Forbidden Kilted Highlander (Preview)

Don’t miss the link for the whole book at the end of the preview.
 

Chapter One

 

Ferniehirst Castle, 1589

 The chill of the morning wrapped around Agnes like a second skin, biting through the thick wool of her shawl, no matter how tightly she drew it around her shoulders. The wind carried the scent of wet heather and iron, brushing across her cheek like a whisper she didn’t quite trust. Something knotted low in her belly, heavy and unwelcome.

The carriage waited in the courtyard, its dark green frame gleaming beneath the bleak, overcast sky. The wheels were already muddied from the rains the night before, and the horses snorted and shifted restlessly, as if sensing they were part of something ill-timed and unpleasant. Everything in the yard felt suspended, paused just before some unseen breaking point.

She smoothed the front of her riding gown with shaking fingers, carefully chosen to suit the impression she was meant to give: noble, solemn, untouchable. But it felt too heavy, too stiff. Like a costume.

Constance stood beside her, quiet as the wind. “You look unreal,” she said gently, her voice low. “Like you’re carrying everything in your heart and trying not to let it show on your face.”

Agnes turned slowly toward her, her throat already tight. Constance wore her hair in a braid, her pale green eyes gleaming with something like sorrow. Her sister. The one she’d only just found again after years of silence, secrets, and blood spilled in the name of things they hadn’t chosen.

“I dinnae ken how tae leave ye,” Agnes murmured, voice brittle. “It feels wrong. Too soon after all this time.”

Constance didn’t hesitate. She reached for her hand, her grip cold but steady. “You’re not leaving me,” she said. “You’re leading us.”

Agnes clasped her sister’s hands tightly, memorizing the feel of fingers so like her own yet shaped by different worlds. Their goodbye cut deeper than she’d expected.

This alliance must be made, it is me duty towards me faither and me clan.

Since Constance’s return, the Kerrs stood on dangerous ground. Their father had been reckless in his defense of Constance, confronting the English too boldly. Now they were all paying a price and Agnes would pay even more, knowing Constance would remain home safely.

She studied her sister’s face. It was as if she was looking in a mirror. How cruel that they’d found each other only to be torn apart again. Agnes stared at the carriage, blinking too quickly. If she kept her eyes fixed on the painted crest on the door, maybe she could stop the tears threatening to gather at the corners of her vision.

But her fear pressed harder.

She was afraid. Not of the man she was meant to marry—Laird Caithness, of which she knew little except for his ruthless control over one of the most powerful Highland armies. It was more the way her future had become something distant and unfamiliar, shaped entirely by necessity.

She didn’t know what kind of man he was, what kind of life he’d offer, what expectations he held for her, being handed to him in the name of alliance. She didn’t know if that sacrifice would be enough to keep their people safe—or if she was simply being bartered like cattle in a transaction dressed up as duty.

“I should feel proud,” she said, voice barely audible. “Faither trusts me tae dae this. But it feels like I’m bein’ cut off from everythin’ I ever was.”

Constance’s hand tightened around hers. “Sometimes the hardest path is what tempers the iron. I am just sorry this is happening because of me and the complications I caused by coming here to find you—”

Agnes shook her head vigorously and exclaimed “Dinnae blame yerself! This is about politics and power and I always knew this would be me duty on day.”

Her gaze then drifted toward the steps of the keep where her father stood, arms folded, his jaw tense with the effort of not showing too much. Ewan Kerr rarely gave away his feelings easily, but she knew him well enough to recognize the strain in his shoulders, the grief buried beneath his pride.

She stepped away from Constance and went to him. The mist thickened, wrapping around the courtyard like a shroud, and she could hear the restless murmuring of the guards as they loaded the last of her trunks onto the carriage.

“I’ll make ye proud,” she said. Her voice cracked on the last word.

Ewan looked at her for a long moment. The steel in his expression softened, just barely. “Ye already have,” he said. “What ye’re daein’—it’s what any true Kerr would dae. Ye’re protectin’ yer clan. I’m sorry daughter, that it came tae this.” Then his voice dropped lower, the edge of threat unmistakable. “But if that man, if Caithness mistreats ye in any way… I’ll bring hell tae his doorstep.”

A flicker of warmth stirred beneath her ribs, despite the circumstances. “I dinnae plan tae let him,” she said. And she meant it.

They clasped forearms, the old warrior’s grip grounding her for a fleeting moment. But then he stepped back, silent, his eyes locked on hers as if he could will her to remember everything about who she was even once she crossed into another man’s domain.

