The flat of the blade pressed coldly against her skin. She could feel the edge, razor sharp. Only the smallest of pressures had caused it to dig into her skin, sending a quick, sharp pain through her neck. Theodore had cut her skin, she knew that much. A hot wetness ran down her throat, getting lost somewhere beneath the crumpled linen of her collar.
That must be blood. So daenae swallow. Daenae move. Daenae… Daenae…
Her mind went blank. It was her own fault that she was in this situation. If she’d been more alert, if she’d backed away from Theodore…
Too late for that now. Focus on the present, nae the past. The past is what got ye into this situation, but the present is whatwill get ye a future. Play yer cards right, now, lass. Ye have a great deal at stake in this game.
For some reason, that last thought sounded unmistakably like Aiden’s voice, echoing in her head with that endless amusement.
Almost without having to think twice about it, her eyes opened of their own accord—when had she shut them?—and found his gaze.
Oh, he looked ready to combust. He stood about six feet away, eyes burning a hole in Theodore’s head. His sword lay a few paces away. He could grab it if he tried, but not quickly enough. His hands hung loosely by his sides, as if he’d made an effort not to curl them into fists.
For a split second, his gaze flitted to her face. Their eyes met. Heat surged through her chest, sudden and painfully intense despite the situation.
“Stay calm, lass,” he said, almost in a drawl. Almostcasually.
Despite the lightness of his voice, there was nothing but tension in his stance. Every muscle looked strained to breaking point, shoulders squared, arms and chest taut, jaw locked.
“Daenae speak to her,” Theodore snapped. “Ye speak to me.”
Aiden lifted his chin. “All right, then. I’ll speak to ye. What’s yer plan, then? Because right now, ye are in the middle of MacBainCastle, surrounded by guards, with yer sword held to a lassie’s throat. And man, if ye kill her…” he trailed off, shaking his head, and took one deliberate step forward. “If ye kill her, Theodore, ye will beg for death before the end. That I can promise ye. If I see one drop more of her blood, I will shed all of yers.”
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Behind her, Hannah felt Theodore tense.
“I am nae afraid of ye,Laird MacBain,” he responded lightly.
Liar.
She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
Aiden took another step forward, and Theodore tensed again.
“Daenae,” he warned. “Ye might kill me in all the inventive ways ye can think of, but she’ll still be dead.”
Aiden’s face tightened, just for an instant.
Hannah held her breath. She wanted to speak, to tell him that the safety of the clan and safety from a man like Theodore were so much more important than her life. Violet’s face flashed before her, reproaching her. The memory of Aiden’s touch on her skin made her shiver.
It didn’t matter, because she couldn’t speak in any case. The words wouldn’t come out. Her throat refused to move, and her tongue rested heavy in her mouth.
“I tell ye what,” Aiden murmured, after a moment. “I’ll make ye a deal. Ye and I fight now, as we are, to the death. The winner keeps the lairdship. But ye had better release her this moment.”
Theodore shifted, narrowing his eyes. “I cannae beat ye in a swordfight.”
Aiden spread out his arms. “Do ye see a blade on me?”
Hannah couldn’t get a good look at Theodore’s face, only what she could glimpse from her peripheral vision, but it was a fairly good guess that his eyes brightened.
“Deal,” he snarled.
The next thing she knew, she was seized by the shoulder and shoved sideways. She tottered forward, unbalanced, and slammed painfully hard into the wall, grazing her forehead off the stone. The blow made her vision swim temporarily, and she slumped to the ground, dizzy.
Through blurry vision, she saw Theodore leap forward, his sword swinging through the air like a vicious silver fish. A scream clawed its way up her throat but did not quite make it out of her mouth.
Aiden dodged. The blade shot through the air and crashed onto the cobbles, the point raising a flurry of sparks as it wedged itself between two stones. A tinge of panic crossed Theodore’s face when he realized that his sword was stuck. Aiden kept moving. He spun, one booted foot crashing down onto the blade.
