“No!” Christiana screamed, freezing his motion.
Dani had no chance to turn toward the girl before a hand fisted in her hair, jerking her head back and up. At almost the same moment, a cold, hard blade pressed against her throat.
“What is it you think to do, little brother?” Malcolm stared her direction, his face gone blank of any emotion, though he still held his sword aloft.
Little brother?Dermid did this to her?
She tried to move and the blade stung against her tender skin, stilling her instantly.
“That’s right,my lady.” Dermid spit the appellation as if he called her a dirty name. “Best you not move if you value keeping you lovely neck in one piece. And as for you, Brother, step away from my lord and throw down yer weapon.”
“Yer lord?” Malcolm repeated, slowly backing away as he’d been instructed. “How can you do this to yer own flesh and blood?”
“Because Torquil treats me as an equal. I’ll sit at his right hand when he rules all. Now toss away yer weapon or yer lady won’t live to see our soldiers arrive.”
“Torquil uses you and nothing more. He’ll never accept you as an equal because yer as much Deandrea’s son as I am.” Malcolm spoke softly as he dropped his sword to the ground, his gaze on his brother unwavering.
“No,” Dermid denied. “I’ve proven my loyalty. I’ve killed as I’ve been asked and I’ll do it again. You, yer woman, Patrick, Christiana, it matters no to me. Whatever my lord asks of me, that I will do.”
“Yer a madman as much as he,” Malcolm said, the touch of sorrow unmistakable in his voice.
“Madman, eh? We’ll see about that. Mayhap you should ask this one if she thinks me mad. What say you, Lady Danielle? Am I mad? And best you use care with yer words, my lady,” he cautioned.
With his knee pressing against her back, Dermid tightened his hold on Dani’s hair, stretching her neck backward so that she was looking up into his grinning face.
His eyes were wild. Malcolm was right. There was no sign of sanity left in him.
“No,” she whispered, closing her eyes as the sharp edge of the blade pressed into her skin.
“Well spoken,” he boomed, obviously enjoying the feel of power.
“What now?” Malcolm asked.
“Now I suspect you’ll all die. Ulfr and his men should be here any minute. And when they arrive to take charge of you, I’ll be sure this one goes quickly, aye? Though my dagger canna take her head, it will open her up well and good to bleed her dry. And you, my beloved brother, will have the pleasure of watching as yer lady . . .” His threat unfinished, his words dissolved in an odd gurgle.
Dani opened her eyes to see the flat blade of a sword directly above her head, blood dripping down on her face a second before the grip holding her went slack. She lunged forward, away from Dermid’s grasp, twisting as she did to see what had happened.
Patrick, his face ashen, stood behind his younger brother, the blade of his sword passing through Dermid’s body. The younger man, eyes still open, toppled forward as his blade fell uselessly to the ground.
She opened her mouth, though whether to scream or cry she couldn’t be sure, and then Malcolm was there, his arms around her, clutching her tightly to his chest, murmuring soothing noises into her ear.
“Hold me,” she managed to say.
It was all she wanted in the whole of the world, just to escape in his arms, where she’d be safe forever.
HIS WOMAN LIVED!
Malcolm tightened his hold on Dani, almost afraid to check the line of blood at her throat. She breathed; he could feel the puffs of air against his chest. Her hands clutched at his back with a strength that would not be possible if his brother’s blade had hit its mark. Logic told him she was unharmed, but it was not logic that strangled his heart. It was fear.
He grasped her shoulders and pulled away from her, examining the wound for himself, a thin red line like a wee, tiny ribbon spun from blood.
“For the love of Freya, what’s happened to Elesyria?”
Patrick’s strangled exclamation had her struggling to get to her feet.
“Help me up,” she said, pushing against his shoulders.
“But yer hurt,” he protested, even as she pushed his hand away.
