Highland Blessings (35 page)

She turned and stomped from the room, leaving the ill-bred heathens to weave a web of their own making. She would be no part of it.

Bryce closed his eyes, rubbing his face as his wife fled in anger. The look on her face had pierced him through, but he couldn’t give her more than he’d offered her at the expense of his clan.

Rae turned to him. “I didn’t want to say this in front of Akira, but Elliot is dead.”

Bryce grew concerned and walked around his desk toward Rae. “Are ye sure? How do ye know?”

“I trailed them. They were traveling fast, but I managed to hear of his death. They talked of the MacPhearson sword that took his life. I saw Birk MacPhearson studying it often. The man is deeply grieved. His other son, Gavin, is riding with him and is much the same. There is no telling what they’ll do when they arrive.”

Bryce considered this bit of news. “I appreciate yer saying naught about it in front of Akira. But I need to know everything. What else did ye hear? How did they find him?”

“Gavin said someone had dragged his body to the gates.”

Bryce listened and let his mind wonder over the possibilities.

“There’s something else.” Rae hesitated.

“What is it?” Bryce motioned him to continue with a feeling of dread centering in the pit of his stomach.

“The mail carrier ran into them and camped with them the night they stopped. He gave Akira’s letter to her father.

I watched from the woods as he read the letter, crumpled it up, and threw it into the campfire. Then he stood shouting in grief.” Rae stopped, as if to gauge Bryce’s reaction. Bryce nodded for him to continue. “That’s when they began chanting against the MacPhearsons. I rode through the night, but they aren’t far behind. They’re pushing their destriers hard.”

Bryce remained silent while the room grew increasingly tense. The sudden chill in the air wasn’t imagined when Bryce swiftly lifted an empty goblet and threw it across the room. He gave Rae an intense look that would make any man’s skin crawl. “If ye lie, I’ll come to know the truth and ye’ll wish ye hadn’t. Are ye telling the truth of Birk MacKenzie’s reaction to Akira’s letter?”

Rae nodded. He swallowed uneasily. “Aye, ’tis the truth.”

T
he alarm sounded at the entrance gate to the castle. Akira halted in the corridor, uncertain what to do, and rashly decided to run the other way. She would greet her father. There was no reason why she should assume he was there for naught else but a visit. The sound of the alarm bell tolled again, but it made no difference as she stepped into the courtyard and dodged through her husband’s warriors arming themselves and hastening to their posts.

Akira couldn’t hear her father’s approaching army for all the noise within the castle gates.

“The MacKenzies look as though they plan to ride right through the walls!” a warrior shouted.

Fear seized her as she slipped through the doorway leading to the tower stairs, hoping no one would notice. Akira ran up the steps as fast as she could. She had to get to the top so her father could see her. Maybe he would cease in his anger if he saw a glimpse of her.

When she reached the top of the tower she paused, gasping to catch her breath. Then she shoved her way toward the edge. Only one more step, and she could lean over the stone wall and see him. A guard stepped in front of her, blocking her view.

“M’lady, I canna allow ye any closer. M’lord has ordered yer safety. I must follow orders. Ye must go back to the keep.”

“Nonsense, I merely wish to greet my da like any loving daughter would.” She straightened her shoulders and met his stubborn gaze.

“Ye may greet him when he makes it plain that greetings are all he plans to bestow upon us. The chieftain is on his way, and he’ll decide.”

“Move out of my way,” Akira yelled above the surrounding noise.

The warrior simply crossed his arms and shook his head. “I canna.”

Before she could yell an insult, the doorway to the tower stairs burst open and her husband strode purposely toward her. He gripped her arm in a fierce hold and pulled her along.

“Ow! Ye’re hurting me, Bryce.” She stumbled to keep up with him as he pulled her off to the side. He stopped and jerked her around to face him. His jaw clenched, and she knew by the fierce dark clouds swirling in his eyes that he was angry beyond belief. Akira swallowed convulsively, but she determined to be brave and face him. What had she done other than try to keep peace between him and her father, the two men she loved beyond anything in life?

“Ye’ve betrayed me, haven’t ye?” he growled, careful to keep his voice low, ignoring the looks they received from his men.

Akira shook her head in denial, unsure of what he meant. Bryce jerked her arm so tight behind her back that any squirming would cause intense pain.

“Whatever ye told yer father in that letter caused this. Ye’ve endangered hundreds of lives.”

“What are ye talking about?” She couldn’t think of anything in her letter that would cause her father to come barreling upon them in an act of war.

“Bryce, I promised ye my allegiance. I love ye. I would never betray ye. Something else happened, but ’tis naught to do with me.”

“Don’t speak to me of love,” he snarled. “How can I believe ye now?” His cold eyes raked over her face in disgust.

She shriveled from his hateful words and loathsome expression. None of what he said made sense. Akira tried to reason it all out, but she had no time to question him further. Her father’s angry voice bellowed from below.

“Bryce MacPhearson!” Birk MacKenzie called.

Bryce gave her one more scathing look that cut her to the core before pointing a finger in her face. “Don’t move from this spot until I know his intent.” He released her arm, and she rubbed her aching muscles with her other hand, glaring after him. “If ye disobey me, ye’ll be sorry,” he warned over his shoulder.

