Chapter Eighteen
The following morn,Alannah left early. With no window in her chamber, she hadn’t the faintest notion of the hour when she awoke. All she knew was her stomach rumbled and she didn’t want to overstay her host’s gracious welcome. Emer had packed her enough food for a full sennight, in case she encountered any delays, so Alannah had plenty of oat cakes and smoked salmon to eat as she walked, and no need at all to bother the prince for food.
Indeed, she didn’t bother the prince at all, even to thank him for his hospitality and fare him well, for Eamon informed her that he was in a meeting. Instead, she asked Eamon to relay her gratitude and started on the long road back to Ath Luain.
The weather proved far fairer for the return journey. Instead of a quiet but insistent pattering of raindrops, the warm sun accompanied her for the morning. It looked as though it would be a pleasant trip until just after her break for the midday meal.
Alannah walked through a thick forest, with ancient oaks and hawthorns whose branches leaned and twisted in a timeless dance. Scrubby spindle bushes and wild roses claimed much of the forest floor, mosses and ferns filling in the empty spots. A rustling caught her attention, her ears reaching in pursuit of the sound. When she heard nothing more, she kept walking, ignoring the shiver that coursed down her spine.
Another rustle, this one continuous and heading in her direction.
Alannah scanned the forest on either side of her, drawing her sword.
The noise continued.
The blood rushed from her head, her stomach clenching in anticipation. The sounds came from behind her. Alannah spun, sword at the ready, to find three men coming at her.
Not a one looked friendly. All of them were scarred. All carried weapons. All wore greedy sneers. They rushed her all at once.
A buzzing filled her ears. She parried the first blow. The sound of steel rang in her ears.
The second man shoved her to the ground, laughing, as the third dropped his sword and kicked hers far from reach.
Alannah’s stomach churned, nausea overtaking all other sensations. She was alone. No one was here to save her this time.
She prepared herself for a fistfight. It wasn’t going well, but she didn’t have to be winning to keep fighting. Balling her fists, she readied herself to attack the first man to try to rob her—for there was no doubt in her mind that these men were bandits.
One leaned over her and she landed a punch to his face with a satisfying crack. Her hand throbbed, but she didn’t stop, drawing back to strike him again.
A scream drew both of their attention. The man above her turned to look, as did Alannah.
Her mouth fell open. Relief washed over her even as her heart stuttered. Conan strode toward them, the bandit’s two companions already lying on the road. The third bandit jumped away from her, running from Conan. Shifting his grip on the sword, Conan threw it like a spear, skewering the man through his back. Then, as though she’d simply stumbled and fallen, he offered her an arm up.
“How is it every time I find you, you’re getting into a fight?” He tossed her an easy grin.
Her fingers tingled as she gripped his hand, rising to her feet. She didn’t want to let him go. “I’ve only started one of them.”
The grin slipped from his angular face. “Are you alright?” He spun her, still holding her hand, inspecting her.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. Her hands moved to rest on his hard chest, everything in her screaming to be nearer to him, until a stray thought took hold. He’d told her he couldn’t come on the journey, yet here he stood—two days’ walk outside of Ath Luain. “How are you here?”
*
Conan still heldtight to her slim waist, his hands savoring the feel of her hips beneath them. He forced himself to breathe deeply. She was safe. She was alright. He’d waited as long as he could bear before interfering in the fight, for Alannah preferred the chance to defend herself. But when the men had disarmed her and descended around her, Conan could wait no longer.
Taking one final breath he answered her question. “I may have snuck away, and just in time, it would seem.”
He’d had the better part of two days to come up with an explanation. Alannah was both quick and clever, and he knew she’d ask. As he couldn’t tell her the entire truth, he decided to include as much of it as he was able. She couldn’t know that he’d left right after her and tracked her without going into Cruachan Aí, but everything else was fair game.
Her blue eyes, the same color as the clear spring sky above, widened. “You didn’t get Illadan’s permission?”
“He wouldn’t give it.” He raised a hand to brush her flushed cheek, unable to stop touching her. “I fear I may be in a bit of trouble when we return.”
Her lips pursed temptingly. “I will speak on your behalf. There will be no trouble.”
Conan lost himself in eyes like a sunlit sea, the brightest azure. If only he wasn’t leaving in a few short weeks, he might do more than bed this woman.
If only he weren’t trying to burn down the causeway that helped her business thrive, he might say he cared for her.
