Page 29 of Kilted Sins

“Thora—”

But Enya was gone before Cillian could finish his sentence, all but running out of the room. With her heart still in her throat, her stomach churning at the thought of how close she was to being discovered, she hurried down the hallway with no real direction in mind, just so she could get far away from Cillian.

That was too risky. I shouldnae have done it.

And yet it wasn’t just the guilt that had pushed her towards caring for Cillian. It had been mainly her concern for him, the fear that something would happen and she would be unable to stop it.

Just like she had been unable to save the lives that had mattered the most to her all those years ago.

Once she was far enough from Cillian, Enya ducked into the first room she found—the library, which was entirely empty at that time of the day. She was glad for it as she placed the tray down, her shaky hands unable to hold onto it anymore, and then sank to the floor with her back to the door, arms wrapped tightly around her knees.

She wished Thora was there. She wished she had never met Cillian. She wished the king had never given this order that had thrown her head-first into this mess.

Most of all, she wished that she weren’t so weak when it came to Cillian. A part of her was still quick to anger around him, as she had not forgotten the way he had treated her time and time again, showing her little, if any, respect. But there was another, traitorous part of her that craved to be near him and longed to be gazed at with that hunger, that raw and unfiltered desire.

I am hopeless. I must find a way tae leave afore this becomes any worse.

—

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

In the previous three days, Cillian had woken up without experiencing any pain. He had then gone about his days without experiencing any pain. He had even pushed himself, doing strenuous work just to see if he could provoke some sort of reaction from his body and once again, he had gone to bed without any pain.

It baffled him. An injury like the one he had sustained was normally not only painful but also debilitating for several days, if not weeks, and yet there he was, moving his arm as though nothing at all had happened. When he had unwrapped his bandaging the second day, curious to see the wound that lay beneath, he had found nothing but a shallow cut that was slightly tender to the touch. There was no blood, no redness, not even a proper gash like there should have been.

It couldn’t simply be the paste, he thought. There had to be something else, something Thora wasn’t telling him, though he couldn’t possibly begin to guess what that was. Surely, no one could magically heal any wound. Did she have some sort of trick? Had she found out a way to promote healing and didn’t want anyone else to know about it?

It sounded so far-fetched, but it was the only explanation Cillian could provide himself. From Skye, he had learned there were herbs and pastes and salves for any and all ailments, so perhaps the thought that there was a plant out there that could help a wound heal so quickly was not so outrageous after all. Maybe it just so happened that Thora had discovered its properties first. Maybe it was something simple, something that existed everywhere around them but no one had thought to use on a wound before.

However, it didn’t explain the strange feeling he had gotten from her touch. It was the same sensation as when he had approached her while she was working on Samuel’s injuries, the same indescribable feeling.

Whatever it was, it had worked. His range of motion was unaltered and he felt no pain, nothing that would hinder his everyday activities.

After dressing that morning, Cillian made his way to the great hall only to find Thora already there, along with Mrs. Selkirk and a dozen servants, all of them working on the decorations for the Yule celebrations. Thora was smiling as she helped one of the servant girls hang a garland of holly over the door and for a moment, Cillian caught himself staring, unable to take a single step farther into the room.

He had always been aware of Thora’s beauty, of course. From the first moment he had seen her, her good looks had been undeniable, even though he had been quick to judge her for everything else. There was something different about her that day, though, or at least so it seemed to Cillian. He didn’t think he had ever seen her smile like that before. He didn’t think he had ever seen her so pleased and radiant, lighting up the entire room with her smile.

Naturally, that smile faltered when she spotted him.

It shouldn’t have surprised him, this less than favorable reaction. From the first moment they had met, they had both been antagonizing each other as though they had nothing better to do, and now Cillian feared it was too late to start over. It wasn’t just the first impression of each other; it was everything that had followed, every petty argument, every insult they had traded during Thora’s stay.