Chapter 9

Jenefer didn’t intend to kill the Highlander. Of course she didn’t.

She might be hotheaded. Short-tempered. Impulsive. Likely to act first and explain later.

But she was no murderer.

She only meant to frighten the brute, the way he’d frightened her.

The problem was her cousins didn’t believe that. They didn’t trust her. They thought she intended to cut down an unarmed man.

Their doubt troubled and distracted her. So much so that when she charged forward, wielding his claymore, she didn’t notice the Highlander’s fair-haired clansman bolting to intercept her.

Feiyan noticed. She reached into her bodice and pulled out one of her wicked steel stars. With a flick of her wrist, she fired it at the man.

Time seemed to slow as the star whirred through the air, catching the light of the full moon on its sharp points. Jen watched in breathless horror as it sailed straight for the man’s heart.

With an audible thunk, it lodged in its target.

Time stopped then. The wind silenced. The stars froze. The moon hung motionless. Fate balanced on a dagger’s edge. For a long moment, there was no sound. No movement.

Then the man looked down, puzzled.

The deadly star protruded from his chest. But it hadn’t pierced his cotun. It was stuck fast in the padding.

The gears of time slowly ground to life again.

With cautious fingers and a grimace of fury, the man plucked the star out and dropped it on the frozen ground.

That moment of distraction, however, proved to be Jenefer’s downfall. She hesitated just long enough to allow the Highlander to lunge forward and seize her wrist. He gave her arm a hard shake, making her drop the claymore. Then he caught her around the waist, heaving her up in one powerful arm while she spat oaths at him and struggled for freedom.

In turn, Feiyan, distracted by Jenefer’s disarming, was late to notice the advance of the second man. He was large, but he was fast. Before Feiyan could dance away, he upended her, slinging the wee lass over one massive shoulder like a bag of barley.

“Nay!” Jenefer screamed, enraged that they’d both been so easily bested.

Now it was up to Hallie.

Surely she’d pick up his sword. It was her weapon of choice. Though Jenefer hated to admit it, Hallie’s skill with a blade rivaled her own. All she had to do was sweep it up from the ground and…

“Feiyan!” Hallie chided. “We were supposed to be unarmed!”

Jenefer choked on astonishment. Why was Hallie scolding Feiyan? Why wasn’t she taking action? Wasn’t she going to defend them? Wasn’t she going to snatch up the claymore and make a stand against the Highlanders? Would she actually betray her own cousins?

Feiyan’s reply was muffled by the padding of the man’s cotun. “Fie, Hallie, you know I never go anywhere without a weapon.”

Hallie let out a disappointed sigh. But she couldn’t possibly have been as disappointed as Jenefer felt.

Hallie addressed the men in a taut voice. “Let’s be civil about this,” she said. “I want no trouble. These two are under my command. I’ll see they do you no further harm if you free them.”

Jenefer, who had plenty of further harm in mind, bit back a retort. How dared Hallie make promises on her behalf—promises she had no intention of keeping?

Apparently, the men didn’t believe Hallie or trust Jenefer either.

“Free them?” the one holding Feiyan barked.

“’Tis too late for that,” the Highlander growled.

“I see.” Hallie let out a long sigh. “Then you’ll have to take me captive as well.”

Feiyan gasped.

“Nay!” Jenefer protested. “You can’t do that, Hallie! This is my battle! I won’t let you sacrifice yourself!”

“Can’t you see you’ve given me no choice?” Hallie muttered.

Jenefer twisted in the Highlander’s grasp until she could see her cousin. “Go, Hallie! Run! Go to Rivenloch and bring back…” She stopped herself. It might be unwise to alert the Highlander to the fact they had a whole army at their command.

“I warned you, Jen,” Hallie said. “I told you ’twas not a battle.”

Jenefer gave her a black look. What the devil was Hallie thinking? Was she mad? She could have returned to Rivenloch for reinforcements, then come back and launched a proper attack on the castle.

With all three of them held captive, they were helpless to do anything until…until their parents returned.

The last thing Jenefer wanted was for her parents to find out she’d challenged the Highlander and lost. They might think twice about giving her command of Creagor.

Loki’s bones! She never should have let go of the claymore. She never should have trusted Hallie to take up her cause. Hallie was a stubborn wench. And she always thought she was right.

“You know I’m right,” Hallie stated, proving her point. “But never fear, cousin. I won’t abandon you.”

Hallie and her self-sacrificing, self-righteous ways always made Jenefer feel like a child.

She swore under her breath. Now, if she managed to escape, Hallie would brand her a deserter.

Damn her cousin. Hallie had effectively left them all at the Highlanders’ mercy.

She shuddered once, hoping it was from cold and not fear. But these were challenges she’d never faced before.

She’d never encountered men as massive as these. She’d never seen agile Feiyan so swiftly dispatched by an opponent. And she’d never felt as defenseless as she did now, dangling from the Highlander’s powerful arm like a sacrificial lamb.

Jenefer hated to confess it, but for the first time in her life, she felt a frisson of dread. Who knew what grisly punishments these barbarians practiced on their enemies? She’d heard tales about the brutes who dwelt in the Highlands…

They sharpened their teeth on grinding stones.

They marked their servants with burning brands.

They butchered cows by tearing them limb from limb.

And by the loud wailing that began again from the upstairs window, they hardened their offspring by ignoring their cries.