Chapter 31
The door closed softly, nearly so much so that Keegan didn’t hear it. But he was listening intently to every sound in that room, and he wouldn’t have missed Willow’s exit.
Or the sound of his heart hammering in his ears as if screaming at him.
“What in God’s name, Keegan?!” Melissa stood up from the chair she had dragged to Damon’s side for the first time since coming to see him. “Have ye lost yer damned mind?”
Keegan sucked in a breath through his nose, casting his stare to the ceiling. He didn’t have time for this, or even if he did, he was in no mood to have an argument with his sister, who couldn’t understand the intricacies of the situation.
“That’s enough, Melissa. I dinnae request yer opinion on me personal life.”
She stomped over, pulling Keegan around to face her. “Ask for it or nae, I’ll still be givin' it to ye, seein' as ye cannae retrieve yer head from yer arse.”
He glared, snapping his attention to his sister as the fury swelled in his gut. “Ye will address yer laird with respect, Lady Melissa.”
“Och,” she crossed her arms over her chest, sneering right back at him, “me laird, is it? Ye’re me brother, and I’ll be tellin' ye when ye’re acting a fool.”
Facing away from her, leaving Damon to his back in what felt like a betrayal, Keegan sighed, pinching his brow.
“Can ye nae leave me be? This is me life to be dealin' with, and I shall tend to it as I see fit.”
Melissa followed Keegan around, stepping in front of him and putting herself right before his face.
“I would leave ye to tend to yer business if ye werenae doing it all wrong. How could ye say such terrible things to Willow? She’s yer wife, and she dinnae have anythin' to do with Magnus’s attack.”
He looked down at his sister with a glare, his jaw clenched tight enough that it began to ache. Keegan shook his head, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling before leveling Melissa with a harsh stare once more.
“I ken well enough that Willow dinnae orchestrate the attack. I ken she was with me, but that is the verra issue. I shouldnae permit meself to be distracted by a lass. This is the result of it.” He threw his hand out behind him toward Damon.
“Our brother was knockin' on the door to the hereafter and still lies in uncertain condition!”
“Damon was out there fightin' beside ye, Brother.
That is what got him in this state. Defendin' the castle is a task that any person here could be called to fulfill at any time. Need I remind ye that it was ye that sent the man out to scout when Magnus retreated? What’s to say that the situation would have been different were Damon here durin' the weddin'?”
“There isnae a way to ken that for sure. Ye cannae!” Keegan hastily replied, his volume ticking up as the anger in his blood burned hotter.
“That is the point, Brother!” Melissa rebutted, jabbing her finger into his chest. “Ye cannae ken anythin' for certain. Ye’re lookin' for something to blame for this poor luck, but it’s just that. Luck! Daenae let yer past haunt ye and take away the joy ye’ve found now.”
Keegan wanted to throttle his sister, but he never would. As it was, he couldn’t stand there and let her chide him endlessly. Removing himself, he strode across the room toward the fire, staring into the flames and praying that they might help to scorch away his frustration.
“Och, how verra like ye. Stormin' off and ignorin' the reality right in front of yer eyes. Fine!” Melissa shouted at him. “If ye're so keen on destroyin' yer chance at happiness, who am I to stop ye?”
“Precisely!” Keegan called back. “Ye cannae stop me from doing anythin'. I am the laird of this castle, and it is high time ye treat me as such.”
They glared at each other, staring such sharp daggers that Keegan could feel the pang of them piercing his chest. The room fell into silence once more, and he turned back toward the fire, content to stand there watching it burn to dull embers until Damon awoke.
He heard Melissa scoff behind him, but Keegan wasn’t about to turn around and start this all over again.
“Ye ken,” she said, obviously not done with her pestering, “I wouldnae have survived if it werenae for Lilith. And I have been around yer Willow long enough now to see the type of person she is. I will say this in nay unclear terms so that yer thick head can take it in. Ye are wrong, Keegan.”
Despite his promise to himself, Keegan spun on his heel toward Melissa and cut her a glance from beneath his brow.
“Me duty is to me family, Melissa. To ye. I willnae allow meself to be pulled in any other direction.”
“Ugh, ye’re an idjit! How can—”
“Christ, I had thought that ye two had finally stopped. Would ye both shut it so that the injured man might have peace and quiet to get some sleep?”
The fury grasping Keegan so tightly immediately dropped away, and he focused on Damon as Melissa did the same, her hands going to her mouth with her gasp.
