He wasn’t making much sense, but Isadora wasn’t surprised. If the man had been caged up in Kirkburn’s vaults for all of these months, his mind probably wasn’t what it should be. Darkness and no hope would have broken down even the strongest man. She tried to be gentle.
“Tell me what happened tae ye,” she said. “Did the Lindsay capture ye somehow? Why would they do such a thing?”
“Because I saw them,” Nikolaus said quietly. “I saw them burn Netherton. I was a witness. Drostan ordered me killed, but Ternan dinna obey him.”
“I’ve met Ternan. Who is he?”
“Drostan’s commander.”
Isadora nodded in understanding. “So Ternan put ye in the vault instead of killing ye?”
“Aye,” Nikolaus said, sounding weak and weary. “I’ve known Ternan for a long time. He’s not like his cousin. He put me in thevault the night Netherton burned and I’ve been here ever since. But I never stopped worrying of my lad. Tae hear he’s alive… Ye canna imagine the joy it gives me.”
Isadora was starting to feel a great deal of sorrow for the old man, but she was still quite stunned by all of this. The most predominant thought on her mind was that Cam had to know his grandfather was alive and well.
But he also had to know who was behind the man’s disappearance.
It was a shocking story Nikolaus told, having witnessed the destruction of Netherton firsthand by none other than the Lindsay. Isadora and her clan already knew that, but to have an eyewitness… Nikolaus was almost as important to them as he was to Cam. He could prove everything the Lindsay had done. That made it a priority to take the old man with her when she escaped.
And shewouldescape.
“Listen tae me,” she said quietly. “I’m going tae get us out of here. I dunna know how, but I will, I swear it. There hasna been a cage yet than can hold me.”
Nikolaus had a smile on his cracked lips. “Cam said ye were different,” he said. “He said ye were brave and true.”
“I am both,” she said confidently. “I willna leave ye here tae rot. I’ll get ye out. But if Cam knew ye were here, he’d tear this place down stone by stone.”
Nikolaus’ smile faded. “Ye mustn’t tell him,” he said. “He’ll only get himself killed.”
Isadora thought of her proud, strong Cam, the man who had defeated even the most terrible of warriors at the Ludus Caledonia. But she didn’t want to tell Nikolaus now, fearful it would be too much for him to handle. His grandson had changed a great deal since Nikolaus had last seen him.
“I’ll get ye out of here, have no fear,” she said. “We’ll go find Cam together.”
Nikolaus studied her for a moment. “Are ye still meeting him in the vale, then?”
She shook her head. “He lives in Auchnacree, with me and my family,” she said. “He’s made peace with the Keith. He’ll tell ye himself when next ye see him.”
“Are ye married?”
A smile tugged at her lips. “I hope we’ll be, soon. I love yer grandson, Nikolaus Netherton. I’ve loved him from the start. I promise I’ll do my very best tae make him a good wife.”
Nikolaus cocked his head as she spoke. “I believe ye,” he said. “Ye look, and ye sound, like someone I once knew, a lass from Clan Keith. I’ve always known the lasses from the clan tae be strong and true women, so I believe ye.”
“Oh? Who was the lass?”
He waved her off. “It was long ago. So long that it seems like another lifetime ago.”
He didn’t seem to want to tell her and she didn’t push. “I would like tae hope that the lasses from our clan, generations back, are all strong and true,” she said. “I… I’m just so glad ye’re alive. Ye have no idea how yer death destroyed Cam. It changed him. He became—”
She was cut off when the main door to the vault suddenly lurched open, producing men. Both Isadora and Nikolaus froze, watching and waiting to see why the men had made an appearance.
They soon found out.
The door to the cell holding Isadora and Nikolaus was unlocked and yanked open, the iron grate sticking against the floor, and four men entered, all of them going for Isadora. Being that she was already injured, she didn’t fight back as much as she could have. In fact, she didn’t fight back at all, but her grunts ofpain could be heard as they carried her from the vault and shut the door.
Once again plunged into darkness, Nikolaus found himself saying a prayer for the safety of the red-haired lass from Clan Keith.
*
