Chapter 29
“Does it seem quieter outside? Has somethin' happened?” Lilith’s voice was a desperate whine, and Willow shook her head, sighing.
“I daenae ken, Lilith. It isnae like I have any more experience with battle sounds than yerself.”
Lilith and Melissa eyed her, the surprise on their faces very obvious. Willow released another heavy breath and slumped down into the chair she’d been going in and out of since Keegan left.
She’d managed to get dressed to a degree—opting for her shift and stays with only the arisaid to cover her shoulders—but Willow had been a pacing wreck since the moment this all began, and even though she’d tried to gain more information from Lilith—and even Melissa, who could have seen something on her trip here—there was nothing to ease the worry that gnawed at her spine.
“It could be verra good, indeed, Lilith.” Melissa smiled, patting Lilith’s hand as they sat next to each other on the bed. “We shall just have to see.”
“Ugh,” Willow grumbled, and the women in the room with her eyed her again.
The optimism grated on Willow’s nerves. She was finding it far too challenging to be sunny right now, and her usual outlook on life—facing the darkness with a smile—was severely lacking.
But she shouldn’t be taking it out on them.
She ducked her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I apologize. I…I am concerned. Ye are provin' to be the more poised one, Melissa.”
Keegan’s sister stood up from the bed and walked over to her. Holding out her hands, Willow stepped into the offered comfort, and Melissa squeezed both her arms as she laid her head against her sister-in-law’s chest.
“It will be all right, Willow. I have seen me brother pull himself out of far worse scraps than this one.”
Then, Lilith’s voice sounded to Willow’s left, and she knew her sister had come over to offer her support as well.
“We are here with ye, Sister. And…” She sighed, and Willow could hear the change in Lilith’s tone. “I am so terribly sorry that I have caused all this to happen. There are innocent people here, and they could be…”
The words didn’t finish. They all knew what Lilith was getting at, and there was nothing to be said for it. It wouldn’t make the pain or guilt or reality of the situation change.
Instead, they all just stood there, holding each other in the silence of the room. The room where, only an hour or so ago, Willow had given herself to Keegan—and realized that she loved him desperately.
Knock, knock, knock.
Willow flinched, looking to the door along with Melissa and Lilith.
“An attacker wouldnae knock.” Melissa nodded at the door. “Go on.”
She hurried to the door, flinging it wide to reveal the laird’s man-at-arms.
“Rodrick? What are ye—Where is Keegan?”
He smiled weakly at her, and Willow noted the several cuts and injuries littering Rodrick’s form.
“The battle is over.” Melissa and Lilith rushed up behind her. “We are victorious.”
A collective sigh echoed through the space as they each relaxed slightly, but Melissa was quick to close the distance to Rodrick and demand the answers they all wanted.
“What of the laird, Rodrick? And Damon? Did he and the others return?”
His expression dropped some, and Willow’s stomach knotted further into a mess of tension and fear.
“The laird is well, me lady.” Relief nearly sent Willow to the floor, but then she focused on the deep furrow in Rodrick’s brow. “Yer brother, Damon, is with the healer, though. He’s…he’s been gravely injured, me lady. I…”
Melissa’s eyes flared wide, and she gaped for a moment before whispering, “Damon.”
Without another word, she sprinted from the room, tearing down the hallway enough so that the furious beating of her steps could be heard while Willow still remained in Keegan’s chambers.
It was quiet for a moment, and Willow turned back toward Lilith. Her sister’s eyes were fixed on the floor, and she was shaking her head repeatedly.
“I…I…I did this. I am responsible for Damon’s wounds.” Tears rained down Lilith’s face. “Och, God. And what of our own brother? Defeated? Dead?”
It was a blow, to be sure—understanding the painful outcome of your actions—but Lilith was much more upset than Willow would have expected. Her sister stumbled backward until she bumped into the bed and plopped down. Willow hurried to her side, taking Lilith’s hand.
“Breathe, Lilith. I am here with ye. I am right here.”
Footsteps drew Willow’s attention up, and she glanced at Rodrick, who’d followed them inside the room.
