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“Oh shit,” Bryce said, and cringed.
Tara couldn’t help but laugh, as did Mercy, and for a moment, Tara was free of worries, though only a moment.
Mara skipped the last two steps, looking as if she flew off the staircase and into the great hall, her face aflame with annoyance. At the same moment, Carmag and Reeve burst through the front doors, a chilled wind following them in.
“We have a problem,” Carmag said.
“Yes,” Mara agreed. “Your son is being rude to our guest.”
Tara grew anxious when Reeve hurried to her side and wrapped a strong arm around her.
“That will have to wait, Mara,” Carmag said firmly.
“What is it?” Mara asked, her arm going to rest on his.
Carmag turned to Tara. “King Carnoth of Carlig along with a troop of his warriors is but an hour away from arriving here. Is King Carnoth of the west Highlands your father?”
The truth had finally caught up with her. And the thought that her father was but a short distance away terrified her, and so she grabbed tight hold of Reeve’s hand before she answered. “Yes, he is my father.”
“What’s going on?” Mara demanded. “Since obviously there’s something you haven’t told me.”
“Tara has been promised to the king of Scotland,” Reeve said.
“Reeve wasn’t aware of that until recently,” Tara said, not wanting his mother to think that he had intentionally kept it from her.
“It doesn’t matter when I learned of it,” Reeve said. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Then I suppose the plan was to wed Tara before the king or her father learned where she was,” Mara said.
“That was the plan,” Carmag admitted.
“But there’s more to it,” Tara said, wanting the whole truth revealed. Mara had been good to her, and she was tired of deceiving her and others.
“Tara—”
“No, Reeve,” she said, clinging even more tightly to his hand. “It’s time your mum knew the truth.”
Tara noticed Duncan wrap his arm around Mercy, as if ready to protect or comfort her. Carmag even took a step closer to his wife.
Tara took a breath, and said, “I’m adeath bride.”
There was an audible gasp from both women, and for a moment, there was complete silence.
“You’ve lost one husband?” Mara finally asked.
“One, but also a man I loved,” Tara said, and wasn’t surprised to see Mara cringe.
“It makes no difference,” Reeve said.
“It makes all the difference,” Mara argued. “I’ll not lose a son if it can be helped.”
“I agree,” Tara said. “I will not see another suffer because of me.”
“I’ll not see you dead because a curse was feared,” Reeve said vehemently.
Mara shook her head. “It’s as though you talk in riddles. Explain it all to me,now!”
Reeve did so, keeping it brief and finishing with. “King Kenneth will kill Tara after vows are exchanged.”
