Legend of the Fae: A Highland Fantasy (The Dark Fae Saga Book 1) by April Holthaus

could run no further.
    “Refusing to tell me who ye are matters not, Lassie. We crossed Graham’s land o’er an hour ago. If ye are trying to protect yer Laird than ye are as foolish as he is. If Graham had any sense, he would no’ be sending women out to do a man’s job. Why dinna ye tell us the truth? Ye were sent out here to spy on us, aye? Well, ye can tell that whoreson that we will never surrender to the likes of him.”
    “Jamison, ye dinna mean to just let the lass go, do ye?” another man whispered.
    “Of course no’, ye fool,” he responded before turning his attention back to Ella. “First, I am going to take from ye what Graham took from me. I am sure e’en a Graham lass knows how to warm a man’s bed.”
    His men laughed at his statement. Licking their lips like vicious dogs, the three of them paced circles around her. Ella’s head whipped from side to side as she took short apprehensive steps away from them.
    “Awe, come on lassie. Ye may e’en enjoy it.”
    “I’ll take a go at her,” one volunteered.
    Though Ella had no idea as to what he was referring, nor who this Graham was, she was not going to stand there and find out. Ella decided to do the only thing she knew to avoid being captured by these men; run.
    Pivoting her toes on the hard frozen ground, Ella darted off toward the woods as the men gave chase. Thankful for the light of the moon, Ella dodged past trees and shrubs hoping to lose her pursuers. But no matter how fast she ran, they were quickly closing in on her.
    Ella had to will her feet to keep moving faster. With panic flowing through her like water through a sieve, it was hard to concentrate on where she was going. Every tree she passed looked the same, as if she were running in circles. Though her body felt the intensely cold air, it was as if her body was nothing more than a mere shell, void of all emotion and sense. As if she watched a dream playing out before her eyes. But in this dream, death was a reality. As she gasped for breath, her lungs burned. To her surprise, Ella stumbled upon a tall dark building. Hoping to hide inside, she slipped through the door.
    Quickly surveying the open space, she hesitated. To her horror, Ella’s heart felt as if it briefly stopped beating. Knives, swords and axes hung down from the rafters, and hammers, scraps of metal, and blades lay upon a work bench. The sight made her woozy and disorientated, but she quickly regained her wits when she heard the door handle jiggle. Ducking underneath the table, she hid behind a tattered cloth that smelled of smoke and ash as the three men entered the building.
    Ella placed her hand over her mouth to quiet her heavy breathing. Squeezing her eyes shut, she flinched and cringed at every sound she heard. They were getting close. Her hands began to tremble. She was trapped like a mouse. In the darkness, she could barely make out the three pairs of legs wandering about the room searching for her. Ella searched for a way to escape.
    As the three men moved to the far end of the room, she saw a small door in the back of the building. Ella quietly crawled low to the ground. But as she pressed her hand upon the door, a forceful grip grabbed onto her ankle and dragged her away from it. A sharp pain shot up her leg as her assailant twisted her ankle forcefully. Ella let out a loud agonizing groan. Before she knew it, she was pinned to the ground with the scarred man hovering over top of her. Ella moved her head to one side to breath. She was face down, being pressed into the dirt floor as the grotesque man lay on top of her, pressing his groin into her backside.
    Ella searched for her dagger, but the man disarmed her before she even touched the blade. Grabbing a fist full of hair from the back of her head, he exposed her neck as if she were a swine being tied up for slaughter. Ella struggled beneath him, but he was twice her size. Trying desperately to scream, Ella lost hope.
    With his free hand, the man wrapped