She turned again, and Constance was there—giving her a soft, almost sympathetic smile, despite the pain, evident in her eyes.

“Keep a blade with you,” Constance said, her voice rough with unshed emotion. “Always.”

Agnes gave a half-smile, though it faltered. “I will. And I’ll come back tae visit. One way or another.”

Constance pulled her into a tight embrace. Her arms were fierce around her, full of all the love they hadn’t had years to grow into. Agnes clung back just as fiercely, her cheek pressed to her sister’s shoulder.

She didn’t want to let go. But she had to.

The horses huffed. One pawed the dirt. A guard cleared his throat behind them, the signal subtle but clear.

It was time.

Agnes turned toward the carriage, drawing a breath that hurt her lungs. Her boots scuffed against the packed dirt. The damp wind pushed against her back, as though trying to usher her forward.

And then someone shouted.

“Lass—get back!”

The voice rang sharp through the courtyard. Agnes froze, her heart stuttering. She turned quickly, her shawl slipping down her shoulders.

Brodie Ainslei, one of the men who was responsible for her safety during this trip, stumbled out from the stables, one hand clutching his chest. His face had gone white—paler than snow, like all the blood had been stolen from beneath his skin.

“Brodie?” her father barked.

But the guard didn’t answer. His eyes—normally so alert—were wide and unseeing, his breath ragged. He swayed, took a step, then another, his movements unsteady, limbs jerking like a puppet cut loose from its strings.

And then he fell.

Straight to the ground, his body crumpling in the mud. Everything stopped. Sound, movement, thought. For one stretched moment, Agnes couldn’t breathe, but then everything snapped back into motion.

“Help him!” Agnes shouted.

Two guards rushed forward. Agnes’s body moved before her mind could catch up. She dropped to her knees beside Brodie, her skirts darkening with mud, her hands flying to his wrist.

Cold.

“Brodie—can ye hear me?” she asked, her voice barely holding together. “It’s Agnes. Look at me.”

His lips parted, trembling. A rasp of air escaped, barely audible.

“Dinnae… go…”

“What?” Her fingers curled tighter around his arm. “What did ye say?”

But his eyes rolled back and his body went slack.

Everything around her moved in fragments—blurred shapes, gasps, boots thudding against mud and stone. But Agnes knelt frozen in the middle of it, her hand still curled around Brodie’s wrist, cold and slack beneath her fingertips.

He was breathing—barely. Shallow, uneven gasps. But his lips had gone an alarming shade of blue, and something inside Agnes cracked at the sight.

Voices rang around her like muffled bells.

“Get the healer!”

“Gods, he just collapsed—I saw him, he just fell.”

“Move! Make room!”

Tav Graham, her father’s most lethal soldier, knelt beside her with a sharp grunt, his hand sliding beneath Brodie’s shoulders. He was tall, his skin a tapestry of ink save for his face, and his eyes… God, those eyes. The coldest, clearest blue she’d ever seen, like winter sky cut with steel.

“Lady Agnes, let go,” he said gruffly, though not unkindly. “We’ll carry him.”

She hesitated, her fingers tightening for a moment. But then she nodded and let go.

Mud clung to her skirts as she stumbled to her feet, numb. Her legs didn’t want to work properly, like they’d been carved from stone. She watched as Tav and another guard lifted Brodie’s limp form between them, and something flickered across Tav’s face… a shadow of concern too raw to hide.

The healer met them at the door to the cottage, her silver hair bound in a scarf, sleeves already rolled. “Bring him in,” she barked. “Lay him by the hearth. We need heat and water, and someone fetch me the willow bark and yarrow. Go!”

Agnes followed without thinking. The wind cut across her face, but she barely felt it. Her mind moved in tight, frantic circles. What had happened? What had Brodie meant when he said, Dinnae go? What had he seen?

The healer’s cottage smelled of dried herbs and old smoke. Tav laid Brodie on the cot while the healer moved with ruthless efficiency, checking his breath, peeling back an eyelid.

The sharp scent of herbs clung to Agnes’s hands as she leaned over Brodie’s cot, watching the tremor in his jaw settle into stillness. The healer, Mistress Gowan, pressed a cool cloth to the warrior’s brow with swift, practiced movements. Her mouth was a thin, pale line. Agnes mirrored her rhythm at his wrists, checking for the flutter of pulse beneath his damp skin, her fingers trembling.

