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Leora’s eyes turned wide. “Donald is my grandda’s name. You’ve met him?”
“He’s here,” Bryce said. “Charlotte and I met him while on a mission. He had lost all desire to live until he discovered we had met his son.”
Leora jumped up. “My da escaped?”
“He did,” Charlotte said, “and he helped me find my way to that prison so that I could free my da. The king had put you in the same prison he had banished your da to.”
Tears streamed down Leora’s face. “Can you tell me where you last saw my da?”
“He’s here with your grandda,” Bryce said.
“Take me to them please,” she pleaded. “I will tell you everything in detail from start to finish, but first, please let me see my da and grandda.”
“It’s not possible to see them tonight,” Bryce said. “Your da prefers to live a distance from others, so his place is a bit of a walk from here.”
Leora’s shoulders slumped, as if in defeat. “There is something else you should know though I cannot confirm it, for I heard it in whispers and only recently. There is talk that the king plans something against the Picts.”
“The Picts will not take kindly to any intrusion from the king,” Trey said.
“The king does what suits him,” Leora said. “And when things do not go his way, those around him suffer.” She shivered, as if recalling such a time.
Mara stepped forward. “I think Leora should get some rest. We all should. It’s late, and we can talk in the morning, after a good night’s rest.”
The women drifted off, knowing that the men needed to talk alone, and Mara, with Mercy’s assistance, helped Leora to her room.
“It makes no sense that the king would attack the Picts,” Bryce said. “It would be a foolish battle move on his part, and I do not believe he’s that foolish though I do believe he plans something.”
“Perhaps Leora lies to us,” Reeve said.
“For what reason?” Duncan asked. “Her da is safe.”
“Perhaps the Picts know something,” Carmag suggested.
There was a moment of silence before Bryce turned to Trey. “Whether you want to or not, there is something you need to consider. One woman used you to suit her own needs; does another one do the same?”
Trey took a quick step forward but stopped, keeping his clenched fist at his side when he wanted nothing more than to plant it in Bryce’s face.
“It’s a question that needs answering, son,” Carmag said.
“We protect the king above all else,” Duncan reminded.
“Just tell us how your marriage came to be, and this can all be settled,” Reeve said.
Would it or would it create a larger problem? Bryce’s comment had wounded him. Leora had made a fool of him. She had led him to believe that she loved him. He had been sure that she loved him, and he had suffered greatly when he thought her dead. And now to find out it had all been a ruse ... just like his marriage to Bliss?
Was he seeing only what he wanted to see as he had done with Leora, or was Bliss different? Leora had reason to trick him. She wanted to save her da. What of Bliss? What could she want from him?
He needed answers as much as his brothers did. And they were right, the true king came above all else.
Trey told them everything, from the time he came upon Bliss, to the many detours they had encountered, and he also informed them of how easily the marriage could be dissolved.
“Then you truly aren’t wed,” Duncan said, as if he sounded relieved.
“You can spend more time with Bliss and make certain it is love that brought you together and not some plan of the Picts to help protect their people that brought this marriage about,” Reeve said.
“That would be wise of you to do, Trey,” his da advised.
Trey looked to Bryce. “And your thoughts, since I’m sure you have them?”
