“Divided we fall,” Isla murmured.
“What was that?”
She shook her head. “Just something my father used to say.”
Larena walked past her to the opposite side of the village and pushed open the door to the cottage. “This is where they brought Malcolm after he was attacked. I thought he would die that night, but he lived. And so have you. You have a new future now, Isla. Forget the past.”
It was easier said than done. Isla turned when she heard footsteps and froze when she spotted Hayden walking beside Duncan. Both men spoke to Larena, but only Duncan looked Isla’s way.
When Duncan halted beside her Isla wasn’t sure what to expect. She assumed Hayden would as well, but he continued on, disappearing into a cottage to begin work she assumed.
“Duncan,” she said when the Warrior simply gazed at her.
His brown eyes were hard as he stared. “I would ask you a question.”
“Duncan,” Larena warned.
Isla held up a hand to stop Larena. “Ask,” she told Duncan.
“Why didn’t you help us? Why didn’t you battle Deirdre?” he demanded, his voice harsh and low. His anger evident with every word.
Isla folded her hands behind her back and took a deep breath. “I wish I could tell you that I did. I wish I could tell you that I’ve fought Deirdre from the moment she took us. But it would be a lie.”
Duncan leaned down so that his face was inches from hers. “We could have defeated her for good that day.”
“Nay, you couldn’t have. I don’t know if I would have helped you, Duncan. It doesn’t matter since I was away from the mountain at the time, under Deirdre’s control. By the time I arrived, the battle was nearly over. I released the ones I could.”
“You could be lying.”
She shrugged and looked away. “Believe what you will.”
Isla held her breath, waiting for Duncan to demand more answers, but after a moment he walked away. She was surprised no one else had confronted her as Duncan had, and in a way she was glad he had. They all deserved answers, even if they didn’t like what those answers were.
TWENTY
It took all of Hayden’s control not to rush out and toss Duncan away from Isla. He shouldn’t want to defend Isla, but he did.
Hayden cursed and placed his hands on the wall in front of him. He leaned forward and let his head drop. He hadn’t needed to see the confrontation, not when his hearing was so excellent.
Isla’s words echoed inside Hayden’s head long after silence descended. What was she doing? Had she left the village? Did she now stand on the cliffs as she had done that first day?
“Fascinating.”
Hayden whirled around to find Lucan leaning casually against the doorway. His arms were crossed over his chest and one ankle rested on the other.
“Tell me,” Lucan said. “Do you watch her because you want to? Or because you were asked to?”
Hayden almost gave into the urge to walk over and punch him. “Because I was asked to.”
“Hmm. Why the anger then?”
Hayden frowned. He had been turned away from Lucan, there was no way Lucan could have known the rage that boiled inside him.
Lucan raised a black brow and jerked his chin forward, his eyes lowering.
Hayden glanced down to find red claws extended from both hands. He’d never even felt them, never known his god had tried to break free.
“It is the way of a Highlander to want to protect and defend women,” Lucan said. He lifted a shoulder nonchalantly, his gaze direct and forceful. “However, Isla can take care of herself.” “I know.”
Lucan pushed away from the wall and twisted his lips wryly. “I think maybe you do. Odd how the need to safeguard, to shield doesn’t leave with that knowledge.” Hayden stared at Lucan, wondering what he was getting at. There was no way anyone could know about his and Isla’s night together. Hayden had been cautious not to even glance at Isla, but he always knew she was near. He smelled her, sensed her … felt her. It was disturbing, perplexing.
“Your point, MacLeod,” Hayden said. He didn’t want to talk anymore. He needed to see where Isla was. After all, the MacLeods had asked him to spy on her.
A faint grin passed over Lucan’s face before he turned on his heel. “I’ve no point. Just talking.”
Hayden didn’t believe him for a moment. Lucan didn’t seek someone out unless he wanted or needed something. What Lucan had wanted with him though was a mystery.
He didn’t waste time thinking on it. With Lucan gone, Hayden could look for Isla. But did he really want to? Chances were he’d find her alone. Which meant he’d talk to her.
After what had happened between them, Hayden didn’t think being that close to her was a good idea. It had been hell sitting with her in the great hall. She was so close, yet so far away.
All he’d been able to do was think about how her sweet body had come alive in his arms, how her skin had heated under his touch. Hayden had listened to Camdyn with half an ear, and many times he asked Camdyn to repeat something because he couldn’t concentrate.
If that’s how he acted with her in the same room with him, what would he do if she was next to him?
Hayden didn’t want to find out. He’d given in to his urge to have her, but he couldn’t do it again. He wouldn’t give in again.
It had been the most glorious experience of his life, but she was a
Hayden rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. When had things gotten so complicated? How could one tiny woman disrupt his life so thoroughly and make him doubt everything?
He let out a sigh and once again wished Logan was there. Maybe his friend’s jest could have chased away some of the melancholy.
Hayden squared his shoulders and looked around the cottage. There was much work to be done, work that would consume him and make him forget ice-blue eyes and silky, ebony hair.
He bent and scooped up a beam that had fallen from the roof. It was charred and useless for its former task, but it was still useable for other things.
Hayden walked it out of the cottage and tossed it aside before he went back inside to immerse himself in labor.
*
Isla let her head loll on the back of the wooden tub. Her muscles ached from the cleaning she had done of the cottages. It had occupied her mind, but always she knew Hayden was never far.
He hadn’t spoken to her since he had left her tower the night before, and as far as she knew, he hadn’t looked her way either.
She had half expected him to come to her defense when Duncan confronted her, but it just proved how little she knew Hayden. That they had kissed, had shared their bodies, did not mean anything to him.
And it shouldn’t mean anything to her.
Isla finished washing and rose from the tub. She would have preferred to take a bath in the tower, but lugging the tub and the water up the long, winding steps would have taken too long. So she’d used Galen’s empty chamber instead.
She stepped out of the cooling water and dried off before dressing. The castle was quiet as everyone settled in for the night, but for Isla, long, lonely hours awaited her.
