Last night she’d played for the men.
And she hadn’t wrapped the pipes as tightly as they’d been for the first part of the journey.
The current tugged at her bundles and she lunged for the one she knew held her pipes, desperate to reach them, to lift them out of the water’s possible reach.
But the movement confused her horse, who stepped sideways again…and stumbled.
The sudden jolt sent her tumbling off the saddle and into the raging current.
The water was freezing; much colder than it had any right to be. It closed over her head, and Robena flailed her hands frantically, trying to reach the surface once more.
Her foot slammed into something—the riverbed! ‘Twas not that deep!-and she thrust herself upward. As her head and shoulders emerged, she sucked in a grateful breath of air and twisted to see Kester racing along the riverbank, keeping pace with her, then pulling ahead. He shouldn’t be able to outrun a river, especially not one moving this fast, but Robena saw only determination—and fear—in his expression.
Or mayhap ‘twas just the cold which was slowing down her thoughts. St. Kelsi knew that each breath, each movement, of hers was becoming more sluggish. Why couldn’t she seem to make her arms and legs work? She knew the river was shallow enough to ford, so why couldn’t she just stand against the current and walk to shore?
Why was she being swept along helpless, barely able to keep her head above water?
Ahead, Kester had reached a bend and plunged into the water. He was half-swimming, half-slogging toward her. She went under, but fought her way to the surface again, choking on a mouthful of frigid water, waving one arm as best she could.
He was still coming, her savior. And he was yelling something—she had no idea what.
Yelling, and pointing.
Half-submerged, Robena twisted to look upstream…and wished she hadn’t.
A heavy branch—almost a tree in its own right—slammed into her shoulder. She tried to grab onto it, but ‘twas larger than her, and pushed her under.
Everything was dimmer beneath the water, the rocks under her and the branch above her, each pulling her in a different direction. Her shoulder ached, her lungs burned.
Then something knocked against her back, forcing the air from her lungs….
And everything went black.