"Ye're tryin’ tae save them now," she said. "By stopping Graham. By protectin’ me."
They stood hand in hand, looking up at The Lost Ones. Mhairi thought about Isobel, about the other women who'd been sold at that auction, about all the daughters and sisters scattered across the Highlands because men like Graham saw them as profit.
"We'll stop him," she said fiercely. "Taegether. We'll make sure nay more stars get added tae that constellation."
Alpin squeezed her hand. "Aye. We will."
The night grew deeper around them. The stars continued their slow dance across the sky. And Mhairi found herself leaning into Alpin's warmth, her head resting against his shoulder as if it belonged there.
He didn't pull away. Just shifted slightly to make her more comfortable, his arm coming around her shoulders to keep her steady.
"Alpin, I really am grateful fer everything ye have done fer me," she murmured. "And fer bringin’ me up here and showin’ me the stars."
"Thank ye fer namin’ them with me." His voice rumbled through his chest. "I havenae done that since me maither died. It feels... right. Tae share it with ye."
They stayed like that for a long time, Mhairi couldn't say how long, wrapped in the quiet and the darkness and each other's warmth. The cold couldn't touch them. Fear couldn't reach them. Up here, with the stars watching, they were safe.
Eventually, though, Alpin stirred. "We should go in. Ye're shiverin’."
"I'm fine."
"Ye're freezin’." He pulled back enough to look at her face. "And ye have tae be up at dawn fer Donnach."
"So dae ye. Fer whatever mysterious laird business ye dae all day."
"Mysterious laird business," he repeated, amused. "Is that what ye think I dae?"
"I have nay idea what ye dae when ye're nae rescuin’ foolish lasses or buyin’ them entire wardrobes."
"Mostly I sign things and look sternly at me Council." Alpin stood, offering her his hand. "Very important work."
Mhairi let him pull her to her feet, smiling despite the cold that immediately swept in where his warmth had been. "Terribly important."
They made their way back down the narrow stairs, Alpin going first to catch her if she stumbled in the darkness. When they reached the corridor outside her chamber, they both stopped.
"This is me," Mhairi said unnecessarily.
"Aye."
Neither of them moved.
He lifted her hand, the one he was still holding, and pressed a brief kiss to her knuckles. The gesture was courtly, proper, but the way his eyes held hers was anything but.
"Goodnight, Grey-Eyed Queen," he murmured.
"Goodnight, Brave Laird."
He waited until she was inside her room with the door locked before she heard his footsteps retreating down the corridor.
Mhairi leaned against the door, her hand still tingling where his lips had touched it. Outside her window, the stars continued their vigil.
The Broken Rope. The Brave Laird. The Grey-Eyed Queen.
Their constellations, their story, written in the sky.
She smiled and went to bed.
Dawn came too early, grey light creeping through the window of Alpin's chamber like an unwelcome guest. He'd barely slept, his mind too full of stars and grey eyes and the feel of Mhairi's hand in his.
