Page 41 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

“I cherish life more than anythin’,” she spluttered, feeling herself getting more and more flustered. “I cannae⁠—”

Hendry moved forward, reaching her before she could react. His fingers wrapped around her wrist, tight but not painful. She went completely still, knowing that if she were to try to pull away, he would not let her go.

“MacGonagal’s men willnae care about yer morals or whether or nae ye think that life is too precious to take,” he said, his voice sharp even though there was something underlying it that she could not quite make out. “They will have only one thing in mind and ye must be prepared for that.”

“But…” she began, the rest of her protest dying in her throat. She saw the way he was looking at her, the way there was something that she had not seen there before.

“If they ever reach Anderson lands, if I die protectin’ ye, kindness willnae keep ye alive.”

The words landed so hard that she felt as if the entire world was going to shatter. She looked down at the dirk she was still holding. The idea of it, of Hendry perishing to protect her, to protect Adair and the rest of his clan, was terrifying. She could not stomach it.

“I ken,” she whispered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she steadied herself. Then, when she opened them again, she planted her feet firmly on the ground. “I will try.”

Without waiting another moment and allowing herself to overthink her actions, Aurora surged forward, holding the knife out in front of her. It only took one step before she started to think about what she was doing, what the end goal of using the blade would be. She slowed down, and Hendry easily stopped her.

He looked down at her, his hand wrapped around hers. The look on his face was not unkind, but she could feel the frustration rolling off of him. Her inability to do this, to use the sgian-dubh as it was intended, was worrying him.

I must do this. I must figure it out.

When he dropped her hand, he took a step back and said, “Again. Come toward me as if ye mean it.”

This time, Aurora ran forward, putting as much force as she could behind the blow. Before she had even realized it happened, he had taken the dirk from her and had stepped back, putting several feet between them. She blinked at him, looking down at her empty hands before her head snapped back up to him.

“Ye are payin’ too much attention to yerself,” he told her, returning the weapon to her. “Try it again. Pay attention to me and nae yerself.”

Aurora nodded, gritting her teeth as she attacked him again. This time, she kept her eyes on Hendry’s hands. It worked for a moment, but his bicep pressed against her shoulder, knocking her slightly off balance. As her feet scrambled against the ground, he disarmed her again.

“Keep yer weight low,” he instructed, grabbing onto her elbow to help her regain her balance. “Ye must stand firm, or ye will be thrown to the ground by yer enemies.”

For the next hour, Aurora internalized each one of his corrections. The lunges she made became more and more controlled, and each time that she nearly connected with him, she felt more sure of herself. Still, Hendry was unfazed, defending himself in a way that was almost effortless.

Her determination only grew with each attempt that passed. She surged forward once more, going much harder than she had before, set on successfully getting close. She was nearly to him when she twisted, making her movements unpredictable just as he had told her to do.

Her balance was thrown, though. She lost her footing, stumbling through the last few steps. For the second time, she knew that she was going to tumble right in front of him. Her last conscious action was angling the tip of the blade away from her body.

Hendry moved just as fast as he had to disarm her, grabbing hold of her wrist and her hip, righting her easily. Sparks spread from the places where he touched all the way into her shoulder. She sucked in a sharp breath, the last bit of air she was able to get into her lungs.

He was so close, his face taking up all of her vision. He was all pine and that musk that was uniquely him. His gray eyes were fixed on her, the depth of the emotion she saw there through the curtain of his black hair making her breath hitch.

She could not think, her head spinning as blood rushed to her head. The entire world seemed frozen, the last dregs of the fog still holding onto the day. Their eyes were locked onto one another, and Aurora’s heart was pounding so hard that she was almost certain he could hear it.

Hendry was the first to step away, dropping her hand and clearing his throat. The distance between them returned once more, professional despite the way the moment still lingered, clinging to both of them and stubbornly refusing to let go. Somehow, he managed to school his face back into that of an instructor.

“Again,” he ordered.

It felt as if she had been plunged in a bath of ice water. She blinked twice, trying to recenter herself as she adjusted her hold on the dirk. Then, she shot forward again, running the same drill they had been running.

* * *

Hendry caught Aurora’s wrist once more, disarming her without missing a beat. It was obvious that her near fall, his hands steadying her, had shaken her concentration. She was not the only one struggling to focus.

“Try once more,” he said, trying to hide the urgency of his worry. She needed to keep her wits about her even when something distracted her. He would not allow a slight lapse of focus to be the thing that got her killed. He reached for the blade on his own belt, holding it out in front of him. “I want ye to try to disarm me.”

“But I⁠—”

“I’ve told ye enough,” he said, not allowing her to claim this was beyond her abilities. “And I’ve disarmed ye enough. If ye willnae outright take another life, I need to ken that ye can keep yerself alive.”

He saw the moment the words landed, the way the set of her jaw changed. Her eyes flicked to his weapon as her fingers tightened on her own blade. Then, she moved.