“I am sorry, lass, but I wouldnae drag out the hurt.” He got down onto one knee, looking up at Lilith. “Yer brother…Magnus…He has fallen.”
Willow froze. She didn’t know what to do, what she wanted to do. Lilith joined her in staring at Rodrick, utterly shocked. The room was deathly silent for several moments, the only sounds being their breaths and the crackle of the fire.
Magnus was dead.
The great pain of her life, the man who’d tossed both her and sister aside for his ruthless pursuit of land, was ended. He was also, of course, her brother. She had grown up with the man, seen him play and steal food from the kitchens.
An odd grief worked through her chest. Magnus had not been kind, and it was unlikely that he would have ever changed. Still, now that fact was certain. The dead do not change. And so Willow let out a quiet sob for the brother that she wished he could have been.
We could have been family…a true family…and now…
“When can we take him home to bury him?”
Lilith’s voice broke the quiet, and Willow turned to her, her brow furrowing as her jaw dropped slightly.
She wasn’t sure what she expected her sister to say, but it wasn’t that. Still, they should bury the man. He had been family. Perhaps in the beyond he could find the forgiveness and peace he never did in life.
“Me lady,” Rodrick took Lilith’s hand, his brows knitted together over his look of unease, “he…There was fire. It isnae a sight for a lass.”
“I havenae asked that, sir. He may be shrouded, but we should take him back for a burial.”
Rodrick winced once more, and Willow knew that there was more.
“What is it, Rodrick?”
He ducked his head, and when he looked back up at them, any bit of his usual charm and easy smile was gone.
“Keegan has commanded that we arenae to touch his body. He is to remain in the field to…decay.”
It was a strange knock to her chest, but Willow had to suck in a fresh breath. Lilith’s sobs sounded up next to her, and a stray tear dripped down Willow’s cheek in turn.
“I…” Willow blinked, holding her eyes closed for a moment before meeting Lilith’s eyes. “I will speak to Keegan. I am sure he will see reason.”
Lilith nodded, her sobs quieting some.
“I will leave ye two to talk. I’m to tell ye that Keegan is with Damon in the healer’s chamber, should ye wish to find him.”
“Thank ye, Rodrick,” Willow replied, offering him a sorrowful smile.
The man-at-arms slipped from the room, and Willow was left beside her sister, unsure what she was feeling about her brother’s death.
“He is gone then,” Lilith whispered. “What shall become of Castle McCallum, I wonder.”
Willow turned to her sister, taking both her hands in hers and squeezing. “I thought ye might be more…Och, well, I supposed I dinnae ken how ye might be feelin'.”
Lilith’s expression was a mirror for her own—too many emotions and thoughts and truths all spinning around like dancers in a reel. Willow swallowed, her stare finding the floor.
“He was our brother,” Lilith sighed, “but he wasnae ever truly our family.”
Of all the things said, that rocked Willow to her core. She cried harder then, the sobs making her chest ache, and she pulled Lilith into her arms.
“I love ye, Lilith. I mean that with every bit of me.” Willow sat back, holding her sister’s face. “I…I am so verra sorry that I couldnae find a way to make our family better…whole.”
Shaking her head, Lilith pulled Willow’s hands down to her lap. “Ye have always been the only family I need. We both tried to create a pleasant relationship with Magnus, but he wouldnae have it. At the end of things, we cannae lie to ourselves. He…he never cared for us.”
They were a mess together then, each of them swiping the other’s tears away, and Willow embraced Lilith with everything she had.
“He was so cruel to ye, Lilith.” Her sister made a face at her. “Aye, to both of us. But I ken that he was particularly awful to ye after I was taken. I am sorry for that.”
“I daenae hold ye responsible for his actions, Willow. He started this mess by abducting Melissa. More, with the murder of Keegan’s parents.”
Willow nodded. “Aye. I believe he did, at least to a degree. Keegan hasnae forgiven him for that. I hope perhaps that now…now he might be able to let the past go. But with Damon injured…I daenae ken.”
Lilith tensed, gripping Willow’s hand tighter. “Do ye think it is verra bad? The man seems such a braw fighter….The war chief.”
