Resolve settled over her. It was her turn to take charge and find a way out of this for the both of them. She turned her hand over with the scarred palm facing upward. The imprint of the stone was still there. The scar from the slice had turned from pink to a muted silver.
Maybe her sister was onto something with this blood magic thing. But, then again, maybe there was another way out of this.
As they clung to each other, Chloe shoved aside the worry, the overwhelming trepidation, and focused. She was a historian, after all. She needed to use that knowledge to work for her, not against her.
As they huddled in the shadowy darkness, Chloe vowed to find a way to beat Bruce at his own game. And she was going to do it alone.
***
“He’ll have them locked in the dungeon,” Callum said.
He leaned on the great hall table staring down at the crudely drawn map of the MacDonald keep. It would take days to ride there to rescue them and both he and Malcolm knew that. Impatience vibrated off his eldest brother.
“I dinnae ken the layout of the MacDonald keep.”
And that frustrated him, too. Malcolm stood next to him, peering down at the drawing, wondering how they would be able to get the women back without assistance. They were a small band of warriors.
“We need help,” Malcolm said.
Jamie sat in a chair opposite them, his arm stitched and freshly bandaged. Roslyn ushered Dougal out of the great hall to tend to his wounds elsewhere. But Jamie remained to help plan their next move.
“Och, and what will ye have us do, then, brother?” Jamie asked. “Who will help us?”
“The Sinclairs,” he suggested.
“They’ve helped us enough,” Callum said. “We cannae ask them again or they’ll think us weak.”
“Then what?” Malcolm asked. “What can we do? Storm the castle ourselves?”
Jamie snickered. He knew Malcolm’s suggestion was flippant. But Callum straightened, folding his thick forearms over his chest and eyeing his brother.
“Aye, laddie. That’s what we’ll do.”
“Are ye out of yer mind?” Malcolm snapped. “It was nothing but a jest.”
“But ’tis something MacDonald willna expect, aye?” Callum said.
“Ye might be onto something there, brother,” Jamie added, sounding intrigued.
“Ye both are mad.” Malcolm said and huffed. “How can the three of us invade the MacDonald keep?”
“We will go to their stronghold. Jamie, take our fastest horse and ride out to observe their guard rotation. Look for unguarded exits, a breech in the wall, sewer grates, anything that can aid us in getting inside the keep undetected,” Callum said.
A wide grin spread on his face. “Aye, brother, I can do that.”
“Good. Then, the two of us will ride out to meet ye. Our meeting point will be in the nearby village at the inn.”
“And what are the two of us going to be doing while Jamie is gathering this information? I dinnae like the idea of the lassies in the hands of MacDonald for so long.”
“I dinnae either, but we dinnae have much of a choice. We will sharpen our swords and gather provisions. Enough for us and the lassies for our return trip. They’ll need horses, too.”
“Chloe cannae ride,” Malcolm interjected, thinking of his past experience with her.
“Och, then one horse for Evie. Chloe can ride with ye. Once we meet up with ye, Jamie, ye’ll give us whatever ye found. Ye have the gift of stealth, so I will be counting on ye to gather as much information as ye can,” Callum said.
Jamie nodded.
“Once we ken what we’re up against,” Callum continued, “I will create a diversion to draw the guards away. Malcolm, I want ye to be the one to take out any who spot us right away.”
