And nae a single thought of his sister’s safety or happiness. Willow has only ever been a tool to get what he wants. She…
Thought and restraint left Keegan in a branding snap of lightning that he felt in his soul. Without so much as another word to the man, the laird unsheathed his sword and swung out at Magnus, looking to cleave the man’s head from his blasted shoulders.
“Ah!” The scream tore through the field as the McCallum tumbled backward.
Crimson flew through the air in a wild arch, flicking off the sharp edge of Keegan’s blade. He’s sliced through the man’s chest, tearing his plaid in two where it draped over his shoulder.
Only a moment later, the furious sounds of battle cries from both his men and the McCallums sound through the open field like the rumble of a great storm. He’d damned this exchange to hell and back, but Keegan couldn’t be bothered to care.
He had two missions now: get his sister back and see Willow to safety.
The eruption of battle was instantaneous and frenzied. Keegan could hear his brother call out from behind him, surging forward with the strength and aggression of a wild bear. Damon was at the laird’s side in less time than it took for Magnus to crawl backward and toward the safety of his men.
Keegan lashed out again, but the covering of a shield appeared between his sword and Magnus’s face. His man-at-arms was quick, and he leaped into action to serve his Laird and keep him from perishing on the field like he should have.
“Ye bastard!” Keegan hollered, smashing his blade down on the man-at-arm’s shield. “Ye were never going to accept the exchange! I ken yer slippery dealings, ye bloody snake!”
Magnus chuckled as one of his men pulled him away, but the pain from his wound still colored his expression.
“Ye and that damned Laird MacMillan,” he spat on the ground, “so verra concerned with honor and family. Ye will both see me men at yer doorstep soon enough.”
Then, archers popped up from their hidden locations on the hill. Still, Willow had informed Keegan of her brother’s tactics, and his men were ready with shields that they swung around from their backs to protect them. The arrows hit sturdy wood, leaving most of his men untouched and only a handful slightly wounded.
“How?!” Magnus screamed, but Keegan just smirked.
The volley was quickly over, and his men marched the line forward while several of his fastest warriors wove through the frenzy to seek out the archers directly.
“Ye willnae win so easily, Magnus.”
Rushing forward, Keegan tried to pursue him, but Magnus’s line of men was already reaching this middle distance. The clash of blades sang around him as both of their warriors came toe-to-toe with each other, and Damon hauled Keegan backward before he could dive through the line in pursuit of Magnus.
“He isnae the concern! Get Melissa!”
It was a moment before Keegan could think past the rage that burned his blood. But Damon was right. They needed to get Melissa home. And they needed to regroup after all this. The laird was quite sure he would not be seeing the last of Magnus.
Chaos suffused the battlefield, and Keegan forced himself to resist the urge to turn and run for Willow. He couldn’t even look behind him, for if he saw her in danger, Keegan was not surewhathe would do. Instead, he trusted her to the safety of Rodrick while Damon and him fought their way toward Melissa.
Damon was a braw fighter, and Keegan thanked heaven for the way the two of them worked together in battle. They had grown up training as children, and there were few forces they could not outmatch if they were fighting as one.
“There!” His brother called out, and Keegan looked where he pointed to see Melissa struggling against the hold of a McCallum warrior. “Flank!”
Keegan knew precisely what his brother intended and nodded. Without another word, he fought his way to the backside of the warrior restraining Melissa. At the same time, Damon circled around to his front. Several bodies hit the ground as Keegan cut his way through, and when at last they were in position, Damon swung out at the man while Keegan braced his sword at the back of the man’s knees.
He went arse up as he was pushed over the blade, and the metal sliced through the skin of his calves, severing the vital sinew that allowed the man to keep standing.
“Argh!” he screamed, and Damon wasted no time snatching up Melissa and running back to the Brahanne warriors with Keegan.
More of the McCallum men stood in their way, but it wasn’t long before they dispersed, not looking to lose their lives or limbs any more than they had in an attempt to defend Magnus’s excuse for honor.
Keegan pulled Melissa along with Damon as they reached their men and took her to the safety of the carriage positioned at the bottom of the hill, behind where the battle started to die down.
As he passed Rodrick and his closest allies among the clan, Keegan yelled out for them to pull back to the horses for an escape.
“To me! They are done for! We must get the lady back to the castle! Daenae let a single man follow!”
The heartiest of his infantry allowed the others to get to their horses while holding off attacks from Magnus’s men. They were specially chosen for their ruthless, unyielding battle prowess, and not a single McCallum man made it past Keegan’s elite group of warriors. The frenzy calmed, and Keegan sat in the carriage with Damon and Melissa, catching his breath.
“Are ye all right? Have they harmed ye? Let me see ye.” Damon turned Melissa’s face this way and that, fretting over her like their mother might.