Embrace the Highland Warrior

Shay there.

“Please, Shay. Run!”

She stood her ground, holding her knife, the glint of fury still burning in her eye, as she watched Malek. Did she want revenge? His only chance was to continue to weaken the demon by sword so one of the other warriors could finish him off, assuming they defeated the vampires. Cody waited until Malek rushed at him. He stepped aside and gave a mighty swing with his sword, but Malek ducked and the blade caught him in the arm. Malek turned, teeth and claws bared. Cody sidestepped and swung again, his hands slick with his own blood, and caught Malek in the ribs. The demon roared in pain and knocked Cody’s sword from his hand. “I’ll make her die slowly for that and force you to watch.”

Malek lurched toward Cody, claws extended, but turned with a roar. Cody’s sword was lodged in Malek’s lower back, as Shay darted clear. Malek ripped it out and pointed it at Shay as he advanced on her. “You dare use a knife and sword against me? When I’m finished, you’ll wish I’d been successful twenty-six years ago.”

Cody would have to use his talisman and trust that Shay would run. There was no other choice. Cody gave her a quick glance, knowing it would likely be his last. She was scared, but she stood straight and fierce. God, he loved her. He always had. How could he leave her? They had wasted so much time, lost so much, but this tactic was the only way to ensure that she lived.

While Malek was distracted with Shay, Cody readied his talisman. “When I give the signal, Shay, close your eyes,” he yelled. “I beg you. When it’s over, run!”

Her eyes widened. She shook her head. “No.”

Cody aimed his talisman. “Close your eyes, Shay. I love you.” He chanted. The air grew heavy. From the corner of his eye, Cody saw the demon lunge for Shay and pull her in front of him, a human shield.

“No!” Cody roared, but it was too late to stop the talisman. “Close your eyes!”

Shay lifted her leg and retrieved her knife from her boot. Her eyes locked with Cody’s. He could see it in his head, just as they had so many times before. It all happened at once. She spun out of Malek’s grasp. With a fierce battle cry, she drove the knife under his ribs, up into his heart, at the same moment the light exploded from the talisman. Malek screamed and disappeared.

Shay collapsed in the stream of brilliant light.

No!” Cody roared. Everything went black.

Chapter 21

Cody heard buzzing in his ears. He slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurred. He blinked several times and saw lights twinkling above him. Stars. Night. A metallic taste lingered in his mouth. Reality slammed back into focus. Shay! He rolled to his knees. His side burned, and his head felt like a thousand pins stabbing his skull. Where was Shay? He blinked again, trying to clear his vision, and saw her. She lay on her side several feet away, unmoving. Struggling to his feet, he lurched toward her as the blackness clawed at him like fingers of hell, broken only by the brilliant flashes in his head. He felt burnt, inside and out. He dropped beside her. “Shay! Wake up.” She didn’t move. He felt for her pulse. It was still. “No. No.” He pulled her into his arms. “God, no.”

Voices called behind him, feet pounding, cries of alarm.

“Cody, give her to me.” Marcas tried to lift Shay, but Cody wouldn’t let go.

Lachlan dropped beside him, and together he and Marcas pried Shay from his arms, as the world spun.

Someone grabbed his arm. “You’re injured, Cody. Let them help her.” Faelan pulled off his shirt and pressed it to Cody’s side. When he took it away, Cody saw blood. A lot of blood.

Shay lay on the ground with Bree bending over her, pressing on her chest. Ronan was near her head—Cody blinked—kissing her. Blackness threatened to overtake him again, and when it cleared, he dimly recognized that Bree and Ronan were trying to resuscitate Shay. The other warriors gathered in a circle around them.

Cody pulled away from Faelan and crawled to Shay’s side. “Let me,” Cody said.

Bree pushed against Shay’s heart. Cody breathed into her mouth, begging her to live. Cody felt air stir on his lips, so faint he thought it was his own. He felt it again. His heart surged, sending a wave of pain through his body. “She’s breathing. She’s breathing. I love you,” he whispered as the black abyss swallowed him.

***

Shay saw a flash of light and heard voices.

“What are you doing out of bed again?” The voice was familiar. “You’re a fine warrior, but a lousy patient, Cody MacBain. I told you to stay in bed. What have you done with your IV?”

Cody. Shay opened her eyes and saw Cody lifting his head from her stomach. His eyes were sleep-blurred, his face lined from resting against her bunched covers. “Sorry, Coira, it was getting in the way.”

Coira gave him a stern look and at the same time patted his cheek. “Sleeping in that chair next to her bed isn’t going to make her—well, look at that. She’s awake.”

“Shay.” Cody leaned closer, his eyes devouring her face. “Are you okay?”

“Move back a bit, Cody, and let me check her over. Shay, dear, how to do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a train.”

“That’s to be expected. You gave us a right good scare. Both of you nearly dead when they brought you in. How about your head? Does it feel all right? You both had nosebleeds something terrible.”

Shay touched her temples. “Okay, I think,” she said, staring at Cody, who stood off to the side, not taking his eyes off her. He wore sleeping pants and a T-shirt, his jaw shadowed with a beard. Shay wanted to cry, seeing him alive and whole. She reached for his hand. “I thought you were dead. Malek?”

“Destroyed.”

“How?”