“Why? What threat could you possibly pose to him?”
He faced her, and in his gray eyes, she saw a man of ice. There was no pain, no emotion at all. Only a frozen mask of indifference.
“I’m a bastard, Lady Taryn. I was not born a member of the tribe, and I’m not worth even the dirt beneath his feet. Why would he let me speak?” Killian studied her with a mocking smile. “Brodie wants naught to do with me. He wanted me hidden from everyone, like a secret meant to be forgotten.” He spread out his hands, gesturing toward the stable. “Look around you, Lady Taryn. This is my home. I sleep here, among the horses and dogs.”
She didn’t like that at all. A man’s worth had nothing to do with his birthright.
“You are not to blame for your mother’s choices.”
“A choice?” He looked incredulous at her words. “My mother had no choice at all. She was already with child when she fled the High King. Brodie took her in, but we were both treated asfuidir.” He shrugged as if it meant nothing. Still, it bothered Taryn to see a man so mistreated, merely from circumstances of birth.
“Why did she leave the High King?”
He sent her a disbelieving glance. “It’s more likely that she never wanted to be with a man like him. She wouldn’t speak of Rory, though everyone knows I am his son.”
“Does he know about you? That is, did you ever go to see him?” Though it was quite a distance to Tara, she couldn’t imagine that he’d remained here.
“No. Brodie told him about me, but Rory cared nothing about my existence. I had no desire to meet him, based on my mother’s experience.”
She suspected there was more that he hadn’t revealed. In his eyes, she saw the hard resentment of a man who hated his life. Most of thefuidirshe’d encountered were not as proud as this man. But Killian seemed unwilling to accept a fate such as this, and she could not blame him.
“If this is not the life you want, you could leave,” she suggested.
He said nothing, and she realized that she did have something to offer this man. A home where he would not be treated as a slave. “If you free my father, you could come and live among our people at Ossoria. You would have a place with us.”
The doubt upon his face made it clear that he did not believe her. “I intend to see my sister to safety. That is the only reason I am escorting you to Tara—to help her escape. After that, I will go my own way.”
She wasn’t ready to give up so soon. Not when there was a chance he could save her father’s life.
Yet there was so much bitterness locked away in Killian, it was festering deep inside. Despite the High King’s reputation, there was a blood bond between them, of father and son. There might be a way for him to gain Rory’s favor.
“And after Carice is safe? What then?” she pressed. “Will you return here and live among men who treat you like the dirt they walk upon?”
Rage flashed in his eyes and she knew she had struck upon his weakness—pride. This was a man who had the demeanor of a king, though he was trapped in the life of a slave.
“My decisions are my own.” He took a step toward her, letting his height intimidate her. But she refused to back down—not when she believed he had the power to save her father. This man had single-handedly fought back against the chieftain’s strongest men, proving that he could overcome the odds. When she looked upon his face, she saw a man of determination, a man of courage.
He reached down and caught her wrist. “Don’t think I’m unaware of what you’re doing,a chara. You want me to speak on your father’s behalf to King Rory and ask my father to free Devlin,” he said. He sent her a sidelong look. “As if a bastard son has any influence at all.” She tried to pull her hand back, but he gripped it tight. “I’ll not be risking my life for his.”
He wouldn’t want that, no. But there was something else that might sway him.
Taryn reached beneath her skirt to a pouch she’d tied beneath it. From the pouch, she withdrew a silver coin. She held it up and said, “If you do go your own path, you will need to build your own wealth. You could start with this.”
She pressed the silver into his palm, but he caught her hand and held it. The small piece of metal warmed beneath their joined hands, but there was more than a simple touch. “This is what my word is worth,” she continued. “If you rescue my father, I can give you a chest of silver so heavy, you cannot lift it. You could buy anything you want.”
Killian’s steel eyes smoldered with fury, and he looked as if her offer had wounded his pride. Taryn’s skin tightened, her body flushing at his intense stare. She tried to look away, but every part of her was strangely attuned to him. Her body had grown sensitive, and the coldness of his face caught her breath.
Like a fallen angel, his features were darkly handsome. Though he didn’t bruise her skin with his grip, he was letting her know who was in command. And it wasn’t her.
“I’ve never met anyone of noble blood whose word could be trusted.” He pressed the coin back into her hand, as if to say he wanted nothing she could give.
His words infuriated her. She had done nothing to warrant such distrust, and it was insulting. “You don’t even know me, Killian MacDubh. I am a woman who keeps her promises.”
“Are you?” he asked softly. “The first words you spoke were lies and deceptions. Why should I believe you?”
Her face flushed at the memory of how she’d told the soldiers she was Carice. From the shielded expression on his face, she realized that Killian was a man who trusted no one, save himself. No matter what vows she made, he would not believe them.
“Then perhaps I won’t help your sister after all,” she countered. “I’ll confess to the soldiers who I really am, and your father can take her to Tara to be wedded to the High King. I’ll find other soldiers to save my father.”
