But when Bridei heard a scream from the edge of the woods, his heart nearly stopped. He knew in an instant that it was Nessa. And it had been a scream of terror. Suddenly, nothing else mattered except getting to her. He turned towards the woods, and as he ran, his pride quickly seemed like a small and petty thing, his honor worthless without the woman he had once wanted above all others. In that moment, he knew that he wanted her still, perhaps more than ever. If anything had happened to her…
It didn’t take long for him to find the men who took her, as carelessly loud as they were. He paused under cover of the thick trees, forcing himself to carefully assess the situation before charging in like a mindless animal. There were three men, and one held Nessa by the waist as he attempted to lift her onto the back of a horse. She struggled and kicked and the man swore and drew his hand back as if to strike her.
Not while he lived and breathed.
Bridei burst from the trees, drawing his weapon, and the attention of all three men. He did not look at Nessa. He needed to focus, and seeing her frightened or injured would certainly undo him. The looks on the men’s faces turned from surprise to complacency as they realized he had come alone.
“Take your hands off her”, Bridei demanded in a low, feral growl.
The man holding Nessa drew a blade and held it across her throat. “I think not. You leave your women unguarded in the forest at night, and they are free for the taking.”
“She is not yours. Drop your weapons, lead the horses away, and I will let you live.”For a moment.
The man smirked. “As I said, I found her, and I’ll keep her. She’ll be warming my bed later tonight.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Bridei’s eyes went from merely murderous to hell-bent in an instant. “Get down Nessa, now! And stay there!”
She only had an instant to wonder how he expected her to do that with a blade nearly piercing her neck, when something flew from Bridei’s hand and not even a second later the man holding her slumped over. She dropped to the ground without question, though she couldn’t help but peek out from under her arm. She wanted to be ready to help if he needed her. Itwastwo against one, after all. Her hand reached out to grab a stone lying on the ground in front of her. Not much of a weapon, but better than none at all.
She should have known she wouldn’t need it. Before the other two even noticed their friend was bleeding out where Bridei’s knife had sunk neatly into the artery of his neck, he was on them. The first victim had his stomach slashed wide, and Nessa put her face back down, not really needing to see the man’s intestines spilling onto the forest floor. The second was thrown to the ground, and Bridei pinned his there with a booted foot heavy on his chest.
Then he looked at her for the first time. “Nessa.”
Shelooked up at him, her fierce warrior, so strong, so beautiful. “Did they touch you?” he gritted out.
He meant, she realized, to give the man either a swift, or a slow and painful death, depending on her answer. She scurried to her knees.
“Did any of them touch you? Or hurt you at all?”
“No.”
He nodded once, then drove his sword directly into the man’s heart. There was a choking sound, then a stream of red life began to flow from the wound and from his mouth. He was dead just seconds later. She let out the breath she had been holding. She looked at each of the three dead men lying on the ground, but she couldn’t seem to muster any pity for them. In this world, they got what they knew would come to them if they played with fire. Or King Bridei.
Bridei tossed his bloody sword to the ground and knelt beside her in the dirt. “Nessa…I…”
She had started to tremble with the after-shock of what had just happened. The trembling quickly turned to shaking and she was finding it hard to draw in enough air. Bridei wrapped her in his arms and held her tight until her breathing evened out and her muscles began to relax. She had never felt so warm and safe, but there was still so much standing between them, including a child he hadn’t wanted…
One Nessa had calmed, Bridei held her at arm’s length and looked her over carefully, his gaze lingering a moment longer on her stomach.She kept him. My son. Our son…But she had chosen another man. She had left and gone to a place he could not follow. Pain and jealousy twisted his insides. He had to know, even thought it might kill him to hear it.
“Why did you come back? Wasn’t it what you wanted, to go back to your own time and be with the man you love?” The words felt like hot sand in his mouth. She shook her head, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
“Bridei. I didn’t…I couldn’t. I wasn’t with Nathan while I was gone. I swear to you. I couldn’t even let him touch me.”
He watched her face carefully, and when he realized she was telling the truth, relief like he’d never felt before flooded through him. If she could feel for him only half of what he felt for her…
He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Meara once told me that a true soul mate breaks you first”, he said softly. “You have shattered me to tiny pieces Ashta, and now you hold them all in your hands. Why, then? Why did you go?”
“I didn’t mean to leave, Bridei.” She was sobbing now, breaking apart before him. “I was so wrong…but you let me leave; you didn’t fight for me! I didn’t know what to do…
“I wanted to kill him!” he growled as a wave of fresh rage welled up from deep inside. “But I knew you would never forgive me if I killed the man you loved.”
“I didn’t love him enough”, she said through her tears. “I didn’t love him like I should have. Not like he wanted me to.”
But could she lovehim? Bridei didn’t ask. He wasn’t certain he could bear it if she told him no. With a sigh he gathered her in his arms and placed her gently on Lotex’s back. He brought her back to his chamber and carefully bathed, dried, and tended her, his emotions running wild all the while, and with very few words spoken between them. He should have listened to her story when she first returned. He should have at least given her a chance to explain, but he had been too stubborn and prideful. And for that he had nearly lost her, and his child. Now he lay her on his bed, all soft and warm and naked. She watched him as he took off all of his clothing and lay down next to her. He kissed her, slowly and tenderly, and it felt like coming home.
“I’m sorry, Ashta. I have wronged you.”
“No, it’s my fault…”
