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She kept staring at him as though wanting to pin him to the wall with her gaze. She cocked her head in acknowledgment. “My clan will be on our way tomorrow.”

Angus nodded. “Of course, my lady.”

Then, free and relieved and happy, he turned and went to his bedchamber. There, he undressed, slid into his bed, scooped Rogene into his arms, and slept the first restful sleep in as long as he could remember.

* * *

Strong arms enveloping her, a hard, solid body pressing against her back…

Angus, she knew immediately from the way her whole body tingled and sang from the mere touch of his skin. She’d felt his erection against her thigh and rubbed against him, but he’d only grunted and pressed against her and let out a long, satisfied, happy sigh. Then he’d muttered something that she couldn’t distinguish, and stilled, breathing deeply and evenly against her.

She’d fallen back to sleep, too, in the warmth and comfort of his arms.

Something awoke Rogene, and she stirred. A sound.

Go back to sleep…

There was a grunt, and a thud, and a sound like a sword being drawn from a sheath. When the warm body that lay next to her disappeared from her side, she opened her eyes. In the darkness, with only dim light coming through one slit window, she saw shadows of several people looming over her. She opened her mouth to scream, but a firm hand covered her mouth.

The hand smelled of blood and dirt, the filthy skin salty against her lips.

Still screaming into the hand, she saw two warriors holding Angus’s limp body. Horror struck her. She went as cold as ice. They were dragging him away, through the doorway. In the dim light, his body almost glowed white against the inky darkness of the walls.

Men held her against the bed as she thrashed and screamed, her muffled cries coming out in whimpers.

And then she saw her. The thin, willowy silhouette of a woman standing next to the door. She was staring right at Rogene. Her eyeballs were white, and her long, straight hair as silvery as a spiderweb.

Then Euphemia made a gesture with her hand and turned to walk to the door. One of the men drew back his fist, and pain burst in Rogene’s skull just before everything went black.

Chapter 22

For a moment, before she opened her eyes, Rogene had a sense that she was a little girl again, and that she slept in her bed in Atlanta. Her parents were still alive, and Mom was making crepes downstairs in the kitchen while Dad was probably feeding David, who was still a baby. If she opened her eyes, her window would be to her right, and her walk-in closet in front of the bed, and the door to her room would be open just a slit because she knew Mom had peeked in to check on her before she’d gone down to the kitchen.

But as her heavy eyelids lifted, and her head splintered into a thousand aching pieces, she knew she wasn’t a child anymore. Staring at the dark-wood canopy above her and the rough stone walls around her, she remembered right away where she was.

And when she was.

Then the image of Angus’s limp body being dragged away through the darkness slammed into her mind. Euphemia staring at her. She felt as if her heart had been pierced with a knife.

She sat up with a jolt, and a stab of pain went through her head. She was naked, with her dress gathered around her waist. With her hands shaking, she pushed her arms through the sleeves and pulled the edges of the dress up and over her shoulders. She found her shoes—the soft leather, pointy-toed medieval shoes Catrìona had lent her—and ran out of the room.

With her heart drumming, she flew into the great hall, panting. It was morning, and the Mackenzies and their men were eating their porridge. Catrìona looked up from her bowl, a frown on her face. Laomann glanced at her and kept eating. There was not a single person of clan Ross.

“Angus was kidnapped!” Rogene cried.

Every single face turned to her. Catrìona jumped up, spilling her porridge on the table. Laomann gave out a grunt.

“What?” he said.

Rogene hurried to their table that stood at the farther end of the hall. “Euphemia kidnapped Angus!” she cried as she ran. “We have to get him back…”

But even as she said that, she trailed off as realization dawned on her.

“Wait…why did she kidnap her own betrothed?” she said as she stopped in front of them. “Did something happen?”

“Ye dinna ken?” Catrìona said. “He broke off the engagement.”

Rogene had to grasp the edge of the table to steady herself. He broke off the engagement! The thought brought happiness to her heart, like a tired sail finally getting some wind to play with. But at the same time, dread for Angus filled her whole being.