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 onBreana 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
When they reached the courtyard, chaos reigned. The rebel army had arrived, Darren at the helm, and though the fighting had not yet begun in earnest, it was clear the dam would break at any moment. In the middle of it all, Cailean saw Darren and Fergus exchanging words with Maeve's friend, Eoin, and it seemed that only this discussion was holding the men back from full-fledged bloodshed.
No more. There would be no more death here tonight.
With a brief look to Maeve, Cailean rushed to climb atop a small stage at the side of the courtyard, no doubt usually used for plays and the like. He needed to be heard and make himself seen. Taking a deep breath, he called out, "Kyle Darach is dead!"
Only those nearest the stage heard him at first, but soon the word spread through the courtyard, and slowly but surely, the noise died down and all the gathered men and women turned toward him. He saw the rebels at the far end, and though his heart swelled with joy to see his family rallied around him, he needed to focus on the Darach men who stood ready to kill.
"Dead?" one of the Darachs called. It was a woman, and Cailean wondered what role she served in the castle. It was clear that these gathered were not all soldiers, but servants, ladies' maids, and more, all here to defend their home. He would have to tread carefully.
He glanced to the side and saw Maeve watching him, encouragement in her eyes. Heartened, he spoke out.
"Dead," he confirmed. "I killed him meself."
Murmuring broke out amongst the crowd, then the soldier who had knelt to him before, a man he now knew to be named Sean Darach, stood up by his side.
"It's true," Sean announced. "Me uncle, our chieftain, lies dead. I saw it with me own eyes."
"Why have ye nae killed this traitor?" someone roared from the crowd. "I'll kill him meself!"