“Ye’re awake!” She cried, and while Keegan stood there frozen, their sister rushed to Damon’s side, throwing her arms around him.
“Argh,” he groaned, “I am. But I am also still sufferin' the effects of a stab.”
She was quick to pull back, a laugh breaking through her tears. “Ye scared the shite of me, ye bampot!”
Damon grinned up at her, his lids still heavy with exhaustion, and Keegan went to his other side, taking his hand.
“Ye did have us verra worried, Brother. Are ye feelin'…”
“Och, daenae fash. I’m well.” He hissed. “Or as well as I can be at present.”
Meeting Melissa’s eyes, Damon put a hand on her cheek and nodded toward the door. “Go after that lassie of Keegan’s. Daenae let her leave.”
His sister’s eyes lit up with purpose as she smiled broadly, and Keegan sighed, frowning as Melissa kissed Damon on the forehead and then ran off after Willow.
“Ye were supposed to be unconscious.” Keegan narrowed his eyes at Damon.
“And ye were supposed to keep yer voice down if ye dinnae wish to be heard.”
Clenching his jaw and gnawing on the inside of his cheek, Keegan sat down on the edge of the table where Damon was lying.
He still didn’t wish to be having this conversation, and frankly, he was surprised that Damon would be on Melissa’s side.
He had been exceedingly open with his dislike of Willow.
“She’s right, ye ken? Melissa has a steady head on her shoulders, and it would do ye well to heed her advice.”
With a mirthless chuckle, Keegan rolled his eyes. “Och, is she now? And since when did ye wish for Willow to remain in the castle? I had to beg ye for an apology to her nae too long ago.”
His brother tried to adjust, scooting himself up before the injury to his side kept him from moving much further.
“That is just the thing. I was wrong, and ye made sure I saw it. I only wish to do the same.” Damon offered a tired grin.
“We are yer kin, yer siblings, and we will always be here with ye to defend the clan.
That is our duty as much as it is yers. But we must also work to nae let ourselves become what we are defendin' against. Daenae let yerself become Magnus.”
The blow struck Keegan to the quick, but it was hard to deny that what Damon was saying was accurate. He’d not wanted to allow the man to be buried, and it was only Willow saying that she wanted to be kinder to her brother than he would’ve been to her that changed his mind.
He knew that the darkness was growing within him, and as much as it pained Keegan to admit it, he could see himself following down that gruesome path toward a destination that looked too similar to Magnus’s.
“We are yer siblings, and we stand at yer side. But we arenae yer sole duty. Ye also have a duty to yerself—and to yer bride. Yer heart.”
Keegan shook his head, a horrid sting in his eyes that he wouldn’t truly acknowledge. “And what am I to do if me heart is the verra thing that gets either of ye killed?”
“It will never be yer heart that does us in, Keegan.” Damon took his hand, squeezing it hard, which was a comfort for the strength in his brother’s grip.
“Ye blame yerself for the crimes of others. Ye dinnae kill our parents. Magnus did. Ye dinnae get me hurt. It was a consequence of battle with our enemy.”
A choked inhale raked through Keegan’s body, and he could feel the rogue tear that slid down his cheek. He wanted to rub the thing away, but he had heard his brother, and the truth of so many things struck him.
“I have blamed meself. I’ve…I’ve also sworn to never be soft like that again.
I dinnae allow meself to ever get to that place, to believe in the good of people.
That…that hasnae kept me as safe from harm as I’d have liked to believe.
And I’ll admit that I dinnae wish to become like Magnus.
I want to be the sort of man our parents could’ve been proud of. ”
Damon smiled at him, his eyes still lidded as the fatigue of the day clung to him. But he nodded, his eyes drifting toward the door as if he could see the people who lay outside of it.
“Then ye need to go. Daenae let her get away, Keegan.”
Apprehension itched under his skin, but as he considered the battle and everything that he could have lost, it was resolve that filled up the cracks.
“Ye’re right. And I ken that ye’ll never let me hear the end of it. So get yer rest, and pray that our new lady of the castle hasnae made it far yet.”
Chuckling, Damon shoved Keegan lightly to get him moving. “Go!”
Keegan grinned but took heed of Damon’s words and sprinted from the room. He only hoped that he wasn’t too late, that there was still time to catch up to Willow and tell her…
Tell her I love her.