“I’m already sorry,” Akira whispered to his back as she stood staring after him. Birk MacKenzie called for Bryce once more. Bryce reached the edge of the tower wall and leaned over the side to greet his father-in-law.

“Good day, Birk MacKenzie. Have ye finally come for a visit with yer family?”

“Bryce MacPhearson! Ye owe me an explanation, and I plan to have it this day or I’ll tear down what’s left of yer castle walls.”

Her grief over her husband’s treatment temporarily forgotten, Akira concentrated on her father’s words. They left no doubt her father harbored deep anger and that he directed it toward Bryce, but why? And why would Bryce think she had betrayed him? What had happened? Akira listened to a flurry of motion and heard what sounded like a sword being unsheathed. She nearly forgot Bryce’s orders and took a step forward, but her father’s voice halted Akira in her steps.

“Do ye deny this is a MacPhearson sword with the MacPhearson crest on the handle?”

“Nay, even from this distance it looks like ours. Where did ye get it?”

Birk’s eyes grew bitter and his face turned red from rage. “I pulled it from my son’s verra own heart.” He lifted the sword and threw it up in the air where it flipped several times, and the tip of the blade landed in the ground. “It still carries the stain of Elliot’s blood.”

Alarmed, Bryce breathed deeply and tried to still his fast beating heart. He’d never gone into battle with the Lord on his mind and in his heart, but today might be the first day, though he prayed not. He gripped the stone rail and closed his eyes.

“Lord, give me wise words and help me prevent war with Akira’s family this day,” he whispered. Bryce opened his eyes and leaned forward, pointing to the ground. “I’m coming down to meet ye!” he called.

Bryce turned to see that Akira had gone completely pale. He felt the urge to comfort her, but there was no time as he strode by her. Could she have been mistaken about Elliot’s wound? Mayhap she thought it had been his side, but it had actually been a mortal blow. It was possible she was so grief stricken with guilt that she couldn’t admit to her deed, no matter how innocent her intentions might have been.

Even as these thoughts crossed his confused mind, something in him didn’t feel right, and he turned to look at her one more time, pausing before the entrance to the tower stairs. She leaned against the tower wall as if all strength bled from her soul, and her spirit lay bare and broken. Her eyes crept to his, and as long as he lived, he would never forget the heart-wrenching sorrow lurking beneath the pool of tears shimmering in her jade eyes. His gut clenched. A weak wail built up through her as she pushed into the wall behind her, as if trying to dissolve right through it. Her vulnerable state tore at his conscience, and he knew in his heart he had wrongly accused her of betrayal. Clearly, she hadn’t known Elliot was dead until the moment her father confirmed it. Someone had betrayed him, but it wasn’t Akira.

Bryce ripped his gaze from Akira and hurried down the stairs to meet her father. He ached to apologize, but at the moment he knew her grief would be too strong to comprehend any words of sorrow and comfort. Besides, right now he had to try and prevent another war.

At his command, the drawbridge lowered, and he only allowed Birk MacKenzie to cross it. Bryce walked out to meet him. They conversed in the middle of the bridge, speaking in tones too low for the others to hear.

“May I see the sword?” Bryce asked, cautiously holding out his hand. Birk handed it to him, and the pained expression in the older man’s eyes reminded him too easily of Akira’s. The moment he gripped it, he quickly recognized his gift to his wife. He looked it over carefully, hoping to find a clue as to who else might have used it.

“Do ye know who it belongs to?” Birk’s voice interrupted Bryce’s concentration.

“Aye.” Bryce nodded, regretting to tell him.

“Speak up, man. I’ll not have ye protecting a murderer.” Birk bellowed in anxious satisfaction. His hands balled into fists at his side. “I’m eager to get my hands on ’im,” he growled.

“Before I tell ye, I want to know how many times Elliot was stabbed and where ye found him?”

Birk stood taller and eyed him carefully. “I don’t know why ye need to know.”

“I want to know everything. This sword belongs to someone in my clan, and I want to know if there is the possibility of others being involved. The guilty will be punished.”

“The guilty will die,” Birk challenged. He rubbed his chin with his thumb and crossed his arms. He looked Bryce up and down as if to measure his worth and finally growled. “Humph! He was stabbed in the side and through the heart. We found him outside the castle wall at daybreak two days ago. Someone dragged him to the spot right outside the gate.” Birk leaned toward Bryce. “Now whose sword is this?”

“Yer daughter’s.” Bryce waited for the color to come back to the other man’s face, and when it did, Birk’s eyes grew wide in disbelief. He raised a heavy fist, and it landed on Bryce’s jaw. “Ye dare to jest over my son’s life?” he yelled with a murderous glare. He swung at Bryce again, but missed the second time when Bryce ducked.

“’Tis no jest.” Bryce wiped blood from his lip. “I gave her this sword as a gift. Here.” He pulled his own sword from his scabbard and sighed when Birk jumped back out of reach.

Bryce held the two beside each other. “I had it made smaller for her.”

“Are ye saying Akira killed Elliot?” He looked at Bryce as if he had gone mad.

“Akira was supposed to have sent ye a letter explaining what she knew. Did ye get it?”