Her tone was so hollow, and Willow felt a pang in her heart for the state of her husband. It was certain that Keegan was upset, livid. He was so close to his siblings, the only remaining blood kin he had, and she knew in her soul that if Damon should perish, it would ruin Keegan.
“I cannae tell ye that, Lilith. I daenae ken what happened out there. I only wish that I would have been able to do somethin' meself. Bein' trapped behind the walls was a torture that I feared might never end.”
“Aye, I take yer meanin'.” Lilith eyed the door. “I…I daenae wish to see our clan restored to someone like our brother. And I daenae forgive him for what he’s done. Still…I feel as though we should bury him. We arenae how he was, and I wish for our actions to set us apart from his legacy of cruelty.”
The words were perfect, the exact notion filling Willow’s bones, and she hoped that Keegan would understand it for the same. They only wished to bury a fallen member of their old clan—for what was left of the McCallums, if anything?
“I daenae wish for him to rot outside, either. I, too, will never forgive the man for what he’s done. The way he treated ye while I was absent…Lilith, there will never be a day I daenae hate that ye had to go through that. Ye’re stronger than ye realize for survivin' him.”
Willow shook herself, remembering what she had been trying to say.
“The point is that we arenae the people Magnus might have wanted us to be. We are better. Keegan is better as well, and I believe that I can make him understand. He is just…Damon will need to be healed. Do ye understand?”
Lilith nodded. “Of course. I ken that the laird willnae be in any type of merciful mood should Damon…”
The sentence drifted off, and her sister did not finish. There was a deep furrow to Lilith’s brow as she stared down at the floor, and her shoulders were so slumped that Willow worried she might fully crumple into a ball.
Clearly, me sister regrets all this. And…perhaps, she has seen the good in the Brahannes and would be sorrowful to tarnish it.
“Allow me a moment, Lilith. Then, I will go speak to Keegan.” Lilith looked up with a pitiful smile—tiny and forlorn. “As for the castle…I daenae think ye should return there to live. We can travel with Magnus to bury him, but then…ye should return here with me.”
Her eyes flared wide. “Live in Castle Brahanne? Is that wise?”
“Our old home will be fraught with tensions and confusion following Magnus’s death. There will be some who wish to…ensure that nay McCallum heir can be produced.”
Lilith froze, understanding what Willow was getting at.
“Ye…Ye think there will be some that will try to kill us.”
All Willow could do was nod.
“I see.” Lilith sucked in a breath. “I…I havenae enjoyed livin' within Castle McCallum. I…Och, well, perhaps this can be a better home. And any place that I am with ye is the best of all.”
Willow pulled Lilith into her arms. The embrace lasted several moments, and for a time, Willow just absorbed the feeling of her sister against her chest. Their hearts beat in a twin rhythm, and in this, like so many moments, Willow knew without any doubt that Lilith held a part of her soul.
They had shared a womb and, in so doing, shared bits of themselves with each other.
“Ye are me best friend, Lilith. I willnae let anythin' happen to ye. Ever.”
Lilith clutched her back, mirroring Willow’s need to know that they were together. “And ye're mine, Willow. I love ye with all me heart. Whatever happens to us, I vow to do whatever I can to be with ye till the end. Till we are but spirits and beyond.”
Willow choked up, the tears sliding down her face as she leaned back to look into Lilith’s eyes.
“Till we are spirits and beyond, me sweet Lilith.”
Allowing herself to soak in the moment, Willow sucked in a deep breath.
She needed to go speak to Keegan. There was no point in delaying the matter, either.
The situation was too tenuous, and if he was going to permit them to bury Magnus’s body, it wouldn’t be because she waited for something else to happen before asking.
“I shall go speak to Keegan. Wait here in the chambers. I’m sure…I’m certain that it will be fine. Still, it is verra likely that the halls will remain tense, so it is best if ye’re nae seen for now. Aye?”
Lilith nodded. “Aye. I understand. I’ll be right here when ye return.”
“Thank ye, Sister.” Willow cupped her cheek, smiling gently at Lilith before pulling away to go speak to her husband.