Rose
Breana stared at the letter, tears in her eyes, her hands shaking so badly that the words wouldn't stay still. She had known what her mother thought of her, known that she was never anything to them but a tool, but to see it so starkly…
Strangely, though, it didn't break her. It gave her a kind of renewed strength. Her mother had thought she and Maeve as nothing more than pawns, but had they not shown already that they were beyond that? Malcolm and Kyle Darach were both dead.
Breana and Maeve had built lives beyond what was expected of them. Maeve would one day be queen of all of Scotland, having found the love of her life and the strength to fight. And Breana… Breana had found she had skills, too. Quieter skills, but no less important. She thought of Eoin, of the first man who had made her feel alive, and smiled.
Yes, she was stronger than anyone had ever thought of her. She was no softhearted child, but a woman, strong and proud. She may never lift a sword, but that did not mean that she was weak. Eoin had taught her that. Maeve had taught her that. And at that moment, in defiance of her mother's words, she'd taught herself that too.
Tucking the letter away with the rest of the things she was taking, Breana turned and left the study, hurrying to get outside and into the fray. She may not be able to battle, but that did not mean that she was out of the fight. And she would protect her sister, the rebels, and her true family—in whatever way she could.
Maeve was growing exhausted. The fighting had died down as the attacking force had realized that O'Sullivan had been downed. Those who had fought on the side of the rebels had rounded up the attacking force and were keeping them at bay. Her father's unconscious body had been whisked away at some point in the confusion, and nobody could figure out where they'd gone.
Cailean, Maeve, Darren, and Eoin finally met in the middle of the raised platform, standing together in the eerie silence that followed the intense battle. Maeve had the horrible feeling that this quiet was false; they had not gotten through the storm yet, but only to the eye.
Each of them carried their own wounds, but none looked worse for the wear. Darren was the first to speak, a wild smile on his face, looking alive and bright. "Do ye think that's all they have tae throw at us?"
"I hope so," Cailean replied, sounding grim. "I'll fight tae me last breath if I have tae, but I'd rather that last breath not be today."
Eoin squinted out over the crowd, then gasped. "Look! Is that…is that Breana?"
Maeve turned and stared out down to the ground level. Sure enough, there was Breana, fighting her way through the crowd with a single-minded determination on her face. A few moments later, she had reached the platform, and Maeve put down a hand to help her sister clamber up.
"Ye were supposed tae stay inside. Tae stay safe until we could come and find ye," Eoin told her, strong worry in his tone.
Breathless, Breana waved him away. She clutched Maeve's hand and asked, "Nessa?"
"She…she disappeared…" Maeve replied, feeling sorrow clawing at her heart. "Maybe we can go find her, maybe we can…"
"We cannae," Breana said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but we have tae go. Now. I overheard…the reinforcements, they're comin'now.The False King has sent men tae protect his asset, and it willnae be long before they get here."
"We cannae leave," Cailean said immediately. "We cannae."
Maeve knew the feeling. Her impulse was to stay, too; to keep fighting by these brave people who had taken up arms to protect their king. But she looked around the battlefield, and at each of her friends, and saw the exhaustion and pain there. They would not be able to hold themselves up against another full-frontal attack.
She placed a hand on Cailean's arm. "Love," she said, "This cannae be the end. These people, all of our people, they need ye.Ineed ye."
Cailean met her eyes, and Maeve felt the hesitation there, the way he was torn between what his duty and heart told him and the absolute reality of the situation. Eventually, though, it ripped him apart inside, and he nodded in response to her beseeching look.
"We're nae runnin'," she promised him. "But we have tae go. Or it will all have been for nothin'."
She held out a hand. And Cailean took it.
16
Cailean hated the fact that he was running away, even though he knew that a tactical retreat was the best move to make. He knew that Maeve was right, that he needed to save his life and Darren's and the rest in order to make everything they'd gone through worth it. But he knew that there were people fighting for them, and he hated leaving as the False King sent even more enemies against them. Murtagh McKenzie was still alive and now, thanks to his decisions, so was James O'Sullivan. He didn't regret his choice, but he couldn't help feeling like he was running away.
The horses trotted slowly along the winding path away from the O'Sullivan lands. Maeve, Breana, Darren, Eoin, and Cailean himself all rode in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, but Cailean did not know how to break that silence. He was brooding on the mistakes he'd made up until this point, and how much work he had to do to earn the loyalty those men had shown by taking up arms for him. They might have accepted that he was a king, but he still had a long way to go.
Breana and Eoin were riding ahead of the others, talking in low voices to one another. Cailean did break his dark thoughts for a moment to smile as he noticed how close together theirhorses were, and hoped he was right in suspecting they had found each other just as he had found Maeve. The rebellion and the world needed more happiness, and he could not imagine two people more worthy of one another. He flinched a little, remembering he had slain Eoin's father and spared Breana's, and wondered at what a huge difference even a single choice could make. He hoped that it wasn't one he would live to regret.
Though, for now, they were probably talking about Nessa. Maeve had expressed that she wanted to go back for her sister, but Breana had rightfully persuaded her that there was no time to search for the girl who had disappeared into the crowd. Cailean knew that he would have to have a long conversation with Maeve about this, and perhaps one day be back here, but for now, he had to keep riding on.
It hurt to retreat when there were so many threads loose, so much left undone, so many questions unanswered. No matter how much Cailean knew he was doing the right thing, he couldn't help but think of those he was leaving behind.
"Cailean?" Maeve's voice was quiet as she rode up next to him, barely audible over the cloud of thoughts in his mind. "Cailean, look."
He blinked and turned to look at her. "Sorry. I'm here." He turned his head and smiled at her faintly. "Forgive me, love. I'm just tired."
