***
Isla walked on. She saw the roots of a great tree ripped from the ground. It created a secluded place behind a wall of dirt, rocks and roots to sit and think. Maybe she’d crawl into its bowels and fall asleep. If they found her, fine. If they didn’t after a few days she’d begin for home. She might never reach it, but she had to try.
Upon reaching the base of the fallen tree, she slipped behind the exposed roots. At once, she felt a hand go over her mouth and jerk her further beneath the upturned soil. A voice in her ear spoke but her fear blocked it.
“Isla.” The one who held her pulled her to face him.
“Das.” His hand muffled her voice.
“Shhh.” Bronwyn removed his hand and pulled her into his arms.
“Das.” She couldn’t contain her excitement. “I thought…” She stopped and hugged his neck. After a quick embrace, he forced her away.
“We don’t have a lot of time.” He spoke in cant. “Climb onto my back and hold on.”
Isla would follow him into a raging fire if he asked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He started to move, low across the forest floor and away from her captors. She tried to judge the time. She usually took about ten minutes to relieve herself. Tam wouldn’t start looking for her until then. Given her state when she left the campsite, he might give her a few extra minutes.
That provided little time to escape, but they’d use every second. She clung to her das, helping to make their travelling faster. When they reached his horse, he flung himself into the saddle.
“Ready?”
Isla wrapped her arms around his waist—it felt akin to their rides to Moon Meadow, except their life depended on this horse being fast and sure-footed. “Ready.” She pulled herself close, embracing her das, drawing strength from his determination to escape. She didn’t understand why she had felt he had died? He appeared healthy and able.
As Bronwyn reined the horse into the fading evening light, Isla snuggled into his back. He smelt of sweat and dirt, but a more wonderful odour at this moment she couldn’t imagine. His scent soothed her. Beside him, she felt home, no matter where they travelled. He was her hero, and nothing and no one could change that.
Several miles away, Bronwyn slowed the horse to a walk.
“Das, where are we?” The Midway Keep and Maskil lay along the trail. Since their escape, they had travelled only through the forest, making a path as they went.
“I’m not sure. I’m keeping the waning moon to our left. I’m hoping we’ll intercept the road near the Midway Keep.” He twisted and brought his arm around her. “If I had taken the beaten trail, they may have caught us by now. This way, they’ll first have to find our tracks. It’ll take them longer because our feet won’t leave a clear path. By the time they find the horse trail, about half a mile from their campsite, we’ll have a generous head start.” He smiled. “Maybe they won’t find it all.”
“I hope they don’t.” She ducked to let him bring his arm forward. “Das?” She didn’t know how to ask him. He had always been honest with her, but he hadn’t told her about Keiron.
“Yes, Isla.”
“Is Keiron my…?” She couldn’t say the word. Keiron could never replace Bronwyn as her real das. “Keiron said he was my das, but he’s not. You are.”
“Isla, I’m your das.” He glanced back at her. “You’re my daughter, the one I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Keiron is your blood sire. Nothing more.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he lived?”
Bronwyn sighed. “Truthfully, I thought of him as dead, and at any time, I may have been right. In his line of work, death follows like a shadow ready to pounce.” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t want you to know the things your blood das had done. It worried me you’d think less of yourself. I’m proud of you, Isla. You’re a wonderful person. No one can take that away from you.”
“I’m not like Keiron.”
“And you never could be. Catriona says you’re a lot like your meeme. She was a kind and gentle woman. You also had the benefit of a loving family who taught you the difference between right and wrong.”
“Did Keiron kill my meeme?” She said it quickly before she had a chance to second-guess herself.
Bronwyn looked up into the night sky. She watched as he considered the question. “From what Alaura and Catriona have told me, he didn’t outright cause her death. She died from complications shortly after your birth.”
“So I killed her?”
“Isla, never think that.” He half turned in the saddle. “If Keiron had been a responsible mate, your meeme might have lived. He’s the one to blame, not you. He hurt her, and made her too weak to survive the birth. No mate does what he did. Mates are loving and caring. One gives their own life for the other.”
She buried her face in his back. “I needed to know.”
He sighed again. “I should have told you long ago.” He paused. “Forgive me?”
“Like a sprite does the moon for shining so bright.”
He chuckled and patted her knee. “You’re one of a kind, Isla. I’m proud to be your das.”
Around midnight, Bronwyn halted the horse. “This is a good spot to rest. The trees are thick enough to hide the horse.” He held her hand to guide her from the saddle. “We’ll stay until dawn and start again.”
Isla waited for him to secure the horse in a clump of evergreens. He took a blanket and led her to a soft piece of forest floor covered with needles beneath a pine tree.
