bid, stepping into him. He dropped his sword as he wrapped one arm around my waist and withdrew a dirk tucked away inside his kilt. He pressed it into the flesh of my neck, pushing hard enough to draw blood.
I was rash and stupid to have assumed that he would be unable to hurt me. He did a fine job of it now. I couldn’t die here, not like this. Not in the first place to ever feel like home, with a child possibly growing inside me.
Sobs threatened to overtake me but I knew if I did so, he would only push the blade deeper into my skin. Sound suddenly filled the hallway outside of the room, and Baodan charged inside, Eoin, Arran, and Hew with him.
In that instant I saw my own death, the pressure of the knife against my neck such that I truly believed he would draw it across me at that moment. I believe he almost did, but Baodan’s voice stopped him.
“’Tis no Mitsy that ye wish to see dead. Doona take yer hatred of me out on another. No one else need die when ’tis truly me that ye wish to see dead. Release her and ye may run yer sword through me. I willna stop ye.”
“No, Baodan, please.” The words sent the knife deeper into my neck, but I couldn’t remain silent. I couldn’t allow him to die for me.
For the first time since entering the room, he looked me in the eyes. The pain and sorrow there sent tears streaming down my face. “Mitsy, lass, I canna lose ye. If I wasna to die now and ye were killed, ’twould no be long before I would follow ye in death. The grief of losing ye would kill me.”
How could he not see that he would kill me anyway? As soon as Baodan was dead, Niall would turn his sword on me. An oath meant nothing to him. “No.” My word was only a whisper, and he paid it no mind.
“But ye are stronger than me, lass. Ye have a spirit that canna be starved. Use the rock to return to yer home once I am gone and live a life filled with all the things ye wish for.”
Niall said nothing throughout Baodan’s speech, only stared in his brother’s direction, his stare dark and unreadable.
“Niall. Let her go. To kill her will serve no purpose. With me gone, McMillan territory will be yers.”
Niall’s grip on my throat lessened. The idea appealed to him. Too lost in the thralls of his madness, he couldn’t see the impossibility of Baodan’s words. Niall remained surrounded at every side. Regardless of who died here, me, Boadan, or both of us, Niall would meet his end. Not a soul in the room planned on allowing him to live past sunrise. Baodan knew this too, which meant he played his brother. He didn’t intend to let Niall kill either one of us.
When he finally spoke, I startled at the sound of Niall’s voice in my ears, and he laughed at my show of nerves. “I will accept yer offer, brother, but I willna run ye through with me sword. If I tried to approach ye, I would be bested, and I will see ye dead.” He squeezed the arm around my waist to get my attention and whispered angrily in my ear. “Reach behind ye, lass, and grab the vial tucked beneath the edge of me kilt. Toss it in Baodan’s direction.”
Poison. My hand trembled as I moved it. I reached for Baodan’s death, for I knew he would drink it to save me. As much as I wished to crush the vial in my hand, I knew it would result in my immediate death. “Promise me, you’ll let me go as soon as he drinks it. Allow me the chance to say goodbye.”
“Fine. Throw it to him now.”
Baodan caught it with ease, despite my shaky throw. He didn’t wish to think about it, and he smiled as he popped the top. “I love ye more than ye will ever know, lass.”
I sobbed as he downed the vile contents, screaming as he dropped to the floor. I no longer cared about the knife at my throat. Raising my arm, I threw my elbow deep into Niall’s ribs and, as the knife fell away, I rushed to Baodan’s side.
* * *
His body shook in convulsions, and his eyes rolled up into his head as I sobbed against him. When he stilled in my arms, Niall laughed ecstatically. Rage exploded within me. Reaching, I grasped onto the sword that lay to my right and stood to charge him.
He moved quickly when he saw me. Before I could stand, I saw the edge of his sword swinging down toward me. Right before I shut my eyes to await death, I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye.
His screams of agony seemed to shake the room. In one swoop, Eoghanan fell to the ground in front of me. His body split open from temple to thigh. As he landed, a small glass bottle dropped from his hand and onto the floor, following the trail of his blood.
Chapter 44
In the instant Eoghanan hit the ground, I was given the time necessary to stand. I ran toward Niall, thrusting the sword into the center of his chest. The impact of the metal against his ribs reverberated all the way to my bones, and the pain of it forced me to release my grasp on its handle. The jab brought Niall to his knees as he stared down at his bleeding center.
“The vial! Somebody give it to Baodan now.” I couldn’t be certain, but unless Eoghanan still carried the poison he stole from Niall, the liquid could be the antidote he worked on.
