Skye was a little horrified to find that she was breathing heavily, her chest heaving, tears pricking at her eyes.
Mason slowly lowered his head, throwing his face into the shadow. She couldn’t read his expression.
Perhaps I daenae want to. Perhaps I no longer care about him or what he thinks.
A shuffling step drew her attention.
Evander took one careful step forward, his eyes fixed on Mason. “Who did ye work with? What were yer reasons?”
Mason swallowed, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. She wondered how slimy and cobwebby the ceiling was.
“I have always loved ye like a sister, me Lady,” he said, his voice thick. “I kent that ye didnae truly want to come here. I kent how ye resented this man, and indeed the whole clan. I… I was trying to save ye! Fromhim!” He jerked his chin toward Evander.
“If I hadnae escaped,” Skye whispered, “would I still be there?”
Mason said nothing.
For a moment, they all stood there, staring at each other. Tension thrummed through the room. A wave of nausea hit her.
“Who else kent about this?” Evander asked, his voice low and even.
Mason pressed his lips into a thin line. “It was only me. I took Her Ladyship for the reason I told ye.”
Liar.
The word rang out in Skye’s head like a false note. She glanced over at Evander, whose eyebrows were drawn together.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Without conferring, they withdrew toward the steps.
Fergus descended.
“What is it?” Evander asked, his voice low.
“I found the house. The one where…” Fergus faltered, glancing over at Skye. “The one where we thought Lady Bryden was kept.”
Her skin prickled, imagining a shadowy place in the back of her mind, somewhere she’d spent the last year but had no memory of.
“Well?” Evander prompted.
“Abandoned,” Fergus sighed. “There was a bed, a comfortable-looking one, a chair, a fireplace—all signs that somebody lived there for a while. Somebodycouldhave lived there. The paths to and around the house were well-trod.”
“Nae by me,” Skye said instantly. “I believe that I only left that place once.”
“Well, we searched it for clues. There was nothing. At least nothing that I could identify. I’m sorry, me Laird.”
Evander shook his head. “At least we tried.”
“Have ye questioned him?” Fergus jerked his head toward Mason, who was standing silently in his cell, staring at nothing.
“Aye, but he’s given us very little.”
“He’s hiding something,” Skye insisted. “There’s something he’s nae telling us. I think he’s telling me the truth about wanting to… to save me from ye, Evander. But there’s something he’s holding back.”
“I agree,” Evander said grimly.
The trio stood in silence for a moment, absorbing this.
“What now?” Fergus asked, his gaze flicking to Evander. “We can make him tell us.”
