Amazingly, he hadn’t asked where they were going. Even more amazingly, he’d barely spoken at all since she’d roused him at dawn with a shake of his good arm and a bowl of porridge, before handing over a pack of supplies and leading the way east. At this time of year they needed to start early if they were going to reach their destination and return again in daylight.
The previous night’s storm had cleared the air, leaving blue sky and a smattering of wispy clouds in its wake for their journey through the forest and up into the hills. They made good time, stopping after a couple of hours to eat some of the dried meat the villagers had given her. Danr nodded his thanks though he still didn’t speak. It was unnerving. A few days ago, she would have been glad of his silence, but now it felt wrong—too unlike him. Was it because of what had happened between them? She’d been trying and failing all morning not to remember the hard feel of his body—such a contrast to the soft touch of his hands—hoping they could just put it behind them and pretend that nothing had happened, but to her dismay there was a new atmosphere of tension between them, one which made silence even worse. She missed her old talkative companion—and when had she started to think of him as a companion?
‘We need to go along that ridge and then down the mountainside,’ she announced finally, pointing towards a jagged stretch of rock between two towering peaks looming above them. ‘It would be quicker to go through the valley, but we’re more likely to bump into Gaels there. They’re used to seeing me, but they’re still suspicious of Norsemen.’
‘The ridge it is, then.’
She nodded and looked quickly away. On a bright day like this, his eyes seemed to match the blue sky behind him. It was strange, but they looked different now—brighter, in some way, than when she’d first found him. Which made sense since he’d been bleeding to death at the time, but they seemed deeper somehow, too. More soulful and intelligent than she’d first given them, or him, credit for.
‘Here.’ She passed him a skin filled with water. ‘If we keep up this pace, we’ll reach our destination before noon.’
‘Good.’
They carried on, climbing up on to the ridge and then walking along in single file, high enough up to see the eastern coast of the island, beyond which lay the sea and beyond that, the coast of Alba itself. The terrain underfoot was less stable than she remembered, however, uneven and covered in scree.
‘Maybe we should consider the valley after all,’ Danr called out after a few minutes, pointing ahead to where the ridge tapered so narrowly that one misstep could lead to a potentially deadly fall. ‘I don’t like the look of that, especially after so much rain.’
‘I’ve walked this way lots of times. We’ll go slowly.’
Although, perhaps he had a point, she thought as several stones slid out from beneath her leather shoes and skittered away down the steep slope of the mountain. The thought of walking in uncomfortable silence for any longer than was necessary made her want to continue, but perhaps the rain had made it more dangerous. Even Tove and Halvar seemed reluctant to follow them. And if the ridge was so unstable here, then there could be other places ahead that were even worse. Places where it would be too narrow to turn around and go back...
‘You’re right. We should go—’ She was midway through agreeing when the path started to crumble, sending her toppling sideways. Quickly, she flung her weight in the other direction, but it was too late. Her arms were flailing and the very ground beneath her feet was falling away, knocking her legs out from under her and sending her plummeting down the mountainside.
A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist—and not just any hand, she noticed, but a right hand, specifically the one attached to Danr’s injured arm. His grasp was firm and unyielding, though it must have been excruciating to hold so much weight. Still, he was doing it, refusing to let go as her body swayed out at a precarious angle above the sheer drop below... Her gaze locked on to his, holding on to that for dear life, too.
‘Don’t let go,’ he muttered between gritted teeth, somewhat unnecessarily, since she had no intention of doing so. At that moment, he was the only thing standing between her and at least a dozen broken bones, if not worse.
‘I’m going to lift you back up.’ He braced his feet and stretched his other arm out, steadily and cautiously, to grasp her waist. ‘Don’t move your feet yet, just lean against me.’
She did as he told her, holding her breath as he levered her gently into his arms.
‘Now your feet. Slowly.’
‘I’m almost there...’ She exhaled with relief as she found solid ground again.
‘I’ve got you...’ He moved his hands to both sides of her waist as they wobbled. ‘But we’re still facing the wrong way. I’ll need to walk backwards. Can you follow me?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good.’ Despite the circumstances, he gave a reassuring wink. ‘Ready?’
