11
When Killian tossed Lily a sword, she fought with him against the men as they came at her.
Lily had three cuts on her arm when their attackers finally fell back, and she watched Killian go to his man-at-arms again, then lift him up from the ground with ease.
“Fletcher,” she heard him call as he pulled the arrow out of the man’s back. “Dinnae die… please.”
He sounded distraught, and she could tell from his pinched expression that he was worried about Fletcher.
Her heart ached as she watched him sob over the man’s still body. Lily knew she could help, and even though her mind was still spinning with numerous confused thoughts, she offered her assistance.
She checked if Fletcher was still breathing first before she said, “We can stop the bleeding and rush him back to the castle for the healer to see him.”
“Please, help him,” Killian pleaded with her, his eyes teary as he looked up and met her gaze.
Lily’s heart clenched hard, and she could only nod because her throat had tightened.
He cares about this man.
She sprang into action and began searching the valley around them for any herbs she could find.
“I could not find much herbs, but this will help with the bleeding a little. It is not as potent as hemlock, but it will suffice for now.”
She crushed the leaves in her hands and gently applied them to the gaping hole the arrow had left in Fletcher’s back. When she finished, Killian lifted him off the ground, carried him to his saddle and strapped him on.
“I must ride with him… He is unconscious. Ye should ride alone,” he said, shocking her as he began climbing into his saddle.
“You are giving me a horse?” Lily questioned. “To ride on my own? What if I flee?”
Killian only stared at her for a long time, then he shrugged. “Then so be it,” he replied. “Take the horse, do as ye please… Ye are free to go, but do not forget what happened here today. Laird McLennan sent these men to kill us, just like he did when we were at the inn.”
“You do not know that,” Lily protested in a faint voice, shaking her head.
She believed Duncan to be a good man. She had lived with him for years. He cared for her, for Amelia, for his sister, for Arran… There was a long list of people he cared for. She trusted him.
“He is a good man, Killian,” she insisted stubbornly as tears threatened to spill for the first time since she had been taken from her home. “He would not do this. Laird McLennan would not kill innocent people for any reason.”
“Ye really believe that? Ye trust him that much?”
Lily saw his jaw harden as his gaze flickered over her one last time before he nudged his horse forward and tightened his grip on the reins.
With a loud command, he rode off into the distance, and his men followed, leaving her standing there alone with a horse and a choice to make.
She could turn in the opposite direction and ride towards McLennan Castle, or she could go with Killian and find out whathe believed Duncan had done that made him so full of anger and hatred.
Lily sighed as she stared at the horse. Killian struck her as a good man. That was why she had jumped to fight with him at every chance she got. Besides, he had also protected her back at the inn, when he could have let those men kill her.
Laird McLennan would not try to kill me.
Lily was certain of that, even though she was not certain Duncan would risk his men or his life to come for her.
I am a mere servant. I am replaceable.
Lily could not bring herself to ride away even after she mounted the horse. She had to find out who had tried to kill her twice now.
It is definitely not Duncan. These men could not be part of his army.
Without letting herself re-think her choice, she pulled the reins and began riding in the same direction Killian had ridden so she could catch up.
