Lilliana’s breath hitched.
Kayden did not look at her. He could not. If he shifted his focus even for a heartbeat, the world might tilt, and this might vanish like a nightmare.
“Sorcha,” he said, voice rough. “This isnae possible.”
Sorcha smiled, but it held no warmth. “And yet,” she drawled.
Her voice was as he remembered it. It was low and sure, with steel hidden under softness. But there was something broken in it, like a violin string drawn too tight.
Kayden took another step forward without realizing it, boots sinking slightly into damp earth. “They told me ye were?—”
Sorcha let out a shrill laugh. “Rumors of me death may have been grossly exaggerated,” she said calmly.
His mouth went dry. Rage rose behind his ribs, hot enough to burn through the shock. “Ye let me bury someone else.”
Her smile faltered. Something vulnerable crossed her face, so quick he might have imagined it. “Did ye think I had a choice?”
“Ye always had a choice,” he snapped, then checked himself with effort.
Sorcha’s gaze flicked back to Lilliana. The look she gave her was not that of a stranger. It waspersonal.
Kayden shook his head in disbelief. “I mourned ye, Sister.”
“Did ye? Is this what ye call mourning, Braither?” She pressed the knife harder against Lilliana’s throat, where a thin red line beaded.
Lilliana cried out in fear.
“Nay! Daenae hurt her, Sorcha,” Kayden bellowed, holding out a hand to stop his sister. “She hasnae done anything to ye, Sorcha. If ye want to punish someone, punishme.”
Sorcha made a bitter sound. “So ye choose thesassenachover yer own sister? After everything the English did to me!”
Kayden shook his head again. “I didnae ken,” he whispered. “I thought ye were dead.”
Sorcha pointed the knife at him, still holding onto Lilliana with one hand. “Ye didnae even look for me, Kayden! How would ye ken if I was dead or nae?”
Kayden hung his head. “We were told that ye had died, that they took yer body. I asked for it back—nay, demanded it. They arrested more of me men and tried to grab more women. I had to pull back.”
“And then ye went and made a deal with them!” Sorcha growled, her eyes flicking to Lilliana.
Kayden was panting with fear and shock. “I did. I made a deal to stop the attacks. Because I couldnae bear to lose anyone else. Sorcha… where have yebeen?”
“Well, I’m SorchaMacNairnnow if ye care. Nay longer a McGill.”
MacNairn.
“Of course I care. Why did ye nae come home?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Come home? Come home to what? Ye didnae even care to look for me when I was gone. Ye didnae ken what I went through… what those English bastards did to me!” she choked out, looking away.
Kayden stared at her in disbelief. “I wish I had ken. I would have helped ye. Ye should have written.”
Sorcha just spat on the ground in disgust.
Kayden sighed. “So ye have been what? Married to a MacNairn all these years?”
“Aye. I got married to Clan MacNairn’s healer, and in turn, they promised to help me destroy ye.”
Kayden was stunned by his sister’s words, unable to fathom the hatred in her eyes. He had grieved her for so long, he was having trouble believing that she was truly standing in front of him, a prominent member of a rival clan just a half-day’s ride away.
