Page 30 of Highlander’s Vengeful Seduction

It took an entire day for Donal to see Angus again. He had been worried sick about him, but he wanted to give him the space that he had asked for, so he refrained from going up to his chambers and trying to strike up a conversation with him.

The night was the roughest part for Donal. He had spent the hours awake, sitting by the window and watching the world outside, terrified of every minute that passed, and he didn’t hear anything from Angus. The rational part in his mind told him that Angus would not come to him in the middle of the night, no matter how heartbroken he was, perhaps thinking that Donal was asleep, and he should not bother him. The other part of his mind, though, the one that relied on emotion and didn’t think a single rational thought, told him that the night was the most dangerous time for Angus. It had been nighttime when Ronald had taken his own life, after all, and Donal worried that Angus would do the same, driven mad because of his sadness.

A man’s monsters dwelled at night; Donal didn’t want to walk into his friend’s chambers the next morning and find him dead, lying cold on the floor with a puddle of blood around him.

The next morning arrivede, though, and it found Donal with dark, heavy bags under his eyes and a pallor that came with the lack of sleep.

He should have gone to the hall to break his fast. What Donal did instead was pace around his room incessantly, walking from one side to the other. If he had paced any longer, he could have sworn that his shoes would have worn the ground that he walked, but a knock on his door stopped him.

“Come in,” Donal said, expecting to see Vanora there. It wouldn’t surprise him; he, too, wanted to go find her. The worry about Angus was almost unbearable, and as long as he was in his room, locked up in those four walls, then whatever happened in the outside world could not reach him.

The worry was almost unbearable, but knowing for certain that Angus had taken his own life would kill Donal, too.

When the door opened, though, it wasn’t Vanora who stood there. Rather, it was Angus—looking worse for wear, but still alive.

He, too, looked as though he had not slept the entire night, and the two men stared at each other for a few moments, each of them taking in the results of the previous day’s events.

“Are ye alright?” Donal asked, for lack of anything better to say, as he gestured at Angus to take a seat by the window.

Angus joined Donal in the small sitting area, throwing himself on the empty chair like he could not bear the weight of reality anymore. Still, he managed to give Donal a small smile, and it was more than Donal could have hoped for.

“Aye,” Angus said. “I’m alright. I came tae apologize to ye, Donal.”

“There isnae any need tae apologize,” Donal assured him. “I ken ye weel. I ken the kind of man that ye are better than anyone. Ye dinnae need tae say aught else to me.”

“What I did tae ye was despicable,” Angus insisted. “I shouldnae have treated ye in such a way, and I can only apologize for it and beg ye tae accept my apology.”

Donal leaned a little closer to Angus, giving him a reassuring smile. “If ye insist on apologizing, then I’ll forgive ye, but ken that I never stopped thinking about ye as my brother. I ken that it was Vika who planted all these lies in yer head…none of it was yer fault.”

Angus could only smile in return, and he sighed as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders. Donal could only hope that Angus believed him and that he wouldn’t blame himself for everything that had happened any longer.

“What will ye do about Vika?” Donal asked. A part of him didn’t want to hear the answer.

“I will send her to a nunnery,” Angus said, drawing a relieved sigh from Donal. “I canna have her executed…I dinnae have the heart.”

Despite everything, Donal didn’t want a fate too cruel for Vika. He had already gotten his revenge by exposing her lies to the world, and she had already paid. Her life, the life that she always wanted and imagined for herself, was now gone, and there was no way of taking it back. Being in a monastery for the rest of her life sounded like a good idea to Donal, and it was one that was certain to please Vanora, too.

Just as Donal was thinking about Vanora, the door opened, and she rushed inside, only to stop when she saw that Angus was already there.

“Angus!” she said as she smoothed down her skirt, trying to look as though she hadn’t just run to Donal’s room. “Yer here! Ye already told Donal?”

Angus didn’t need to be told why Vanora was so eager to get to Donal’s chambers, though. He had long known that the two of them belonged together, and he also knew when it was time to excuse himself.

“Aye,” Angus said, standing up and heading for the door, eager to leave before the two of them threw themselves into each other’s arms. “I told him about the nunnery and everything…weel, I’ll find ye twa later.”

Before either Donal or Vanora knew it, Angus was gone, leaving the two of them alone. The moment the door closed, Vanora rushed to Donal and kissed him, her hands grabbing his shirt to hold him close.

“Och, I missed ye,” she told him, mumbling against his lips, and Donal kissed her again, drowning the soft sounds that she made.

There was a question in Donal’s mind that had come to the forefront now that he didn’t have to worry about Angus, and he looked at Vanora, taking her hands in his.

“Will ye still have me, Vanora?” he asked her. “Will ye still be my wife?”

Vanora blinked a few times in surprise. She didn’t know why Donal was asking her such a question, because the answer, to her, was very clear.

“Aye,” she said. “Of course I will. I love ye, Donal.”

“And I love ye…with all my heart.”