Page 42 of Taken By the Exiled Laird

She hesitated, and the fear and pain that crossed her expression were enough for him. His soul darkened and he knew he had only one option.

He crushed his mouth against hers in a deep, desperate kiss that tasted of smoke and ash and goodbyes. "When we escape, ye must run. Flee as fast as ye can. Dinnae look back."

Briana's eyes widened. "Nay!" she protested. "I'll go naewhere without ye. I'll⁠—"

"Ye'll go!" Theon commanded, though it was undercut by the desperation in his own voice. "Ye must," he added, softer now. "Please. I cannae survive if ye dinnae. Run. I will find ye. Nae matter what, I will find ye. Trust me."

She met his gaze, those fierce gray eyes bright even clouded by dark smoke, and nodded. They tried the door, but it refused to open. With a roar of anger, Theon kicked hard, again and again, until the wood splintered and the door fell away.

They tumbled into the night air, but little relief awaited them. The sky was burnt orange, the taste of death and flame thick in the wind.

He pushed her toward the trees. "Run!"

She paused, just for a moment. "I love ye," she whispered, then she was gone, swallowed by the smoke and the branches, disappearing from his sight like a ghost.

Theon yearned to follow her, but instead he reached for the sword that still waited just outside his cabin. It was hot to the touch, blistering his skin, but he barely felt the pain as he moved to the center of the little clearing that had been his home.

Two of the cabins were entirely gone, and the third was entirely consumed by flame, his own not far behind. The stable had been destroyed, two horses lying dead on the ground, blood pooling hot and sticky as it boiled in the mud, and the others nowhere to be seen. Their supply shed was ransacked, Cameron men moving around it as they took whatever they could before they set it ablaze as well.

Rage coiled in Theon's chest. He had seen all this before, and it had almost destroyed him then. For the second time in his life, a Cameron had brought fire and death to his home while he slept in his bed. He walked slowly through the camp like a man spellbound, allowing his sword to drag on the hard stone, screeching, announcing his presence with every step. This time, he would not run away.

In the center of the camp, right at their cookfire, he found his brothers. Graeme was bleeding badly from a wound on the side of his temple, while Noah's eyes were blackened and his nose probably broken. Both knelt, knives at their throats, death only seconds from taking them as their captors stood over them. Keir was nowhere to be seen, and Theon fervently prayed that the younger MacKenzie had gotten as far away as he could.

Iain Cameron stepped forward before the two prisoners. Theon would have recognized him anywhere, even if they hadn't met all those years ago. He looked like Briana, but twisted with hatred and rage, a malicious scowl on his face.

"Last chance," Iain warned softly. "Where is yer leader? Where is Theon MacKenzie?"

"I'm here," Theon called. Iain whirled to face him. "I'm nae hidin'. Come and get me."

Iain smiled without humor. "At last." He took a step toward Theon. "I'll make this simple. Bring me sister tae me now and I'll make their deaths quick.

"Those two?" Theon asked, nodding toward Graeme and Noah. "Nay. They'd rather die in pain than accept yer mercy. I'm sure ye remember as much about Noah, at least. There's a reason he chose tae live in exile rather than fight by yer side."

Iain bristled. He raised a hand, but Theon pressed on before he could give the order.

"Ye want me, Cameron. Here I am." He spoke in a tone of cold, measured calm. "Fight me like a man. Kill me if ye can. But ken one thing."

Iain narrowed his eyes, moving slightly closer. "What?"

Theon smiled with ice in his veins. "Ye'll never hurt Briana again."

Fury flared in Iain's gaze and he roared, launching himself toward Theon. "I gave ye a chance!" he snarled, raising his sword. "Now ye'll die, and when I hunt down yer bastard brother, he'll die too! Ye'll burn in hell together!"

Theon raised his sword to parry the blow, relief surging through him. They didn't have Keir. Keir was alive. At least, when this was all over, his little brother would live on. He bared his teeth in manic fury, slicing down with his own sword with such force that it was all Iain could do to defend himself.

"If hell's what waits for me, so be it," Theon replied as Iain staggered. He raised his sword again. "But I'll be damned if ye're nae already waitin' when I get there."

He launched himself forward. As one, Graeme and Noah moved, twisting against their captors, throwing their injured bodies back into the fight. Chaos erupted around them, the dancing flames creating a hideous stage. Steel clashed and clanged, echoing throughout the night, sparks flying from a battle that was ten years in the making.

Chapter Nineteen

Briana ran blind into the night, branches tearing at her skin, tears and the remnants of smoke stinging her eyes as she hurtled through the trees. She could not see, and yet she was not as lost as she had been when she tried to flee. Now she charged through the forest with purpose, fueled with panic and fear, determination and hope, and a fierce, furious love in equal measure.

Her brother had come for her, not because he cared, but because he saw fit to destroy everything she held dear, just as her father had done for her whole life. She had to run, had to get away, before the poisonous clan dragged her into their grasp again.

The cave. It was the only place she could think to go, the only shelter that might protect her. She prayed that Theon would find her there and that he could lead the others to safety, but she did not even know if she was going in the right direction. Her lungs burned and her legs felt weak, but she pushed forward anyway. Coughing and stumbling as the smoke damage made it difficult to catch a breath, she burst out from the tree line and into a clearing she did not recognize.

Frustration pulsed through her. Where was she? How was she not at the burn? Where was the coursing river, the salvation hidden in the depths of the cave? She tried to turn, to flee back into the forest and try again but froze as shadows appeared in the trees.