“That’s a coward’s answer,” Leona shot back.
Murdock’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond. Just stared at her with those dark, shuttered eyes.
“Ye think I daenae see what ye’re doin'?” Leona continued, her voice sharp with frustration. “Ye’re usin' yer faither as an excuse. Using fear as a cage to keep yerself from havin' to take any risks.”
“Better a cage I choose than one I build for ye,” he said quietly.
“That’s nae yer decision to make! I’m nae yer maither, Murdock. If ye try to put me in a cage, I’ll break right through it.” She moved closer despite the warning in his stance. “Ye’ve already learned that, have ye nae? I’m too stubborn to be possessed.”
Despite everything, despite the walls he was trying to keep up, Murdock’s lips twitched slightly. “Aye, ye are that.”
“So stop hidin' behind what yer faither did and tell me the truth. Are ye sayin'' ye feel noting for me? That all of this, the protection, the concern, the jealousy, is just duty?”
His hands clenched. “I’m saying it doesnae matter what I feel.”
“It matters tome.”
“Well, it shouldnae.” His voice roughened. “Ye should want a man who can give ye what yer parents had. Who can love ye without fearin' he’ll destroy ye in the process. I’m nae that man, Leona. I never will be.”
“Ye’re right,” Leona said bitterly after a moment, and watched surprise flicker across his face. “Ye’re nae that man. Because mefaither never tried to push me maither away for her own good. He never used fear as an excuse to keep from being vulnerable.”
She took another step closer. “Ye want to ken what me faither taught me? That the bravest thing ye can do is be gentle when the world expects ye to be hard. That real strength isnae about control, it’s about trust. Trustin' yerself enough to let someone in, even when it’s terrifyin'.”
“I cannae…”
“Ye can. Ye just willnae.” She stopped right in front of him, close enough to see the war raging behind his eyes. “And that’s yer choice to make. But daenae pretend ye’re doin' it for me sake. Ye’re doin' it because ye’re afraid.”
Murdock’s jaw worked, emotions flickering across his face too quickly to identify.
For a moment, she thought he might let himself be vulnerable. Might admit what she could see so clearly in his eyes every time he looked at her.
But then his expression shuttered completely.
“Aye,” he said flatly. “I’m afraid. And I’m smart enough to listen to that fear instead of ignorin' it like a fool. Is that what ye wanted to hear?”
Before Leona could respond, a cheerful voice called from the hallway, “Are ye done being sad yet? Because Cook says the honeycakes are ready, and I’m nae supposed to eat them without ye, but they smell so good and I daenae think I can wait much longer!”
Skye’s voice, muffled by the door but bright with childish enthusiasm, shattered the heavy atmosphere like a stone through glass.
Murdock’s expression shifted, some of the hardness easing. “The child’s timing is impeccable,” he muttered.
“Skye!” he called out, his voice gentler than it had been a moment ago. “Go eat yer honeycakes. We’ll be down shortly.”
“Promise? Because Nyx is trying to steal one, and Rufus isnae doing a very good job of stopping her!”
“I promise.”
“All right!” The sound of small feet pattering away echoed through the door.
In the sudden silence that followed, Leona and Murdock looked at each other. The moment had passed, whatever breakthrough might have happened lost to Skye’s innocent interruption.
“She’s going to make herself sick on sweets,” Murdock said finally, his tone carefully neutral.
“Probably,” Leona agreed, matching his distance. “But at least she’s happy.”
“Aye.” He looked away, his walls firmly back in place. “She deserves happiness. Deserves better than a faither who’s too broken to show her what real love looks like.”
“Ye’re nae broken.”
