Page 43 of Highland Prince of Darkness

Chapter Seventeen

May swallowed thickly as she slowly sat up, letting the sheets cover her as she thought about the evening before. The simple realization that she had been sleeping alone and she didn’t know how long for caused an unpleasant chill to run through her body. The question of whether or not it had been a dream was quickly abolished by the room itself. May could still smell his presence on the sheets, and they weren’t neat themselves, they were messed up as though he had been there only a few hours before.

She turned her head to the window and quickly moved to scan the area outside of the castle walls. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she considered the option that perhaps he had changed his mind. May could feel the panic building at the thought of Iain fleeing from the castle and going back out into the world.

She knew that he wasn’t a coward, but May knew that she also wouldn’t blame him for leaving. After all, she was the reason that he was like this, and would always feel guilty because of that. May still found it strange that Iain would have left her after the incredibly intimate moment that they had shared the night before. May had thought that the moment had touched the both of them and that he felt a similar way to her. The way that it reminded her of their past relationship couldn’t have been so one-sided that he felt so little that he was willing to leave first thing in the morning. But he was gone, and May was left to pick up the pieces and wonder why.

May took her time getting ready for the day and barely spoke to any of her ladies in waiting as they helped her to put on her dress and styled her hair. Nobody spoke a word about the whereabouts of her husband, but May knew that it would be a popular topic for the servants when they got back to their own quarters. She felt rather numb, but her legs were shaking as she sat in front of her vanity. May knew that she was going to need answers, but they weren’t the kind of concerns that she was going to share with her servants, not even with Sarah.

By the time that she started her journey through the castle to the great hall for some breakfast, May noticed that there was a lot of commotion throughout the castle. She couldn’t understand why there were people rushing around and why the servants appeared so panicked. May was thankful for whatever was going on that diverted the attention from her, but her mind was whirling to think about what it could be.

She thought about the possibility of an army coming to fight against them, but relations between the clans had been fairly steady as of late. May bit her lip and decided to wait until she reached her father in the great hall before asking any questions.

The doors parted for her as she finally crossed the halls and reached her destination, but the guards were giving her a strange look as she stepped inside. May kept her head down and hoped that news of her empty marriage bed that morning hadn’t reached the ears of every servant in the castle.

“Ah, my daughter, there ye’re,” Alistair spoke breathlessly. It was clear that he was stressed about something, but May had no idea what it could be.

“Father, what is all the commotion for? Are things all right?”

“Nay, it’s Iain,” he responded. May’s face instantly dropped as her heart sank.

She hadn’t thought that all of this chaos would be needed if he had run off, May had hoped that her father would have kept the matter closed and private. She felt as though her worst nightmare was coming to light, and there was nothing that May could do to stop it.

“I see, do ye ken where he is?” May asked in a small voice.

“Aye, of course, I do.” Her father frowned at her in confusion. “He’s with the best physician in the clan, but he’s still nay awake.”

May blinked hard and stopped for a moment as she tried to process his words. Confusion was quickly settling over her mind like a mist rising up from the lochs.

“What?”

“What did ye think was happening?” her father asked.

“I... I... why does he need a physician?”

“He was attacked while out riding with Bruce, they were ambushed and he’s been shot in the shoulder.”

May gasped at her father’s words and felt her feet moving quicker than she could process. She knew where the physician would be and started to make her way over to that part of the castle without even saying goodbye to her father.

A strange mixture of relief and dread were mingling through her system as May thought about how good it was that Iain hadn’t left her, but also how terrible it was that he was now injured. She shuddered to think about how bad it may be for him. Her heart was beating as she thought about him not making it, there was no way that she could let that happen. Panic was rising up within her as she tried to distract herself from thinking about him not pulling through.

“Ah, there she is,” Bruce nodded to her as she burst through the doors. Iain was lying on the physician’s bed that he used for healing, but he was sweating and shaking as he slept uneasily.

“Is he all right? What happened out there?” May asked. She was still trying to catch her breath and her words came out in harsh pants along with her breathing.

“Aye, he should recover, he’s just lost quite a bit of blood,” the old man healing Iain spoke up, “I’ve given him a sleeping draft so that he won’t be awake to endure most of the pain, but as ye can see, it’s still taking a toll on him.”

May watched as Iain shuddered and shook uncomfortably. His pallid face was slick with sweat, causing strands of hair to stick to his forehead. She winced at the sight of him; he looked so vulnerable, it felt almost wrong to see him like that.

“Do ye ken who it was out there?” May asked as she turned to Bruce.

“I dinnae ken, unfortunately. We’ve got guards out that yer father sent, they’re scouring the area for any sign of more men. But so far, there is nay person or clan that has claimed responsibility for the attack.”

“Are ye all right?” May turned her attention to her father-in-law for a short moment.

“Aye, I’m fine, lass. It was Iain who took the bullet,” Bruce waved off her fussing, “But he’s goin’ to be all right.”

May nodded along with his words, but she was still worried that the two men in the room could be wrong about his condition.