Twenty minutes later,Senga was riding through the night, hair flying out behind her. The wind was ice-cold, whipping across her cheeks and stealing her breath. Bluebell was a fine horse, not too large, but she raced across the dark hills with a speed that ate up the miles.
They were two miles from the Keep by the time Senga spotted a likely patch of undergrowth. She reined in her horse and slipped down nimbly, dropping to her knees.
Shadesflax grew in low, thick clusters that were often hidden by the surrounding undergrowth. Cursing herself for not remembering to bring a lantern, Senga began to sift through the greenery. As she searched, she thought about the chores the rest of the night would bring.
The infirmary was always busy, all day and all night. It never stopped, and the stream of sick and wounded kept coming and coming.
I can’t remember the last time I saw Astrid,Senga thought with a pang.Has it really only been days? It feels like weeks.
It was to be expected, of course. Her friends, Freya, Kyla, Astrid, even Una, were all married. They all had their own goals, their own families, and their own paths to follow. And Senga? Well, she had nothing.
Stop this,she thought to herself, gritting her teeth hard enough to hear them squeak.Ye have yer own work. Be grateful.
Then she spotted a patch of shadesflax, with its distinctive coarse leaves. Hastily, Senga began to pull up handfuls of the herb, stuffing handfuls of it in her pockets. Only the leaves could be used, meaning that the roots and stems would be discarded, but there was no time to sort through all of that now.
A few pocketfuls should do,she thought.We can go out to replenish our herb supplies in the morning.
There was no time for celebration, however. A nervous whinny from Bluebell was the only warning she had before the shadows across the clearing shifted, forming themselves into the shape of a man.
Senga froze, blinking hard, willing the specter to go away. Instead, it took a step forward. More shadows shifted on either side of him, forming three men in total.
“Senga Murray,” the man said, his voice heavy, harsh, and horribly familiar. “We’ve been searching for ye for a long while.”
The moonlight shone down on him, revealing a balding head of gray hair. A distinctive tartan was wrapped around his shoulders, yellow, green, and white.
Murray tartan.
Senga’s heart seemed to calcify inside her. She dragged herself slowly to her feet, heart hammering hard enough to make her feel sick.
The man met her eye and grinned.
“Remember me? Yer father’s Captain of the Guard? It’s time to come home, lassie. We couldn’t believe our luck when we sawye leave the Keep walls tonight. We’d have gotten ye sooner or later, but it’s better sooner than later, eh?”
“I…” Senga opened her mouth, but only an undignified squeak came out.
Would words even do anything? Her feet appeared to have grown roots, anchoring her to the ground. A voice in her head screamed at her to run, but a more practical and louder voice warned her that running would get her nowhere.
This can’t be happening. I can’t have lived in safety for so long only to be dragged home now.
The captain—his name was Tobey, Senga remembered that now—took a step towards her, hand outstretched.
“Come quietly, lass,” he rasped. “I promise we will be gentle… at first.”
A long, sharp sound echoed in the undergrowth behind her. It was the metallic rasp of a sword being drawn from its sheath. As if he were an extension of her own shadow, a fourth man stepped out from the trees.
At the moment, the moon seemed to brighten up her shine especially to display him, bathing him in silvery light. Tall and broad, his skin seemed to glow in the dark, his eyes pools of black, even though Senga knew they were brown.
I am dreaming,she thought dizzily.
It couldn’t be…
The man she’d spent her life waiting for. Here. Now.
Alive.
He didn’t look at her. He didn’tlookat her.
She glanced between him and the three Murray men.