“He’s been poisoned,” she said after a moment. “Nae fatal, but it’s nay ordinary illness. Something was slipped intae his food or drink. Maybe earlier this morning, maybe before that. There’s nay fever, nay sign of infection.”

Agnes’s stomach lurched. “Poisoned?”

Mistress Gowan gave her a brief, sharp nod. “Aye. And if one’s been poisoned, I’ll wager he’s nae the only one.”

Her voice rang with certainty, but the horror of it moved slowly through Agnes, as if her mind refused to accept it.

“Check the others,” the healer told Tav. “The ones who were tae escort the lady. If any others show signs, we need tae treat them now.”

Tav was already moving, shouting orders before he was even out the door.

Agnes stayed.

She pressed the cool cloth to Brodie’s forehead, ignoring the trembling in her fingers. Her body worked on instinct, as her thoughts circled back to the courtyard, to the moment his body had crumpled like an empty sack.

Why now?

Why him?

She had known Brodie for a long time and now he lay pale and still while the fire crackled low beside them.

The healer moved between them, murmuring something Agnes didn’t catch. A second later, the door slammed open.

Tav returned with two more guards in tow. One of them was already vomiting into the dirt just beyond the threshold, the other pale and sweating.

“Bloody hell,” the healer muttered. “Bring them in. Now.”

Agnes backed away, heart pounding, her breath catching as the second and third guards were laid on mats. The healer set to work immediately, directing the apprentices and mixing tinctures, her brow furrowed with urgency.

Agnes turned and stepped outside. The cold wind hit her like a slap, but it helped. She had to think.

She found her father near the stables, his face tight with fury and worry. He turned the second he saw her.

“Three guards down,” he said, voice low. “Poison.”

She nodded mutely.

“We’ll find out who did this,” he said. “Whoever snuck intae me keep and fed me men poison will answer fer it.”

His voice was steel, but his eyes flicked over her too quickly. He was worried for her.

“I can stay,” she offered quietly. “Delay the journey. Just a day or two. Until they recover. Until we find out if the danger’s passed.”

***

It was near dusk when the new party assembled. Agnes stood at the head of the small group, her eyes on the gates that would take her away from everything she knew.

Tav stood beside his mount, checking the straps with deliberate focus. Even bent over his task, his tall, lean frame carried a dangerous grace, his wiry build hiding the kind of strength that pinned bandits with ease.

Agnes couldn’t help but trace with her eyes the scars peeking past his rolled sleeves, the tattoos coiling over his arms like promises of darker stories. His jaw was tight, his mouth a grim line beneath those piercing blue eyes, shadowed with guilt and exhaustion.

The late sunlight gilded his short brown hair, rough from the exhausting day, and she bit her lip. Killer’s looks, protector’s silence. He hadn’t spoken to her since the healer’s cottage. It shouldn’t have bothered her, but it did.

Three new guards had been pulled from the reserve ranks to replace the seasoned men she’d been promised.

Constance hugged her so tightly that Agnes thought her ribs might crack. “Dinnae let them change ye,” her sister whispered. “Nae even a little.”

Agnes nodded, throat too full to speak.

Her father approached last. No words this time. Just a look, as if trying to memorize the shape of her before she was lost to him.

He turned from her then, but not before raising his voice loud enough for the small party to hear.

“Tav Graham will ride as yer assigned guard.” His gaze flicked briefly to Tav.

Tav straightened from his saddle straps, a faint tick in his jaw the only reaction. He didn’t look at her.

Her heart beat louder than the clatter of hooves behind her.

“Aye, me laird,” Tav said, low.

Agnes swallowed against the hollow ache blooming in her chest. The idea of Tav as her personal guard sent a traitorous flutter through her, butterflies low in her belly, heat prickling up her neck. It was unsettling, this sudden awareness of her own pulse.

She climbed into the carriage without another word. The door shut with a finality that made her flinch.

Outside, the wind picked up.

She stared at Tav, willing herself not to feel a thing.

 

Chapter Two

 
The world outside the carriage blurred into shades of wet grey and brittle pine as the wheels creaked and jostled over uneven stone and mud. A low mist had settled over the moors by late evening, clinging to the edges of tree trunks like cobwebs reluctant to let go. Agnes watched it move through the open window of the carriage, her hand curled loosely around the frame as though tethering herself to something solid.

