Chapter 15 #2
“Wonderful,” Archer replied. “I was only hit in the head. For the second time.”
She looked him over carefully, ignoring his teasing. There was tension around his eyes, fatigue in the way he held his shoulders, but his gaze was clear as she had ever seen him, and that was more than she could have asked for.
“Can I help with anythin’?” she asked.
Archer studied her for a moment before reaching for her waist and pulling her gently closer.
“Nay,” he said, and then he pulled her down for a kiss.
It was soft and warm, sweet. It didn’t last long, but it was still enough to steal her breath away and remind her that they were still surrounded by people—even if Archer didn’t seem to care.
She blinked in surprise when he pulled away, but said nothing about it, too fearful she would betray her embarrassment.
“We’re handlin’ it,” he said quietly. “The guards are searchin’ every corridor, every servant passage, every entrance into the eastern wing. Everyone who was on duty last night is bein’ questioned.”
“And ye think they’ll find somethin’?”
“They’ll find somethin’,” Archer said in a low, dangerous tone, but before River could answer, a sharp voice interrupted them.
“Or perhaps they already ken exactly where to look.”
Silence spread through the Great Hall instantly, and River turned to see an older man approach from the council tables, silver-haired and stern-faced under a heavy plaid.
River knew him, as much as she knew any elder in the clan.
This was Elder Cananch, one of the oldest in the clan—and clearly one of the least subtle.
His cold gaze settled directly on River as he continued to speak.
“There is one obvious connection between every disruption this castle has faced recently.”
River knew, of course, what he meant, and not only because Finlay had warned her that very morning that this could happen.
She was no fool; she knew how the elders saw her.
She froze, but then she felt Archer go completely still beside her, too, though his was a different kind of stillness—more dangerous, more that of a predator.
“Ye marry into this clan and suddenly there’s two attacks on our Laird’s life,” he said. “I’d say that’s quite odd.”
“Careful,” Archer said quietly, his word a low growl. It sliced through the hall sharper than any shout.
“I speak only what others are already thinkin’,” said the other man. “Daenae tell me it surprises ye, me Laird. Everyone is talkin’ about this. Everyone is sayin’ the lady could very well have somethin’ to do with this.”
River felt dozens of eyes on her, all of them watching her like vultures. They were all blaming her, she knew then. Even if they weren’t outright accusing her, they were all blaming her for what had happened, as well as for everything they expected to happen now.
Humiliation threatened to crawl back under her skin, but then Archer stood from his seat and stepped slightly in front of her; not enough to hide her, but enough to shield her from everyone else.
This was the old Archer, she thought. This was the Archer who could cut a man down with simply a look, and he was now resurfacing.
Only this time, his ire wasn’t directed at her, but at those who threatened to harm her, even if only with words.
The words of such a council were just as sharp as any blade.
“Ye accuse me wife,” Archer said, too calmly, “without evidence, reason, or intelligence.” The elder stiffened, but said nothing, as Archer continued before the man could speak.
“She was the first person to reach me after the attack. She stopped the bleedin’ herself.
She called the guards. Had she wished me dead, I assure ye she could have accomplished it far more efficiently than this. ”
A few people nearby immediately looked away in shame, but Archer’s gaze never left the elder.
“Ye will nae speak of her that way again.”
The threat beneath the words was unmistakable, and the elder paled slightly, some of the blood draining from his face.
Everyone, including River, thought it was over, but Archer smiled then, and somehow that was worse.
It was the smile River remembered from long ago—the charming one people mistook for harmlessness, for friendliness.
It was the kind of smile that hid sharpened steel underneath.
“Be careful what ye say lest ye find yerself at me mercy,” Archer added, and his tone chilled the entire room. “It isnae lost to me that it was yer own security failures allowed an assassin into the eastern wing twice.”
The elder said nothing. What was there for him to say?
He, like everyone else in the room, knew that Archer was right about this.
Elder Cananach wasn’t the only one responsible for the security in the keep, but he was the one who oversaw security procedures.
If there was anyone to blame for these attacks, it was him, and not River.
Since Elder Cananach had nothing else to say to that, he bowed stiffly and retreated without another word.
Silence lingered behind him for a long while, before conversation slowly resumed around the hall and River had the chance to turn to Archer.
He glanced down at her, his expression easing immediately now that the threat had passed.
“What?” he asked lightly.
“Ye defended me,” she said, almost breathless.
He lifted one of his dark brows, thinly veiled amusement dancing over his features. “I tend to dislike people accusin’ me wife of attempted murder.”
River chuckled softly but she couldn’t help but wonder if the Archer she had married a year prior would have done the same for her. Would he have defended her like he had now? Would he stand up for her to his council?
Did it matter?
Before she could decide either way, Archer spoke once more. “Spend the night with me again.”
River blinked in surprise. “Tonight? Are ye certain?”
A faint smile touched his mouth, softening his expression even more, and he nodded. “If ye’ll have me.”
The answer came easier than she expected.
“Happily.”