She flicked her gaze to the stables farther along the ridge. It was too distant for anyone there to hear a yell for help. Only the nearby long-haired cows chewing cud would hear her scream. She really didn’t have many options. She’d needto go with him. “Who are you?”
“Will ye come along with nae trouble?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Ye can come with me freely, or I will thump ye on the noggin and tie ye over the rump of my horse. Matters little to me.”
“I will come with you.”
“Wise lass.” He released her and stepped back. “Turn around slowly.”
She spun about instead and pinned a stocky blond-haired man—a man who looked somewhat familiar—with a hard glare. Then it occurred to her. “You’re Ciaran’s brother.”
“What of it?”
Ciaran must have lured Tevin away from the castle with the tale of dragons. But why?
“Where is Tevin? Is he hurt?”
“The lad talks too much, but he remains unharmed.”
“Why—”
“Nae more questions. We go now.”
“My horse is lame.”
“Then ye will ride with me.” He grabbed her arm and tugged, dragging her into the woods.
She glanced at the saddlebag again. Too late now. She’d have to go with him.
Hidden from the view of others, concealed by a screen of large bushes and small trees, he mounted a large black horse and yanked her up behind him. His body odor swamped her sinuses and made her want to gag. He stayed within the trees as they rode away from Castle Lachlan and the only people she knew in Scotland circa 1521.
“What is your name?” she asked after they’d been riding for a while.
“Cinead.” That was all he said for the rest of the journey.
The man didn’t seem to mind her observing the ground they covered and marking the way in her mind. Either they weren’t concerned she’d escape and bring others against them, or they had no intention of letting her leave alive.
But why had they taken Tevin and now her?
They rode for the better part of the afternoon. As the sun set, they crossed a stream, or what Gregor would call a burn. Gosh, she missed him. What would he think when he didn’t find her at the castle? Would he come after her?
When Emily finally slid off the horse, she was chilled and ached everywhere. She’d love to curl up and go to sleep, but needed to keep her wits about her. She had a feeling that both hers and Tevin’s lives were at risk.
“Where are we?” she demanded, again, as if she had some measure of control.
Her captor said nothing. He went about the business of removing branches, still green with leaves, from where they camouflaged the mouth of a cave.
Emily shuddered. She hated dark, tight places.
Cinead lit a torch. “Come. The lad is within.”
She clamped down on escalating panic and followed him into the cavernous space that narrowed and split.
“Finally. You have brought her.” Ciaran strode from the darkness and grabbed her arm in a painful grip. He dragged her farther into the abyss and shoved her into another smaller chamber within the network of caverns. “Now care for thebairn.”
Tevin sat on a bed of sorts. He raised a tearstained face. “Em!”
