“Yes, I won’t lie to you,” she promised.
“Good. Albyn, look after my beloved while I gather up our belongings.”
“It will be my pleasure,” Albyn assured them both, but when he extended a steadying hand, Oriana shied away from him.
Egan entered their shelter for a moment, then returned to the trail to remove his cloak and yank off his tunic. He had grown accustomed to the tight pull of his stitches, but as he removed a clean tunic from Oriana’s travel bag, a piece of black thread floated across his hand. Believing a stitch must have come loose on its own, he paused to glance down at his side.
Amazed to find the ugly black trail gone, he turned to Albyn. “Did you intend for the stitches to fall out on their own?”
“I’ve not sewn up that many men, but no.” Albyn stepped around Oriana to take a closer look at Egan’s
side and found that only a faint white line crossed his ribs.
“Once Duncan learns a tree moved from our sacred grove and how quickly your wounds heal, he’ll not still possess the courage to fight you. Now, even if you won’t share the spell for moving trees, you must at least tell me how you healed so rapidly.”
Recalling Oriana’s sensuous kisses, Egan ran his thumb down his side. Had he not keenly felt the bloody gash when Kieran slashed him, he would not accept another’s word that he had been cut. “I credit the enchanted oak for the healing, but the tree hasn’t revealed its secrets. Now, let’s be on our way while good luck still surrounds us.”
Oriana waited for Egan to pull a clean tunic over his head and repin his cloak, and then she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. When she stepped back, her golden eyes burned with a fiery light.
“If you must fight Duncan, give me a sword, and I’ll fight with you.”
“In all my travels, I’ve heard no tales of such remarkable bravery in a woman,” Albyn murmured in awe.
Egan gripped Oriana’s waist lightly. “I’ve at least a dozen men who can be counted upon to be your equal with a sword, and I’ll not feel abandoned if you are secure in my chamber.”
“Do not laugh at me,” Oriana warned darkly.
“Aye, you would be worth a dozen men, but I need you to be a loving wife rather than a mighty warrior.”
Albyn watched Egan enfold Oriana in such a tender embrace, she swiftly ceased any effort to resist and leaned into him. They swayed in each other’s arms, and embarrassed to witness such an intimate exchange, the Druid had to turn away.
No woman had ever clung to him with Oriana’s fierce protectiveness, and overwhelmed with longing, he forced a cough to remind his friends of his presence. “Give me whatever must be carried,” he quickly offered, “and I’ll lead the way down to make certain the trail is safe after last night’s rain.”
Egan gave his bride a last hug, then stooped to retrieve the bags of provisions and clothing. “Don’t change your gown. That one, while subdued in color, will remind everyone where you spent the night, and their sympathy will be with you.”
That was a small enough request to grant, and Oriana complied with a slight nod, but she had not agreed to seek refuge in his chamber while he faced a deadly foe. “Does this not strike you as an odd time for Duncan to attack?”
Egan swung their travel bags to Albyn, then gestured for Oriana to follow his friend down the trail, but he remained close enough to grab her should she slip on the rocky path.
“As the beginning of a new year, Samhain is the time to make new alliances and end old hostilities. What was Duncan’s mood, Albyn? Could he have come to make peace?”
Albyn kept a watchful eye on the muddy trail as he replied. “He and his men are heavily armed, and if he has come bearing gifts, then they must be small enough to fit in a tiny pouch.”
Oriana turned back toward her husband. “I’ve predicted Duncan’s fate accurately in the past. It would behoove you to keep me close so that I may do so again. If he intends to play some foul trick, then I’ll provide a swift warning.”
Egan paused in midstride. “You are too precious to risk, and I’ll not subject you to the slightest danger for a timely warning. I already know Duncan despises us, and that will be enough to keep me on guard. Now watch the trail, my beauty, and let me worry about Duncan.”
Although unconvinced, Oriana did at least keep a close eye on the trail, and confident Albyn’s newly constructed bridge would hold, she crossed it without breaking her stride. But the speed of their progress down the mountain failed to ease her mind.
“I was the one Duncan meant to kill,” she reminded her husband.
“Aye, that he did, but I have his word that he’ll praise your name. If he breaks it, then he’ll be dead before his lies reach another man’s ears.”
“He may have already confided in Garrick,” Oriana warned.
“I did not see Garrick anywhere about, my lady,” Albyn called over his shoulder, “and the men left to guard Duncan will not honor the request should he ask for him.”
As they reached the horses, Egan plucked Oriana off her feet and swung her up onto her white mare’s back. “The morning will be over swiftly, and then no one will doubt that we are king and queen,” he whispered. He then turned to greet his kinsmen, who had come to see how they had fared.