It had been a day and a half since they had left home. She was still felt suspended in the space between departure and destination, as if time itself had lost its footing. The hours bled together with little mercy. She was the kind of tired that seeped into the bones and made them ache from memory alone, not the kind that sleep cured.

A soft clop of hooves drew her attention. One of the guards, a younger man with fair lashes and a crooked smile, had been riding beside her window for the better part of the last hour. She had not spoken to him at first, but there was something disarming about his presence. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen.

He had offered her a piece of honeyed oatcake, clearly pilfered from their breakfast supply, and she’d accepted it with a smile that surprised even her at that moment.

“I dinnae think I’ve ever seen fog settle this thick in this part o’ the road,” he said lightly, adjusting his grip on the reins. “Must be the moors tryin’ tae warn us off.”

Agnes tilted her head slightly, lips curving. “Warn us off what?”

He grinned, boyish and easy. “Whatever it is that waits on the road, me lady.”

She laughed genuinely this time. The sound surprised her again, lifting from her chest like a leaf caught on the wind. “Och, ye sound like me old nursemaid. She used tae say moors like this were cursed.”

“Perhaps they are.”

“Perhaps we are,” she countered with a laugh, before she could stop herself.

The guard’s expression faltered, but only for a breath. “Well then, we’ll be cursed together, aye?”

The words settled something restless inside her. She did not know his name, but she knew kindness when she heard it, and there had been precious little of that in the last months. Perhaps even years.

“Guard yer tongue.”

The voice cut through the air like the crack of a whip.

Agnes turned, heart skipping as Tav rode up beside them on his, his dark cloak catching in the wind like a shadow with a mind of its own. Agnes turned, her heart stumbling as Tav rode up beside them, his steed’s powerful strides eating up the distance. His dark cloak snapped behind him like a living shadow, the wind carving its shape against the broad planes of his shoulders. Gods, he was a vision—all controlled strength and lethal grace.

His jaw was clenched tight, the muscle flickering with restrained fury, but his eyes were what stole her breath, storm-dark and locked onto the young guard with a focus that could’ve cut steel. A shiver raced down her spine.

“Ye’ll ride ahead, from now on,” Tav said, voice quiet but sharp enough to bleed. “Dinnae let me hear ye speak tae her again.”

The young guard hesitated, clearly stunned. His eyes darted to Agnes and back to Tav.

Who daes he think he is?

“Now.”

The boy urged his horse forward with a muttered apology, his smile gone. Agnes watched him disappear into the mist ahead, a bitter taste blooming on her tongue, as a pang of shame pierced her chest.

“That was entirely unnecessary,” she said, turning her eyes sharply toward Tav. “He was simply being kind tae me. Nay one has spoken tae me fer the past two days.”

Tav did not meet her gaze. “It isnae his place tae be kind tae ye.”

Her temper sparked. “And whose place is it, then? Yers? Because if so, ye’ve a strange way o’ showing it.”

Tav’s expression did not flicker. He simply strode forward, his hands tightening on the horse’s reins. The movement caused the serpent tattoo coiled across his right hand to flex like a living creature.

“It’s me duty tae keep the guards in line. Tae remind them o’ their rank. And yers.”

She leaned out the window farther, brows drawn tight. “Ye shamed him. And fer what? Bein’ nice tae me?”

“He forgot himself. I reminded him.”

“Ye humiliated him.”

He finally met her eyes then, and the electric intensity there made her breath catch.

“I protected ye.”

The silence between them stretched until it frayed.

Agnes sat back, her heart pounding for reasons she couldn’t untangle. She wanted to tell him he was wrong. That she had survived worse than a stranger’s kindness. That he didn’t know her.

But the words died in her throat when she caught the way the pale light gilded his profile. The sharp angle of his jaw shadowed with stubble, the stubborn set of his mouth that softened just slightly when he thought no one was looking, took her breath away.

She didn’t see the arrow until it struck.

It embedded itself with a vicious thwack into the side of the carriage, just inches from where her head had been moments before. Splinters exploded into the air like shrapnel, and the horses whinnied loud—unearthly sounds that cut straight through the marrow of her bones.

A second arrow flew. Then a third. Screams erupted, soldiers barking orders, steel being drawn. The carriage rocked violently as the horses reared, panicked and bucking.

“AMBUSH!” Tav’s voice thundered above the chaos, sharp and commanding.

Agnes froze.

A cold clarity spread through her paralyzing her brain but sharpening her senses.