She nodded and moved with him, shuffling forward as he took several careful steps back. It wasn’t easy, but before long they were back on the wider section of the ridge, almost safe... She was just starting to relax when another section of ground gave way. Thankfully it wasn’t much this time, though still enough to send Danr tumbling on to his back and her flat on to his chest.
‘Oomph!’ He gave a loud grunt as her forehead smacked against his chin.
‘Ow!’ She echoed the sentiment, starting to wriggle upwards as she realised she was sprawled on top of him.
‘Sissa...’ He sucked in a breath.
‘What is it?’ She froze. ‘Are you hurt?’
‘No, but...your knee.’
‘My... Oh!’ She glanced downwards and hurriedly pulled her leg out of his groin, shifting to straddle his thighs instead. ‘Sorry.’
‘It could have been worse.’ His smile was still somewhat pained. ‘I hate to say I told you so.’
‘You might as well.’ She gave a ragged laugh. ‘It might be the only time I let you. You just saved my life, Danr.’
‘All right, I told you so. That was too close.’
He tightened his arms around her, pulling her back down on to his chest. There was no need for him still to be holding her, a small part of her brain argued, but she didn’t resist, lowering her head until she was nestled against him.
‘Don’t ever scare me like that again,’ he murmured, pressing his lips into her hair.
‘I’ll try not to.’ She listened to the wild thump of his heartbeat beneath her ear. It was strangely comforting, a reminder that they were both still alive. No doubt her own heart was racing that fast, too.
‘We need to get off this ridge.’ He spoke again after a few moments, though his grip didn’t slacken. ‘I don’t know where our wolf friends have gone, but they seemed to think this was a bad idea, too.’
‘Yes.’ She started up, then stopped as he winced with pain. ‘What is it? Your arm?’
‘It’s all right.’
‘No, it’s not. Let me take a look.’
‘Gladly.’ He sat up after her. ‘Only let’s get off this ridge first. I was never a great lover of heights.’
‘You once told me you used to jump off cliffs into the sea.’
‘I did, but that was just showing off. I never said I liked it.’ He stood and took hold of one of her hands, clasping it tight as if he were afraid she might fall again if he didn’t hold on. ‘Now, let’s go.’
That, Danr thought with a shudder, had been altogether too close. For one terrible, heart-stopping moment Sissa had been slipping away from him, falling beyond his reach down the mountainside. He’d reached for her wrist without stopping to consider the risk to himself, though on reflection, it probably hadn’t been the wisest course of action. With the ground crumbling beneath them, he might easily have fallen with her, but at the time all he’d known was that there was no way he was letting her go. Faced with the same choice, he would do exactly the same thing again. And again. As many times as she needed for him to save her, even if he tore his wound open and wrenched his entire arm off to do it.
Which was exactly what it had felt like.
Stars! He muttered an oath under his breath. His heart was still pounding with fear, not to mention a powerful desire to crush her in his arms and kiss her senseless. His thoughts had been preoccupied all morning with what had happened—almost happened—between them during the night, mainly by the fact that he’d desired her so much that he’d been severely tempted to break his vow. But her almost-accident had stirred up feelings in some deeper, more profound part of him. It wasn’t just desire he felt for her, he realised now. It was...something else. Something he’d never felt before, something truer and more tender, and he had the sudden, alarming conviction that whatever it was, there was no turning back.
And he was still holding on to her hand, he realised. Not just that, but his fingers had somehow become entwined with hers, joining their bodies together as if they were one and not two.
‘Danr?’ She spoke when they reached the base of the valley again. ‘Your hand. It’s too tight.’
‘Too...? Oh.’ He frowned and immediately loosened his hold. ‘Forgive me.’
‘There’s nothing to forgive, but you should let me take a look at your arm.’
‘It feels better now.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that. Stop.’ She dug her heels in and tugged back against him with surprising force. ‘Unfasten your tunic.’
‘Later.’
‘Now!’
‘You can see there’s no blood.’
