Page 29 of Highlander’s Vengeful Seduction

The clansmen needed nothing more to restrain Vika, and no matter how much she thrashed and fought in their grip, they would not let her go. She screamed and yelled at them, but her shouting only made the clansmen tighten their grips before they began to drag her back to Castle Sween.

Soon, Angus was left with Donal and Vanora, after sending everyone else back to the castle, and he looked at the handkerchief and the letter that he still had in his hands.

“I cannae believe this is real,” he said as his fingers brushed over the blood on the handkerchief—Ronald’s blood, who had taken his own life because of Vika, because of the very woman Angus had planned to marry.

Neither Donal nor Vanora knew what to say to comfort him. Vanora didn’t even know if any words could make Angus feel better, or if he ever even could. The wounds that Vika had left inside him were so deep that Vanora doubted they would ever heal, and nothing pained her more than to know that the Angus she knew was also gone, and was replaced by a shell of a man that he once was.

“I’m so verra sorry, Angus,” Donal said, as he gave Angus a pat on the back, the only way he knew to provide him with comfort.

Angus turned and looked at him, shaking his head. “No,” he said. “I am sorry, Donal. I can only plead for yer forgiveness after everything that I did tae ye…to think that I could have killed ye, all because ay Vika’s lies! Ye have been my best friend ever since ye stepped foot in the castle all these years ago, and I would kill ye because of that evil woman! I canna believe that she managed tae convince me to do so. How could I have been so blind? How did she make me do all this?”

“Dinnae blame yerself, Angus,” Vanora said. She did blame him, if only a little, but she thought that it was because the wounds were still raw and fresh, and the blame would fade with time. It was true that Angus had fallen for Vika’s charms and that he had put Donal’s life in danger. But then again, no one knew who Vika truly was. She had managed to fool everyone.

“How can I not?” Angus asked.

“Vika is my sister,” Vanora said. “And yet I didnae ken that she would be capable of such things. That isnae the Vika that I ever kent, Angus. It isnae the Vika any of us kent. She managed tae fool us all, and it does no good tae blame yerself for her actions.”

Vanora’s words didn’t even comfort herself, so she doubted that they were any comfort for Angus. How could they be, after all, when they had all been so blind to Vika’s lies? Perhaps if they had found out about her true nature sooner, then Ronald would still be alive that day, and none of them would have gone through such an ordeal.

It was hard for Vanora to not blame herself, the one person who was so close to Vika their entire lives.

There was nothing else to say. The three of them made their way back to Castle Sween in silence, the recent events weighing heavy in the air above them.

Vanora tried to keep an eye on Angus after hearing him mumble to himself, but she could not make out what he was saying, though she knew it was about Vika. The poor man was losing his mind, and Vanora could do nothing to help him.

She could only hope that with time, and with Donal there supporting him, Angus could go back to his old self—the one who wasn’t plagued by memories of Vika or by her incessant lies. It was a hope that Angus did not seem to share, if Vanora were to judge by the way that his eyes were glazed over, as though he had already lost the will to live.

The last thing that they needed was yet another death, another young man killing himself because of Vika. Vanora promised herself that she would never let that happen, no matter what it took. She would protect Angus from Vika and from himself, and she would even do so until the day she died.

The man had grown into as much of a brother to her as he was to Donal, and Vanora was certain that Donal shared the sentiment.

When the three of them reached the castle, Angus turned to look at them, speaking for the first time after they had left the woods.

“I will retire tae my chambers now,” he said. “Dinnae worry about me, but I beg ye…dinnae disturb me, either. I will come tae find ye when I am ready, perhaps the morrow.”

“Aye,” Donal said, his hand finding Angus’ shoulder once again, giving him a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Tell us if ye need anything.”

Angus nodded, and turned around to leave, but then seemed to hesitate. He turned back around, facing the two of them once more. “Tell Mrs. Gallach to bring me some bannocks, will ye?”

Donal and Vanora exchanged glances out of the corners of their eyes, but where Vanora was concerned, Donal was trying to stifle his laughter.

“Aye,” Donal said, and with that reassurance, Angus was gone.

“Bannocks?” Donal asked Vanora, once Angus was well out of earshot. “Bannocks?”

Vanora shrugged. The bannocks were the least of her problems.

“What do ye reckon Angus will do with Vika?” she asked Donal. Even after everything that Vika had done, she was still her sister, and even though Vanora had thought, in the heat of the moment, that she could have killed her herself, she knew that, deep down, she would not be able to bear it if Vika was executed.

Still, it seemed as though it was the most likely plan of action for Angus, after everything that Vika had done to him.

Donal seemed to consider the question for a moment, as though it had not occurred to him before. He hummed thoughtfully, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his head.

“I dinnae ken,” he said.

Vanora didn’t know either, and her heart began to thump heavily in her chest.

Chapter Fifteen