Their idyllic time at the hunting lodge passed too quickly. Emily glanced over a shoulder at the stone structure one last time before urging the chestnut mare to follow Gregor’s horse onto the trail through the trees.
They traversed the same track they’d traveled several days earlier in the reverse direction. Just before they would have ridden from the woods into the large meadow, Gregor held out a hand, motioning for her to halt.
“What is it?” she asked.
“A large party of riders cross from the Dunoon overland trail headed toward the Loch Fyne trail. Same as us. Few from this part of Scotland can afford to ride in such numbers. ’Tis either the Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, or Ninian Stewart, the Sheriff of Bute.”
“Surely not the sheriff.” Emily’s pulse rate spiked. Considering Isobell’s description, the sheriff was the last person she wished to meet. “Do you think they are looking for me? For Tevin?”
“Easy, lass. We dinnae ken if it is the sheriff. However, we will let them pass before proceeding.”
They waited in silence while the riders crossed the meadow in a canter, their forms appearing smaller andsmaller until completely disappearing upon entering the trail into the woods on the far side of the meadow. Emily and Gregor waited another twenty minutes before crossing the field of summer grass and yellow gorse. For the next hour or so, they kept to a slower pace, not wishing to overtake the larger party.
At the loch end of the trail, they lingered, watching the other riders from within the concealment of the trees instead of riding out onto the wide-open ridge above Loch Fyne.
“We are in luck, lass,” Gregor said. “They turn east toward Campbell country, away from Castle Lachlan.”
Emily released a heavy sigh of relief, her heart rate at last slowing to a normal beat.
Gregor leaned toward her, grasped her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. At the snap of a branch, his gaze jerked beyond her to the woods behind. His eyes narrowed, his stare fixated. “Dinnae move.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“The white stag,” he whispered in an awed voice.
In the distance she faced, farther down the slope, golden sunlight shimmered on the surface of the water surrounding Castle Lachlan in welcome.
“Go. Hunt your stag. The stables and castle are within sight. I’ll be perfectly safe continuing on alone.”
“You are sure?”
“Absolutely. Go. Give it your best shot.” She winked at him.
“I will return before nightfall.”
Emily watched him ride off. She bit the edge of her lip. Worry furrowed her brow. He was too obsessed with that damn white stag. Too obsessed with trying to prove himself to everyone. She supposed it was the way of men, especially in this time period.
With a click of her tongue against her teeth, she reined the mare toward the distant stables, following the tree line along the ridge. The animal faltered mid-stride in a patch of tall grass and Emily barely kept her seat. She patted its neck andmurmured calming words. The mare emitted a loud nasal snort then took a couple of steps. The poor animal walked with a pronounced limp.
Craptastic!The horse was lame.
Emily slid from the saddle to the ground and squatted to check the animal’s foreleg. She didn’t see anything wrong. Perhaps the horse pulled a muscle or tore a tendon. She’d have to walk it on lead to the stables. Emily stood and a large hand clamped over her mouth from behind, muffling her scream, the point of some sort of blade pressed beneath her left rib.
“Dinnae holler, and I will not harm ye,” snarled a hoarse male voice near her ear.
She gave an abrupt nod. Panic heaved bile up her throat, the taste sour in her mouth.
He removed the hand silencing her, but used the appendage to hold her trapped, her back pressed against a sturdy chest.
“Ye will come with me. Thebairn, Tevin, has a need of ye.”
“Where is he?” she demanded, not that she could do anything if the man refused to answer. Tevin should be safe at the castle, playing with his new friend Lach.
She glanced at the saddlebag hanging on her horse, to the pocket that contained the knives she’d yet to touch. If only she’d asked Gregor to show her how to strap them on and use them, she’d have a blade up her sleeve at this very moment to use in defense. “Please, tell me where he is,” she said, in a more cajoling voice.
“Hunting dragons with my brother. The lad has been askin’ for ye.”
Why would Tevin have gone with a stranger?It’s my destiny to kill an orange dragon.