She ducked instinctively, her fingers gripping the edge of the bench as the carriage tilted with the motion of the frenzied horses. Through the narrow slats of the window, she caught sight of shadows moving in the fog, blades glinting, bodies lunging.

Tav was off his horse in an instant, sword drawn, barking commands to the guards with terrifying efficiency.

“Protect Lady Kerr!” he shouted. “She is our priority!”

Two guards flanked the carriage, forming a line with their bodies and shields.

Agnes’s hands trembled, but she didn’t cry out. Her heart was hammering, her breaths ragged—but she did not scream. She would not scream.

The door flew open. Tav’s face was wild, his dark hair damp with sweat and mist, his tunic streaked with mud.

“Hide!” he commanded. “Under the bench—now.”

“I—” she began.

“Nay arguments. Now!

There was something in his voice that she had never heard before, powerful and in control, despite the chaos erupting around him.

She dropped to the floor of the carriage, skirts bunching beneath her knees, and crawled beneath the wooden bench as more arrows thudded into the carriage walls.

“I’ll come back fer ye. Stay down. Stay silent.”

Then he was gone.

Darkness folded over her like a shroud. The underside of the bench pressed against her back, and the floor vibrated with the force of bodies clashing outside.

Her fingers curled into fists, nails biting into her palms.

This is nae happening. This is nae happening.

But it was. And she knew it.

She’d been raised on stories of battle. She knew what an ambush was, and what it meant to be targeted.

The world had narrowed to the dark space beneath the bench, the splintered wood pressing against her back, the metallic taste of fear coating her tongue. Every crash against the carriage, every shout from outside, sent fresh tremors through her body.

A thought circled her mind like a vulture. If she died there, what would be of them? Her father, already worn thin from years of struggle. Constance, who’d sacrificed so much already. The entire clan vulnerable, exposed.

No money meant no mercenaries. No armies meant no protection. Her death wouldn’t just be an ending. It would be a noose around every throat she loved.

A scream outside yanked her back into the present. Her whole body tensed.

One of their guards.

Agnes squeezed her eyes shut, but then forced them open again, daring to peek through the carriage window.

Chaos. Steel flashing, Tav at the center of it all, moving like a storm given flesh. He pivoted, his sword arcing in a lethal silver streak. A bandit fell, throat gaping. Blood sprayed the ground, bright as poppies. Gods, he was terrifying. Beautiful. A man who killed like it was breathing.

If Tav fell, she’d be next. Her father had always kept the man at arm’s length from her, assigning him border patrols and distant missions. Nae fit company fer a laird’s daughter, he’d grumble. Now she understood why. Tav Graham was a walking weapon and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

Rough hands grabbed the edge of the carriage, then the door. Agnes held her breath.

“Someone’s in here.”

Panic sliced through her body like a knife.

The door burst open again. She bit back a sob, curling tighter beneath the bench. It was sudden, jarring. A man’s weathered, cruel face appeared in the narrow opening.

“There ye are,” he rasped.

A branch caught her arm, tearing through the fabric of her sleeve and scratching down to the skin. She didn’t stop. The forest was thick, but not thick enough. Her boots slipped in the mud, her legs shaking from the uneven ground, and the moment she stumbled—just a single misstep—she knew it was over.

A hand closed around her waist like an iron band, and she screamed as she was yanked backwards.

She kicked, thrashed, threw her head back with all the strength she had left. “Let go o’ me!”

A cry broke from her lips, torn and raw. The thick arm snared her waist tighter, hoisting her from the ground as though she were weightless. Her legs kicked, frantic, but the man’s grip was firm.

“Let me go!” she shrieked, clawing at his gloved hands, her nails scratching uselessly against the rough leather. Her body twisted, desperate, feral with fear.

“Stop yer struggling,” the man growled in a low voice, reeking of drink and sweat. He threw her to the ground. The air left her lungs in a violent gasp as her back hit the sodden earth. Her vision blurred for a moment, stars bursting across the dark canopy above.

Before she could scramble away, he was on her again. Rope bit into her wrists, yanked cruelly behind her back. Her ankles were bound next, tight enough to make her cry out.

Agnes screamed again, hoarse and hopeless. It echoed through the trees, a pitiful sound swallowed by the woods.

Panic swelled in her chest, making her throat close. She could barely breathe, her body stiffening under the weight of helplessness. Her mind grasped at anything, anyone—Tav. She wanted Tav.

