Beauty and the Beastly Highlander by Kenna Kendrick
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The battle began before Etna could even move. Finley and his men threw themselves at the brigands the moment they reached them, showing no hesitation, giving them no time to escape. And the moment that they arrived, was the moment Etna saw the fear in Mairi’s eyes.
Up until that moment, she had been cocky, acting like there was no stopping her. She had been confident in her plan, and that confidence had frightened Etna, to the point where she had thought that perhaps there was no hope for her and Malina after all.
But Finley’s presence emboldened her. Now that he was there, along with his trusted men, she didn’t think that Mairi and the brigands stood a chance.
She was still scared. Scared of what the brigands could do to her, scared of Mairi and her ruthless desire to kill. But she swallowed her fear, knowing that there wouldn’t be a better time to bring Malina to safety.
“Mairi . . . be rational,” she told her, raising her voice so that the other woman would hear her over the sounds of the battle. “What will ye do noo, hmm? There’s nowhere to go. Ye canna run. Ye canna fight. Whatever ye do, Finley will find ye. But if ye let go of Malina, maybe he’ll spare yer life.”
Mairi’s gaze had been fixed on the battle for several seconds, and she only turned to look at Etna after she had finished speaking to her. For a moment, she said nothing, nor did she move.
And then she laughed.
Etna frowned at the sound, high and bright and full of mirth, as though what she had said was an absolutely ridiculous notion.
“Do ye really think I care what happens to me?” Mairi asked. “Ye’re a fool, Etna. I already told ye, Finley took everythin’ from me. I have nothin’ to live for. If I’m to die, then so be it, but first, I’ll make sure he watches as I kill everyone he loves.”
As she spoke, Mairi pressed the knife against Malina’s skin, and the words tumbled out of Etna’s mouth before she could even think them through.
“Wait!” she shouted, startling Mairi enough to put a halt to her actions. “Ye . . . ye havena explained anythin’ to me. I dinna understand. Were ye . . . were ye friends with Anna?”
Mairi blinked a few times, tilting her head to the side as she regarded Etna. “Somethin’ like that,” she said. But just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Etna saw one of the brigands stumble toward her, injured and disoriented.
And she saw the terror on Mairi’s face.
It was her chance, perhaps the only chance that she would get. When she saw Mairi’s grip slacken around Malina, she closed the gap between them, grabbing the little girl by the arm and pulling her as far away from Mairi as she could.
But Mairi was quick to shove the brigand away from her with a grunt, going as far as to stab him with her knife, adding to his injuries.
And then, she turned to face Etna.
She had never seen such a cold stare on another person before. There had been a time when she had seen ruthless stares from Finley, but those were nothing compared to the total lack of humanity that she saw in Mairi’s eyes.
“Malina, run to Dadaidh,” Etna told her in a hushed voice, gently pushing her toward Finley’s direction. “Go. Go noo.”
Malina didn’t need to be told twice. She ran to her father, jumping into his arms, even though he was covered in blood. Etna watched them for only a moment, seeing the relief in Finley’s face, the happiness at having his daughter back in his arms, safe. But she didn’t have much time to feel relief, not when Mairi came at her with a roar, holding the knife high above her head to strike the strongest blow she could.
Etna couldn’t help but scream, terror gripping her. But her feet were quick to react, and she began to run before she could even realize it, trying to put as much distance between herself and Mairi.
“Etna!”
Finley’s voice cut through the noise of the battle, and when she glanced at him, she saw that he had given Malina to Lochlan and that he was rushing toward her.
He’ll protect me. I ken that he will.
But Finley was far from her, and Mairi was quickly closing the distance between them, her long legs helping her to keep up with Etna as she ran. Seeing a wall of bushes, Etna jumped behind them, crawling on the ground to get even further while staying hidden.
The soil was rough under her palms, twigs and pebbles pushing into her skin, but she would be lucky if she escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises.
“Do ye wish to ken the whole truth, Etna?” Mairi asked, but Etna didn’t answer. She couldn’t lure her out that easily. “Weel, I’ll tell ye . . . I loved Anna, and she loved me. Na . . . we were in love.”
