“Well now,”he drawled, his eyes sweeping over her chemise and shawl, lingering far too long. “The castle keeps strange hours tonight.”
Gracie stiffened,anger and fear tangling in her chest as she squared her shoulders. “What are ye doin’ in the library?” she demanded. “Ye are confined to yer room, and ye ken it well.”
Edmund’s smile widened,smug and careless. “Aye, that was the plan,” he said lightly, hefting the bag. “But I ken that our guardsdrink like fishes, and one fell asleep with his head on the table outside me door.”
He stepped closer,his gaze never leaving her face. “It was easy enough to walk past those guards.”
Gracie felther pulse quicken as Edmund closed the distance between them. She took an instinctive step back, the edge of a table brushing her hip.
“Stay where ye are,”she warned, her voice tight. Edmund chuckled low in his throat, clearly amused.
“Ye look frightened,”he said, tilting his head as if studying prey. “Did ye truly think marryin’ me brother gave ye standin’ here?” His eyes gleamed with malice as he moved another step closer. “Ye’re mistaken, lass, sorely mistaken.”
Gracie swallowedand backed away again, her fingers curling into the wool of her shawl.
“Jaxon would care,”she said, though the words wavered despite her effort. “He would care very much if ye so much as touched me.”
Edmund laughed outright,the sound echoing unpleasantly among the shelves.
“Care?”he scoffed. “Me brother has always been too busy playin’ the dutiful Laird to notice what lies beneath his nose.”Edmund leaned in, his voice dropping to a cruel whisper. “He wouldnae even blink if I took what I wanted.”
Her breath caught,fury flaring brighter than fear. “Ye are a liar and a coward,” she spat, retreating step by step. “Get away from me, Edmund, or I swear ye’ll regret it.”
Edmund’s smile thinned,his eyes hardening as he followed her slow retreat.
“Still barkin’like ye’ve teeth,” he murmured. “I wonder if ye’d be so bold without his name to hide behind. Ye ken me brother wouldnae care if I took ye to me own bed. We always share.” He reached out as if to brush her shawl.
Gracie recoiled sharply.Her back struck something solid, unmoving, and warm.
She gasped again,this time in startled confusion, and Edmund’s expression shifted. His gaze flicked past her shoulder, the color draining from his face. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with unspoken menace.
A familiar presenceloomed behind her, close enough that she could feel steady breath at her back. Gracie did not turn, though her heart leapt painfully in her chest. Edmund took an involuntary step away, his earlier confidence evaporating.
“Jaxon,”she whispered.
Gracie stood frozenwhere she was, Jaxon’s presence a solid wall at her back, his anger rolling off him like heat from a forge. She felt it in the way his sharp breath drew before speaking.
Edmund’s sneerfaltered as he took in his brother’s expression. The library, once quiet, now felt charged and dangerous.
Jaxon stepped past Gracie,placing himself fully between her and Edmund.
“Ye have crossed the last line,”he said coldly, his voice low and controlled. “I warned ye before, Edmund, more than once.”
Edmund scoffed weakly,though his face had gone pale.
“Ye’re overreactin’again,” Edmund snapped, forcing a laugh. “She startled me, that’s all, and now ye come in like some righteous hero.”
Jaxon turned on him,eyes blazing. “Daenae lie to me,” he growled, “nae after all ye’ve done.”
Gracie watchedEdmund’s bravado crumble inch by inch. Jaxon’s jaw tightened as he spoke again, each word deliberate. “Ye are banished,” he said. “From this castle, from this clan, and from every inch of McMillan land.”
The words seemedto strike Edmund harder than a blow. “Banished?” he repeated hoarsely. “Ye cannae mean that, Jaxon, I’m yer brother.”
Jaxon did not flinch.
“I mean it fully,”Jaxon replied. “Ye will take what ye can carry and go far from here, farther than ye’ve ever wandered before.”
Edmund shook his head,panic creeping into his eyes. “Ye cannae do this to me.”