She blinked hard, tears slipping down her temples into her hair.

Nay. I cannae die like this. Nae here, nae like some discarded thing in the woods.

The man above her grinned, cruel and triumphant.

But then came a sound that split through the trees like a crack of thunder.

A horse.

The ground seemed to tremble with its approach, and then came a deep, commanding shout.

“Get away from her!”

Tav. He is alive.

Relief flooded her, staggering in its force. She sobbed his name even as her bound hands scraped at the dirt in a futile attempt to sit up.

The soldier turned just as Tav’s horse came into view, storming through the brush like some beast of vengeance. Tav was already leaping from the saddle, sword drawn, fury etched in every line of his face.

The man holding her barely had time to react. Tav descended on him with the merciless precision of someone who had fought for survival far too many times. Steel clashed with steel as another two men charged from behind the trees, surrounding Tav.

Agnes could do nothing but lie there, the cold seeping through her clothes into her bones, watching with wide eyes as he fought. She had never seen a man so fierce.

Blood sprayed across the undergrowth. Tav took a blow to the side—she saw it, saw the sharp recoil of his body, the dark stain blooming across his tunic. But he didn’t fall.

He roared as he turned, driving his blade through one attacker’s stomach. The man gasped and fell with a gurgle. A body hitting the ground.

Tav stood there, chest heaving, sword trembling slightly in his grip. Blood ran from the gash across his side, soaking into the leather of his armor.

“Agnes,” he rasped.

She didn’t respond at first. She couldn’t. Her throat refused to work. Her limbs felt far away.

He stumbled toward her, dropping to his knees in the mud.

“Ye’re safe now,” he said, but his voice was hollow, as though he didn’t quite believe it himself.

He reached for the ropes and began untying her, his fingers slick with blood. She flinched when his hand brushed hers, but then the warmth of his palm settled against her wrist, firm and reassuring.

“I’ve got ye,” he said again, more quietly this time.

When the ropes finally fell away, she moved slowly, her body aching and trembling. Tav helped her sit up, then gathered her close, arms circling her in a protective embrace.

Agnes shuddered against him, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. The scent of him was a balm, anchoring her to the present.

“I thought… I thought I was going tae die,” she whispered.

His hand cradled the back of her head.

“Nae while I still draw breath,” he said, voice rough with pain and something else. Something darker.

She pulled back then, eyes wide as she registered the blood on his side.

“Ye’re hurt.”

“It’s naething,” he lied.

“It’s nae naething.”

He looked at her, really looked, and something in his expression shifted.

“We have tae go,” he said. “Now.”

“The others——”

His jaw clenched. That was answer enough. She said nothing more, and he didn’t either. He helped her up, his breath hitching as he did. She wanted to protest, to insist he rest, but there was no time.

With effort, he lifted her onto his horse. His palms burned through her skirts as if the fabric didn’t exist. Agnes sucked in a breath, too aware of how his fingers spanned nearly the whole width of her waist, how easily he’d handled her weight like she was nothing, even when wounded.

Then he was climbing up behind her, his chest pressing against her back. God. She’d never been this close to him before. She was close enough to feel the heat of his body, to catch the scent of leather and steel beneath. His hands settled around her waist again, this time possessive, anchoring her against him as if he expected her to bolt. Her traitorous body stayed utterly still, every nerve alight where he touched her.

Then they were off, the horse thundering through the trees, away from the carnage.

Agnes couldn’t bring herself to look back.

Her hands trembled in her lap, still smeared with dirt and blood. Every bump in the road sent a jolt through Tav’s body, and she felt it—the way he gritted his teeth, the wet heat of his blood against her back.

She closed her eyes, biting back the sob in her throat.

They were alone now.

And though she had never been more afraid, she had also never been more certain:

Everything had changed.

 

Not at all Likely Extremely Likely


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  • Exciting, got to the nitty gritty quickly. Felt like there was a paragraph missing though when she was hiding in the carriage and about to be hauled away….

    • Thanks for the feedback dear! I’m glad the story grabbed you quickly. I appreciate you pointing out that moment—I’ll definitely take another look and see how I can make that scene clearer 🧡

  • Intrigued by this sly peek, but felt there was a gap , between the arrow hitting the carriage and her being hauled from it, that said I’m looking forward to the rest…

    • Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kath! I appreciate you noticing that gap—I’ll work on tightening that part. Glad you’re intrigued, and I’m excited for you to read the rest! 🧡

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