Braden blatantly ignored the question. “I thought you were going to die.”
Sin scoffed as he shifted in the bed, then cursed as he drew rigid in pain. Hissing, he stared at his burned arm and curled his lip. “It takes more than a little fire to kill me.”
“That wasn’t a little fire.”
Sin gave him a droll stare. “Trust me, brother, it was a little fire.”
Unwilling to argue the matter, Braden shook his head. “I should never have left you.”
Sin looked at him with a fierce frown. “What the devil are you on about now?”
“I should have made you come outside with me.”
Sin’s look spoke loudly.. Are you out of your mind? “I’m not some wench in need of my baby brother to protect me, Braden. In case you haven’t noticed, I happen to be one of the most feared knights in England and the Holy Land. It’s not your banner that makes armies surrender on sight, but mine.”
“Still, you are my blood.”
That deep, probing stare of Sin’s delved into him. “This has nothing to do with me, does it?”
“Of course, it does. You are my brother, and I was protecting Maggie when I should have been protecting you.”
“Nay, little brother. A man protects those who need it most. Those who cannot protect themselves.”
“But I chose her life over yours.”
Sin cocked his head to one side. “Since both she and I are alive and well, I fail to follow your logic.”
“You’re not well. You could have been killed.”
Sin snorted. “I am merely singed. I assure you, I’ve suffered much worse than this. But what of Maggie? What happened to her?”
Braden clenched and unclenched his jaw as he thought over that morning’s events. Over and over, he could see her on the ground as the MacDouglas plunged his sword down. The terror of the moment, and the fear in his heart for her life, were forever branded in his memory.
“Her plan worked. But when Robby saw the fire, he tried to kill her.”
“And?”
“I saved her.”
Sin arched a disbelieving brow. “You risked your life for her?”
Braden nodded.
Sin laughed. “I’ll be damned, little brother. You’ve finally succumbed to Cupid’s arrow.”
“It’s not funny,” Braden snapped. “I am powerless against her.”
Again, that dark probing stare delved into him. “Are you?”
“Aye,” Braden said with a sigh. “One look from her and I am completely undone. What if she asks me one day to forsake my blood? Where would that leave me?”
“Wallowing in sweet bliss, I would imagine.”
“You’re not funny.”
All the humor fled Sin’s face. “And neither are you. You know, Braden, I learned not to trust out of necessity. But you...” Sin didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t have to.
Braden knew what his brother meant. He had never personally been betrayed. Not like Sin had. It was only by watching his brothers that he had learned the hardest of life’s lessons.
