Page 44 of Stealing a Kilted Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

When Knox opened his eyes, he reached for a sword that wasn’t there. He expected to find a cold, hard ground under his back, a black sky above him, and an opponent with a glinting blade that rushed towards him in a ruthless arc. Instead, he found himself in his chambers, tucked into bed, with his shoulder burning with pain.

His head swam as he looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. He remembered the fight, the way soldier after soldier had come towards him and he had struck them all dead; all save for one, who had almost killed him.

He didn’t know what had happened next, but judging by the fact that he was in his chambers, safe and sound, he could only assume they had won the battle. But how many men had lost their lives that night? And how many of them were Knox’s good friends?

Is Magnus alright? And Bane?

Knox hadn’t expected Bane to fight at all, and yet he had been the one to save him. If anything had happened to him, not only would Fia be devastated, but Knox, too, didn’t know if he could ever let go of the guilt.

Fia… what had happened tae Fia?

Trying to push himself up, Knox soon found out that he was not well enough to move. The room spun around him and every muscle in his body protested the movement, forcing him to lie back down. As he moved, though, even as little as he could, he saw a silhouette sitting by his bed, shrouded in darkness, fast asleep.

Ach, Fia.

Knox wanted nothing more than to reach for her, to pull her into his arms and ask her if she and everyone else was alright, but he didn’t have the heart to wake her. She, too, had been in battle. Knox could only imagine how tired she must have been afterwards.

And yet there she was, waiting for him to wake up.

Trying once more to shift in a vain attempt to get a little more comfortable, Knox inadvertently woke her. Springing up off the chair, Fia rushed to his side, perching on the edge of the mattress as her hands made to reach for him before she hesitated. Whether she feared she would hurt him or she remembered their respective stations, Knox didn’t know. He also didn’t care. With his good hand, he reached for her and brought her hand to his cheek, sighing softly into her palm, and Fia cradled his cheek gently, her thumb brushing over his skin.

In the dim light of the room, he could see that her eyes shone with unshed tears.

“Are ye alright?” Knox asked and Fia let out a sound that was half laugh and half sob, nodding.

“I should be askin’ ye that,” she said, drawing a smile from Knox.

“I’m fine,” he assured her, though perhaps fine wasn’t the best word to describe how he was feeling. “Magnus? Effie? An’ Bane… is Bane alright?”

“They’re all fine,” Fia confirmed with a nod. “An’ they’ve all been askin’ about ye.”

“They have?”

How long had he been in that room?

“Och aye,” said Fia. “Ye gave us all quite a scare.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Two days. The battle was two nights ago.”

It was better than he had feared at first. Still, he didn’t have the time to recover fully or to lounge around in bed. He had to meet with his council and discuss their next moves. If Clan Gordon had attacked them once, who was to say that they wouldn’t do it again, and soon?

Once again, he tried to push himself up, only for Fia to guide him gently back down.

“Ye need tae rest,” she pointed out, as if Knox didn’t already know that. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”

“I must meet with Magnus an’ the council,” he said. “An’… an’ I need tae send a better team than Callum’s out. I cannae believe I trusted that fool.”

As he looked at Fia, he could have sworn that a stormy cloud passed over her face, her expression darkening. She said nothing on the matter, though. She only shook her head and pushed him down onto the mattress firmly, her hand taking care to avoid the wound.

“Ye cannae stand,” she said and though she said it kindly, her tone was strict, allowing no room for disagreement. “Ye’ve lost too much blood. Ye wouldnae even make it tae the door like this an’ I’m sure ye dinnae want yer people tae see their laird like this.”

That was true, Knox thought. The last thing he needed was for his people to lose their confidence in him, thinking that he had lost his edge after the fight. Still, the thought of delaying the meeting didn’t sit right with him.

“This was me first big fight as the laird o’ the clan,” he said with a sigh, his good hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Whether his headache was a result of the blood loss and the fatigue or of the thought that he had already made too many mistakes as the leader of the clan, he didn’t know. “I should have kent Laird Gordon would attack. I should never have trusted Callum with such an important mission.”