Page 44 of The Cursed Highland Bride

“The enemy,” was all that Katarina could manage.

Dunn stared at her in silence, his body rigid and his earnest gaze demanding more information.

Katarina fought the urge to shrink back away from him. The rage emanating from his being was daunting to behold, let alone to be the subject of. “He is the reason my people fled to Scotland. He will kill us all to get what he wants.”

Dunn took a step toward her. “What does he want?”

Katarina firmly stood her ground, not allowing herself to give in to the fear. “He wants my sister in his bed, with or without her consent.”

Dunn growled in disapproval of August’s intentions, mirroring her own feelings on the matter. “Ye dinnae ken where yer sister is,” he pointed out. “Can ye nae simply tell him so? We dinnae have time for Romani marital disputes.”

The acid tone of this last statement stung Katarina’s heart. “He will nae care. In lieu of her, he will take me.” Katarina looked up to find August Raymond’s men were already upon them, and that there was no more time for explanations. “I am sorry,” she whispered in agony.

Dunn growled and pushed past her to face the oncoming battle. “Protect the Lady of Leòideach!” he commanded with such ferocity that it came out as more of a roar than actual words, and the men swiftly obeyed.

Katarina pulled the knife that Esmerelda had given her from its sheath and readied herself to face August. He was not the enemy that she had intended to use it on, but he was an enemy all the same. How did he find us?

“Do not kill Katarina, but kill the rest,” August ordered his men above the clash of swords. His eyes held hers as he cut his way toward her. A life of violence and anger had honed his fighting skills to a razor’s edge.

Dunn and Tor were fighting back-to-back, while the men did their best to protect her. They were some of the most skilled fighters in the Scottish Highlands and islands, but August had a darkness within him, driving him forward with a cruelty none of Dunn’s people possessed. Her father had been right to run. August cut down the man directly in front of Katarina, leaving her exposed, as every other man was fighting up to three of the enemy at any given moment. Katarina steeled herself for the fight to come, even though she felt her body tremble with fear. As August raised his sword to her throat, she stepped back, her blade at the ready, but he moved closer still.

“I do not wish to harm you, but I will if I must. Where is Idalia?”

“I do not know. Alistair Morgan took my sisters from me and has hidden them away.”

“Step away from my wife,” Dunn’s voice commanded with deadly intent, his sword pointed straight at August’s jugular.

August snorted, ignoring the sword. “She is not your wife. You pledged yourself to the Lady Katherine Morgan. This is Katarina Buckland, daughter of the Romani. She is not yours to claim or to protect. As fiancé to her sister, with the death of her parents, she is under my care now.”

Dunn growled, moving the blade just enough to nick the skin. Blood dripped down August’s neck, soaking the fabric of his shirt a bright crimson. “I will nae tell ye again. Remove the blade from my wife’s neck and move away.”

“How do you know about the death of my parents?” Katarina asked, ignoring the blade at her throat.

“I had my spies following you. We found their bodies. Did you think that you could abscond in the night and I would not be ready for such a possibility? I have had men following you from England. My men were only a day behind you the entire time. I also have spies within Alistair Morgan’s walls. We have simply been biding our time, awaiting your return.”

“You found their bodies,” Katarina breathed feeling dizzy. “Morgan did not bury them?”

August snorted. “Bury them? He left them for the ravens. When I arrived, they were plucking out your father’s eyes.”

Katarina stumbled backward and fell to the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the image of her father’s corpse being eaten by ravens filled her mind with horrified anguish. Taking advantage of the moment, Dunn disarmed August and kicked his knees out from beneath him, causing him to kneel in the dirt, Dunn’s blade still at his throat.

“Did you at least bury them yourself?” Katarina asked, praying that the man before her had maintained just one small scrap of human dignity.

“I did not.”

Crying out in pain and rage, Katarina lunged for him but was stopped by Tor grabbing her midair. “Ye cannae kill him yet, lass. If he speaks true about having spies within the Morgan stronghold, then he may ken where yer sisters are.”

Katarina shook her head in despair. “He already admitted that he does not know where they are when he asked me about them. I have sacrificed their lives to save you and your people.” Sobbing, she curled in on herself, the pain being too much to bear.

“Then there is nothing tae stop me from killing him,” Dunn growled and lifted his blade to deliver the final blow.

August took advantage of this brief window and produced a blade from his sleeve, bringing it up and into Dunn’s side. Blood sprang from the wound, and the shock of the pain caused Dunn to lose his grip on his sword. “Dunn!” Tor cried out and leaped forward to catch him as he fell like a stone to the ground. He pressed his hands to the wound to stop it from bleeding as best he could.

Rushing to his side, Katarina kneeled beside him, and placed his head upon her lap to cushion it from the hard ground. “I am sorry, my love,” she sobbed, regret filling every part of her being.

August, his men defeated, took the opportunity to escape by disappearing into the trees. “After him!” Tor shouted, motioning for three of his men to follow. He turned his gaze to Katarina. “We must take him home.” He turned his head toward the remaining men and ordered them to help him lift Dunn up onto his horse.

“He will never make it,” Katarina protested, placing a protective arm across Dunn’s chest.