While Anna stirred dried herbs in a bowl, Deidra and her assistants set Kristina's arm.
Colin scowled, glad she was asleep for that, because the pain would be excruciating if she were awake. Still, he prayed she would awaken within the next hour or two, for it would bode well for her speedy recovery.
He paced from the window to the door, over and over, feeling helpless as he watched the healers work. He mentally urged Kristina to open her eyes, grimace or flutter an eyelash. Anything. But she lay motionless.
A strong, comforting hand clasped Colin's shoulder. He glanced aside to find Neacal standing next to him, looking troubled and solemn.
Colin wanted to thank him for being there but suddenly found his throat was too tight to speak.
"How is she?" Neacal asked.
"She is breathing well," Deidra said. "I'm thinking she simply needs time to rest and recuperate. Time for the swelling in her head to go down."
"Come," Neacal said to Colin. "I'll pour you a dram."
"Let me know if anything changes," Colin told the women.
"Aye, m'laird," Deidra said.
"I will stay by her side, too," Anna said.
Though Colin didn't want to, he followed Neacal from the room. He encountered his mother, who was getting ready to enter the room, along with a dozen other people waiting in the corridor, including Maili and Shamus.
"She hasn't awakened yet," he told them, then went into the solar with Neacal.
Colin closed the door but found no comfort in the room as he usually did. Stark fear and desolation permeated him. "Damnation, I cannot bear losing her, too."
"You're not going to lose her," Neacal stated firmly while he poured whisky into small glasses.
"I pray you're right."
Neacal handed Colin a glass, but there was no jovial toast this time. Colin tossed the amber liquid back and swallowed swiftly, the fiery liquid burning his throat. He needed it to dull the sharp pain in his soul. "How could this happen? Why? She recovers from her previous injuries, regains her eyesight and now this."
"Colin, she will recover. Have faith."
His chest felt constricted. "I cannot breathe without her."
"I ken it. 'Tis how I feel about Anna. Thankfully, she wasn't injured, but when Blackburn abducted Anna, I almost went mad with worry and fear for her life."
Colin nodded. "Kristina has already suffered too much, even before this."
"She is a resilient woman with a fierce spirit."
'Twas true and one of the things he loved about her. In fact, she possessed so many traits he loved, he could not recount them all.
"Did you resolve things with her?" Neacal asked.
Regret felt like a leaden weight upon Colin's shoulders. "Not yet. I talked to her briefly last night, and she apologized but…" Colin shook his head. "I was daft and did not let her know I forgive her and still want her to be my wife. I told her I couldn't trust her. Damnation! I cannot seem to make the right decisions."
Neacal scowled. "You're being too hard on yourself."
"If I'd forgiven her and spent the night with her, none of this would've happened."
"You had no inkling Holme was within the walls."
"But I should have." Colin poured himself another dram of whisky. Aye, a clan leader should know who was inside the walls of his castle.
"She will awaken soon, and you can tell her how you feel."