Etna pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle the gasp of surprise at Mairi’s confession. But Mairi was so lost in her memories, it seemed to her, that she wouldn’t have noticed either way.
“Watchin’ her suffer every day by Finley’s side, kennin’ that all she wanted was to be with me was unbearable. She couldna stand the bastard. And when Malina was born, Anna loved her. Och aye, she did, even if she was always just like Finley since she was a wee bairn,” Mairi said. “But it only made me hate Finley more. Every time I saw them, every time I saw her pretend that she loved him, it made me sick to me stomach. He could be with her, and everyone was happy about them, but me? If anyone had found out about us, they would’ve stoned us to death. I had to love her from afar, and it killed me. Imagine the shame of it all. Imagine how suffocatin’ it was to ken that we had to hide.
“It went on for years. Years, Etna. I had to watch the woman I love be with someone else for years. And Anna was na different, ye ken. She hated Finley just as much as I do, though I’ll tell ye this much. He was a good man before her death. I canna deny that. He treated her weel. But that wasna enough for either of us.
“And then one day, we decided that there was only one way out of it. We had to kill Finley. Ye see it was all Anna’s idea. She was a woman, and Malina was a wee lassie, so na one would burden either of them with any responsibility. The lairdship would go to Lochlan, and I would take Anna and Malina away, somewhere where na one would ken who we were. Perhaps people would suspect us, but they’d have na proof. We would just be two widows helpin’ each other, and even if we would still have to hide, at least she wouldna have to pretend she loved Finley. We would be happy.”
As she spoke those last words, Mairi’s voice wavered, and Etna could almost feel the pain that she was feeling, her tone so raw and full of emotion that she couldn’t believe it was the same woman who had tried to kill her so mercilessly.
“But the bastard had to fight back,” Mairi continued. “And he killed her. He almost killed me, too. He took the only person I ever loved from me. And noo . . . weel, perhaps I canna finish me plan. I canna kill Malina or Lochlan or Arlene. But I can kill his lover, just like he killed mine.”
Etna’s rage bubbled over inside her, her hands curling into fists. She had had enough of Mairi’s insane revenge. She had lost people, too, and though no one had murdered her mother, no one had murdered Anna, either. Finley had only acted in self-defense, and it had broken him. Could Mairi not see that? Could she not see that he had become a different person after Anna’s death?
She couldn’t understand how Mairi could be so selfish and so blind. Out of the two of them, she was the murderer, not Finley. She had been the one who had caused the deaths of dozens. And Anna had been the one who had caused her own death.
She didn’t want to listen to Mairi anymore. She didn’t want to hide from her anymore, to cower in some bushes and wait for Finley to save her. She was afraid. Of course, she was. But her fear wouldn’t stop her from saving herself.
It wouldn’t stop her from giving Mairi what she deserved.
With a grunt, Etna pushed herself off the ground, her hands colliding with Mairi’s shoulders. She put all of her force into them, shoving her back and making her stumble, the knife falling from her hand onto the ground. And as she fell, she tried to reach for Etna, to grab onto something, anything that could hold her upright, but Etna stepped back from her, not letting her touch her.
But when Mairi’s head collided with a rock that lay on the ground, the sight drew a shocked gasp out of Etna. She was frozen in place, watching with horror as Mairi came to the realization that she had been severely injured, blood seeping from the back of her head all around her.
“Etna!” Finley’s shout came just as he grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her close to his chest. “Are ye alright?”
But Etna could hardly hear him over the sound of her blood rushing to her ears as she looked at Mairi. Mairi was looking right back at her, but she seemed confused, as though she didn’t know exactly what had happened or she had already forgotten.
“W-what . . .” Mairi said quietly, her hand reaching up to touch her head but not getting quite where it should be. “What happened?”
Etna didn’t know what to say. Even after all the pain that Mairi had caused, she couldn’t help but sympathize with her in her last moments. She wanted to comfort her, to make her death a little easier, a little less scary, but Finley wouldn’t let her move from his arms.
Even if he did, Etna didn’t know if she could take a single step.
