Moon Awakening by Lucy Monroe

what I mean. You neglected to protect her and now you would punish me for your own weakness."
    Drustan swelled with affront. "I did not neglect my sister's protection. Whatever lie your clansman told to justify his actions, she was not hunting off the island. Your clansman came to our territory and took her, just as I am taking you now. And it is not you who pays the price, but your brother in losing you and the babe in you from his pack."
    Emily had never heard a clan referred to as a pack before, but now was not the time to ask about it. "Susannah is happily wed to a Sinclair. Surely that is all that matters," she said.
    "The Sinclair should have asked permission on behalf of his clansman. He did not, which is a breach of clan law that my laird and I, as Susannah's brother, cannot tolerate."
    Cait crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the Balmoral warrior. "Deny it all you like, but she was a lone wol—woman! She was fair game when Magnus came across her and she is happily wed. She loves Magnus and our clan has accepted her with open arms."
    Emily tried not to wince at the reminder that she had not received such acceptance.
    "Clan law must be satisfied," Drustan stubbornly maintained.
    "Even if it means going to war?" Emily asked.
    "Of course." The daft man looked like he couldn't understand her need to ask the question.
    They headed back, Cait taking pains to keep distance between herself and the Balmoral soldier. Emily felt for her friend. Her own situation was precarious, but the truth was… she was no worse off than she'd been before. Living amongst the Balmorals couldn't be any worse than living with the Sinclairs. And as long as she was captive to the other clan, she didn't have to worry about Talorc sending her back to England and Abigail being sent in her place to fulfill the king's edict.
    But Cait was obviously and justifiably upset by their predicament. She didn't want war with the Balmoral clan and she didn't want to live with them either, from what Emily could see.
    They reached the water and both she and Cait stopped a few feet from where the soldiers readied the horses. The contraption they were using looked odd, but she remembered seeing something like it in a painting of a Viking raid once. It looked like a floating raft that the horses would be attached to in harness as they swam. The raft would make the crossing easier on them. It would keep their heads above water, with slots in it for each horse's body to fit into, so that they would be together and afloat and share the burden of the crossing, conserving their equine strength. The horses didn't seem to mind it.
    Regardless, Emily was glad she and Cait planned to escape before getting on the boat. The sea was not exactly calm. Waves crashed against rocks a good distance from the shore and she had no desire to be in a boat amidst such awesome movement of the deep, dark water. She had no desire to be in a boat at all.
    She had grown adept at hiding her terror of the water, but it was there inside her, a dark force that would consume her as surely as the murky depths.
    "Eat this." Drustan held an oat cake and apple toward Cait.
    She shook her head.
    "The babe needs nourishment."
    As much as she hated to, Emily agreed with the warrior. "Eat, Cait. He's right."
    Cait took the food and bit into the apple.
    Drustan handed a similar offering to Emily in silence. She accepted it without a word. If they were going to run, they had to keep their strength up.
    She took one bite of the oat cake and realized why Cait had chosen to eat her apple first. The bread tasted like wood, but she choked it down. She immediately took a bite from her apple to clear the awful taste from her mouth.
    She looked at Cait and grimaced. The other woman laughed.
    "What is so amusing?" Drustan asked.
    Cait lost her smile. "Emily doesn't seem to like the oatcake."
    "It is merely that the flavor took me by surprise," Emily hedged, not wanting to be rude even amidst her enemies and