Page 120 of Bound to a Warrior
Duncan shook his head. “No, this is for me to do. Mercy is my woman.”
“Soon to be our sister,” Trey reminded him.
“I’m pleased that you accept her as such,” Duncan said, “but it is best that I do this on my own. Besides, you all need to report back to father. It is important that he receives the information. The movement grows bigger and stronger. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the king realizes it.”
“He does,” Neil confirms. “And truthfully, it is the information that his daughter has that he wants so badly. The soldiers gossip about how bravely she confronted her father. How she ran across the meadow and was slammed to the ground by an arrow through her shoulder and she struggled to stand, refusing to surrender.”
Duncan turned to Trey. “You didn’t tell me this.”
“I didn’t know,” Trey said. “The arrow had already been removed when I got there, and Bliss told me that Mercy would heal well. No one spoke of how she received the wound and I had no time to ask.”
“From what I hear, a few arrows missed her,” Neil said, “but she kept on running, and after getting hit and standing she zigzagged and stumbled to avoid more arrows. If it hadn’t been for the Picts…” Neil didn’t finish, he simply shook his head.
“Damn, our sister was brave,” Reeve said.
Duncan fisted his hand so tightly that his knuckles protruded like sharp talons. “I’m going to kill her father.”
Bryce slapped a firm hand on Duncan’s shoulder. “Keep your wits about you and save your revenge for another day.”
Duncan reluctantly relaxed his grip and nodded, realizing the wisdom of his brother’s words, though he had every intention of one day seeing Mercy’s father dead.
Bryce turned to Neil. “It’s become too dangerous for you to return. You’ll make your home with us now.”
Neil tried to protest, but Bryce wouldn’t have it.
“You know much about the king and his strategies. I don’t want to risk losing your knowledge.”
Neil nodded. “I will do whatever is best for the true king of Scotland.”
“You have served the true king well and he will not forget,” Trey said and guided the man to sit by the campfire.
Bryce and Reeve joined them, but Duncan remained standing.
“What do you know of this trap set for Mercy?” Duncan asked.
Neil smiled. “Everything.”
Chapter 35
Dawn was near on the horizon and with it Mercy knew she’d be leaving Pict land and once again vulnerable to attack and capture. But it made no difference to her; her only concern was saving Duncan.
Bliss’s friend Roan, the one who had saved her from her father, had information that Duncan was in danger, though he believed it a ruse to draw her out. Not trusting the source, he had urged her not to go.
She understood his concern and thought the same herself, but she couldn’t take the chance. What if Duncan truly was in danger and she didn’t go to help him? She couldn’t live with the thought.
Bliss hadn’t argued with her even though Roan had begged her to. She simply had nodded and explained that Mercy had to do what was right for her. She and Bliss had hugged long and hard before Mercy departed. And Bliss had warned her that all was not what it seemed and that the truth would be the only thing that truly freed her. Then she had told her they would see each other again. And that when the time was right they would not part, but actually be like true sisters.
That pleased Mercy though she wondered how that could be when Bliss lived with the Picts and she would be with Duncan. But Mercy hadn’t questioned it; she had simply bid her good-bye after one last hug and had set out to save Duncan.
Mercy knew she took a chance and placed not only her life in danger but that of her unborn babe. Unfortunately she knew no other way. Whether a ruse or not, she needed to know that Duncan was safe.
Dawn hit the horizon as she stepped away from Pict territory and she proceeded with cautious steps and alert ears. If it was a trap, then her father would certainly pick an area where he would feel he could easily contain her. And so she tried to avoid such areas.
Somehow she sensed that Duncan was on his way to her, and if they could meet and avoid her father and his soldiers, then they could return home and be safe.
Home.
She truly had a home with Duncan and his family, and now she had a sister in Bliss and would be a sister to three brothers. She was thrilled with the prospect, and though fate still held her in its hand, she believed all would go well. It had to. Love had to prove the victor in all of this.