Kenna jumped to grab the vial, and I turned my attention to Eoghanan who gasped uncomfortably as blood poured from half of him. Mary and Rhona rushed to get bandanges. I crouched next to him, gathering his uninjured hand into my own. “Oh my God. What did you do that for? It was so stupid. So very, very stupid.” The words came between gasps. I could scarcely see him through my tears. He lived, but the life in his eyes dwindled as he continued to bleed.
His eyes focused dimly at my words, and he moved his hand from my grasp to touch my stomach. “I told ye I would do anything for either ye or Baodan.”
Blood from his face dripped into his mouth, and he coughed as it prohibited his breathing. My hands trembled uncontrollably, but I reached up to clean his mouth, forcing myself to examine the extensiveness of his wounds for the first time.
Thankfully, his head wounds were not deep enough to cause damage. The gash that extended down the rest of his body worried me greatly. Although I was no doctor, I was fairly certain that the blade missed any vital organs. Still, I could see little hope of survival. His wounds could be closed, but infection would set in. In an area that large, it would kill him quickly. Eoghanan’s eyes drifted closed as he lost consciousness and, for a brief moment, I tore my gaze away from him and looked up at the dying Niall.
Now collapsed onto his back, he choked on his own blood. My aim was poor enough so that his death was a slow one, and I was glad for it. He lay dying in a room full of people and not a one paid him any attention.
Mary stepped in front of my line of vision as she called to Eoin an
d Arran to help her lift Eoghanan.
“We will need to wrap the cloth around his whole body. No one will be able to close him until we have stopped the bleeding.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Not that it mattered, she was doing her best to help and that’s all any of us could do.
“No, lass. No one here is a healer. I could be doing him more harm than good for all I know, but ’tis all I can think to do.”
I nodded, standing from my crouched position next to him. “I know.” I turned, unable to bear the thought of the lifeless Baodan who I knew lay behind me.
Instead, Baodan tried to sit up, extending his arm out to me as I ran to him.
“Oh God, it worked!” I grabbed either side of his face, smothering him in kisses until he reached his hand up to pull me away. “Slow down, lass, I am no leaving ye now. There will be time for that later. Did ye kill him?”
He no longer moved. As Bri nodded in answer to Baodan’s question, I knew. “Yes.”
“Good. That’s me sweet, fiery lass.”
The pain of moving roused Eoghanan into consciousness, and his moans caused Baodan to leap to his feet in alarm. “What happened to him?”
“After you fell, Niall ran toward me. Eoghanan jumped in front of him.”
“He has saved us both, lass.”
“I know.” My voice broke again, and Baodan wrapped his arms around me.
“Will he live?” He directed his question to no one in particular and none knew the answer. I didn’t see how he could, not with the extent of his injuries. We had nothing to provide protection against deadly infection.
Something hard thumped against my thigh. I glanced up at Baodan, thinking he wished to get my attention. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Did you touch me?” I reached down to the spot where I’d felt the touch and gasped at the object within my grasp.
“Are ye injured, lass?”
Wrapping my hand around the object, I pulled out the black stone and held it up for Baodan to see. “The rock. Get something for him to float on. We need to send him to Morna.”
Chapter 45
“Hey. E-o. Can you open your eyes for me just a second? I know you want to sleep, but it’s important that you look at me, okay?” My hand lay on his forehead, and I traced the top of his brow with my thumb. Slowly his eyelids flickered open.
“That is no me name, lass.”
I smiled, my faith that he would be fine stronger than ever. Life remained in him, and Morna would heal him. “I know, but…”
He interrupted me before I could say more. “I know. I told ye I would teach ye how to say it when I needed a smile. I am verra much in need of a smile now.”
He needed to be on his way, but I couldn’t bring myself to deny him. I figured a lifted spirit would heal better than a sad one. “Okay. Teach me.”
“Say ‘yo,’ then ‘wun,’ and ‘en.’”
I tried to repeat him. I thought it sounded pretty good until the left side of his face pulled up into an amused smile. “I knew ’twould make me smile. Wretched job, lass.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll work on it while you’re away.”
He blinked his eye to symbolize a nod. “Aye, do. Just where is it that I am going?”
How could I explain to him when I knew how impossible it was to believe until you’d experienced it? “Do you trust me?”
“Aye. If Baodan does, so do I. I am proud to call ye sister.”
“Good. I always wanted a little brother.” I winked, he was older than me. Centuries older. “I’m going to leave it to the person I’m sending you to to explain everything. Just know that you’ll be taken care of, and you’ll be better in no time.”
