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“Nay!” he growled, yanking her to him and circling his arms around her waist. “Ye are a victim of yer father as much as Katherine was. But ye ken the king will nae be merciful to yer family.”
She nodded, sadness twisting her features. She disentangled herself from his hold, wrapped her arms around herself, and stared out the window. “My brother, Finn—we were born at the same time and look alike—he’s gone. He fled.”
“Are ye saying he was nae involved with killing Katherine?” Cameron asked.
“He did not kill her,” she replied woodenly. “Hugo killed Katherine.”
Cameron frowned. She had answered his question, but she had not. Coupling that with her avoiding his gaze, he was sure Sorcha was lying. But why lie now after revealing so much? Unless her brother was involved, and she was trying to protect him… Anger and understanding warred within him. If his own brothers or sisters had done such a thing, he would do everything in his power to protect them, yet if she would lie to him about this, how could he trust her? Sorcha’s relaying of Eolande’s prophecy came instantly to him:We will either sink under the weight of lies or rise with the power of love.
Graham suddenly appeared in the doorway and motioned for Cameron to join him. “We have to ride out,” Graham growled. “If we are to catch the people responsible for attacking Sorcha and Lena, we kinnae waste any more time.”
Cameron gave a quick nod and turned his gaze to Sorcha once more, staring hard at her face for signs of truth or lies. “Can ye tell me who we are looking for?”
“Nay,” she said in such a soft tone that he would have missed hearing the word if he’d not been watching her lips.
He clenched his teeth in vexation. “We kinnae live happily together without truth,” he said simply, letting her know her lies were apparent. “I kinnae do what I must to help ye if ye are nae honest with me.”
When she still did not look at him, his simmering temper began to boil. He cupped her chin and turned her face to his. The wariness he saw there stole his breath. The old voice that had long made him uncertain of himself grew loud. “Dunnae ye have faith in me?” he asked.
“I have complete faith in ye, Cameron,” she cried out. “I’ve never kenned a man as braw as ye. That’s the problem!” she sobbed.
“Cameron,” Graham pressed. “We must give chasenow!”
Frustrated with the lack of time and with her untruth, he released her. “We’ll speak more on this when I return,” he muttered, stalking from the room and not looking back.
Many hours later, as he and the rest of the hunting party were searching the area where Sorcha and Lena had been attacked, Cameron noticed the moonlight glittering off what appeared to be a blade. His heart thumped as he kneeled down and brushed the dirt from the blade, revealing a dagger. He picked it up and brought it close, seeing the House of Angus’s emblem with the initialsFAcarved into the handle. Those were Sorcha’s brother’s initials.
God’s bones! Had her brother been the one to attack her? Was he the one who had been trying to end her life? If so, why? And why had she lied? Was it to protect her brother? Or was it to protect him from having to lie for her brother along with her?
Cameron slammed the point of the dagger down into the dirt.
“Cameron!” Graham called from a few feet away. “Have ye found anything?”
Eolande’s prophecy came to him, making him shudder.Ye will betray yer king, yer family, the very honor ye hold dear.
“Cameron?” Graham called again.
“Nay,” Cameron replied, forcing his breath to become even, his heart to slow, and his mind to quiet. One thought became loud, one purpose clear. He refused to believe she had lied to him for any reason other than to protect him, and he refused to live without her. Therefore, he needed to be so cunning and so ferocious that he could outmaneuver whatever person or force tried to separate him from Sorcha. Methodically, he thought of each of their enemies and what he would do if he were them, as well as what it would take to change the course of those choices. He considered the king and the conspirators against the king—Hugo, Finn, their fathers, March, even Sorcha.
The fear of Eolande’s foretelling slipped away from him, and fierce determination replaced it, along with the certainty that he was strong enough, shrewd enough, to handle what may come, but with his brothers and his sister by his side, he would be unstoppable. The majority of his life he had avoided leaning on anyone, but no more.
Suddenly, a realization struck him that stole his breath: he did not lose his honor by protecting Sorcha. It was honorable to do so. She was innocent.
“Graham,” Cameron called, standing and motioning his brother over, “I’ve found something.” A plan was forming in his mind that involved marrying Sorcha without her realizing it. If she knew what was happening, she’d refuse in order to protect him from making choices that would cause Eolande’s foretelling to come true. He intended to propose his unfolding plan to the king, but if the king did not agree to it, then the only thing preventing Sorcha from still being used as a pawn would be their marriage. When Graham came near, Cameron handed the dagger to him. “This is Sorcha’s brother’s dagger. I’m certain of it.”
Graham frowned as he ran a finger over the initials. “And?” he asked. The question of why Sorcha’s brother had tried to kill her had not been voiced, but it was clear what Graham wanted to know, given his incredulous look.
Cameron sighed. He quickly told Graham what Sorcha had shared about her father, Hugo and his father, and the Earl of March, and how she had said her brother had fled and not killed Katherine.
Graham shook his head when Cameron paused. “Those men have no honor. To have killed Katherine to strike at the king is a coward’s move,” Graham spat.
“Aye,” Cameron agreed.
Graham’s eyebrows dipped together. “Tell me yer thoughts on why her brother would be trying to kill her and why she would lie to ye about it.”
“I believe,” Cameron said slowly, “her brother likely knew she would tell us what had happened, and he and the others would be accountable to the king. Perchance he intended to try to prevent it, or if they thought the king would lose the throne, perchance he did nae care and he simply wanted to ensure she died so Hugo would nae inherit the castle her brother was meant to receive.” He shrugged. “I dunnae ken the why of it for certain, but I do ken this for certain: Sorcha’s heart is big. She loved her brother, and even if she discovered he had intended to kill her, I believe she might have let him flee to keep him safe from harm.”
“Then she lied to ye,” Graham said flatly.
