“Ye will say ye lost yer breath from the beating, but ye are better now. Sore. Move carefully, as though ye are still in pain.”
“Iamstill in pain.”
“I ken it, lass. But ye willna die…”
“Die!”
“Ye were bleeding. Inside. They wouldha killed ye, Aftyn, had Braden no’ found me when he did. ’Tis why it hurt so much.”
“And now ye are bleeding inside!”
“Nay. I was never in danger.” The lie came easily. Aftyn needed to hear it. If she stayed with him, she would learn the truth eventually.
He leaned his head against the wall behind them. “I shoulda killed Rory for what he did to Mhairi. Then he wouldna have been able to hurt ye, too.”
“Nay, Jamie. Ye wouldha been outlawed.”
“’Twould have been worth it to save ye this pain.”
* * *
Aftyn could not believewhat Jamie had revealed to her. He put his life in her hands, not knowing she’d already betrayed him and his men. He’d saved her life. And took her pain into himself.
She wanted to curl back into a ball and cry until the shock and shame of it left her. If they ever did.
She’d been at least partly right when she thought Jamie felt pain when people jostled him in the market. And when he turned to follow the old woman with his gaze, she now knew he’d wanted to help her, but dared not. Not only would he harm himself, her sudden improvement would cause questions to be asked that Jamie dared not answer. Braden! “Was Braden’s elbow broken?”
“Aye.”
“And ye fixed it.”
“Aye. And his breathing. He’s not as hale as he wants to appear to be. But I helped him. He’ll get stronger.”
What had she done? She dropped her head onto his shoulder and squeezed her eyes closed, now that she could. Tears leaked from their corners, and she let them run down her face, covering her mouth with one hand, lest a cry of anguish escape when Jamie wrapped her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, Jamie. I confessed to the abbot that I was jealous of yer skill, and thought ye had something… I didn’t imagine anything like this, but some empathy. I told him, and he told my father. And he locked up yer men to keep ye here.” She shook her head, rocking it on Jamie’s broad, strong shoulder.
“Ye ken ye are no’ safe here. Ye will come with me, back to the Aerie. There ye may learn as much as ye have dreamed of, and we will be together… if that is what ye wish.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze, thinking about their brief time in the wood. “I would like that.” Was it possible? She was still torn over leaving Braden, and leaving Neve to carry the burden of the clan’s welfare. “But ye canna teach me what ye do. What ye just did, can ye?”
Jamie shook his head. “I’m sorry, nay. ’Tis something I inherited. I dinna ken how it works, or why. Only that it does.” At her crestfallen expression, he pulled her onto his lap. “But ye can become the best healer the Highlands have ever seen, and learn every cure a wise woman must ken.”
“I’ll never be best. Ye are.”
“Nay, lass. I fought using this ability for years. I was trained as a warrior and I’m a good one. Even a great one. I thought healing was something for a lass to do, no’ a man. But ye have taught me the value of it. The value of what I can do. I’ll never disparage it again.”
“I’m glad of that. And that ye care so much for me.”
“I love ye, Aftyn. I would give my life for ye.”
She tucked her head back into the crook of his neck and sighed. “I love ye, too. And I wish we could stay here, like this, forever.”
Jamie’s heart soared at her admission. No matter what stood in their way, they would be together. He would make sure of it. “No’ quite like this,” he said and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Ye still have pain.”
“I didna notice it, now that ye are holding me.” She looked up, her gaze on his mouth. “Perhaps a kiss would cure the rest…”
* * *
Jamie didn’t needto be asked twice. He dipped his head and met her lips, softly at first, then with more fervor as she answered his kiss with her own, sweet mewling sounds accompanying each brush of his lips on hers. He extended his talent each time his lips touched hers, and found that his healing strength grew even greater than he was accustomed to. Could affection, caring, even love, amplify his ability? If he noticed this much from simple kisses, what would more intimacy reveal? And why hadn’t he noticed the same effect kissing her in the wood? Because no one was hurt?
