Chapter One
“Do nae look back,” Alina said, “but Torcall has been looking at ye. He’s behind ye.”
Ceana’s eyes widened, and a blush appeared on her otherwise pale cheeks. “He’s here?” she asked. Ceana hadn’t expected Torcall to be at the feast. Sure, she had prayed to the gods and put on her prettiest yellow dress, which Alina assured her didn’t clash with her vibrant red hair and deep brown eyes. Still, she hadn’t actually expected him to come. The feast wasn’t a large one, and Torcall was not known for frequenting parties or celebrations.
Ceana had a crush on Torcall. It was one that everyone except Torcall seemed to notice. She had met Torcall years ago at a feast for all the lassies who were finally of age to court, and he had stolen her heart. However, the issue was that Torcall had caused this without knowing. Ceana had long since given up on him liking her, but it didn’t hurt to dream.
“Would ye stop smiling like a canary?” Alina admonished her younger sister.
“Do canaries smile?” Ceana asked with a rather canary-like smile on her full pink lips.
Alina shook her head and put her hand in her sister’s. “Come with me. Left t’ye, we will spend the whole feast sneakin’ glances at Torcall, and I have had enough of that.”
She dragged a reluctant Ceana away to one of the many tables at the feast. “Have ye seen ma?” Ceana asked her sister.
“Nay, last I saw of her, she was speaking with some of da’s friend’s wives,” Alina replied, and Ceana nodded. One of the downsides to being married to a guard was that her mother could not enjoy them at feasts like other couples. Most of the time, her father was on guard duty at the palace keep, which made him a very busy man.
The few times he was free, her mother opted to spend quiet moments with him in their home rather than at feasts. Perhaps, being raised in a home with parents that adored each other had made her long for such a love. Since Ceana could remember, she had dreamt of a man to love her just as her father loved her mother. However, it didn’t seem to have the same effect on her sister. Despite being two years her senior, Alina seemed largely uninterested in men. Ceana could not recall her sister saying a word about any man that wasn’t plainly platonic.
Alina definitely didn’t like anyone the way Ceana liked Torcall. Who wouldn’t like Torcall, Ceana thought to herself with a small sigh? The man was heavenly. He was tall, handsome, and well-built. He had the kindest blue eyes that Ceana had ever seen, and even better, there was the hint of adventure that Ceana craved in them. He was a kind man, too—even Alina agreed about this. She had seen him several times stop to assist both men and women who needed his help.
One day, after Torcall had helped Alina fix the wheel of her carriage for hours without accepting anything, she had come home with a newfound respect for him. “It seems to me,” she had said, “that Torcall is the type of man that would treat his wife with respect whether he loved her or not.”
That had been enough for her to subtly endorse her sister’s crush. Although she had never said it out loud, Ceana imagined that her sister didn’t believe in love.
“Ceana?” Alina called for the third time.
“Huh?” she replied, snapping back into reality.
Alina shook her head and thrust a cup into her hands. “Ye have gone off into another daydream again, haven’t ye?”
It was no use lying, so Ceana sighed instead. “Do ye think he will talk to me today?”
“I think ye worry yer pretty head too much,” Alina replied with a shake of her head. “Go on, drink,” she urged.
Ceana closed her eyes, tipped the cup back and swallowed down her mead.
“Ceana,” Alina scolded, “not so fast.”
She shook her head and poured her sister another cup. “Don’t drink this so fast. Let’s go socialize.”
The pair had barely gotten to the door before they were stopped. “Ceana, Alina!”
Ceana sighed as soon as she heard the voice. “Hello, Tam,” she said with poorly faked enthusiasm.
“I didnae ken ye will be here,” he said with a grin on his face.
“Well, we are,” Alina replied.
Ceana didn’t know what she hated most about Tam. Was it his arrogance? His pride? His scheming attitude? Or was it the dangerous look in his eyes that only she seemed to see.
Tam’s Faither was the general of the clan. He had led their clan to many great wars and had conquered the enemy many more times than he had been defeated. Consequently, he was revered and respected. He had two sons, Rannoch and Tam. Rannoch was a cool-headed man who excelled more at creating swords than wielding them, much to his chagrin. His second son, however, had decided that he deserved the same amount of respect.
“Do ye want to dance?” he asked both girls.
“No!” they both replied, not caring who was spoken to.
Tam laughed in a deprecating way. “Come on, do nae be so tight.” He winked.
