Page 67 of It’s in his Highland Kiss

It was a lie, and Eiric knew it. He knew that there was no way that Marion could have wanted a man like the commander, and he also knew that she was faithful to him, that she loved him as much as he loved her. But somehow, the fact that it was a lie enraged him even more. The commander was sullying Marion’s name, and Eiric could not allow that.

“Has anyone told ye that ye talk too much and fight too little?” Eiric asked him. “Come noo, Commander . . . let’s see what ye can do.”

Raising his sword, Eiric waited for Commander Forbes to attack him, watching his every move as he too raised his sword, pointing is at Eiric. The other man didn’t move though, the two of them simply staring at each other as the battle raged around them.

He was being careful, Eiric thought, which could only mean that, despite all his talk and his bravado, he was at least a little scared of him. Eiric attributed that fear to his men’s accomplishments, as the camp was covered in the bodies of the English. His own side seemed to have suffered few losses, while the commander’s forces were being depleted.

Despite their apparent victory, Eiric didn’t let his guard down. He could never know when one of the Englishmen would sneak up behind him as his commander was taking his sweet time attacking. Perhaps it was all a ploy, he thought, a ploy to kill him quickly and easily.

But no, it couldn’t be, not when Commander Forbes was staring at him with such hatred that it pierced Eiric’s soul, chilling him from the inside. If anyone were going to kill Eiric, it would be the commander. No one else would be allowed to touch him.

There was a shout, and the sound of boots against the ground. The commander was rushing towards Eiric, sword held firmly in the air, eyes wild.

With a cry of his own, Eiric ran towards the commander, seeking blood.

Chapter Thirty

The clang of their swords was deafening in Eiric’s ears. The Commander was the first to attack, and then attack again and again, relentless in his desire to kill Eiric. Swinging his sword in the air, he tried to deal a blow, any blow, no matter how much or little he would end up hurting Eiric.

But Eiric was quick to jump out of harm’s way every time, using his own blade to parry the other man’s blows. Even though they were surrounded by their men, by their screams and the sounds of blade against blade, Eiric couldn’t hear any of it. He could hear nothing but his own breath, slow but laboured, and he could see nothing but the man in front of him.

With a swing of his sword, Eiric attacked the commander, but only managed to slice his sleeve open, much to the commander’s dismay. He watched as the other man looked at his ruined jacket, huffing out in frustration, before attacking him once more, only to have the commander move out of the path of his sword.

It seemed to Eiric as though the commander didn’t care about the men he was losing. His men were dying right in front of his eyes, falling on the ground one by one, the scent of their blood permeating the air, and yet he was doing nothing to save them.

He wondered how expendable they were to him. Surely, he thought that if he survived, England would just give him new young men to take to the slaughter.

It sickened him.

“Surrender and I’ll let yer men live,” Eiric said, showing more compassion for the enemy than the commander could ever spare for his men. “Ye’ll hang, but yer men will live.”

“Do you think I care if they live or die?” the commander asked, verifying Eiric’s concerns that he never gave any of them any thought. “Do you think I care what happens to them? Kill them all! What I want is you.”

Eiric sighed in defeat. If the commander didn’t want to save his own men, then there was nothing that he could do for them.

“Fine,” Eiric spat, before lunging at the commander once more. Commander Forbes avoided his attack and responded with one of his own, forcing Eiric to jump back once again.

“Eiric!”

The sound of Marion’s voice was the only thing that broke Eiric’s concentration. He turned to see her by the tent, rushing towards him before he could warn her to stop.

The dark, finger-shaped bruise around her neck made the bile rise to the back of his throat.

Commander Forbes was quick to act. With a leap, he reached Marion before she could reach Eiric, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back.

“Marion!” Eiric shouted, hand reaching out for her even though he knew she was too far from him to make a difference.

“I think it’s your turn to surrender,” Commander Forbes said. With a wicked smile, he pressed his blade against Marion’s throat, and Eiric froze, uncertain of what to do. “Make a move, and she dies.”

Eiric didn’t dare move, but he didn’t lay down his sword either. He had come so close to putting an end to it all, and his men had killed most of the commander’s own. The only thing that the commander could bargain was his own escape, which Eiric was willing to give him in exchange for Marion’s life.

“Let her go and ye’re free to leave,” Eiric told him. “Look around ye, Commander. Yer men are dead. There isna a thing that ye can do other than escape, and I’m offerin’ ye the chance to do so. All ye have to do is let Marion go, and I give ye my word that nae one of me men will harm ye.”

The Commander glanced around him, at the bodies of his men on the ground, at the battle that was slowly dying down, at Eiric’s men who had come to surround them, knowing that all they needed was one order from Eiric’s lips and he would be dead.

He must have also known that he wouldn’t give that order though, Eiric thought. The commander wasn’t the brightest man he had met, but he was no fool. He knew what Marion meant to Eiric.

“I think I’ll take her with me,” the commander said, as he began to walk backwards slowly, dragging Marion along. “How can I know that you won’t kill me if I don’t have something to bargain?”