A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I will nae ask ye again.”

“Then I will only need to respond once. ’Tis sleeping in the cold depths of the loch where it waits for your cold, black heart.”

His eyes darkened. “Enter!” Two of her father’s guards opened her bedchamber door. “Take her.” Each man grabbed Sybella by the arm and started to lead her out the door. Her father’s voice was soulless. “I know ye have the stone. Until ye come to your senses and give it to me, ye can sit—”

She whipped her head around. Shock and anger lit up her eyes as she faced him. “In the dungeon? Ye would place me in the dungeon for a rock?”

“That stone is our clan’s future. Ye, my dear, are nae. What kind of father would I be to place ye in the dungeon? Throw her in the pit.”

She paled.

In the middle of the night, she walked through the darkened halls in her bare feet dressed in nothing more than a nightrail and a blanket. She shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold. The pit was where her father threw the most unsavory of men…until they died. Their faint screams could sometimes be heard from the kitchens. Perhaps her father only had the men escort her to frighten her. Of course, that was it because her sire would never treat her this way. He couldn’t. She was his daughter. The daughter of the MacKenzie laird. A lady.

Sybella quickly pushed back the thought when they descended the cold, damp stairs. The smell overwhelmed her senses, reeking of bodily excrement and making her gag. The guard reached down and lifted the gate from the floor while the other lowered a ladder. They forced her to climb down.

She took one step and tears welled in her eyes. “Please donna do this. I beg ye.”

“We donna question our laird’s command. Please climb down, m’lady.”

With no choice but to descend into the devil’s dungeon, she reached the bottom and the men lifted the ladder. The gate locked over her head and she was embraced by darkness. Muck of unknown origin squeezed between her toes and when she tried to step, she slid and fell into something thick and wet.

She screamed.

The hole was dark and foreboding, and she felt a wretchedness she’d never known before. A raw and primitive grief overwhelmed her. She pulled herself to her feet, and when she slid again on the slimy floor, she sat down.

Sybella felt something move on her lap. She reached down and grabbed a ball of wiry fur, whipping it away from her body. Dear God, her father left her alone with the rats. She gulped hard, hot tears slipping down her cheeks. Perhaps Mary or Colin would hear her.

“Please help me! Please help me! I’m here! I’m here!” she screamed. “Mary! Colin! Help me! Let me out!” When she heard no response, she bellowed, “Mo mhallachd ort!” My curse on you!

When cursing her father didn’t work, Sybella’s tears choked her. Her throat was raw from her screams of terror, her teeth chattered, and her body trembled. A sensation of intense sickness and desolation swept over her.

She jumped.

“Where is the stone, Sybella?” Her father’s voice echoed from above. “Tell me where ’tis and I’ll lower the ladder.”

“Cha leig thu leas.” Don’t bother.

“Ella, stop this madness and tell me.”

“I told ye. The stone is at the bottom of the loch.”

“Why must ye be difficult? Ye are so much like your mother.”

“Thank ye.”

“I give ye fair warning. Ye arenae coming out of there until ye give me the stone.”

“Ye will ne’er destroy Alexander! Ye are naught but a mhic an dhiadhail!” Son of the devil.

His voice hardened. “Then ye can sit in the bowels of hell.”

Sybella shouted in a mix of anger and fear. She was furious at her vulnerability to him. Alex and John were right. Her father was a horrible man. As she sat in her darkened prison, she knew her only hope was if Mary or Colin would hear her. She would scream until she had no more voice left to give.

* * *

Colin was sitting down to break his fast when Mary walked into the great hall. She took her seat and was quiet, withdrawn. She seemed worried. Angus leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

“Madainn mhath,” Colin said to her. Good morning. “Have ye checked on Ella this morn?”

Mary’s eyes clung to his, analyzing his reaction. “Is it true then? Did ye do all of that to your own sister?”

“Wife,” Angus warned.

For the first time in his life, Colin saw Mary blatantly ignore her husband. “I asked ye a question.”

“Ye donna understand,” said Colin.

“And what part do I nae understand?”

“Mary,” said Angus in a firm tone.

