Page 80 of Highlander of Steel
Murdock stepped in at that moment. “Why daenae ye tell her yerself, Ailis? She’s waitin’ outside. She was eager to come in, butKillian said he’d refuse the union between her and his braither if she tried to join us.”
“Nay, Braither. I think I’ve caused enough trouble for the MacNairns already,” she replied thickly. “I’d like to retire now. I’m tired, and Skye will be wakin’ up soon, and there’s a lot for us to discuss when I’m ready.”
She moved to leave, but Killian caught hold of her hand, turning her around. “There’s a lot forusto discuss, too,” he said firmly. “But what ye need to ken now, lass, is that I willnae be goin’ anywhere without ye. We can talk elsewhere, I daenae mind that, but I let ye go once, and I willnae make the same mistake twice.”
Her face fell, her shoulders rising and falling in a shrug. “I cannae stop ye from followin’ me,” she said with a sigh, “but I’ll never leave this place again.”
Pulling her hand free, she began to walk away, leaving Killian and Murdock to exchange confused glances, while Fraser raised his injured hand and croaked, “Nae to interrupt whatever the devil is goin’ on here, but can someone help me up? Apparently, me betrothed is waitin’ for me.”
31
“Ireally would prefer to retire and speak of this later,” Ailis said, each word a struggle.
Every time she looked at Killian, at Fraser, at her own brother, the lump in her throat grew larger, until she feared she might not be able to breathe past it, much less speak.
“It can wait,” she insisted. “There are more important things to attend to. Namely, makin’ sure that Fraser and Paisley return home without further delay. Fraser has certainly been here long enough.”
And I cannae face Paisley like this, nae after she sees her beloved and what me faither has done to him.
There was a stark difference between imagining a loved one in pain and seeing it for oneself. It might have been cowardly, but Ailis couldn’t bear the guilt that swelled in her chest.
They had all made it out of the labyrinth of the dungeons, but as Ailis made for her chambers, both Murdock and Killian had stopped her. Asked her to explain everything first, when all she wanted was her bed and a pillow to scream into.
“I’m keen to have some understanding,” Fraser said between ragged breaths, “but I cannae argue with the lass. I’d like to return to me beloved and me own bed as soon as possible.”
As Ailis searched for a path to slip away unnoticed, Murdock approached Fraser, who hung weakly from his brother’s strong arm, and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry for everythin’ ye’ve endured here,” Murdock offered. “I’ve instructed me men to arrange a carriage for ye, so ye can return to yer home in some comfort. I ken it doesnae undo what has been done to ye, but I hope it’s a start to a long and lasting peace between our clans. A gesture of goodwill.”
Fraser eyed him with warranted suspicion before glancing up at Killian. “The peace treaty is real?”
“Aye, it appears so,” Killian replied. “We’re usherin’ in a new era. Nay more war.”
Fraser sniffed. “Then I’ll take yer carriage and yer word.” He straightened his back and held out his uninjured hand, though it shook. “To this new era, and me survivin’ to see it.”
“To this new era,” Murdock echoed, taking the man’s hand. “And to ye survivin’ to see it. Though I daresay none of us will if ye daenae head outside to reunite with yer lass this very moment.”
Fraser mustered a laugh, and the sound puzzled Ailis.
How could he laugh after what had happened to him? How could he shake Murdock’s hand, when he had lost a father and a finger because oftheirfather? Indeed, how could it be that he had never raised his voice to her or hurled a vicious word at her when she used to sneak him food?
Perhaps revenge doesnae run in their blood the way it does in ours.
She remembered Killian hesitating when he could have killed Shawn in an instant. Instead, he had paused to askherwhat she wanted him to do, as if she were somehow the wronged party.
It didn’t make sense to her, stirring up her guilt into a terrible, uncomfortable storm that raged in her mind and body.
“Ye should go with yer braither, Killian,” she said abruptly. “Make sure that he makes it back to Castle MacNairn safely. I will write to ye if I feel we need to talk, but truly, I think it would be best for us all if ye leave. There will be a lot for ye to do in the comin’ days, a lot of uncertainty, and I’d like to be here to help me braither and to tend to Skye.”
A flicker of something akin to pain crossed Killian’s face.
“Kennin’ what I do, I have nay right to set foot inside Castle MacNairn again,”she wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t form the words.
So she said nothing, her head bowed, refusing to look at him anymore. It hurt too much.
She was aware of Killian moving toward her, and of Murdock stepping in front of him, putting a palm to his chest as if to say,Not now.
“Let me speak to me sister alone,” Murdock said in a low voice. “Ye tend to yer braither and his betrothed. The carriage should be ready by now.”
