Then he let out a laugh. But not the laugh she knew. This one didn’t come with teasing or bickering. It didn’t come with any warmth at all.
Slowly, he rose to his feet, never once taking his eyes off her.
“I told ye,” he said calmly, “I was saving ye from bad decisions.”
His words felt like ants crawling over her skin.
He stepped forward. And for the first time, she backed away from him in fear. Again. And again.
Her mind reeled. What was wrong with him? This had to be madness. A nightmare she had not yet woken from.
“Save me from bad decisions?!” she screamed with frustration, her voice cracking. “Save me from what? What the hell are ye even saying?!”
“I’m saving ye from ruining yer life!” he shot back. “Ye’ve always been foolish anyway.”
She shuddered. She had never thought he would ever call her that.
He took another step closer, no longer hiding his fury. “Thinking any of those men belonged to ye, when ye,” he growled, “belong to me!”
His eyes widened with shock. He looked like her worst nightmare come true. She stumbled backward, her shoulders hitting the wall.
She was trapped, trapped before a cruel reality with the most painful betrayal.
Caelan closed the distance between them. Standing so close now, he lifted his fingers to trace her face, as though he owned her, as though he had already claimed her. His touch made her skin crawl.
“Ye belong to me,” he said, his voice dropping to a terrible whisper, obsession lacing every syllable. “Do ye hear me?”
Sorcha could only blink; she could not form a word. There was so much to say that she wasn’t sure how to even start.
“I’ve always been in love with ye.”
Those words… they would haunt her for the rest of her life. She wasn’t supposed to hear them from her cousin. From family. It felt like a poison-laced blow.
But he wasn’t finished yet.
“And daenae be foolish again,” he bit out. “Jumping into marriages.” He brought his mouth to her ear. “Or else another man will die.”
What?
Her breath came in pants. Her body trembled so violently that the wall behind her was the only thing anchoring her.
Nay, nay, it cannae be.
The realization was horrifying. It was unbearable. All she could do was breathe, shaking violently.
“Those men…” she whispered. “Me previous husbands…” Her eyes searched his face, desperate for denial. “Ye were the one who killed them?”
She was on the verge of breaking.
Caelan opened his mouth, releasing a harsh laugh.
“Aye,” he said simply, shrugging. “And I will do it again if ye try to give another man what belongs tome.”
Time slowed down, her breath stuttered. Memories flashed before her eyes—her husbands’ corpses, the rumors that had followed her, whispers of her being cursed. Caelan had been with her throughout, supporting her, urging her to be strong. When in fact, he was…
She inhaled shakily. Suddenly, her fingers felt too cold. Her knees nearly buckled beneath the weight of the truth.
Innocent men had died because of her. Because she had trusted him. Because she had loved him like family.
