The lack of response made heat ignite under Lara’s ribs. This was why the world was drowning. Because even now, even after everything, they couldn’t let go.
The slaves had slipped away. So had Mairead, her scarlet robes vanishing through the doorway. Duana and Eithne lingered though. The sisters would stay here at Crask—it was too dangerous to take them farther. The rest would leave at dawn.
“Will you take us south with you?” Duana eventually broke the silence. “To Duncrag … when you return?”
Lara turned to her, grateful for something—anything—to pull them back from the edge. Bronze no longer glinted upon Duana’s neck. Shortly after their arrival at Crask, the sisters had paid a visit to the crannog’s smith to have their bed-slave collars removed.
Lara smiled, though it felt brittle. “Is that what you want?”
“Aye.” Duana’s voice went husky. Beside her, Eithne’s blue eyes gleamed in the firelight. “It’s not Dulross. But it’s closer to home.”
A few yards away, Alar shifted on his stool. The movement was small—just a tensing of shoulders, fingers tightening around his cup. Lara’s smile faded. She watched him, wondering if he was sorry—if leading wulvers and Circines into Dulross kept him awake at night. If butchering the chieftain and his defenders had cost him anything at all.
Probably not.
And yet. He’d saved these lasses.
The man was a walking contradiction.
“You’ll have a place in my broch.” Lara turned back to the sisters, watched their faces soften, watched relief smooth the tension from their brows. “You have my word.”
The fire crackled. Someone coughed. Slowly, the group began eating again. But the warmth didn’t return. The ease was gone.
“Lara.” Alar approached her as she was heading toward her alcove. “I need to speak to you … alone.”
Halting, she cast him a wary look. The evening was settling in. Everyone’s bellies were full, and their bodies cried out for soft furs. Cailean and Bree had retired before everyone else, and Mor shortly after. Lara couldn’t wait to crawl into her sleeping nook. “Now?”
He nodded before gesturing to the door. “There’s a storehouse next door.”
Lara folded her arms across her chest. “Whatever it is, can’t you just tell me here?”
Indeed, meeting him privately wasn’t a good idea. Things had a way of spiraling when they were alone together. She had done her best to avoid him since they’d ridden double on Bracken, yet her cheeks still burned when she remembered his arousal. And her own.
“No.” Stubbornness flared in his eyes. “This won’t take long.” He paused before softening his tone and adding, “Please.”
Moments passed. Then, huffing a curse under her breath, Lara pushed past him and grabbed a lantern from the wall. She just wanted to hide in her alcove until morning, but he wasn’t going to let her. “Very well.”
Outdoors, a thick mist wreathed through the crannog. The air was dank and so cold that their breathing clouded. Something feral howled in the night, the sound echoing across the water, and Lara’s skin prickled. Fortunately, the storehouse was just a few strides away. Pushing open the wattle door, she stepped inside. The store was empty, save for a pile of sacks stuffed with oats in one corner. The lantern illuminated the drifting dust motes and stacked-stone walls.
Placing the lantern on a narrow ledge, she turned to Alar. “Out with it.”
He stared back at her, his lean face all sharp angles in the shadowy storehouse. “I’m sorry,” he said finally.
She stilled. “Sorry?”
“For everything. For lying to you. Betraying you. Hurting you.” The words were halting, as if each one burned his gullet.
Lara’s pulse started to thud against her breastbone. “You want forgiveness?”
A nerve flickered under one eye. “No … butyoudeserve an apology.”
“So, you’ll feel better, right?” Anger sparked then. “So, you can move on?”
He shook his head. “I’ll never move on … but this isn’t about me.” He took a step forward, but she moved back, raising her hands, making it clear she didn’t want him any closer. “I never deserved you.”
“No, you didn’t,” she shot back. Dizziness swept over her.Gods. She was an idiot. She shouldn’t have agreed to talk to him alone.
His throat worked. “From the moment we met in that dark wood, you enchanted me, Lara. You are beautiful and kind, yet resilient. Honest. Your decency in this depraved world is a brave flame that stands against the darkness.” He halted there, breathing hard. “You gave me your trust … something fragile and precious … and I shattered it.” His eyes glittered now. “I will always be sorry that I can never rebuild what I broke.”
