“Kidnapper! Unhand my daughter.”
“Nowye decide to claim me?” Aftyn’s voice rang out, loud and full of disgust. “Leave me be. I’m going with the Lathans.”
“Ye will come with me,” Keith demanded. “And him, too,” he added, aiming the point of his sword at Jamie. Then he made a grab for Jamie’s reins.
Jamie jerked his mount aside with the hand wrapped around Aftyn, wheeled and swung his sword with the other, aiming to miss her father, but to warn him off. Bhaltair rode up on the Keith’s other side, sword in hand, ready to protect Jamie and Aftyn.
The Keith’s mount reacted to being caught between Bhaltair’s and Jamie’s horses. It reared. Aftyn ducked and screamed as the Keith fought to keep his seat. Jamie turned his wrist to miss her father. His horse came down too close to Jamie’s. Jamie’s mount sidestepped and pushed it away, forcing the Keith’s hip into Bhaltair’s blade.
Blood sprayed. The Keith clung to his mount’s mane as Bhaltair’s horse danced away, then the Keith slipped to the ground. Someone saw and cried out, “The Keith is down!” Others took up the call. In moments, the surviving members of the Keith patrol threw down their weapons and two ran to their laird.
“Jamie!” Aftyn called.
He leapt to the ground and knelt by her father. The wound bad, but not fatal, as he’d first thought. Without thinking, he touched it and stopped the bleeding. He didn’t dare do any more with so many Keiths hovering over him. “Get him to Neve and Hamish,” Jamie growled. “Now!”
The Keiths helped their laird and got him back on his horse, another man behind him to hold him up. “Ye havena heard the end of this, Lathan,” he growled as they rode off, leaving his men to trail behind him.
Jamie watched him go until he disappeared into the darkness, then turned to Aftyn. She still stared after her father, eyes wide.
Bhaltair’s mount stayed close, Bhaltair watching for any Keiths lagging behind.
“Anyone else hurt?” Jamie called out.
“Nay,” the Lathan war chief told him, riding up. “Two dead Keiths, but we checked. No injured remain behind. We must leave the two for their clan to collect. I want more distance from here tonight.”
“Sorry, lass,” Bhaltair told Aftyn. “Ye ken I didna want to…”
“Aye, I do,” Aftyn said. “His hide is tough. Ye mustna have hurt him badly or Jamie would still be with him.”
“Let’s go,” Jamie said. The war chief was right. They were still a long way from home. The Keith could send more men after them. But after that unsuccessful show of force, Jamie wondered if he’d bother. He mounted up behind Aftyn, wrapped the cloak around them for warmth, and rode out.
Aftyn slept in Jamie’s arms for the rest of the night, and he woke her only when they stopped to rest the horses and themselves. Bhaltair and Fearchar still had the small supply of food and ale Jamie had found in the stable. They consumed it to break their fast once the sun came up.
While she slept, Jamie healed the visible bruises he’d left behind to convince her father the beating really happened, and made sure she had no other injuries he might have missed while they were in Mhairi’s cottage. He knew better than to do too much. The ride was taxing, especially with the worry that Keith warriors might follow them, or that they might run across Aftyn’s attackers or another Keith patrol looking for them. He didn’t want to have to fight again to escape capture.
Jamie had time to ponder the fact that the warrior side of him was eager to avoid a fight. He’d even tried to avoid harming her odious father. And he spent part of the ride continuing to heal Aftyn. She changed so much about him, almost without him noticing. When he first met her, Aftyn mirrored him—untrained and eager to do more, both for her clan and to safeguard her tenuous position there, and with a father who ignored her. Jamie had a miraculous talent he took for granted, a home waiting for him, and a family who loved him. She’d broken through his anger and made him see the good he could do. Aye, he was still a warrior but he was more than that, too. The changes in him were good ones, and he had much to thank her for. The MacKyrie Seer had warned him not to be so certain he knew who he was. She was right. With Aftyn’s help, he had found out he could be much more.
Exhaustion setting in, Jamie remained determined to get Aftyn to the Aerie where she’d be safe. Even with their expanded escort, he took nothing for granted. Despite his concerns, they made it to Lathan territory with no more incidents. Back on familiar ground, they stopped at a stream to rest and refresh. The midday sun high in the sky warmed them. They’d be home before dark, and Jamie was eager to get there.
Aftyn went upstream to wash. Bhaltair and Rabbie stayed busy by the horses, further downstream, while Jamie guarded her. When she joined him, she looked refreshed. Her color had improved and she smiled.
“I’m sorry I didna agree to go with ye when ye first suggested it. We would have avoided so much trouble.”
“Ye were nae ready for such a big step. I should have tried harder to convince ye, and I’m sorry ye suffered as ye did.”
“I am, too, but at least I got to be a part of Neve and Hamish’s handfasting.”
“What? When did that happen?”
“While ye were in the dungeon. Braden officiated. He and his men will guard them. Now they are wed, they can be together day and night, so Hamish can keep her safe. They are very happy.”
“I’m happy for them,” Jamie told her. “And I want to be as happy with ye. Ye have come to mean so much to me, Aftyn. I canna imagine how it would have felt to have left ye behind.”
“I wouldna let ye. Nor will I ever again. Ye trusted me with yer greatest secret and ye have cared for me as no other. I’m yers, Jamie Lathan, if ye’ll have me.”
Jamie’s heart soared. “I love ye, Aftyn. I do trust ye, and I honor the changes ye have made in me. I’m a better man for having met ye.”
Tears gleamed in Aftyn’s eyes. “I love ye, too. I’m sorry I spent so much time being jealous and suspicious of ye. I hurt ye and caused ye so much trouble. I wish we could start over, but I’m glad we’ve come to where we are.”
