Page 53 of Kilted Sins

“Right now.”

“Will ye tell me what happened?” Archibald asked. “Is it serious?”

Glancing at Enya with a smile, his entire expression seemed to soften. “We have tae speak about a marriage.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“That cannae happen.”

Cillian stood in front of his council, hands on his hips as he regarded them all. At first, he had been hopeful, thinking there would be no way his council would come between him and Enya. What did it matter to them which of the MacLeod sisters he would marry? The alliance would remain the same, and so there was no reason that this small—if significant—change should matter to them.

But they soon proved him wrong. The moment he asked them to sanction the marriage, there had been a chorus of disagreement, all of them refusing to even consider it. Now, after several minutes of arguing, he was staring them down, refusing to budge.

“Why?” he demanded. “It makes nae difference if I wed Thora or Enya.”

“The banns have been read,” one of the elders pointed out. “There can be nae change now. It is already too late.”

“But what does it matter if I wed Enya?” Cillian insisted. “Ye will have the same alliance. Naethin’ will change.”

“How would we look, sending the king a letter with one name first, and then sending another one saying that the bride in question has changed? What is done is done,” another elder said. “We willnae allow this. This meetin’ is over.”

With that, the man walked to the door and left the room, the rest of the elders following close behind. The only ones left there were Archibald and Duncan, but they were both silent, surely not knowing what to say.

Enya rushed into the room just as Cillian slammed his fist against the wall with a frustrated growl, splitting the skin on his knuckles. He pulled back with a hiss, shaking his hand in a vain attempt to get rid of the pain, and Enya walked to him, taking his hand in hers and running her fingers over the injury, smearing blood over his skin.

Turning to Archibald and Duncan, Cillian said, “Leave us, please. I will come find ye in a moment.”

Once they were out of the room, Enya felt the urge to heal him, but then immediately decided against it.

“It is best nae, fer Duncan has made a few comments about some people at the castle, including ye, healing very quickly. And he has joked about magic. I think it best he doesnae see yer scratches are gone, as he was in the room when ye hurt yerself,” she explained.

Cillian was rather surprised at what she had told him about Duncan and fully agreed. But he did not want to change the subject just yet. He still had many questions for her.

“Daes it hurt ye?” Cillian asked. “When ye dae this?”

Enya shrugged a shoulder. “I take some o’ the pain,” she said nonchalantly, but Cillian couldn’t help but think she was trying to diminish the pain she felt when she healed someone. “But it’s fine. I’m used tae it.”

“I dinnae want ye tae be in pain fer me,” Cillian said. “Even if it isnae much.”

“I’m used tae it,” Enya insisted, but it was not the kind of answer Cillian wanted to hear. He didn’t want her to be putting herself through all that pain and he realized that he didn’t even know if healing others put her in danger.

“Could it… hurt ye?” he asked, hesitant to hear the answer.

For a few moments, Enya was silent, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. “Only if I heal someone who is on the brink o’ death,” she said. “I could… I could die, maybe. It depends on how bad the injury is. Such is the balance of nature.”

Cillian’s blood ran cold in his veins. He knew he had been very close to death when Enya had healed him after the battle and even though she was alive and well, standing right by his side, he couldn’t help the nausea that gripped him at the thought that something could have happened to her.

“But that day, when I was hurt⁠—”

“It wasnae enough tae kill me,” Enya said. “I kent that.”

“Have ye ever come close?”

Enya nodded silently, swallowing hard as her gaze dropped to the floor. Cillian could tell in an instant it was a painful memory for her and he regretted asking, but a part of him wanted to know what had happened so he could prevent it from happening again.

“It was me maither,” she said, her voice so quiet Cillian could barely hear her. “She was wounded in a raid. I tried… I tried tae heal her, I truly did, but I was young an’ I didnae have full control o’ me powers. I couldnae dae it.”

Before Cillian could say anything, Enya pulled back from him, turning around as a hand came up to wipe at her cheeks. With a sigh, Cillian approached her once again, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her into an embrace, an almost unbearable ache spreading over his chest. He simply held onto Enya, offering what comfort he could, even if it wasn’t much.