“Is Keep Grahame equipped for such a fight? For a siege, even?” she asked heavily.
Freya shook her head wordlessly. “The army went with Brendan.”
“They are returning,” Kai added, his voice cracking, “but night is falling, and the army will travel much slower than I can. They will not arrive till dawn, and perhaps not even then.”
Dawn.Outside, night was only just falling, the lavender twilight gathering up in the corners and spreading across the floors. The sky was a dark purplish color. It was cloudy, so there’d be no stars or moonlight to light the way.
“And when will the Dickson army get here?” Kyla asked, her voice trembling.
“Hard to say. They had left before I did. As I said, a single rider travels faster than an army, but they cannot be far behind,” Kai answered grimly.
“Perhaps my father is looking for me. If I were to hand myself over to him…” Kyla began, but Freya rounded on her furiously.
“Don’t say such things!” she snapped. “Kyla, if anything, ye should be fleeing the Keep to protect yerself and yer babe. There’ll be no talk of handing ye over.”
Kai’s gaze slid past them all to where Struan stood, silently, by the doorway.
“What of him?” he asked bluntly. “Do we hand him over?”
Una turned to face Struan, staring thoughtfully up at his face. His expression was grim, and he stayed silent.
He doesn’t know whether his father is coming to rescue him or punish him,she realized with a jolt.And perhaps he doesn’t care anymore.
Turning back to the others, she cleared her throat.
“We should see what Struan has to say about this.”
Eyebrows were raised. Freya looked bewildered. Kai scowled, folding his arms across his chest. Kyla, however, broke into a smile.
“Aye,” she said, sounding almost relieved. “Struan, tell us what ye think.”
He glanced around at them all, locking eyes with everybody in turn. He saved Kyla and Una for last. When his eyes met his sister’s, something flickered in them.
“I was pleased to hear yer news, sister,” he murmured softly. “Meal do naidheachd. Ye will make a fine mother.”
A flush spread over Kyla’s face. She nodded, lifting her chin, and met her brother’s eye.
“I hope my child can meet their uncle,” she answered steadfastly.
He gave a wry smile. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, eh? Now, I can tell ye information about my father’s army. I know how it operates. I know which man will be leading it. That would be Keir, my father’s second-in-command. He’s ruthless and vicious, and he’s longed to usurp me for as long as I can remember. He’sdangerous, and he will be using this attack to prove himself. But I knowhim,and I know how to take him down. I’ll share this information with ye, along with a plan. What’s more, I’ll fight for ye. Alongside ye, against my own father and clan. If that doesn’t convince ye that I’m on yer side, nothing will.”
“That’s good,” Kai ventured suspiciously. “And what will ye want in exchange for all this?”
“We can start by having these chains removed from my ankles,” Struan responded sharply.
Kai clenched his jaw, a muscle jumping in his cheek. He glanced at Freya, who bit her lip hard and made a blunt gesture to the soldiers. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the soldiers obeyed, stepping forward and unchaining Struan.
When he was unchained, Struan allowed himself a brief, flickering smile, stretching out first one leg, then another. Silence fell over the room, and Una found herself wondering whether Struan would make a mad dash for the door.
Nay,she realized with something like surprise.He’s not going to do that. He’s just… just not.
She couldn’t have said how she knew that he was going to stay with them. Perhaps it was what the Abbess had said. Perhaps it was Una’s own experiences. Perhaps it was because of what she’d seen in Struan’s eyes when he stood in his cell, telling her that he was only an animal in a cage and couldn’t be anything more.
He is something more. Or at least, he will be.
“After this battle,” Struan said slowly, glancing around the room, “my father will want my head. Believe me, once I stand up against him on the battlefield, there’ll be no forgiveness for me. Ye may consider me yer enemy if ye like, but understand that I will be his enemy, too. So, after this battle—assuming that we all survive—I want my freedom. I want to leave this place, to make my way in the world as best as I can.”
Kai glanced first at Freya, then at Una.
