“Wait until I give the order,” he whispered.
Ronan couldn’t understand what he was thinking. Then he realized that Carissa had probably ordered him to wait until Dykar was clear before attacking, leaving her much too vulnerable. And there was something else that troubled him. He couldn’t see Carissa allowing herself to be caught. She would know the consequences of being captured by the mercenaries.
That was when it struck him and he sent a heated glare to Septimus.
“She doesn’t intend to be taken alive, does she?” Ronan said.
“Her orders,” Septimus said.
“The hell with her orders,” Ronan said, and raced his mare forward just as all hell broke loose on the field.
Carissa’s dirk flew from her hand, followed by another, and she didn’t stop to see where they hit, though the skinny man and another toppled off their horses. She reached for her dagger and got another man before he reached her, the dagger going straight to his heart. She saw Dykar run for one of the fallen men and she knew he intended to retrieve a weapon and free himself to help her, but would there be time?
A large man launched himself at her before she could grab for another dirk, and they tumbled to the ground together. His weight was his biggest advantage, and he used it, pinning her to the ground with his girth.
“You did me a favor,” he laughed, as she struggled helplessly beneath him. “Now you and the reward are all mine.”
Arrows suddenly landed around them.
The large man released a string of oaths and hurried to his feet, surprisingly fast for a man his size, and grabbed her wrist. She saw Dykar struggling to cut free of the rope that bound his wrists while the last of the five men descended on him.
The large man paid him no heed. Instead, he began dragging her toward the cover of the woods, and when he whistled, his horse followed, providing some cover from the flying arrows.
She couldn’t let him get her to the safety of the woods. Septimus and her men would be riding to her rescue, and Dykar would be in his own battle. She had to do something, but his grip was tight.
She swung at him with a tight fist that landed on his jaw and sent a pain racing through her hand. But it stopped him, and the look on his face told her she’d better brace for a worse blow than she delivered.
He raised a meaty fist and her eyes turned wide as she heard a bloodcurdling shout, and suddenly a man flew through the air and landed with a solid thud on her captor, sending him and her sprawling to the ground.
The large man refused to let go of her while he beat at the man with his free hand.
It took her a minute to realize that her rescuer was Ronan. For a brief moment, her heart soared. He had come to save her, and when he took a hard blow that knocked him to the ground, she grew furious.
She began pummeling the large man and scratching at him like a wildcat. It was enough for him. Before she could stop him, he sent a blow to her cheek that jolted her head back and sent her stumbling until she hit the ground hard.
Though not before she heard Ronan growl like an enraged animal, “For that you die!”
She saw nothing after that, for darkness claimed her.
It took Septimus, Cavan, and Artair to pull Ronan off the bloody man, and when they did, Ronan struggled free of them and rushed to Carissa’s side. He was relieved to see that Zia and his mother were already there.
He ignored the chaos around him, never realizing that the other mercenaries with the motley five had emerged from the woods and were now engaged in battle. His only concern had been Carissa.
“You’re bleeding,” Zia said with concern.
He glanced down at his arm and saw that his sleeve was slashed and soaking up blood. He then recalled knocking a man from his horse to reach Carissa and recalled the feel of his sword slicing across his arm as he fell to the ground.
“It will wait,” he said adamantly. “See to Carissa first.”
“She has suffered a hit to her face and a blow to her head,” Zia said. “I can do nothing for her now. It is more important that I see to your arm.”
“Listen to her,” Addie urged.
“After we get Carissa to safety,” he said determinedly.
“It is not safe to move her in this melee,” Zia said, nodding to the chaos around them. “Let me see to your arm, so that you will be able to help move her when we can.”
Ronan agreed since he intended to be the one to see her to safety. He didn’t particularly worry about the disorder surrounding them. Septimus and his men and his brothers seemed to have everything well in hand and were cleaning up after themselves.
Zia tore his sleeve off, and while she cleansed and announced the wound would need only a wrapping to have it heal, he noticed Carissa stir.