"And ye stopped them."
"Barely. If ye hadnae screamed, or if I'd been even a minute later… " He stopped himself, jaw working. "I cannae stop thinkin' about what might have happened."
"But it didnae happen. I'm here. Safe. Because ye came fer me." She reached out tentatively, her fingers brushing his sleeve. "Because ye fought fer me."
"Of course I fought fer ye. Ye're me wife."
"Nae. It's more than that." She moved closer, drawn by something she couldn't name. "Ye were terrifyin’. The way ye moved, the way ye killed them without hesitation. I should be frightened of ye."
"Are ye?" The question came out barely above a whisper.
"Nay. I'm nae frightened." She looked up at him, seeing the blood still dried on his knuckles, the tension coiled through his entire frame. "I'm... I daenae ken what I am. Confused, maybe. Overwhelmed."
"By what?"
"By ye." The admission felt like stepping off a cliff. "By how violent ye can be one moment and how gentle the next. Ye killed three men and then touched me face like I was made of glass. I've never seen anythin' like it. Never felt anythin' like it."
He was very still, watching her with those intense green eyes. "What are ye sayin', lass?"
"I'm sayin'..." She drew a shaky breath. "I'm sayin' that when ye held me face and checked me wound, I felt safe. Truly safe. Fer the first time in years, maybe. And I dinnae ken what tae de with that."
"Ye dinnae have tae dae anythin' with it." His hand came up slowly, carefully, to cup her uninjured cheek. "Just let it be. Let yerself feel safe."
"It's nae that simple."
"Isnae it?"
"Nae. Because feelin’ safe means trustin'. And trustin' means..." She pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself. "It meanslettin' someone see things I've kept hidden. Things I've never told anyone."
"Then dinnae tell me." But his voice was gentle. "Ye dinnae owe me yer secrets, Liliane."
"Maybe I want tae tell ye. Maybe I need tae." She turned away, staring at the herbs hanging from the rafters. After about a minute she spoke again. "When I was fifteen, me maither died."
The words came out flat, factual. As if she were discussing the weather rather than the worst day of her life.
"I kent she was sick," Tòrr said quietly. "Ye mentioned a fever."
"Aye. A fever that took her in three days." Liliane's hands trembled slightly. "But she was already weakened. Had been fer years. Her body just... it couldnae fight anymore."
"Ye said… weakened how?"
The question hung in the air between them, heavy with implication. Liliane closed her eyes, the memories rising like tide water, her mother's bruises, always explained away as clumsiness. The way she'd flinch at sudden movements. The careful way she'd move some mornings, as if her ribs ached.
"Me father has a temper," she said finally. "And me maither bore the brunt of it fer years. Every time he was angry, every timesomething went wrong with the clan or his plans, she paid the price."
Behind her, she heard Tòrr's sharp intake of breath.
"He beat her," she continued, her voice steady despite the tears burning her eyes. "Nae every day. Sometimes months would pass with nay incidents. But when his temper flared, when he needed someone tae blame..." She wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "She'd wear long sleeves tae hide the bruises. High collars tae cover the finger marks on her throat. And she'd smile and tell everyone she was just clumsy, just prone tae accidents."
"Christ, Liliane."
"I tried tae stop him. Once." The memory was bitter, sharp. "I was fifteen. He had her against the wall and I, I grabbed a fire poker and told him tae let her go. He just laughed. Took the poker from me like I was a child playin’ with toys. Then he locked me in me chamber fer three days so I couldnae interfere."
"And yer maither?"
"She told me never tae dae it again. Said it only made things worse when I fought him. That he took his anger out on her more and that he'd take his anger out on me next, and she couldnae bear that." Liliane's voice cracked. "So I stopped. I watched and I said naethin' and I hated meself fer it every day."
She felt rather than heard Tòrr move closer, his warmth at her back.
