“Barely. Were ye proud of me, Is?”
She leaned forward, kissing his battered face. “More than ye know,” she murmured. “For a man who swore he wasna a warrior, ye did good.”
His eyes glittered at her. “I’m glad ye think so,” he said, lifting up the battered bunch of her red hair. “I kept it with me. It brought me luck. But I think ye may have saved my life. I was losing badly.”
She smiled, rather modestly. “I dunna think he would have crushed ye,” she said. “Ye dunna seem the type tae be crushed. Ye have strength.”
“Ye think so?”
“I do.”
With that, she helped him ease back down to a supine position and took the nasty, sweaty bunch of her red hair from his hand, setting it aside. There was a cold compress by his head; she picked it up, holding it against his battered face as he gazed up at her.
“Isadora?”
“Aye?”
“Whydidye come tae the Ludus Caledonia? Why are ye and yer brothers here?”
She paused in the midst of tending him. “Ye ask me thatnow? There’ll be time tae discuss it later. Right now, ye should rest.”
“Is it a secret?”
She shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “My da is here tae find a warrior tae fight with our people.”
“Yer da has an army?”
She smiled faintly. “We have young warriors in need of a strong leader. He wants tae find a man strong enough tae lead them.” Her gaze lingered on him a moment. “Now, tell me why ye’re here. Why did ye come tae train at The Cal, Cam? Ye always told me ye dinna need tae learn tae fight.”
It was true; he had. Cam gazed at her a moment, his mood dampening. He didn’t want to tell her the truth. That was something he would not speak of unless it was absolutely necessary. It was his own personal motivation, a moment in his life that made him who he was. It took him a moment to realize that his grandfather’s death and his quest for vengeance were no longer separate events that drove Cam the blacksmith, the once-peaceful man.
It hadbecomehim.
He wondered if she’d look at him differently if he confessed that.
“I’ve spent my life as a smithy in Netherton,” he said after a moment. “Netherton is gone. Everything is… gone.”
“What of yer grandfather?”
It was the fateful question and Cam felt the pain to his bones when he answered it. “Gone.”
It was barely a whisper. Isadora, realizing the worst had happened, didn’t push beyond that. “So ye came tae learn tae fight at a place like this?” she asked curiously. “But why?”
He closed his eyes, not wanting to admit to her that there was death in his heart. She loved a man who didn’t really exist any longer and he was afraid to lose that. He couldn’t stand the pain if he found her again only for her to leave him because his heart had turned black.
“Why not?” he muttered. “A man has tae earn a living somehow. My blacksmith stall is gone, so why not learn something new?”
“So ye came tae learn tae fight?”
“It seemed as good a choice as any.”
From the way Isadora was looking at him, it was clear that she didn’t believe him. To her credit, however, she didn’t contest him.
A man had a right to some secrets.
“Are… are ye interested in a position, then?” she asked softly. “A new way of life as a warrior?”
“Something like that.”
