"I am happy."Maia couldn't stop smiling. "Mollie is here. We're goin' to the mountains. The sun is shinin'. How could I nae be happy?"
"How indeed."Ewan's expression was soft as he looked at her, and something in his gaze made Maia's breath catch.
Then he was liftingher onto a gentle mare and swinging up onto his own mount. "Ready?"
"Ready,"Maia confirmed, gathering the reins with hands that only trembled slightly.
They rodeout of the castle and toward the mountains, which loomed larger and more impressive with every step. The path wound upward through forests of pine and oak, the air growing crisper and colder as they climbed.
Maia drank in every sight,every sound, every sensation. The way the sunlight filtered through the trees. The distant call of birds she couldn't identify. The smell of pine and earth and approaching autumn. The feeling of freedom, of movement, of beingalivein a way she'd forgotten was possible.
"Tell me what ye're thinkin',"Ewan said after they'd been riding for perhaps twenty minutes. "Ye've been quiet. That's unlike ye."
"I'm thinkin'that this is perfect," Maia said honestly. "That I never want this day to end. That I—" She stopped, not sure how to articulate the tangle of emotions in her chest.
"That ye what?"
"That I'm grateful,"she finished quietly. "For all of this. For Mollie. For the freedom ye've given me. For—for ye."
Ewan was quiet for a moment."Ye daenae need to be grateful, lass. Ye deserve all of this and more."
They continued climbinguntil they reached a clearing that opened up to reveal a breathtaking view. The valley stretched below them, patchworked with fields and forests. In the distance, Maia could see Castle McGill, its grey walls proud against the landscape. And beyond that—mountains upon mountains, their peaks touching the sky.
"Oh,"Maia breathed, sliding down from her horse without waiting for help. "Oh, it's bonnie."
She movedto the edge of the clearing, as close as she dared to the drop-off, and just stared. This was what she'd been missing all those years in her tower. This sense of scale, of grandeur, of the world being so much bigger than her problems.
She heardEwan dismount behind her and the sound of his footsteps approaching. He came to stand beside her, not quite touching but close enough that she could feel his warmth.
Maia turnedto look at him, only to find him already watching her with that intense focus that made her stomach flutter.
"Lookslike Ye're easy to please." Ewan said, but there was no mockery in his tone. Just something warm and wondering.
"Maybe."Maia smiled. "Or maybe I've just learned nae to take simple pleasures for granted. Like mountain views. And good friends."
Ewan turnedto face her fully, his expression serious. "Tell me about yer uncle. About what it was really like in that tower."
The changeof subject caught Maia off guard. "Why do ye want to ken?"
"Because I need to understand."His hands clenched at his sides. "I need to ken exactly what he did to ye. What he took from ye."
Maia looked away,back at the view. "It's nae a pleasant story."
"I dinnae think it would be."
So she told him.Told him about the endless days of isolation, seeing no one but Mollie and occasionally the guards who brought her meals. Told him about the way her uncle would summon her sometimes, just to criticize her appearance or her weight or her very existence. Told him about the constant,grinding loneliness of being forgotten by everyone except one friend.
"He said I was worthless,"Maia heard herself say, the words coming out flat and emotionless. "That nay man would ever want me. That I was too plump, too plain. He said the only reason he kept me alive was because killin' me would cause too many questions, but that I might as well be dead for all the good I did anyone."
She feltEwan go very still beside her.
"He said that?"His voice was dangerously quiet. "Those exact words?"
"Those and worse."Maia wrapped her arms around herself. "Every time he saw me, it was the same. How disappointed me parents would be if they could see what I'd become. How I was a disgrace to the Ferguson name."
She didn't getto finish.
Ewan's hand shot out,gripping her shoulder and spinning her to face him. His eyes were black with fury, his jaw clenched so tight she could see the muscle jumping beneath his beard.
