But Ada needed him calm. Needed him steady.
So Magnus pushed the fury down, locked it away to deal with later. When he had that bastard in the dungeon alone. When he could make him answer for every mark on Ada's skin.
"Let me see," he said quietly, his fingers gentle as they tilted her chin up. Examining the bruise, the split lip, checking for other injuries he might not have noticed yet.
Ada sat perfectly still under his inspection, her eyes never leaving his face. Watching him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"Daes it hurt?" Magnus asked, his thumb barely grazing the bruise.
"Aye." Her voice was small. "But I've had worse."
Those four words made something crack in Magnus's chest. She'd had worse. Of course, she had. Her father's cruelty. The years spent running, hiding, being hunted.
And now this. In his keep. Where she should have been safe.
CHAPTER 23
Ada sat where Magnus had placed her, on the edge of their bed by the fire. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
She tried to still them, pressing her palms flat against her thighs, but the trembling just moved deeper. Into her bones. Into the core of her where fear still lived despite being safe. Despite Magnus standing right there, the feared Serpent of Barra, kneeling at her feet like a supplicant.
"I ken ye’ve had worse. Which is why this shouldnae have happened at all." Magnus pressed the cloth gently to her split lip. "Ye were supposed tae be safe here. In me keep. Under me protection."
The water was cold against her heated skin. Ada winced but didn't pull away. "It's nae yer fault."
"It is exactly me fault." His jaw clenched. "I left ye alone. Told ye tae lock the door and assumed that would be enough. Butit wasnae enough, was it? Because those bastards were already inside. Waitin' fer their chance."
"Ye couldnae have kent?—"
"I should have kent." Magnus moved the cloth to her jaw, cleaning away the dirt and sweat. "I should have posted guards outside our chamber. Should have walked the kitchens meself before leavin' ye. Should have?—"
"Magnus." Ada caught his hand, stilled its movement. "Stop. Please."
He looked at her then, really looked at her, and Ada saw something in his eyes that stole her breath. Not just rage. Not just guilt.
Fear.
Raw, terrible fear that hadn't quite faded despite her sitting here safe in front of him.
"When the alarm rang," Magnus said quietly, "and I ran tae our chamber and ye werenae there—" He stopped. Swallowed hard. "I've never been more terrified in me life. Nae in battle. Nae when me faither died. Nae even when Freydis—" Another pause. "Never. The thought of losin' ye, of someone takin' ye from me?—"
Ada's heart clenched. She'd never heard him so raw. So vulnerable.
"But ye found me," she whispered. "Ye came fer me."
"I almost dinnae get there in time." Magnus set down the cloth, his hands trembling slightly. "Another minute. Another thirty seconds. They would have had ye through that gate and ontae horses and then—" He made a rough sound. "I cannae even think about it without wantin' tae tear this keep apart stone by stone."
"But they didnae. Because ye stopped them." Ada cupped his face in her hands, made him look at her. "I'm here. I'm safe. Because of ye."
"Ye're here because ye fought like a demon." Something almost like pride flickered through the fear in his eyes.
"I was terrified."
"Aye. But ye dinnae let that stop ye. Ye fought." Magnus's hands came up to cover hers where they rested against his face. "Ye were amazin', Ada. Truly. But I want tae teach ye tae fight even better. Properly. So if anything like this happens again?—"
"Happens again?"
"If it happens again." His expression turned grim. "Because we need tae root out every last one of yer faither's spies. I want ye tae ken how tae defend yerself. How tae strike where it hurtsmost. How tae free yerself if someone grabs ye." His thumb brushed across her knuckles. "Will ye let me teach ye?"
