"I said it's fine." Harald pulled away, his voice harder than she'd heard it. "We need tae get ye back tae the castle before dark. Can ye ride?"
The rejection stung more than it should have. "I can ride."
"Good." Harald whistled sharply, and his horse trotted over. He mounted in one fluid motion, then offered his hand. "Up."
Enya took it, letting him pull her up behind him. The moment she was settled, he spurred the horse into motion, leaving the clearing and its dead wolf behind.
They rode in tense silence.
Enya wanted to explain, wanted to make him understand.
But understand what? That she'd been meeting her brother to discuss betraying him? That she was exactly as untrustworthy as he was clearly starting to suspect?
"Harald—"
"Nae now." His voice was flat. "Just... nae now, Enya."
So she fell silent, holding onto him as they raced through the darkening forest, very aware that whatever fragile trust had been building between them had just taken a mortal wound.
And she had no one to blame but herself.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"Sit."
Harald pointed at the chair near the hearth in his private solar, his voice leaving no room for argument. Enya stood in the doorway looking pale and shaken, her hands twisting together like she didn't know what to do with them.
"I should call the healer."
"Ye should sit before ye fall down." Harald moved to the sideboard and poured whisky into two cups. "Yer hands are still shakin'."
"I'm fine."
"Ye're nae fine. Ye were nearly torn apart by wolves." He pushed one cup into her hands, noting how her fingers trembled when she took it. "Drink. It'll help."
Enya stared at the amber liquid like she'd never seen whisky before. "I dinnae usually drink this."
"Taenight ye will." Harald downed his own cup in one swallow, relishing the burn. "Trust me."
She took a tentative sip and immediately coughed, her eyes watering. "That's awful."
"Aye. But it works." Harald set his cup aside and began unfastening his sleeve, wincing as the fabric pulled at the gash on his forearm. "Now, are ye goin' tae keep arguin', or are ye goin' tae tell me what ye were really daein' in that forest?"
The color drained from Enya's face. "I told ye. I was walkin' with Amelia and wandered too far."
"That's shite and we both ken it." Harald's voice was calm but implacable. "Ye were half a mile from the castle, Enya. In the opposite direction from the gardens. And when I found ye, ye were alone."
She was hiding something. Something significant enough to risk wolves and Harald's suspicion.
The question was what.
"I needed air," she said finally. "The castle feels... confined. I wanted space tae think."
"About what?"
"About all of this!" The words burst out of her like she'd been holding them back. "About bein' married tae a stranger in less than ten days. About people whisperin' that I'm cursed every time I walk past. About—" She stopped, her jaw working. "About everythin'."
The frustration in her voice sounded genuine. But Harald had learned long ago that the best lies were wrapped in truth.
