Reluctantly, they obeyed, and Kieran let out a sigh of relief when those blades stopped being pressed against his body, close enough that one wrong move could have taken off his head.
Elijah stepped closer, peering into Kieran’s face. “Ye’re taller than I imagined.”
Kieran huffed a short, amused laugh. “And ye’re less inclined to kill strangers than I expected.”
“That depends on the stranger,” Elijah said. “And the reason he’s here.”
Kieran didn’t waste time. Surely, Elijah knew much of the story from Lydia, and if he was already on his way to Sebastian, it could only mean he had figured out the rest on his own.
“Me uncle, Sebastian Fraser, has raised an army on yer border,” he said. “I’m sure ye’ve had news of it yerself since ye seem to be on yer way to find him. I was comin’ to find ye and inform ye that he is here, and he marches to take Lydia. He has enough of anarmy with him to attempt an attack on the castle, and when he does, we should be there.”
The camp seemed to still around them.
Elijah’s expression hardened, all traces of humor vanishing. “Yer uncle. So those men flyin’ yer banners… they’re nae with ye.”
“Nay,” said Kieran. “Me and me men have come in secret after him, but I daenae have enough men to engage him in battle. I’ve left me second-in-command near Sebastian’s camp with them, and he’s mountin’ a distraction. We’re tryin’ to keep him away from yer castle for as long as possible, but it willnae be long before he continues on his way.”
Elijah cursed under his breath, shaking his head. He looked over Kieran’s shoulder into the distance, as though his gaze could negate the distance and reveal Sebastian and his army to him through sheer force of will.
“Lydia said this might be the case,” Elijah said, his gaze falling back on Kieran. “She told me and Iris everythin’ about yer uncle, and we all thought it more likely it was him than ye.”
“I have nay reason to come to yer lands with an army,” Kieran said. “Only to stop me own uncle.”
“And I thank ye for that,” said Elijah. “But like ye said, the men ye brought with ye are nae enough to stop him.”
“Aye, that is so,” said Kieran. “But they are brave, and they are skilled, and they will lay down their lives for their clan and their Lady.”
Elijah nodded firmly, his hand clasping Kieran’s shoulder. “With the way Lydia talks about ye, I believe it.”
Of course, Lydia talked about him. That didn’t surprise Kieran. What did surprise him, though, was that she was apparently saying favorable things about him. After what he had done to her, after the way he had sent her to her sister without so much as an explanation in his panic, he would have expected her to have only bad things to say about him.
“Ye should head back to the castle,” said Kieran. “I will gather me men, and we will meet ye there.”
“Why nae end it here?” Elijah asked. “We have the men. We have the numbers. We might as well engage him before he makes it to the castle.”
That sounded far from wise to Kieran, who was quick to shake his head. “Open battle out in the fields? Ye’ll have nay safety. It’s better to be behind walls.”
“And closer to me wife,” said Elijah. “And yers.”
“That is true, I cannae deny it,” said Kieran. “But they will be safe in the keep. And besides, they’re in more danger now, when all yer men are here.”
“Did ye truly think I’d leave them without any protection?” asked Elijah with a scoff. “Did ye think I’d leave me castle, me people, me family without any guards?”
Damn it… the last thing we need now is to clash over this!
Not only did they not have the time for this, but Kieran doubted this was the best first impression they could have of each other—and Lydia was bound to give him a piece of her mind if he displeased her sister’s husband.
His only solace was the fact that Elijah was undoubtedly thinking the same thing.
“That is far from what I said,” said Kieran, never one to back down first. “I merely suggested both our wives may be safer with us there, protectin’ them.”
“And leadin’ the wolf right to them.”
“We’ll stop him before that happens.”
“That we can agree on.”
He and Elijah stared at each other, time stretching between them. Kieran was vaguely aware of Elijah’s men watching them both, their eyes pinned on them, waiting to see what would happen. Kieran barely paid them any mind, though—he was more interested in the man standing before him, who showed no signs of agreeing with him.
