“Thank ye, Ry,” she whispered, her voice muffled. “Thank ye for… for all of this.”
“Thank ye for not killin’ me,” Hamish chipped in.
Alaina dropped back onto her feet, peering up at Ryder’s face. He wondered if she was suddenly afraid he might take it all back again.
I might have forgotten who me sister is for a while,he thought,but she’s forgotten who I am, too.
“Ye really mean it? Ye will take the guards away from me door?” she asked softly.
“Aye, but ye must promise me to lock yer door each night,” he said firmly. “I’d rather ye didnae wander the Keep at night if ye can help it. I only want ye to be safe, lass, but ye and Megan and right. Lockin’ ye up like a prisoner will only make things worse.”
Alaina nodded, swallowing hard. “Thank ye, braither.”
“Well,” Ryder said after a moment, “we had best go. It’s late. Get what sleep ye can, Alaina.”
They all filed out of Alaina’s room, and Ryder waited to make sure he heard the lock click. He paused on the landing, narrowing his eyes at Hamish, who retreated hurriedly down the stairs.
“I am just makin’ sure that he really does leave,” Ryder murmured. “I remember what I was like at his age.”
“I suppose I should go to bed, too,” Megan said, and turned to leave.
Ryder’s hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around her wrist. She glanced back at him, faintly shocked.
“Oh, I daenae think so,” Ryder growled. “Ye are comin’ all the way up to me room, lassie. Ye and I have things to discuss.”
CHAPTER 18
Megan considered tellinghim that she was going nowhere with him. She could race into her room and then slam and lock the door. What would he do then? Chase her? Bang on the door?
She had a sudden, vibrant image of herself scrambling up the stone stairs, pursued by a grim-faced Ryder.
Why did that scene make her feel so hot inside? Her gut twisted abruptly, and she shifted, trying to ease the strange sensation of aching there. Clearing her throat, she followed Ryder up the stairs. They passed her room without stopping.
Still, Ryder did not speak. He’d glanced over his shoulder once, as if to make sure that she was coming, and then that was all. He stamped away ahead of her until they reached his landing. He withdrew a key from a pocket, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. Megan followed him.
He closed the door behind her, turning the key. However, he left the key sticking out of the lock, so she didn’t feel as though she was locked in.
Ryder’s room was icy cold. It was dark, too, until he strode over to a low table and lit a lopsided, half-melted candle. A guttering flame sprang diligently into life, throwing a shivering glow over the space. Megan sucked in a surprised breath and wished she’d kept her cloak on.
“It’s freezin’ in here,” she commented. “Why is the fire dead? Daenae the servants make it up before ye come to bed?”
“Ye see that key I took out to unlock the door?” Ryder responded curtly, striding over to the hearth and crouching down before it. “That’s the only key to this room. The servants never come here. If I order food, they leave it at the door. Now and then I let them come in and clean it, but generally speaking I daenae bother.”
Megan dragged a finger over the low wooden table, and her fingertip came up gray.
“So I can tell,” she muttered.
He threw a narrow stare at her. “Careful there, lassie. Ye are in me space now. We need to talk, ye and me.”
Megan folded her arms tightly. He didn’t invite her to sit, and anyway, the only chairs in his room were piled with clothing and other items. She could, of course, sit on the bed, but that didn’tseem to be a sensible idea. Instead, she stood where she was, lips pursed, waiting for Ryder to finish piling up kindling and wood in the fire.
A spark flared, and the dry wood caught fire quickly. Ryder squatted there for a moment, watching the flames climb higher. Buttery warm light flooded the room. The fire crackled cheerily, and she began to feel some of her tension ease away. A glimpse out of the window revealed that the moon was now beginning its descent. Dawn was still an hour or two away, but the bulk of the night was gone.
I daenae feel tired,Megan thought.I suppose I should. Why do I feel more alive than ever before when I’m standin’ with him?
Before she could investigate this troubling thought, Ryder rose silently to his feet and turned to face her.
“Ye defied me again, lass,” he said shortly. “Ye went behind me back. Plotted with me sister…”