“Donna ‘Mary’ me, Angus.” She turned and her eyes narrowed at Colin. “Ye placed Sybella in a situation she couldnae possibly win. Ye asked her to choose her clan over the man she loves. Nay woman could be expected to make such a choice, a sacrifice.”

His eyes widened. “She loves him?”

“Is that so hard for ye to believe?”

There was a heavy moment of silence.

“Have ye checked on Ella this morn?” he repeated.

“Have ye?”

“That is enough, Wife.”

She pushed away her trencher and stood. “It seems I’ve lost my appetite. Pray excuse me.”

Colin watched Mary storm out of the great hall with Angus nipping at her heels. In truth, Colin shared Mary’s opinion. He was disappointed in the man he’d become. Beyond trying to protect Sybella from the MacLeod, he realized he should’ve been protecting her against her own clan. He wondered when he’d lost sight of the difference between right and wrong.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat at the table alone, but when his father didn’t come to break his fast, Colin was somewhat surprised. No matter, now that his sister was home, he would try to make amends.

Colin ambled through the halls and found himself in front of Sybella’s door. He knocked, and when she didn’t answer, he opened the door.

“Ye will nae find her in there.”

He turned around to find his father standing in the hall. “Where is she?”

“Recovering my stone.”

Twenty-One

The amber rays of the sun were starting to set as Alex and his men rode into the bailey of Kintail. They were greeted by a wall of armed MacKenzie men with unsheathed swords. Alex glanced around as archers stood upon the parapet, waiting for their laird’s command. Blood fueled him and Alex didn’t care if King James’s own men were in attendance. He would fight the bloody lot of them. He had a purpose, a mission, and no one would stand between him and his wife.

He couldn’t believe Sybella had made the journey alone, without an escort, with only her hurt to guide her. Hell, he could be so blind. His wife had portrayed nothing but kindness, and he hadn’t even given her a chance to explain her actions. He’d assumed the worst. Remembering the look in her eyes when he said those hurtful words made him feel like a complete idiot. He needed to make things right. And he would start now.

The MacKenzie walked into the bailey, confident, arrogant. “Laird MacDonell, what brings ye to Kintail?” he asked with an air of indifference.

Alex dismounted, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He didn’t need to look to know that John flanked his every move. His men encircled him, protecting him from the archers. As he had planned, five guards proceeded on foot, ready to take out any archers that dared release their arrows.

“I’ve come for my wife.”

“Ye mean my daughter? For what purpose?” The MacKenzie’s eyes grew openly amused and his lips curved into a cynical smile.

“Ye attempted to kill me and blamed the MacLeod. Be thankful I donna run ye through right where ye stand. Return Sybella or I will take your head.”

A devilish look came into the MacKenzie’s eyes, and he threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Ye dare give me commands? I am Laird Kenneth MacKenzie. I donna take orders or listen to demands made by a mere MacDonell sow. Know your place, lad.”

The MacKenzie men cheered as Alex’s guards stood firm, not listening to the bastard’s taunts. Alex’s father and Donald had taught them well. They were not foolish enough to give the arse anything to use against them. When Alex hesitated to respond, the MacKenzie continued his rant.

“My daughter returned home because ye arenae man enough to get her with child. I believe she compared your cock to that of a mere bairn.”

Alex simply raised his brow and smirked. “I find talking with ye is mar a bhith a’ bruidhinn ri each ’na chadal.” Like talking to a horse in its sleep. “I will nae ask again. Give me my wife.”

The MacKenzie started to pace. “Ye think ye can merely ride into Kintail and give me demands? Tha thu gòrach.” You are foolish. “Let’s make a trade, shall we? I want the stone. Give me the stone and I will give ye Sybella.”

* * *

Colin paced and ran his hand through his hair. “Where the hell is she? I have been searching for her all day. She didnae break her fast, and she didnae come for the noon meal. How could she take her leave when her horse is still in the stable?” he asked for the hundredth time.

Mary’s expression was troubled. “I donna know. I have checked everywhere. She arrived with only the clothes upon her back, and I took them last eve to be washed. I know she was distraught, but surely she wouldnae wander off in only her nightrail. And her boots are still by the bed. Are ye sure your father said she took her leave to recover the stone? How could she ride back to Glengarry without a horse?”