From her spot huddled deep in the belly of the cave, Vivienne could barely make out the men’s shouts, but she could hear enough to know that her attempt to sow discord had taken root.

De Soules had woken late that morning all too eager to begin torturing her in earnest. But after only a few kicks and punches, he’d grown weary again. His time in Scone’s dungeon had clearly sapped him of not only his wits, but also his strength.

When he’d left the cave for fresh air, she’d begun speaking to one of the mercenaries charged with watching her in de Soules’s absence. De Soules no longer trusted Bevin for the task. Yet by setting one of the hired men on her, he’d unwittingly given her another opportunity to plant the seeds of discontent among his men.

In less than an hour and with a few select insinuations about the men’s pay and how long they were expected to stay on the island, the man had been grumbling about this mad mission.

It seemed the men were primed like dry kindling to be resentful. Apparently de Soules was overdue in paying them, and he hadn’t even brought proper supplies to the island for an indefinite stay—yet another sign that the plotting, meticulous man de Soules had once been was no more.

Though de Soules had found the energy to slap and kick her a few more times, most of his day had been spent attempting to rein in his men. And an hour past, the shouting had finally erupted, with the mercenaries threatening to take the birlinn and abandon de Soules on the island. If the matter escalated far enough, Vivienne would offer the mercenaries riches beyond their wildest dreams to take her with them.

But suddenly the shouts outside the cave’s mouth changed from angry to shocked. A heartbeat later, the clang of metal on metal crashed through the air.

Her heart leapt into her throat. Had the mercenaries attacked de Soules and Bevin? If so, they might leave in the birlinn as soon as the giant and the madman were overpowered—without Vivienne.

She strained against the ropes binding her, but they held her wrists and ankles fast. De Soules had retied her feet to her hands to keep her immobile, but he’d left her ungagged, so she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Take me with you! I can pay!” she shouted, praying one of the mercenaries would hear her over the din of battle raging outside.

Suddenly de Soules himself burst into the circle of light cast by the weak fire. He had his sword drawn, his eyes wide and fixed on the mouth of the cave.

“Nay,” he breathed. “Nay, I killed ye.”

Just then, a large form moved in the shadows. For a moment, Vivienne thought it was Bevin, but she could make out a plaid swishing around the man’s legs.

Non. It couldn’t be.

The form took another step forward, and suddenly Kieran stood in the light.

“It seems ye didnae,” he replied.

At the sound of his low, gruff voice, she began shaking. Was this real? A dream? Had de Soules killed her at last and she had been reunited with her love?

A sob broke from her throat. His clear blue eyes darted to where she lay on the cave floor.

“Vivienne.”

He turned back to de Soules, his lips drawing back from his teeth in a snarl. “Ye’ll pay dearly for hurting her.”

De Soules held up his sword as if he were warding off a ghost. “Nay, nay,” he kept repeating, backing up until he bumped into one of the cave’s walls.

With a roar, Kieran lunged forward. De Soules barely managed to deflect Kieran’s sword, scuttling off to the side. Blade raised, Kieran advanced like a wraith come to drag de Soules to hell where he belonged.

“I should take yer head for being a spineless traitor,” Kieran rasped, swinging at de Soules again. De Soules blocked the blow but was thrown backward several feet by the force of it. “But I willnae.”

De Soules’s brown eyes widened as he continued to back away.

“Nay,” Kieran went on. “Instead I’ll take it for laying a finger on Vivienne.”

With another bellow, he charged forward. De Soules tried to parry Kieran’s blade, but Kieran drove forward with such power that de Soules couldn’t deflect his attack. Their blades hissed against each other, then suddenly de Soules jerked and shrieked.

He looked down with stunned eyes to find Kieran’s sword lodged in his chest. Air whistled past his lips in a slow rasp. His legs buckled beneath him and he crumpled to the cave floor.

Kieran yanked his blade free, but he stood over de Soules until the last of the man’s breath wheezed away. De Soules went still, his eyes wide and glassy as they stared at nothing in death.

As if waking from a dream, Kieran lifted his head and his eyes locked with hers. Suddenly he was by her side, sliding onto his knees next to her. He dropped his sword and yanked his dagger from his boot, then began sawing frantically at her bindings.

