Page 22 of Highlander’s Vengeful Seduction

“Aye,” she said. “I’ll come with ye.”

The look that Donal gave her, wide eyes and a smile brighter than the sun, told Vanora that he did not even expect her to agree. His happiness radiated out to her, enveloping her in his warmth. She couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“We must hurry, though,” Vanora pointed out. “We must leave before anyone kens that we are gone. I dinnae ken where we can go, but we can head out and find some shelter in the woods for the night. Then we can head to yer lands, perhaps. Surely, yer own people will believe ye, and Angus willnae be able to do anything to ye.”

“Angus?” Donal asked, a frown on his face. “What does Angus want tae do to me?”

It occurred to Vanora, then, that , apart from Vika and Angus himself, she was the only person who knew what Angus was planning to do. Her heart sank, and she did not know how to tell Donal that his best friend was willing to betray him for Vika’s sake.

“He…Vika convinced him that ye are a danger tae her,” Vanora said. “I heard them talk earlier. I heard everything that she told him. She’s a snake, Donal…please dinnae blame Angus for this. Vika convinced him tae kill ye, and tae do so quietly so that yer family doesnae come here to take revenge.”

Donal’s mouth hung open at that, shocked to hear that the same man that he considered a brother was planning to kill him in cold blood, before even giving him a chance to say his side of the story. The betrayal cut deep, like a blade to the heart. Donal had to cling onto Vanora just so that he wouldn’t collapse on the floor of his cell.

Vanora held Donal, giving him time to gather himself and his thoughts. “I ken it’s hard for ye to hear this, but dinnae blame Angus,” she repeated. “I beg of ye, think of what he is going through, tae. Vika has her claws around him, and he is a victim of her lies, tae. I only hope that he will realize what a monster she is before it is tae late for him.”

It was a thought that was at the back of Vanora’s mind since there were more pressing matters to think about, but it still terrified her, the prospect of waking up one day and finding out that her sister had had Angus killed. She could never know what Vika was capable of, not after everything that she had done.

Once Donal was ready to leave, he gave Vanora a nod. “We should be on our way,” he said. “Ye said ye’ll get a horse?”

“Aye,” Vanora said. “Twa, perhaps, now that I am coming with ye.”

“I ken where we’ll go, there isnae a need to worry,” Donal assured her. “I didnae come tae Knapdale alone. Some of my men are waiting for me by the other side of the loch, it isnae wise to travel alone these days. I didnae want tae draw tae much attention to myself when I came here, so I told them tae wait for me. I couldnae have imagined that I’d end up a prisoner in Castle Sween of all places in the world. I never thought that Angus would do such a thing.”

“Come, now,” Vanora said, as she urged Donal to follow her. “There isnae use thinking about it any longer. It is what it is.”

There was only one way out of the holding cells, and that was the one that led straight to the main part of the castle. There was little that Vanora and Donal could do to keep themselves hidden, though Vanora hoped that they wouldn’t encounter anyone, since it was late, and no one had a reason to be roaming around the castle.

For all everyone else knew, nothing was happening that required their attention.

The two of them walked up the stairs into the sleeping castle, both of them keeping their eyes wide open for any sign of a clansman. The castle was as empty as every night, with most clansmen having already retired to their chambers.

They knew that they could not leave through the main door, though, as they were bound to be seen by a guard. No matter how lazy the guards at Castle Sween were, seeing the very man who was supposed to be locked up in the dungeons would certainly spur them into action.

Vanora knew that they could not take the path that led to the back of the castle, through the hallway that passed by the kitchen, as the kitchen was rarely empty, either crawling with hungry guards or filled with women who took care of the cleaning. While everyone else was already in their chambers, those women still had a long night ahead of them.

There was only one way that they could leave the castle undetected, and that was through the hallway that passed by the healer’s rooms. With any luck, she and Donal would easily slip by those rooms, and Vanora would only have to walk a little further out to get to the stables.

The two of them made their way to that side of the castle, their fingers laced together as they held each other’s hand. Vanora didn’t want to let go of Donal. Every nerve in her body was on fire, every sense sharpened as she waited for someone to notice them and take what was most important to her. She didn’t know what she would do if they were found out, and Donal was executed. She would go mad, she thought, mad with grief and anger. She would end up doing something that she would regret, something that would send her, too, to an early grave.

Her sister had already managed to kill one man. Vanora was not going to give her the satisfaction of killing another, no matter what she would have to do to keep Donal safe. She had only just gotten what she wanted ever since she was of five-and-ten years: the love of her life, the only man who had managed to make her experience true love.

No matter how much she had denied it and had pushed it down within her, Vanora had been madly in love with Donal even after he had mocked her and left when they were younger. It was the kind of love that never went away, even though she had been a child. Donal had been little more than that physically, but just as much of a child mentally. It was a love that simply dimmed like a candle flame in the wind, only to grow once more when she saw him before her again.

The realization hit her like a gust of wind, taking her breath away and making her stumble as they walked quietly through the castle. Donal caught her, though, supporting her with an arm around her shoulders.

She hoped that he would catch her every time.

“Are ye alright?” he whispered to her, a cloud of concern passing over his face.

“Aye,” Vanora assured him.

She didn’t know how to explain to Donal what she felt; she could hardly explain it to herself. There were no words that could describe the ache in her chest every time she laid her eyes upon him: a sweet, terrible longing for him even when he was right there next to her. There was nothing that she could say that could make Donal understand how every fiber of her being yearned for him, as though her very soul was incomplete without him.

She could only show him.

Vanora grabbed Donal by the collar and kissed him fiercely, her lips finding his with feverish urgency. She poured all her love, all her desire, and her adoration in that kiss, trying to take Donal’s breath away, just like he had done to her.

When they parted, Donal looked at her with dazed, unfocused eyes, the taste of her kiss still lingering on his lips. He brought his hand up to them and touched them gently, as though he could not believe that Vanora had just kissed him, and then he smiled under the pads of his fingers.