It was only moments later when Mairi took one last, shuddering breath before her head lolled to the side, her eyes going blank.
“Is she . . .” Etna asked Finley, her voice trailing off. She already knew the answer to her question.
Mairi wasn’t moving at all. Of course, she was dead. Etna didn’t have to check.
“Come,” Finley told her, trying to pull her away from Mairi’s body. When Etna followed him, she saw that the battle had died down around them for the first time. How long had it been since it had ended? She hadn’t even noticed, too wrapped up in her own fear and fight to care about what was happening around her.
It seemed like Finley’s men had won. Most of the brigands were killed, while a few were captured, and as Etna looked at the bodies on the ground, she couldn’t see any familiar faces. There were many injured, though, and the stench of blood lingered in her nostrils.
“Malina . . . where is she?” Etna asked, panic rushing through her suddenly. Finley didn’t have to answer her. Malina ran to her, her arms wrapping tightly around her, and Etna scooped her up into her arms, holding her close.
Tears of relief fell down her cheeks. It was over. It was all over, and Malina was safe.
“Etna, did Mairi harm ye?” Finley asked, his hands patting her arms and torso as though he was trying to find traces of blood. “Are ye alright?”
“I’m fine,” Etna assured him. She was only tired, and she wanted to sleep for a whole day. All her energy had been drained out of her, both physically and emotionally. “She dinna harm me, Finley. I’m fine.”
Finley only seemed to be satisfied once he had personally ensured that Etna had no injuries. But Etna didn’t worry about herself. There was someone else who needed their worry more than she did.
Lochlan was standing over Mairi’s body, his entire frame shaking. He didn’t move. All he did was look at Mairi as though he couldn’t believe his own eyes, his hands reaching out only to fall back by his sides once more.
“Ye should take him back to the castle,” Etna told Finley. “He shouldna be around her noo.”
“Aye, ye’re right,” Finley said, reluctantly leaving her side. Etna watched them from a short distance, not wanting to intrude.
Finley placed a hand on Lochlan’s shoulder, gently pulling him away from Mairi’s body without saying a word. At first, Lochlan resisted him, trying to shrug off Finley’s hand, but after Finley gave him another push, he began to walk away toward the horses that two of the men had already gathered.
A part of him seemed to have died with Mairi, and Etna could hardly stand to look at him when he was so broken. The Lochlan she knew was always full of life and mirth, and Mairi had stolen all that from him.
Will he be like Finley, noo? Will he go down the same path?
Etna didn’t want that for him, but she didn’t know what she could possibly do to stop it. Somehow, she had managed to help Finley, but she knew he would never be the same again. The same was bound to be true for Lochlan.
“Etna, will ye go with him?” Finley asked her, running a hand through his hair and messing it up even more. It stood up, wild and almost comical, and Etna would have laughed had the situation not been so dire. “I must stay here with the rest of me men. But I trust ye to take Lochlan and Malina back.”
“I dinna need a governess,” Lochlan grumbled before he gave his horse a nudge and began to ride back to the castle, leaving Etna and Finley to watch him in concern.
“Please watch over him,” Finley said. Etna couldn’t even rejoice in the fact that Finley had finally come to his senses and that he wasn’t blaming Lochlan anymore. He seemed to have been torn apart by the events of the day, too, and Etna worried about him just as much as she worried about Finley and Malina. “I ken that it’s all over but . . . but keep Malina with ye at all times.”
Etna didn’t need to be told to keep the little girl close. She doubted that she would let her out of her sight again any time soon.
“I’ll take care of them both, Finley,” she said. “I promise.”
Etna wanted nothing more than to grab him and kiss him, but she didn’t want to do it in front of everyone else, especially Malina, who was still in her arms. Instead, she settled for a nod before she placed Malina on the horse Finley handed to her, riding off to the castle.
“Etna . . . I’m scared,” Malina said, the first words she had spoken after the entire ordeal.
Etna held her tightly against her chest as they rode, leaning down to press a kiss on the top of her head.
“There’s nothin’ to be afraid of anymore,” she told her. “I’ll keep ye safe.”
