Hew shook his head, a stupid smile turning up his mouth as if he had the upper hand. He pulled her in to him but not quite in front. “Say what ye will to my betrothed here.”

Cain needed Hannah completely in front of the idiot to block the arrows from the wall from hitting her back. He was not close enough to cover her before Randolph Mackay’s arrow released. Would she know to throw herself out of its path? Damn their father for not giving her basic military training. Damn them all for ignoring her enough that she sought attention from a bastard enemy who could easily trick a naïve lass.

“She is not your betrothed until her brother, her chief, agrees,” Joshua said, unable to keep the fury out of his voice.

In response, Hew pulled Hannah a little more before him like a shield. “She is mine,” Hew said as if he were a child grabbing a prized toy from another. Hadn’t Cain said the same when he’d captured Ella? The thought threatened to crush his neutral look.

Joshua growled under his breath, but he would wait for Cain’s signal. Although the three brothers had dropped their swords, they each held no less than three other daggers on their bodies. The daggers could be whipped straight at Hew’s heart before anyone above could release a shot, but Cain needed Hew to block Hannah from behind.

Cain allowed his features to coil into a hard look of lethal determination. His father had spread the rumor that Cain’s brutal look could drop a hawk from the sky, stopping its heart in fear. At the moment, Cain’s rage twisted so tightly within him that if Hew’s heart stopped suddenly, it would not have surprised him.

Hew’s hand bit tightly into Hannah’s upper arm, and she winced but didn’t cry out. He took a step back, dragging her, realizing that he was too vulnerable out there before Cain and his brothers.

“If ye drag her back with ye against her will,” Cain said slowly. “We will dismantle Varrich stone by stone until we reach ye.”

“I will slice your head from your shoulders,” Bàs said from behind Cain, his voice controlled.

“And I will spit it on a pike to roast over a fire right here before your gates,” Joshua said.

Their words did the trick, pushing panic up within the fool so that he pulled Hannah completely in front of him, using her as a shield before her brothers. The archers didn’t have a clear way to shoot her now. But Hew, desperate as he was, revealed his blade, pulling it out to hold under her chin against the pale column of her neck.

“Stay back,” he yelled. Hannah said nothing, but more tears leaked from her eyes. She looked at Cain as if beseeching him. Her lips moved. I am sorry.