Nae again.Nae like this.
She forced herself to stay still, to breathe slowly through her nose despite the blade at her throat. If she screamed now, Filib would panic. And panicking men were the most dangerous of all.
“Look at them,” Filib whispered, nodding toward the battle with a bitter laugh. “All this blood fer a laird who never cared what happened tae men like me.”
“That is nae true,” Davina said quietly, though her voice trembled despite her will. “Ye chose this path.”
His grip tightened. “They chose fer me.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes still looking around the smoke-filled courtyard, willing Baird to look her way, tofeelher absence. The shadows pressed in. Davina stood frozen between terror and resolve, holding herself together by sheer force of will.
She had no idea how much time had passed. But she knew with dreadful certainty that time was slipping through her fingers. She still couldn’t see Baird, but sheknewhe was there. She knew him too well not to. Somewhere beyond the clash of blades and the crush of bodies, he was fighting and driving forward.
If I wait,I may nae get another chance.
Her heart thundered. Her throat burned. The knife pressed closer. And Davina made her choice. She drew in a breath that felt as though it tore her open and screamed.
“Baird!!”
For an instant, the world seemed to hold its breath. Her cry echoed against stone and steel, carrying her terror, her faith and her defiance all at once.
And somewhere in the chaos, she knew he would hear her.
Baird’s blood went cold. For a single, terrifying moment, everything else fell away. The clash of steel dulled. The shouts blurred into noise. There was only her voice, torn raw with fear.
“Nay,” Baird breathed.
He spun toward the sound, frantically searching left and right through smoke and bodies. Then, he saw her. Davina was being half-dragged and half-stumbling backward toward the stables at the far edge of the courtyard. A man’s arm was locked around her, and there was a knife flashing at her throat. Rage exploded through Baird so violently it nearly blinded him.
“Davina!!” he roared.
He surged forward, carving a path through the chaos with brutal efficiency. A Sinclair soldier lunged, but Baird cut him down without slowing. Another blocked his way. Baird drove his shoulder into the man’s chest, sent him sprawling, then struck again.
Across the courtyard, Filib laughed.
“Too late!” he shouted, dragging her harder. “Yer clan will pay fer what ye did tae me! Fer me imprisonment! Fer ruining me!”
Davina fought him, Baird could see it now. Her hands were clawing at his arm, her feet were scrambling for freedom. But Filib was desperate, fueled by hate and panic, and desperation made men stronger than they were.
Baird’s lungs burned. His legs felt leaden.
Filib was too far, and there were too many people between them.
“Let her go!” Baird bellowed.
Filib only pressed the knife closer, backing toward the dark mouth of the stables. “Come closer, laird,” he snarled. “See what that costs her.”
His gaze locked on hers.
Hold on.Just a moment longer.
One wrong step and Davina would pay for it. Baird’s hand tightened around his sword.
If I wait, I lose her.
The thought came clear and merciless. Filib’s eyes flicked to the blade in Baird’s hand, a mad grin twisting his mouth.
“Ye will nae make it in time,” he sneered. “And she’ll die kenning it.”