“My God,” he breathed. “Vivienne. Are ye all right? Did he hurt ye?”

No doubt she was a frightful sight. De Soules had indeed relished slapping her face and kicking the rest of her. She was certain bruises covered her skin beneath her dress, and her cheeks and lips ached where he’d struck her. But she was alive. And so was Kieran.

“Naught that won’t heal soon,” she replied in a daze. “You…you are here. Alive.”

Her hands and feet suddenly popped free as the ropes fell away. Kieran drew back, eyeing her as if he didn’t believe she was real either.

She reached out tentatively and laid her palm against his bristled jawline. He closed his eyes, leaning into her hand.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

“Nay, lass. I could never leave ye. I love ye too much.”

Suddenly she launched herself into his arms, hard sobs racking her. He held her close, murmuring in her ear that she was safe now, that he would never let her go, that he loved her, over and over.

After a long while, she became aware that there were others in the cave with them. She lifted her head from Kieran’s chest to find Will, Niall, and Mairin standing respectfully at the edge of the circle of light cast by the fire.

“How…how did you find me?” she mumbled, looking up at Kieran.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. He glanced at Will, a wordless question in his eyes.

“The rest of de Soules’s men have been dispatched,” Will said in response with a curt nod. “It was damn good timing to come upon them feuding amongst themselves.”

“It worked,” Vivienne breathed. Not in the way she’d planned, but her efforts hadn’t been for naught.

Kieran searched her with his gaze, his brows drawn. “Are ye saying…that ye had a hand in that business outside, lass?”

She ducked her head. “I thought to plant the seeds of discontent between de Soules and his hired men in the hopes that the mercenaries might take me with them if they abandoned de Soules.”

Across the cave, Niall whistled softly, and Will’s eye widened. Mairin gave her a nod, a rare smile tipping up one side of her mouth.

“Ye are so damn brave and clever, lass,” Kieran murmured, respect filling his voice.

He helped her to her feet slowly and guided her toward the cave’s opening. They were forced to pass de Soules’s lifeless body on the way.

She made herself look at him, to seal the image of him in her mind so that she would never forget he was dead. She wouldn’t allow him to haunt her from beyond the grave.

Some small, angry part of her wanted to spit on his body, but she resisted. Just because he’d treated her cruelly, as if she were an animal, didn’t mean she would stoop to his level by acting like one.

When they reached the others, Kieran halted.

“Take her to the birlinn,” he said grimly.

Her gaze snapped to him. “Aren’t you coming?”

His big hand made gentle, reassuring circles on her back. “Aye, in a moment.” Yet his hand fell away and his features hardened. “But first, I have a promise to keep.”

He stalked back to where he’d dropped his sword and scooped it up, then moved to stand over de Soules. When he pulled out a canvas bag that had been tucked into his belt, she realized what he was about.

The others guided her out of the cave and onto the night-dark beach, which was littered with the bodies of de Soules’s mercenaries. Her gaze landed on Bevin, who lay wide-eyed, an arrow protruding from his chest and a slash across his throat.

“Dinnae look,” Mairin said quietly, taking Vivienne’s arm and pulling her away. Vivienne let her, grateful for the younger woman’s kind, gentle touch.

When they reached a small birlinn tucked between the rocks past the beach, Will and Niall helped Mairin and Vivienne in, then began pushing the boat into the water. A moment later, Kieran appeared, discreetly tucking the canvas bag, now heavy with something Vivienne didn’t want to consider, away in the ship’s stern.

She hardly noticed the sway of the boat as the men launched themselves into it and they took to the open water, so riveted by the sight of Kieran was she.

“I still do not understand how you survived the stab de Soules gave you,” she murmured, glancing at his chest.

He took her hand and placed it over his heart. She could tell by the way he flinched slightly at even the light touch that he still needed time to heal, but his eyes were soft and full of love as he gazed down at her.

“I told ye, lass. I couldnae let ye go. My heart hasnae had near enough of ye.”

She smiled, warmth and happiness swelling within her for the first time in what felt like ages. “I love you, Kieran.”

“I love ye, too, Vivienne,” he replied. His mouth broke into a gently teasing grin, which broadened into a full smile. “What’s more, I dinnae mind ye overmuch, either.”