"Take me challenge. Spare yer men and mine," Cailean urged him again. "Me life against yers. Let's end this."
"End it?" Kyle asked. He shook his head. "Lad, it ended twenty years ago." He turned to his men. "Kill him. Kill them all."
"No!" Breana shrieked.
The rebels raised their swords in a defensive pose, Maeve and Cailean among them, but while a few of the Darach men surged forward, many hung back, uncertainty written across their faces, whispers amongst them reaching Maeve's ears.
McNair?
Could it be?
The True king?!
The clang of swords sounded, but before the fight could begin in earnest, a loud horn sounded, echoing through the castle.
"What?" Kyle rasped, alarm on his face for the first time. "What is this?"
"The gates are open, Kyle," Maeve told him. "The rebel army is comin'. It's over."
Panic flooded through the room as the men seemed to understand exactly what Maeve meant; the castle was under a full-scale attack, not, as they had believed, a small rebel infiltration. Cailean raised his sword and moved forward, ready to deal with Kyle once and for all, but staggered and stopped as Kyle let out an inhumane roar and grabbed Breana even tighter.
"Let me go!" Breana shrieked.
Maeve rushed forward, but she, too, stopped, as Kyle raised his weapon to Breana's throat.
Kyle pushed her in front of him, blocking his body. As the men around fought, Kyle looked back at Maeve and Cailean. "Kill me and she goes as well," he hissed.
As he dragged her backward, Breana's eyes were filled with desperate, pleading horror, and Maeve's body pulsed with fear and adrenaline. Any attack on Kyle now would be an attack on Breana too. Even if he didn't manage to hurt her in retaliation, approaching with a sword could risk cutting Breana instead.
Except… except if one was very careful, with a sword that was precise enough to avoid the human shield.
Her heart rattling in her chest, Maeve knew she had no more time to think. She withdrew her needle-like sword and rushed forward, using all of the agility and wit that Senan and Cailean had trained her for, and made a single, precise thrust with her weapon.
Kyle howled, his hand going loose and his sword dropping to the ground as Maeve's attack connected and wounded him in the side of his ribcage. Breana took advantage of the moment and wrenched herself free, running to the side of the room to safety.
The fighting stopped, and as one of the men turned to face the downed chieftain, Cailean walked slowly toward him, weapon in hand.
"Ye can still surrender, Darach," he told him quietly. "Surrender, and live yer life as a prisoner."
Kyle, now on his knees, clutching at his side, spat on the ground at Cailean's feet. "Ye'll all burn," he snarled. "Ye'll all burn! Just like the McNairs did!"
With a grim look in his eyes, Cailean swung his sword one final time. Kyle's body fell to the floor, lifeless.
It was over.
Though the noise of the attacking force could still be heard, Maeve could feel the silence that followed the execution. Then Cailean turned back to the Darach men and spoke in a firm, clear, authoritative tone — in the voice of a king.
"Lay down yer swords. Join us, or flee. If ye nae longer fight, nae more blood needs to be shed today," he declared. "But if ye do choose tae fight, ken this: we will win."
A heartbeat passed. Two.
Then a man stepped forward whom Maeve vaguely recognized as another member of the Darach line — Kyle's nephew, or cousin, or something like that. By his clothing and bearing, it was clear that with Kyle's death, he now had the authority over the soldiers in this room and perhaps through the entire castle.
The man walked right up to Cailean, then dropped to his knees, offering his sword before him. "Me king," he said, "The castle is yers."
24
Chapter Twenty-Four
