He smiled, revealing a gap in his teeth on one side. “But this has a special prize.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Let’s hear it.”
“The first prize, lass, is Blackwood’s treasure.”
Silence echoed after those words. They rang in Megan’s head, again and again.
Blackwood’s treasure. Blackwood’s treasure.
Pa’s treasure.
Megan realized her jaw was slack, her mouth drying up inside. She closed her mouth tight, swallowing hard to moisten her tongue before she spoke.
“Blackwood’s treasure?Me faither’s treasure?”
The man tilted his head. “That interests ye, all right.”
“Aye, because that treasure was won byme faither.”
“Which is why ye merited an invitation, for courtesy at least,” the man shrugged. “Take it or leave it. Nobody’ll force ye to come, and nobody will make ye compete. Do as ye like, lassie. If I were ye, though, I’d come along. A man like yer faither—the renowned pirateBlackwood—has an infamous name. There’ll be a lot of competitors, all keen to lay their hands on his treasure.”
“Do ye ken what I think?” Megan hissed. “I think that ye are a liar. I think that there’s nay treasure, and nay competition, and nay…”
“In five minutes,” the man interrupted, “I am going to turn me back and walk away into the forest. Ye willnae see me again unless ye go to that competition. Ye may read the invitation or nae—the choice is yers. But I am nae a liar, and I am nae a threat to ye. Ye could even put an arrow in me back if ye cared to do so, although I have a feelin’ that ye willnae. But as I said, I’d come to this competition if I were ye. We wouldn’t want Pirate Blackwood’s lost treasure fallin’ into the wrong hands.”
On the last word, he turned on his heel, presenting his back just as he’d said, and began walking away toward the forest.
Megan let her arrow drop a few inches, staring in amazement after him. She tore her gaze away briefly, glancing down at the neat little invitation.
This feels like a trap,she thought.Da’s treasure is properly lost. Or hidden, I daenae ken. We never cared to look for it, and now I’m expected to believe that some laird had stumbled upon this treasure, and then plans togive it awayas a prize? Nay, somethin’ is very wrong here.
“This is a trap,” she said aloud. “I’ll nae come to yercompetition.”
The man shrugged. “Then daenae come,” he called over his shoulder. “Stay here, watchin’ yer sisters live out their lives withthe men they love, while ye stay alone. Watch yer life go by without ye for all I care.”
Megan flinched, blinking at his harsh words. How could he know that she felt that way?
“Ye daenae ken what me life is like,” she snapped.
He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Me? Nay, of course I daenae. But me laird does. He’s been watchin’ ye for a while, lassie.”
“What for?”
“Come to the competition, and ye will see.”
She clenched her teeth. Itwastempting to shoot off an arrow after him. Not to kill him, of course, not even to hurt him. But maybe it might be fun to send an arrow whistling past his ear, just to see him flinch.
He didn’t seem like the sort of man who flinched, though. And then that begged the question of who had sent him?
“Where is this competition held, then?” Megan called after him. She felt as though she were losing control in the face of his cool carelessness, and it wasn’t very nice. Nothing seemed to rattle him.Nothing. “Give me some information! Who sent ye, for heaven’s sake?”
The man chuckled again, tilting his head back. He paused, then looked back at her. He was nearly at the tree line, and Megan sensed that once he stepped into the woods, she’d lose sight of him. He met her eyes directly, and this time it felt like a challenge.
“I left ye with an invitation, lass,” he said quietly. “An invitation from me laird. Why daenae ye read it, eh?”
CHAPTER 2
ONE WEEK LATER
