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Tears brimmed Blair’s eyes, and she felt her whole body quiver. She hadn’t known whether or not to believe Alisa. The lady had always been cruel to her. She had always lied and manipulated to get her way. Even after the lady had confessed her hate for the laird and her wish to destroy the last of his line, she still found it hard to believe after growing up with hardly anything. Even now, Blair didn’t know if she could believe it. Yet, looking into Aindreas’s eyes, she felt as if the walls within her were crumbling.
Aindreas stroked her cheek. A sad gleam came to his eyes as he smiled at her. “Ye have his eyes.”
Blair coughed as she tried to stifle her sob, knowing he spoke the truth. She had the laird’s eyes. Deep down, she knew it made sense. Why else would he have taken her in? He had been so kind to her, doting on her as much as he could during their last days together. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she realized she should have spent more time with him. She should have been there with him when he had passed, and yet she hadn’t been.
Lady Alisa had kept her from seeing him, from entering his study.
A sob escaped Blair’s lips, and her hand slipped from Aindreas’s grasp. She cried into her hands, her shoulders heaving as she felt the pain from the last several days shatter within her. Her resolve was crumbling. She couldn’t hang on any longer. Once more, she mourned the laird’s loss, this time as his daughter and not as his ward.
Her gaze lifted when she felt strong arms circling around her. Aindreas pulled her towards him, and she clutched his chest, trying to calm her pounding heart and the pain wracking through her.
“What now?” she sobbed while shaking her head. “What does it matter if I am a MacBean or not? My father is dead, and ye must still marry Sorcha.”
Aindreas stroked her hair while kissing her brow. “Nae, I must not.”
Blair blinked, not knowing if she could believe her ears. She pushed him away, meeting his soft smile. “What?” she breathed while wiping her eyes.
Aindreas chuckled, stroking her hair away from her face before placing a chaste kiss upon her cheek. “I do not have to marry Sorcha.”
Blair sniffed. “But why? I saw ye with her.”
Aindreas’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Ye saw her?”
“I saw her enter yer rooms. And after some time, the both of ye left together.”
Aindreas’s eyes widened.
“I was sure ye and her were together. I saw ye leave with her. The both of ye appeared to be so happy. I believed—“
“Nae,” Aindreas whispered while moving from her side and kneeling before her. He clutched her hand and pressed it against his chest. “Yer indeed correct. She was here, but not for what ye think.”
Blair felt confused as he smiled brightly up at her with love and adoration. “Then what was she here for?”
Aindreas’s smile widened. “I must speak with her father today. She is to marry Laird MacAlister.”
Blair’s eyes widened. “MacAlister?” she whispered harshly as if speaking the name was wishing a curse upon Castle Lachlan. “But why? I thought the Cambels hated the MacAlister’s. I thought ye were going into battle with them.”
Aindreas chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. “We were, but everything will fall into place after I speak with Laird Cambel. Sorcha is in love with Laird MacAlister. The laird has agreed that he will halt all attacks after the arrangement is made.”
Blair blinked. Her tongue felt numb as she stared down at Aindreas. He was clutching her hand to his chest, placing her palm where his heart rested. “So that means yer not marrying Sorcha?”
Blair’s heart swelled as she watched Aindreas shake his head. “Nae, I will not. There is another lady I had my heart set on.” He tilted his head to the side. The way he was staring at her was making her face flush. “There is another that has enchanted my heart.”
Blair’s lips trembled as she tried to keep herself from crying.
“Blair,” he breathed, leaning towards her. “I love ye so much. I never realized I could feel such love until I met ye.” He swallowed, his face changing into a dark grimace. “Last night, I thought I was going to lose ye. I thought I would find yer corpse in the loch.” He shook his head. “And I know now, regardless of the Cambels and the alliance, I would have asked ye either way. I cannot live with ye. Yer my other half.”
Blair felt tears streaming down her face once more, yet instead of pain, she felt joy as she stared into Aindreas’s eyes. “I feel the same,” she breathed while stroking his face. “I have always felt the same. I don’t think I could ever love another, not after having met ye. Yer the only man I can see myself with; the only man I want to be with.”
Aindreas leaned into her touch. “Blair, will ye make me the happiest man in the world and stand by my side until death parts us?”
Blair smiled while wiping the tears from her eyes, her head lulling up and down. “Yes, Aindreas. I will marry ye.”
Aindreas leaned forward, claiming her lips while she clutched his hand. His tongue slipped inside, stroking and intertwining around hers. Blair moaned while she held onto Aindreas. The kiss held everything she needed. It held warmth and compassion. It held love and wonder. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling her closer. Feeling his body rise, she fell back onto the bed, leaning into his touch, opening just for him. His tongue entered, stroking her fires, stroking the flames raging at her core. Yet, all she could think about as she kissed him was how much she loved him and how much she wanted to be with him.
Blair did not break any curses, nor did she cast out any evil witches, yet she had still found and claimed her prince.