Bronwyn gestured for her to lie between two thick roots. Once in position, he rested beside her with his back against one of the roots. It was so large, it almost concealed his entire body. He spread the dark blanket over them and pulled her into his arms. When he adjusted the cover, its breeze stirred a bad odour.
Isla squished up her nose. “You don’t smell so good.”
“Neither do you.” He grinned.
“If Alaura smelt us, she’d chase us both to the bath with a stick.” She smiled. “She might scrub us with a brush to make sure she got all the dirt.”
“No doubt she would.”
“Alaura must be worried with both of us gone.”
He pulled her closer. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“I know she is.” Isla paused, thinking about Alaura and him. “Be patient with her, das. I sense something wrong, but I don’t know what it is. She’s happy most time, but there are moments…”
“Moments of what?”
“Of sadness.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “I love you, das, but Alaura loves you in ways I can’t. Farlan and I think it’s time the two of you stop arguing about ridiculous things and figure out that you need each other.”
“You and Farlan?”
She nodded. “We planned to lock you together in a room until you settled things, but we agreed no room could contain you both.”
Bronwyn gave her a sideways glance.
“We think you need to argue with Alaura in a place where neither of you can walk away. Then you’d have to work things out.”
“Locked in a room with Alaura, eh?”
“It was my idea.”
“Aren’t you worried she might freeze me to the wall or cast a wicked spell upon me?”
Isla giggled. “She’d never hurt you, silly.” She watched the smile grow. It was his Alaura smile; it lit up his entire face and made his eyes dance. As a castle guard, he had to be serious while on duty, but when he saw Alaura, it didn’t matter, he smiled. This reminded her of Tam. “Do you remember a castle guard named Tam?”
He shook his head. “There’s no guard by that name. Why do you ask?”
“Tam, the dwarf with Keiron, served at the castle.”
Bronwyn looked off into space. “I wonder why he left.”
“He wouldn’t say.”
“You asked him?”
“He avoided the question. I think something terrible happened, but he won’t talk about it.”
&nbs
p; “I’m surprised he’s told you the little he has. He’s a thief. A ruthless bandit.”
“He’s not all bad, Das. He gave me food when Keiron gave me nothing. When Keiron wanted to hit me, he stood between us. There’s good in him.”
“Then why does he associate with the likes of Keiron?”
“I don’t know, but I think I can trust him.”
“Isla, you can’t trust any of them.”
“But maybe I can trust him a wee bit. More than Keiron and the gnome. They scare me.”
Bronwyn pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.
She thought about her granddas, and her eyes filled with tears. “Keiron and the other dwarf, the one who went into the woods to make the false trail, they…” She choked on the words. “They killed your das. The gnome held me by the hair and forced me to watch. I screamed for them to stop, but they kept hitting him with the clubs.” She buried her face in his chest.
“He’s going to be okay, Isla. They didn’t kill him.”
“What?” She looked up.
“He was found alive. Lord Nevell is helping him heal.”
“He’s going to be okay?” She wiped away her tears, and he helped her.
“I’m sure he’ll be.”
She studied his face. “Why didn’t anyone come with you?”
“So many questions.” He ran his fingers through her short hair.
“Tell me.”
He swallowed hard and avoided eye contact. “Others did come.”
“They died?”
“Yes.”
“Farlan?” She caught her breath.
“He’s at Maskil. He and few others returned to the castle to have their injuries tended to. He’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”
“But the others died?” When he nodded, she asked, “How many?” When he didn’t answer, she insisted. “Like you, I need numbers.”
“Four…but don’t blame yourself. They knew the dangers. When a guard enlists, he takes an oath to protect the citizens of Maskil as well as the Lords of Aruam Castle. When one of ours is in danger, stranger or kin, we put our lives on the line to save them. I risk my life every day for others. This time, others gave their life for you. Remember their sacrifices, but don’t feel guilty.”
“I’ll remember.” When they returned to Maskil, she’d visit their families with her das, so he didn’t have to do it alone. “Didn’t Tam take the same oath?”
“He either forgot it or broke it.” He kissed her head. “You need your sleep.”
“You need it more to keep your strength.”
“I won’t be able to.”
“Please, das. I’ll lay awake and listen. My ears are more sensitive to sound. If I hear anything, anything at all, I’ll wake you.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be okay. If I fall, you can carry me. If you fall, we’re done for.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “Please. Let me do this?”
Bronwyn nodded. “I’ll try. But if you feel sleepy, wake me.”
Isla nodded.
He snuggled himself into a comfortable position with her tucked in his arms and closed his eyes. “Do anything for you,” he said, smiling.
“For you, too,” she said.
“Love you.”
“And you.”