Page 63 of The Mad Highlander
“He managed a little water when he—” Astrid’s face fell into her hand, and her shoulders jerked up and down.
No, he can’t die!
“What’s wrong?” Iris looked from Astrid to her brother, trying to detect a change in his complexion. He was still breathing, at least. “Will he die?” Iris screamed.
Astrid let out a few more sobs before she peeled her hand from her face. “Nay, it’s nae that.” Her words were shaky. “It’s seein’ ye there holding his hands, and the way he looks, it reminds me of…”
“Of what?” Astrid asked.
“Isaac,” Astrid said. “He went into battle with the Laird, the one before this one, and they were out there for days. When the Laird brought him back, he was injured, but he hadnae had treatment for days. He looked just the same: sunken cheeks, pale as the snow, and barely breathin’. I knelt exactly where ye are now and held his hand until he woke again. I wasnae a healer back then, but it made me mind up for me. I didnae get to be one until he had passed.”
“Cayden’s brother,” Iris whispered.
“Aye.” Astrid wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed through her nose. “His faither almost left him for dead onthe battlefield. If they hadnae won so quickly, he wouldnae have made it back to the castle in time.”
“Ye were in love with him,” Iris confirmed.
“Aye, deeply.” Astrid looked at Iris with wet eyes. Everything had been stripped away from her—her looks and words were raw. “I’ve never loved a man again. I cannae love anyone after lovin’ him. We were to be handfasted once he took power.” Astrid cried again and shook her head. She managed some strangled words. “I miss him every day.”
Iris left her brother. He was fine for now. There was someone else who needed her attention a lot more. She went to Astrid in the chair, knelt beside her, and wrapped her arm around the woman’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” Iris said.
“I only want to heal people,” Astrid told her. “I have to help them. It’s all I have left.”
“Nay, ye have all of us. Ye take care of so many, and we will take care of ye. I cannae imagine what ye have gone through, but I came close to it when Cayden was away. I thought I had lost him, and it was like bein’ stabbed in the heart with a dagger. If there is anythin’ I can do for ye, ye only have to say the word.”
“I dinnae ken what anyone can do. It has been years, and it still hurts. The only thing that gets me through is healin’ people.”
“We will need ye a lot in the comin’ days. I saw it in Cayden’s eyes. War is comin’ to us, and there will be many casualties. The fight will be won on the battlefield, but it will also be won in here. We will lose many, but every life ye save is a blow to our enemies. Isaac would be proud to see what ye have done for the castle, the clan, and his brother.”
The words sent Astrid into fits of tears, and her shoulders bobbed beneath Iris’ arm. Iris held Astrid while watching her brother. Sometimes, the one who healed also needed healing.
“Och, ye shouldnae worry about a silly lass like me,” Astrid said after a while.
“Sometimes, we are all silly lasses,” Iris agreed. “Although, I havenae seen ye be a silly lass yet. Ye are a braw woman, and I am glad ye are here for all of us. I ken the Laird thinks highly of ye. As do I. The two of ye will be responsible for savin’ me brother.”
Astrid took a deep breath, her chest slowly heaving. “Thank ye for being here with me. I get like this sometimes, but it passes. I ken ye havenae slept much over the past few days. Ye should get some rest, Me Lady.”
“Nay, I need to be here for Ashton.”
“He needs rest, too. I’ll have someone wake ye as soon as he wakes. There is honestly nothin’ anyone can do until he wakes up properly. I’ll stay by his side until then. It makes me feel useful.”
“All right,” Iris said. She went back to her brother, leaned down, and kissed him on the head. “Sleep well, wee brother.”
26
“Idid it,” Isaac said. He smiled, but his mouth was pulled tight instead of curving upward in its usual pleasure.
“Ye did?” Cayden asked.
“Aye! We are free of him now. I am now the Laird, and ye will be me chief advisor.”
Cayden laughed as he tried to come to terms with the means to the end. Faither was dead by Isaac’s hand. “It can’t have been easy.”
“Nay. It was the hardest thing in the world, but I would do it a hundred times over to protect ye.”
Isaac stuck out his hand, and when Cayden took it, he was pulled into his older brother’s embrace. He felt the thump ofhis heart in his chest, and the beating of his brother’s heart, mirroring it.
