Page 58 of First Light

“She was incredible.” Lachlan smiled. “And frighteningly good with a dagger in close combat.” He smiled. “Kind of terrible with a sword though.”

Why did that make her feel better? It wasn’t as if she was good with a sword. Carys was good with a reference library, a web search, and a PowerPoint presentation. She could solve a mean jigsaw puzzle, but she couldn’t lift a sword.

“But she came back. At some point she came back.”

Lachlan stood and walked to her, holding out his hand for Carys to take. She gripped it and came to her feet, and she didn’t pull away when Lachlan kept her hand firmly grasped in his own. They started to walk toward the tower.

“She came back when she was seventeen, I think? She came for a state visit with her father, and it was…” He put his hands up to his temples, miming an explosion.

“Tell me about your wife.”

Lachlan looked over at Carys with sleepy eyes. “You’re asking me to tell you about my late wife while we’re in bed?”

Carys scooted closer to him, pulling the heavy blankets with her. “Sure. It’s not like she’s an ex-girlfriend. She was yourwife. And she’s still a part of your life; she was important.”

His expression turned from a slight frown to a soft smile. “What a beautiful heart you have, Carys Morgan.”

She nestled into his shoulder and played with the hair on his chest. “Well, you’ve done a very good job ensuring I am not insecure in this relationship.”

“Seren was the girl next door. Our families had known each other for generations. I don’t remember not having her in my life. She went away for school when we were eleven and was gone for years. Then when she came back…” He let out a low whistle.

“She had boobs.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “She did. I did notice those; you’re right.”

Carys laughed with him. “So you fell in love when you were a teenager.”

“Yes, and we married young.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Our parents were… not thrilled to be honest. They both had different plans for us, but in the end they gave in. They saw how much we meant to each other.”

“Wow.” She kissed his shoulder. “That’s beautiful. But no kids?”

“No, it wasn’t…” He frowned a little. “You know, we had busy lives. It just didn’t happen. And then she was gone.”

“You left a few things out of the story.”

He leaned forward. “And how was I going to explain all this? Would you have believed me if I told you everything?”

“You never gave me the chance.”

Lachlan looked at Cadell. “I don’t want to only speak of Seren because I know you think that my feelings for you are based on my memory of her and it’s not true. I went looking for you for the same reason you want to see your uncle. I missed her desperately, and I thought I’d be satisfied just seeing you alive, seeing some echo of the woman I loved still living in the Brightlands.”

Her smile was bitter. “But all that changed when you saw me in a bookstore? You expect me to believe that?”

“It’strue, Carys. I loved Seren, but you’re a different person entirely. My feelings for you weren’t what I expected.” A smile stole across his gorgeous face. “I came looking for Seren’s twin, but I fell in love with acompletely different person. And you’re wonderful. You’re smart, loyal, brilliant…” He swallowed hard.

Carys drew her hand away. “But?”

Lachlan took a step back, holding her hands in both of his own. “But you werenottrained in battle. You werenottrained with a blade or a bow, and the danger here?—”

“Seren was trained in all those things and she was poisoned anyway.”

Lachlan looked as if she’d slapped him.

“Her warrior training didn’t help save her life.” She looked at Cadell. “I havehimnow, and I have Duncan.”

Carys couldn’t read the expression on Lachlan’s face, but she could tell he was struggling.

“Duncan?”

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