“Then, let me be gone for I doona feel so well now.”
“Ok.” I bent and kissed him gently on the forehead. “But I think Baodan wants to say something to you first.”
Baodan stepped in front of me, taking his brother by the hand. “Blood or no, ye are more a brother to me than Niall ever was. I’m sorry that I went so long with no treating ye as such. I hope that when ye return, things will be as they once were. Me love will be with ye every moment ye are away.”
“And mine with ye.”
We stepped away, and Eoin and Arran placed the makeshift raft atop the water, the stone placed on top of his stomach. He drifted gently into the center of the pond and vanished.
* * *
The sun rose as Baodan and I entered our bedchamber, but it did not stop us from crawling into bed. Despite the weariness of our bones and the heavy weight of our hearts, the feeling of clear relief spread throughout the castle. Tomorrow was sure to be a better day.
“Is yer neck badly hurt, lass?”
I felt nothing. Compared to Eoghanan’s wounds, it was a scratch. “Not at all.” I snuggled into the crook of my husband’s arm, reaching for his hand as I smiled up at him. “I…I don’t know if this is the right time, and I very well may be wrong but…”
“What is it, lass? I canna bear anything else bad.”
“It’s not bad.” I pushed his fingers open and placed the palm of his hand against my still-flat stomach and waited patiently for him to make the connection.
“No?”
I nodded, grinning at the smile that spread wide across his face. “I don’t know and I won’t for a few more weeks, but it’s possible.”
“A bairn? Mine?”
I smacked him lightly on the chest. “Is that a real question?”
He laughed, realizing the connotation of what he’d said. “Ach, no o’course it isna. ’Tis only I dinna think…”
He was cute when speechless. “It never crossed your mind? You know, that’s what happens when you make whoopee.”
“Ah, another one of yer strange words. Aye, I know what happens. ’Tis only I’m so happy I doona know what to say. Do ye think? Will it hurt the bairn if we make ‘whoopee’ again?”
I laughed at the ridiculousness of the word coming from his lips, reaching so that my lips could touch his. “No, the maybe-baby will be fine.”
We found solace in each other’s arms. As the sun beat down outside, we spent the next day wrapped in one another, our hearts brimming with the happiness that comes from safely holding the one you love most in all the world.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
“A man left this for ye in the village.”
The messenger extended a letter in my direction, bewilderment etched on his brow. The envelope was entirely modern. “Who left it?” Surely, Morna hadn’t traveled back herself.
“I doona know. No one seemed to remember actually, but the man who gave it to me said that it must reach ye at once.”
“I see. Thank you.” My hands fidgeted on the envelope until the man retreated. I ripped it open once he was gone from sight.
I took in the words quickly, running to find Baodan to give him the long awaited news of his brother. I moved so quickly, I passed him in the grand entryway, only stopping at the sound of his voice.
“Mitsy, slow down before ye fall and break yer neck. Ye are no graceful enough to run in a dress. Doona dizzy the wee bairn, please.”
We confirmed my suspicions about the pregnancy a few weeks after we sent E-o to Morna.
“Look! I told you E-o would be fine, although she says his scars will remain. In my book that’s a small price to pay for his life. She hopes that he will be well enough to return home by the time the baby is born and…”
Baodan’s eyes widened as he read the words I was about to tell him, “she doesn’t seem to think he’ll be returning home alone.”
About the Author
Bethany Claire is the author of the Scottish, time-traveling romance novels Morna’s Legacy Series, which includes her debut novel Love Beyond Time, Love Beyond Reason, a Christmas novella – A Conall Christmas, and her latest work, Love Beyond Hope. She lives in the Texas Panhandle.
Connect with me online:
http://www.bethanyclaire.com
http://twitter.com/BClaireAuthor
http://facebook.com/bethanyclaire
http://www.pinterest.com/bclaireauthor
If you enjoyed reading Morna’s Legacy, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy this book, too.
Recommend it. Help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups and discussion boards.
Review it. Please tell other readers why you like this book by reviewing it at Goodreads or your favorite retailer. If you do write a review, please send me an email to [email protected] so I can thank you with a personal email. Or visit me at http://www.bethanyclaire.com
Join the Bethany Claire Newsletter!
Sign up for my newsletter to receive up-to-date information of books, new releases, events, and promotions.
http://bethanyclaire.com/contact.php
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Love Beyond Time
Love Beyond Reason
A Conall Christmas – A Novella
Love Beyond Hope
About the Author
Morna's Legacy: Box Set #1 Page 67