“I’ve never been entertained more!” he had chuckled, placing the gold circlet on her head. “Iris Wallace, mah dear girl, ye are welcome on mah land anytime.”
She had flushed, and they had left shortly afterward, not bothering to look for James. Iris was embarrassed by her actions in the ring, the circlet feeling more like a shameful crown than what it should have represented.
Still, the closer they drew to their keep, the lighter her heart started to feel. She loved her clan and her family. It was the reason she would choose them over anyone every time.
Ian said nothing more to her about their conversation, but Iris couldn’t help but look at her brother in a different light now. Ian had sacrificed for what he thought was his future, and it had been handed back to him. What else didn’t she know about her brothers?
Her father had also remained far away from the subject of what had happened, and gradually Iris grew less concerned that someone was going to bring it to her attention.
It was over. She didn’t know what would happen to James by his own clan or if she would see him again, but the next time, she would be the same Iris that had left for the games and not the one he had attempted to bring out.
Still, Iris didn’t feel the same way inside. At night, when the camp was quieted, she found herself drifting back to the moments between them that had her blood on fire, the way he had gently showed her how he had felt. They were stolen moments, moments she would keep tucked close to her heart for years to come.
Finally, on the seventh day of their journey, Iris spied the familiar sight of their keep in the distance, the sound of the goings-on in their village drifting to their ears.
“’Tis good tae be home,” her father sighed as he spurred his horse forward.
Iris didn’t suppress her smile as she followed him, accepting the cheers of the villagers as they lined the path welcoming them home. Once they reached the courtyard, Iris was the first to dismount, gathering her laughing sisters in her arms the moment she did.
“Ye’re back!” Gretna shouted, hugging her close.
“Aye,” Iris laughed, the worry of the past weeks melting off her shoulders.
“And ye were the victor!” Lena squeaked out, hugging her tightly. “Ye won!”
Iris forced back the sudden rush of tears as she pulled away from them, taking their hands in hers.
“It doesnae matter if I won or not. ’Tis good tae be home.”
Later, after a warm bath and a change of clothing, Gretna knocked on Iris’s chamber door.
“Enter,” she called out to her sister, turning her attention back to polishing her blade. It had been hard not to picture the thin well of blood that had been there from her match with James, and Iris had shed more than one tear as she had polished it off the steel.
Gretna picked up the circlet from the chest at the foot of Iris’s bed where it rested, tracing the etchings.
“Are ye going tae tell me wot happened?”
Iris sighed as she laid her sword on the table before her.
“Nay, I dinnae think I will.”
Gretna set the circlet down and joined her sister at the table.
“Ye know I am willing tae listen.”
“Ian sent ye, didnae he?”
Gretna nodded, and Iris pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, warding off the pounding of her head.
“I only wish tae forget it all, Gretna, and go back tae the way things were.” Her life was far simpler then.
“Alright,” her sister said after a moment, giving her a small smile. “But dinnae expect it tae fade quickly, Iris. If wot Ian said is tae be true, a love like that is for a lifetime.”
When her sister left her chamber, Iris rose and crossed her room to look out of the window, out over the lands she loved so dearly. Her sister was right. She could look for another to warm her bed, she supposed, to make her laugh and be happy, but thehappiness would dull in comparison to the fleeting moments she had with James.
She wasn’t ready to share the experience with anyone, Iris realized as she hugged herself. If she closed her eyes, Iris could still feel the brush of his lips over hers, the way his hands wandered over her skin as if he had been touching her forever.
Those were the moments she would remember and how she felt at that time. Those would be the ones that no one would share with her, nor would she share them with anyone else.
