Page 53 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

Aaden looked at her smugly, the heat that bubbled under her skin born from equal measures of lust and irritation at his antics. With a smirk of her own, Lilith tightened her grip on the reins.

“I am beginnin’ tae change me mind about that.”

Before Aaden could respond, she was off, riding fast into the distance.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The castle was in disarray when Lilith arrived with Aaden. Upon spotting them, the guards began to shout at each other, chaos erupting in the courtyard before they had even managed to ride through the gates. The moment they stepped inside, the shouts around them grew in volume, several people swarming them at once, some with weapons drawn, pointed at Aaden.

Lilith looked around her, eyes wide with shock. She had known that her family would be concerned by her sudden departure, but she didn’t think the entire castle would be thrown into a frenzy because she was gone for a few hours. Everyone had seen her leave. Everyone had seen Aaden following close behind.

Did they think he would hurt me?

Lilith was loath to think what would have happened had her father’s soldiers found them in that abandoned keep. Surely, they wouldn’t have waited to see if Aaden was a real threat before attacking. They could have killed him without a second thought, believing that he was keeping Lilith there against her will.

“Please! Stand down!” Lilith yelled, but no one heard her over the commotion. She glanced at Aaden, gaze filled with panic, but he sat calmly on the saddle of his horse, making no effort to move or speak. Perhaps it was wiser that way; if he made one wrong move, he could end up impaled on a sword.

A rush of new activity caught Lilith’s attention. She turned to see her father there, along with Freya and Cameron, rushing out of the castle doors towards her. Evander was trailing after them, his features arranged in a deep frown, looking anything but pleased.

So, Freya has told them the truth. Or at least as much o’ it as she kens.

Though her father almost crumpled with relief at the sight of Lilith safe, his eyes glinted with a fury she had rarely ever seen in him. He was always such a gentle man, slow to anger, especially when it came to his daughters, but now Lilith braced herself for the harsh berating that was sure to come.

It had only happened a few times before, when she was much younger. There had been the time she had snuck out in the middle of the night as a child and climbed up the roof of the stables to see the stars, catching a terrible cold in the process. Then there had been the time she had dared Freya to climb up a towering oak tree just to see who had the courage to go the farthest.

And now there was this.

But first, Lilith had to get all those men away from Aaden, and so as her father approached, enraged, she called to him.

“Tell them tae stand down!” she said. “Aaden hasnae done anythin’. Ye ken he only followed me, I was the one who left without tellin’ ye where I was goin’!”

Her father didn’t stop his furious approach, but when he was close enough, he waved the guards away. The men stepped back, lowering their weapons, but Lilith didn’t miss the way they still lingered, remaining close as if expecting Aaden to lash out.

“Where have ye been?” her father demanded as Lilith finally dismounted her horse. From the corner of her eye, she could see Aaden do the same, though much more carefully, his movements slow and deliberate, so as not to give the guards any reason to suspect him. “Dae ye ken how concerned we all were about ye? Dae ye ken how many men I sent out in that storm tae look fer ye? Most o’ them are still out there, Lilith. Dae ye understand the danger in which I put them fer ye? Dae ye ken how dangerous it was fer ye tae leave like that⁠—”

“I understand,” Lilith said, interrupting him simply because she knew that if she didn’t, her father could go on forever. “I understand, faither, an’ I am sorry. I can only ask fer yer forgiveness. I didnae mean tae upset ye like this or tae put the men in danger.”

Her apology seemed to make her father’s anger lose some of its steam, his shoulders falling, his chest deflating as he let go of the breath he had been holding. It wouldn’t be enough, Lilith knew, but it was a start, at least.

“Where were ye?” her father demanded. So far, he hadn’t acknowledged Aaden at all, but Lilith tried to brace herself for that, too, dreading the moment when he would direct his ire towards him. Sooner or later, her father would forgive her for disappearing like this, but she wouldn’t be surprised if that forgiveness wouldn’t extend to Aaden as well.

“I was… upset,” Lilith said. She looked at Freya, Cameron, and Evander, trying to see if she could tell how much of the truth had been revealed, but save for Evander—who would not even meet her gaze—their expressions showed nothing but concern. “Somethin’ happened an’—”

“Och aye,” said her father, interrupting her. “I ken everythin’ about what happened.”

“Ye dae?”

Freya did tell him, after all.

“Did ye think I wouldnae find out?” This time, her father’s words were not directed at Lilith herself, but rather at Aaden, who stood a few steps behind her, waiting for his judgment. “How long did ye think ye could fool me?”

“If I had a choice, I wouldnae have tried,” Aaden said, calmly yet firmly, with all his conviction. “Ye must believe me, I never⁠—”

“Silence!” her father roared, his face painted a deep shade of red. Everyone around him went silent. It was such a strange, unfamiliar sound, hearing him shout like that, and it brought everyone to a complete stop, including himself. For a moment, he turned around, pacing in a small circle as he pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers, taking a few deep, calming breaths.

They seemed to do little to actually calm him.

When he stopped in front of Aaden once more, he pointed an accusatory finger at him. “If ye touched me daughter, I will have Cameron castrate ye, dae ye hear?”