Highland Betrayal by Alyson McLayne

Author:Alyson McLayne [McLayne, Alyson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2018-06-25T04:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Maggie stood, quietly fuming, at the base of the recently sheered cliff. The pyre still rested above her, but the route up to it would be difficult and dangerous with the unstable, fallen rock. Even more so than the path they’d already traveled to get to this point. Wind tore at her clothes and hair and threatened to blow her back down the mountain to where Drustan waited with the horses, but she’d dug her feet in and clenched her hands around her blanket to keep it in place.

And because her blood boiled, she was hot.

Five days she’d been traveling with these men, including four days of competing with Callum and besting him every time—he may not have lost, but she’d definitely won in the eyes of the men. She was the better archer, the better aim at throwing daggers. Better than him, better even than Gill. They’d seen her make the shot in the dark from the top of the keep to the tree, and they still hadn’t thought about asking her opinion on this shot to the top of the cliff.

Because they couldn’t do it, they assumed she couldn’t either.

She looked up again at the pyre. Aye, it would be difficult, especially with the wind blowing almost constant gusts in all different directions. She’d have to feel the weather and time her shot, pulling hard enough to make the distance to the top of the pyre but soft enough that the lit arrow didn’t blow out on the way there or fly past her target and land on the rocks rather than the wood.

She lifted her arms and closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the bow and learning the chaotic pattern of the wind. She pulled on the imaginary arrow, feeling the warmth of the flame near her hand before she loosed. When she opened her eyes, the men were still looking up, chattering in front of her about the best path to take to climb up the rest of the way over the dangerous, loose boulders.

All except Callum, who looked at her. Watched her. “Can you do it?” he asked.

Gavin heard and glanced over, followed by Gill and the rest of the men.

“I doona see how,” Gill said. He plucked a hair from his head and held it out. The strand blew sporadically in the wind. “The arrow will be blown off course even if you do manage to get the distance right.”

She studied the pyre. “The flame will have to be hot. Otherwise, the fire will be blown out.”

“Too hot and the shaft will burn down too quickly,” Gill said.

“Do you have a glove you can wear to protect your skin?” Callum asked.

“Nay. And even if I did, I wouldnae wear it.”

His jaw clenched, and a tiny muscle jumped on the side. She could see he wanted to deny her, wanted to end the discussion immediately.

“Maggie, there’s no need for you to be hurt. We have other options. And I doona mean that we climb up to the pyre either.

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