Her hands remained lifted and her palms open. She put herself between the stall door and the knife at Katie’s throat.
“Easy,” she soothed. “Look at me, Calum. Nae at her.”
Calum’s voice was soft. Almost kind. “I am looking, Erica. I have been looking for a long time.”
Katie’s breath came in quick little bursts.
Erica kept her eyes on Calum’s face. The knife flashed when the torchlight wavered, but she refused to flinch.
“Let her go,” she said. “Ye daenae need her.”
“Aye, I do.” He tipped his head toward the child. “The lass keeps ye still. Still is safe.”
“Safe for who?”
“For all of us.” His smile did not reach his eyes. “Do ye ken that I sent the note?”
Erica’s heart thudded once. “Which note?”
“The one ye received at the market.” His voice stayed calm. “I tried to warn ye, but ye wouldnae heed me. Ye had already let the wolf sink his teeth in ye.”
Her jaw tightened. “Ye mean Alex.”
“Aye. Who else?” He breathed out a low laugh. “He always gets what he wants. Since we were lads. Glory. Praise. The best horse. The first sword. The loudest cheer. I worked, and he stood. The world bowed to him anyway.”
“Ye are holding a knife to a child’s throat.” Erica kept her voice level. “Whatever he had as a boy, this isnae about that. This is about what ye are doing now. Let her go.”
He ignored her plea. “Do ye ken what he did with all his gifts? He made me his man-at-arms.” The words were bitter. “As if I should thank him for it.”
“Calum.” Erica shifted a fraction, enough to catch Katie’s eye. “Breathe, love. Slowly.” Then she looked back at him. “Ye are instilling fear into the child. Intoyerchild.”
“Fear is a tool.” His grip tightened on Katie. “One I have been using since all of this started.”
“So this was never about MacGee,” Erica said. “Or alliances. Or the council.”
“MacGee is a fool.” Calum’s lip curled. “He thinks himself a player. He is a piece, that is all.”
“Then what is this?” Erica asked. “What do ye want?”
“To spare ye from a man who cannae love.” His answer came at once. “To spare the lasses from a faither who will choose duty over breath if ye ask him to.”
“Alex has loved them well,” she said. “Ye ken that.”
“Has he?” Calum’s eyes flicked to the child. “Has he, truly? Or did he love them because he had to?”
Erica felt the cold settle under her skin. “We arenae speakin’ in riddles, Calum. Say what ye came to say.”
“He killed Isabella.”
The name fell like a stone.
He continued anyway. “Ye ken, for a time they loved each other. Something must have happened to make him snap. To make him make me kill her.”
Katie whimpered.
Erica breathed slowly. “Please, Calum. Ye can talk about how ye tried to help Isabella all ye want. Just let Katie go.”
“I didnae just try to help her, ye ken. I ended a tragedy.” His eyes glinted. “It was mercy. She wouldnae stop till one of them died. I chose the one who set the fire.”
