Page 57 of The Cursed Highland Bride

“It has been long in coming,” she sighed, the sorrow of her losses etched upon her face.

“Aye, it has.”

“Will ye kill him?”

Dunn knelt beside her and took her hands in his own. “He has the backing of the crown. If I kill him, it could mean the end for us all.”

Taking her hand from his, she brought it up to place upon his cheek. “Do what ye must. We have been here a long time, and we will be here a good time longer. If ye get the opportunity tae put an end tae this, do it.”

Dunn nodded. “I will.”

His grandmother removed a broach from her dress and pinned it to his shoulder. “This was yer grandfaither’s. Wear it with his blessing.” She made the sign of the cross over his forehead, then murmured a prayer in the old language before gesturing for him to stand. “Go with God, my grandson.”

Squeezing her hand one last time, Dunn turned and walked out of the hall to take his place upon the battlements. “They will be making the shore any moment,” Tor informed him.

“Let us nae make our guests wait,” Dunn announced with a smile. “Shall we meet them on the beach?”

Tor grinned, a mischievous battle-ready light in his eyes. “We shall.”

The brothers descended the stairs down to the courtyard where a stable hand had their horses ready for them. “Never surrender,” Dunn yelled to his men upon the battlements.

“Never surrender,” came the returning cry as the brothers rode out of the gates and down the cliff path to the beach below.

They reached the beach as the boats hit the shore. Men poured out over the sides in a swarm of bloodthirsty metal. Swords, axes, maces, and the like were in the hands of every man. In spite of the difficulties that faced them upon the islands, the boats and men kept coming like a wall of death that did not care how many of their own fell as long as they took their enemies down with them. Dunn, Tor, and their men hit the invading force like a wave. They took them out one after the other, not allowing them to move past the shoreline to the cliff path.

Dunn searched the faces of the enemy soldiers as he fought his way through them but did not see Alistair Morgan among them. His wound pained him terribly, causing his fighting to suffer. He was still dizzy from the loss of blood, but he fought on with fierce determination, Tor never leaving his side. He stayed on his horse for as long as he could, but beach fighting was not an easy thing to do on horseback. Eventually, he was forced to dismount and face the enemy on uneven ground. Years of well-honed skill took over and helped him fight through the pain.

No matter how many men they killed, the enemy kept coming. Boat after boat, wave after wave, the enemy pushed Dunn and his men further back toward the cliff base. Morgan and the crown had to have been planning the invasion for a very long time to have gathered as many men, boats, and arms as hit the island. It was unlike anything they had ever seen. They had heard the tales from their fathers and grandfathers, but most of the young men had never participated in more than a raid. Thankfully, due to Dunn and Tor’s training, they were ready and held their own against the incoming hoard.

The battle raged around them, men falling to the right and left. Dunn and Tor fought back-to-back, side by side with their fellow clansmen. They were a formidable force driving back the enemy toward the boats. Dunn saw the moment when the bloodlust-filled pride left the enemies’ eyes and uncertainty took over, bordering on panic. He smiled in the face of the man before him and drove forward with renewed vigor. Ignoring the pain in his side screaming for him to stop, he drove his blade into muscle and sinew, dropping the man where he stood.

A cry of retreat passed along the line of enemy combatants. They turned, still fighting while they made their way back to the boats. “Drive them intae the sea!” Dunn roared as he pushed forward. His men responded with fervor. The sea lashed at their legs as they pulled men from the sides of the boats while they attempted to climb in to flee and slaughtered them there in the water. Determination gripped Dunn’s soul. When he was done with Clan Morgan, no enemy would dare to step foot on Orkney ever again. “Kill them all!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

By the time Dunn and Tor returned to the castle, the wounded had been brought to the great hall for treatment. They had sustained losses, but it was nothing compared to the enemy. Dunn’s wound had broken open again and needed to be stitched and rebandaged. Tor had a cut on his arm that also needed attention, but the gods had been with them, it was not a fatal wound. Instead of waiting for one of the women, the brothers helped each other to stitch and bandage their own wounds.

“How soon can we clear the beach and have a boat ready tae take me across tae Katarina?” He asked his brother who was tightening the bandage around Dunn’s torso.

“The enemy will be waiting for ye on the other side. Ye cannae run intae the fray again so soon. Ye must take a moment tae recover.”

“How long, Tor?” Dunn held his brother’s eyes.

“I will see how many men we can get tae take the boats over with us.”

“I dinnae wish tae cause more deaths among our own.”

“Ye will need them. Ye cannae save her without them. Morgan was nae with his men. He will be waiting for ye. He will ken that ye are coming for her and for him. There is also this new threat o’ August Raymond. It is possible that he has her.”

Dunn shook his head. “We ken that Morgan is holding her sisters. She would have gone there first. It is possible that August Raymond has gotten tae her, but it is more likely that it is Morgan. Let us begin with him.”

Tor nodded. “I will speak with the men.” He arose from the table where they had sat to tend their wounds and left the hall. Men came and went from the hall seeking treatment and to find their loved ones, as most of the women and children had gathered in the great hall for protection.

Adamina found her way over to Dunn and embraced him. “How many men did we lose?”

“I dinnae ken, but we will soon. They are bringing up the dead now.”

Adamina nodded sadly. “They did nae take us.” She said it as much to soothe herself as to reassure him. “They did nae take us, and they will nae ever do so.”