“Let’s get into position,” Aiden said finally, breaking the silence. “We’ll wait him out, and when he shows his face, we’ll attack.”
Malcolm nodded, his expression resolute as they moved to take cover behind a cluster of rocks near the water’s edge. They hadchosen this spot carefully—a place where they could see without being seen, where they could strike before Flynn had a chance to react.
As they settled in to wait, Aiden’s thoughts returned to Katie. He pictured her face, the softness in her eyes, the way she had looked at him with a trust he wasn’t sure he deserved. But he would earn it. He would protect her, no matter what.
“Today,” Aiden whispered to himself, his voice barely audible in the stillness of the morning. “This ends today.”
The rising sun now cast a faint golden glow over the loch. Aiden’s grip on his sword tightened as he prepared for the battle, knowing that by the end of the day, one way or another, everything would change.
The air around the loch was teeming with tension as Aiden and Malcolm hid behind the rocks and waited for Flynn to appear. The light of dawn filtered through the trees, casting long shadows over the still water.
Aiden’s grip tightened on his sword as he scanned the horizon, every muscle in his body coiled with anticipation. Beside him, Malcolm was equally tense, his eyes narrowed as they waited for Flynn to appear.
“Look who’s here, lads.”
CHAPTER 18
It wasn’tlong before they heard the distant crunch of gravel. Aiden stiffened as his eyes locked onto the approaching figures. Three men emerged from the shadows, their forms growing clearer as they drew nearer.
Flynn was at the front, tall and broad-shouldered, his muscular frame silhouetted against the rising sun. He had a patch over one eye, a souvenir from a past skirmish, and his ginger hair was a wild tangle, barely contained by a tattered tricorn hat. His remaining brown eye gleamed with a savage light, and a cruel smile twisted his lips.
“Did ye miss me?” Flynn called out, his voice a rough growl that echoed across the loch.
His two henchmen flanked him, both large, brutish men with blank expressions and thick arms that bulged beneath their ragged coats. They were the dim-witted and dangerous type of men who followed orders without question.
Aiden stepped out from behind the rocks, Malcolm by his side. Flynn’s smile widened as he caught sight of them, his gaze flicking between the two men with a mix of amusement and disdain.
“Well, well, well,” Flynn drawled, swaggering forward with an exaggerated bow. “If it isnae the prodigal son and his loyal lapdog. Thought ye could leave me behind, did ye, Aiden? Thought ye could just walk away and forget all about old Flynn?”
Aiden’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. “Ye made yer choices, Flynn. Ye’ve nay one to blame but yerself.”
Flynn’s expression darkened, and his smile dropped as he took another step forward, his boots crunching on the gravel. “Aye, I made me choices. And look where they got me. Left for dead, rottin’ in a hellhole, while ye went on to play the hero. But I’m nae here to reminisce, Aiden. I’m here for what’s mine.”
“And what might that be?” Malcolm asked, his voice cold as he leveled his sword at Flynn.
Flynn chuckled, a low, sinister sound. “What’s mine, ye ask? Everythin’ that should have been mine, Malcolm. The fortune, the power… and now, the lass. A fine dancer, is she nae? A perfect prize for a man like me.”
Aiden’s blood ran cold at Flynn’s mention of Katie. His hand became white-knuckled upon the hilt of his sword, every muscle in his body screaming for action. But he forced himself to remaincalm, knowing that Flynn wanted to provoke him and trick him into reacting rashly.
“Ye’ll nae touch her,” Aiden said, his voice low and dangerous. “If ye have any sense left in yer filthy head, ye’ll turn around and leave right now. This doesnae have to end with yer blood on the ground.”
Flynn’s eye gleamed with malice as he unsheathed his sword, the blade catching the light of the rising sun. “Oh, but it does, Aiden, and it willnae be me lifeblood that flows on the stones. Ye see, I’ve been dreamin’ of this moment for a long time, and I intend to savor every second of it.”
Without another word, Flynn lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air toward Aiden. Aiden parried the blow, the clash of steel ringing out across the loch. The force of the impact sent a jolt through Aiden’s arm, but he held his ground, his focus razor-sharp as he countered with a swift strike of his own.
The fight erupted in a blur of motion. Flynn was fast, his movements fluid and aggressive, each strike delivered with deadly precision. Aiden blocked and dodged, his mind racing as he predicted Flynn’s next move. The two men circled each other, their swords clashing in a fierce dance of death.
Beside Aiden, Malcolm engaged in a vicious swordfight of his own with Flynn’s hefty henchmen. The two brutish men lunged at him with clumsy but powerful swings. Malcolm dispatched the first of them with a quick thrust to his chest, his sword sliding through flesh and bone with grim efficiency. The secondassailant was more persistent, his swings wild and heavy, but Malcolm was quicker, ducking and weaving until he found an opening to strike. Aiden barely registered the brief flashes of Malcolm’s fight, his attention fixed fully on Flynn as the battle between them intensified.
As Aiden battled Flynn, his mind was a storm of memories and emotions. Images of his time at sea, of battles fought and blood spilled, of the horrors he had endured and the choices he had made, flashed through his mind.
He recalled Flynn’s betrayal and the agony and bitterness that had followed and festered inside him for years afterward, as well as the deep-seated guilt that had never quite left him. Flynn had been an integral part of his life, his brother-in-arms, until lofty ambitions and greed had turned him into his enemy.
Now the enemy was here, trying to take away everything Aiden had built and everyone Aiden had fought to protect.
Flynn’s sword came at him again, a brutal swing aimed at his side. Aiden twisted away, but not fast enough. The blade grazed his ribs, pain flaring as blood soaked into his shirt. Gritting his teeth, Aiden retaliated with a powerful strike aimed at Flynn’s shoulder. Flynn blocked it, grinning savagely as he pushed back, forcing Aiden to stumble.
“Ye should have chosenme, Aiden,” Flynn hissed, his voice dripping with venom. “I would have made ye a king, but instead ye chosethis.” He gestured contemptuously toward the castle, as if it were nothing more than a gaudy trinket.