‘That’s not the point.’ She pulled her hand away from his so she could place both of hers on her hips. ‘Remember our agreement? You said you’d do whatever I asked. Now, unfasten your tunic or I’ll do it myself.’
‘Fine.’ He heard the catch in his voice as he undid the fastenings at his neck, loosening his mail and tunic and drawing them both down over his injured arm. ‘There. Happy now?’
‘Not yet. I need to look properly.’ She caught his eye for a brief moment, the pupils of her own swelling slightly before she bent her head to examine the wound.
‘What do you think?’ His voice was a bare rasp of sound, his mind filled with memories from the night before—the feel of her body in his arms, the silken touch of her hair and skin, the scent of herbs and woodsmoke, the sound of moaning as his lips moved over her...
‘The wound hasn’t opened again,’ she murmured, ‘though it must have hurt a great deal.’
‘I didn’t notice.’
‘Liar.’
His lips quirked. ‘Maybe a little, but I had other things to worry about. I wasn’t going to lose you.’
‘You might have fallen, too.’
‘Then we would have fallen together.’
‘Together...’ If he wasn’t mistaken, her breathing hitched before she cleared her throat. ‘We should get on.’
‘Why?’ He covered her hand with his own as she drew his tunic back over his shoulder. ‘Where are we going? If the journey’s so dangerous, why don’t you just tell me what happened to you?’
‘Because I don’t know if I can.’ Her face clouded. ‘I’ve never told anyone. I need to show you.’
‘All right, but no more pretending to be mountain goats. We stay in the valleys, Gaels or no Gaels.’
‘It’s a longer route. We’ll have to camp overnight.’
‘Then we camp overnight.’
‘Very well.’ She pursed her lips. ‘But in that case you have to talk.’
‘Are you saying you want me to talk?’
‘Yes. The quiet was unnerving before, especially after...’ Her voice trailed away as a swathe of red crept over her cheeks.
‘Ah.’ He nodded with comprehension. ‘Then I’ll talk—we’ll talk—but I’m leading the way from now on.’
‘You don’t know where we’re going.’
‘Good point.’ He made a face. ‘Then we go side by side. Together.’
He readjusted his clothes and they set off again, more slowly and carefully this time, without crossing any more precipices. Tove and Halvar rejoined them after a little while and they remained undisturbed by the Gaels, though he had a suspicion there were eyes watching them on several occasions. Sissa was right; it was a much longer route, but it was far easier to admire the rugged beauty of their surroundings from below. The black peaks looked forbidding and magnificent at the same time, starkly striking as if the earth had been stripped back to its bare essentials, leaving an impression of raw power.
It was halfway through the afternoon when he noticed that Sissa’s footsteps were slowing and he guessed they were almost at their destination. There was a faint tang of salt in the air, too, as if they were approaching the other side of the island and the sea again. At last she stopped altogether, pointing towards a rocky overhang in a sheer cliff face.
‘That was where Coblaith found me five summers ago.’ Her voice sounded tight. ‘I was curled up in a ball, sheltering from the cold and rain, shivering so hard I remember my teeth ached from chattering. I doubt I would have survived the night if she hadn’t come along when she had. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to survive, but I suppose I must have, mustn’t I, to have taken shelter in the first place?’
He nodded, walking towards the overhang and placing one hand against the rock. It felt cold and abrasive beneath his fingertips. He had a feeling that saying the wrong thing now might change her mind about showing him more, but the curiosity was almost overwhelming. Perhaps if he asked indirectly?
‘What was Coblaith like?’
‘She was hard to describe. She never showed a great deal of emotion, but she was kind to me. I think she must have been very beautiful once. She was still striking as an old woman and she never stooped, though her black hair was streaked with white. The first time I saw her I thought she must be a witch. She must have come to see what was happening, what all the noise had been about...’ She walked over and put her hand next to his on the rock. ‘I should have been afraid of her since I’d been taught never to go near Gaels on my own, but I was beyond fear. She was my only hope.’
‘So she saved you?’ He moved his hand sideways, touching the tips of his fingers against hers. Somehow just that touch made the rock seem warmer.
‘Yes.’
‘From what?’