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“All right then.” Stepping back from Ailsa, Darach retrieved his slingshot, which was still in the bag tied onto the saddle, and the spare for Fern too. “Let’s go.”
Grabbing a flint and steel from Darach’s bag, Ailsa moved across to where Kayla had just finished laying the fire.
After Darach and Fern had gone off to hunt, Cern slipped away into the trees, and Ailsa and Kayla had seen to Rùn and Thicket. Once the horses were unsaddled and rubbed down, the two women had gathered wood for the fire and cleared a space for it.
Ailsa knelt next to Kayla then, and started to work the flint and steel, sending a shower of sparks over the tinder her mentor had just laid.
It was slow going. There had been heavy rains of late, and what sun they’d been getting was weak. As such, a lot of the wood was slightly damp. Eventually, smoke started to drift up.
Ailsa leaned close. Finally. They were getting somewhere. “Aye,” she murmured. “That’s it. Come on, my pretty.”
Kayla laughed. “I think it’s heeding you. Look.”
Tiny, tender flames had erupted then, and as they carefully added fuel, the flames grew.
Sitting back on her heels, Ailsa sighed. “There,” she said, glancing over at Kayla. “We did it.”
Her mentor smiled back, although the expression was slightly strained. “You did it, lass … with little help from me.”
The shadow in her eyes made Ailsa still. A moment passed, and then she cleared her throat. “I’ve been aloof with you of late … I’m sorry.”
Kayla looked away then, focusing on the kindling flames. “I gave you good enough reason.”
“No … I should have forgiven you long before now.”
Kayla’s chin kicked up, and her gaze met Ailsa’s once more. “All the same, I made the wrong choice. I told myself I wanted you to have a good life … a normal life, but in the end, I just smothered you.” She broke off then. “I knew you resented me.”
“I did … I just wanted you to trust me a little.”
Kayla’s face tightened. “I should have.” She picked up a stick and prodded the fire. “Sometimes I still lie awake wondering what I’d do if you didn’t need me anymore.”
A heartbeat passed, and then Ailsa reached out and put a hand on Kayla’s arm, squeezing tight. “You’ll always have me.”
Kayla blinked rapidly, looking away. A tear slid free before she could stop it.
Ailsa froze.
She’d never seen Kayla cry.
“Don’t mind me,” Kayla said gruffly, knuckling it away. “Old woman getting sentimental.”
“When you get back to Braewall, you could make a new start, you know?” Ailsa replied gently, her grip tightening on Kayla’s arm. “With Lilias.”
Her mentor blinked before managing a watery half-smile. “Don’t miss much, do you?”
Ailsa smiled back. “No.”
The dagger felt different in her hand tonight. Steadier.
It wasn’t the blade she’d brought from Craeg Aonaranach—which she’d abandoned before entering the bavaan hill—but a boning knife that Darach carried in his saddlebag.
He came at her without warning, and Ailsa pivoted instead of retreating, catching his wrist and driving her elbow toward his ribs as he’d taught her. He grunted, more surprised than hurt, and stepped back with a grin tugging at his mouth. “That’s better … you’re not waiting for me to move first anymore.”
“I learn fast.”
“You do.” He circled her slowly, and she turned with him, refusing to give him her back. “Now. Let’s imagine I’m trying to guess your next move. Surprise me.”
He lunged again, blade angled for her shoulder, and this time, she ducked under it, driving upward toward his ribs before he caught her wrist mid-strike.
