Page 2 of Highland Prince of Darkness

“I’m sorry,” May repeated, “I cannae go, me place is here with me father.”

She knew Iain would see this as a weak move. He stepped out of the cell quietly, his dark features coming into full view for May to see in the half-light.

“May, I dinnae ken what ye want me to do. I love ye, I cannae just leave ye here and go off on me own.”

The realization of the seriousness of the situation was beginning to wear her down, and May was terrified that she was going to crack under the pressure of her decision.

“Ye’ll be okay. Ye’ve the skill, ye have yer experience. I’m sure that ye won’t struggle out there.” Her words came out weaker than she had intended; sounding as though they could crumble at the slightest gust of wind. May was beginning to feel dizzy with the responsibility of her actions. She wasn’t sure what path she was going to be putting Iain on. The only thing that she was sure of was that it would be much better than sitting in a cell.

“We could wait and see if yer father would reconsider?” Iain suggested, but they both knew that it was unlikely.

“I’m sorry, but ye ken that he will nae accept our bond.”

May was reluctant in saying this, and she felt her heart breaking into a thousand pieces as she shook her head. She yearned for an easier way that would mean they could live together without any interference.

It was a difficult reality to face, but as her father’s last surviving heir, May was going to have to be one half of a smart match. She would be forced to find a Laird of good status and finance that would allow her father’s land to reap the benefits of the contract, that was what her father had always told her. Iain, no matter how much she loved him, couldn’t give her any of that. He was but a soldier.

“Stop apologizing,” he said, while scrunching his eyes shut.

The silence that descended between them was as thick as the darkness of the dungeons. It hung like a heavy weight that exhausted the remainder of May’s energy.

“Please, ye have to go now. The guards are going to be here at any moment.” May glanced around in fear and bit her lip.

She hugged the cloak closer around her arms as the chill of the dungeons swept through the gaps in the material. However, the chill intensified as her eyes met her lover’s. Iain’s eyes were like dark pools against his surroundings. She could see that he was trying to be soft with her, yet she could also sense the underlying panic of his actions.

He didn’t want to go alone, and she didn’t want to say goodbye. May realized that she had never been given the chance to say a proper goodbye to her mother or brother when they were weak with the summer sweat. Their sickness was contagious, and in order to retain health, May could only listen through the cover of a door to her mother’s dying breaths.

Now faced with the opportunity to say a farewell, she felt as though someone had stolen the words from her throat. She didn’t know what to say.

“Will I see ye again if I go?” Iain was trying to bargain.

“I don’t ken,” May lied. She knew that if Iain was to walk out of the dungeons, she wouldn’t see him again unless by chance. He wouldn’t be allowed back into the clan’s land and it was rare for her to ride further than the borders of what her father ruled.

“That’s nae an answer, May,” Iain sighed.

“I’m sor—” she stopped herself, remembering what he had said about apologizing, “I hope that I will see ye again one day, but this is where our story must come to an end.” May’s voice broke off into a stunted whisper, tears fell freely and she made no effort to stop them. Her tears felt cold on her cheeks and the room around her blurred and shimmered. All May wished was that there was another way.

Something shifted in Iain’s face, at first it was nothing more than a small twitch. However, it soon materialized into something much more obvious; hurt.

May couldn’t bear to see him so upset. It was breaking her to know that there was a chance that she could never see him again.

“I cannae leave ye,” his voice was much quieter now.

“This way,” she muttered, with a sigh of annoyance. She hadn’t wanted to drag this out, it gave her too much time to think about whether or not this was the right decision.

May shuddered and tried not to think about how she had instinctively grabbed onto Iain’s hand as they quickly rushed down the narrow corridor and out of a door, leading them out of the castle.

Her heart was pounding wildly and her breathing became erratic as she kept her head down and moved near to the shelter of a few trees.

“I wish that ye would choose me.” There was anger in his voice.

“Don’t look at me like that, I want to remember ye as the man that loved me, not someone who came to loathe me.”

“Well, then ye should have thought about that before choosing against me.”

“Ye dinnae mean that,” May whispered.

“I dae. I mean it,” Iain snapped, “I’ll go. I’ll leave and ye’ll never see me again, I’ll make sure of that.”