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Stephen’s face went grave. “We should leave as soon as possible. Is everyone here? Where’s Angus?”

Hilda’s heart sank because she knew the betrayal was going to hit Stephen harder than it had hit her.

“There’s something ye should know. Angus is a traitor, Stephen. He orchestrated this, and he prevented us from escaping.”

“What? Nay, ye must be mistaken.” He dismissed the thought with a laugh, but the solemn expression did not waver from Hilda’s face.

“I’m being truthful with ye, Stephen. I dinnae believe it myself. He wants tae take over the clan, and he wants me tae be his wife. I’m sorry. I know he was yer friend.”

“He was like a brother tae me,” Stephen said, grimacing.

“I’ll tell ye more about it later. We hae no time now. We hae tae leave.”

Stephen nodded and quickly got the other men up. They moved as quickly as possible while making as little noise as they could so as not to garner the attention of the enemy. Whispers were exchanged, and the news filtered through the men so that everyone knew what was happening. They crouched low and kept away from the firelight, sticking to the shadows where they hoped that nobody could see them. Hilda was almost tempted to stay until the morning so she could see Angus’s face when he realized they were all missing, but she wasn’t foolish enough to tempt fate like that.

The wounded men limped away and walked past the perimeter of the camp. Hilda realized she had been holding her breath in the final few moments for fear that their escape was going to be denied them. She let it out in one long rush when they were nestled in the comforting bosom of the forest. Stephen guided them.

“We managed tae round up some of yer loose horses,” Stephen said.

Hilda was amazed to see Blaze again and buried herself in his hide. Maxwell went up to his horse and patted it on its strong, thick neck. It didn’t appear to have moved from the time they had left this glade, and she was certain that Stephen wouldn’t have been able to wrangle it around. The horses were mounted, and Hilda was glad to be leaving this place, but before she could gee Blaze and gallop through the forest, Maxwell picked up some sticks and snapped them, leaving them on the ground.

“What are ye daeing?” Hilda asked.

“I’m leaving a sign for them. They’re gaeing tae assume ye hae gone back tae yer village, but I dinnae want them tae attack yer clan. They’ll follow us. They’ll want tae capture us again and understand how we escaped, sae I want tae lead them intae a certain direction.”

“And where would that be?” Stephen asked.

Hilda detected a slight tremor of emotion as Maxwell uttered a single word.

“Home.”