Page 92 of Marin’s Promise

Marin stared in bewilderment.

“Come, child.” Isla's gnarled hands grasped Marin's shoulder with surprising strength and hefted her to her feet.

Marin staggered forward on legs she did not trust. “What is it?”

Ella twirled and came to a stop with a lovely smile. “A miracle.”

* * *

Bran'sbody tensed at the onslaught of the new army. Their men would be fresh and bloodthirsty, not worn down from the endless swinging and blocking of their weapons.

“Dinna stop fighting, men.” Bran swung his axe down. “We do this for Werrick Castle, for the women and children, for those that we love. We do this for us.”

The men at his side remained there, both soldiers and reivers alike. Together they braced as the army fell upon them. The first of the new soldiers attacked, thrusting his blade with savage strength into a Graham. The man staggered, a look of surprise on his face, and toppled to the ground.

The second new warrior attacked another Graham, while the first found yet another to kill. They were helping.

No doubt for a ridiculous fee that would be charged once the battle was won. It was common of mercenaries low on work to force their need upon hapless souls in order to earn their living.

Though at this point, Bran would pay them what they asked, no matter the price. Their safety meant that of the people within the castle walls.

Bran pulled his axe from the dead Graham in front of him and glanced at the new men fighting at their side. Their chainmail was even filthier up close, layered in mud and black slime. Beneath it all was a coat of arms. Through the muck, a green background was bisected by a yellow stripe with a black bird emblazoned on its front.

Bran's body tingled.

The Earl of Werrick’s soldiers were home from Berwick. A Graham knocked into Bran, nearly sending him to the ground. Bran shoved the man to create space between them, enough for the blade of an axe, and swiftly ended his life.

If the men were alive, then perhaps… He surveyed the men fighting and found one in particular who was surrounded by soldiers. Guarded. The way one might do for an earl.

Bran's heart raced. Marin's father might truly be alive.

The battle had turned in their favor. Bran's forces were the ones pushing their enemy backward now, allowing them to see the rapidly growing number of dead Grahams. The men at the back of the battle began to break away and leave, choosing to flee and live.

Soon their enemy was no more, with most dead and many more running.

“We'll be back.” An aged man with long gray and white hair glared at Bran. “Ye mark our word, we will be back.”

The words of a coward to be sure. Bran hefted his axe and the man turned with haste to flee.

All around him rose the shouts of victory, cheering until voices went hoarse. Brethren greeted one another and reunions were had. The crowd of men had begun to move as a solid mass in the direction of the castle.

Bran fixed his gaze on the man he suspected might be the earl. The man removed his helm to reveal a head of silver hair. Sir Richard was at his side in an instant, saying something Bran could not make out. At least, not until the possible earl's face hardened and an icy blue gaze slid in his direction.

Shite.

Bran had never been one to back down. He shifted toward the earl, preparing to march over to him when a hand caught his chest, stopping him.

Drake caught his eye and shook his head. “Better to do it in front of yer wife,” he said in a low voice.

“I'll no' hide behind my wife's skirts,” Bran snarled.

“Better that than lying dead at her feet.” Drake nudged him forward with his shoulder. “Ye took the castle by force and have married his eldest daughter. Many of his men are dead because of battles that wouldn't have happened were it not for ye.”

Bran groaned. “When ye word it in such a manner…”

Drake did not reply, but instead urged him forward.

Bran grunted in reply and allowed himself to be nudged away from the strewn bodies remaining, out of the grass gone muddy with blood, and back to the place he realized he now thought of as home.