Page 59 of Taken By the Ruthless Highlander
Ryder arched an eyebrow as he stepped around her.
“I found it out when my faither killed my maither,” he confessed in such a hushed tone that Morgana wondered if she had misheard.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Have ye nae wondered why I never cared about the rumors hoverin’ over ye like a blade? The same rumors hang over my neck. I was six when I walked into my parents’ chambers. What I came upon wasnae pretty. My maither was already in tears, beggin’ my faither to calm down. Things were thrown.” Ryder instinctively touched his chin. “My beard covers the scar made by the lamp my faither threw at me when I asked what was wrong.”
“Oh Lord,” Morgana gasped, lifting a hand and pressing it to his chest.
The feel of his thrumming heartbeat beneath her hand thrilled her. She tried to keep her thoughts on the here and now, but the idea of Ryder caressing the length of her neck was too distracting.
“I’m so sorry ye ever had to go through somethin’ like that.”
“That wasnae the worst of it,” he sighed. His voice was tinged with a somber sorrow that Morgana knew all too well. It was the sound of a broken heart, the death rattle of a loved one. “But why bother ye with tales of sorrow and woe?”
“Ryder, I am sorry, truly,” Morgana whispered as her other hand reached for his.
Ryder’s eyes softened with a warmth she had not expected. For the first time since their wedding, she felt as if she was seeing the real man beneath the hardened facade.
“Morgana! Ryder!” Ronnie’s voice suddenly thundered through the garden, disturbing the birds taking shelter in the underbrush. He skidded to a halt before his sister, nearly toppling over from exhaustion.
“Ronnie? What on earth?” Morgana gasped.
It did not escape her notice that Ryder had stepped away from her. Despite the gap between them only being a few inches, it felt like a gorge she could never cross.
“Tormod,” Ronnie gasped out. “Requestin’ assistance with the search for Feya.”
“Nay,” Morgana said. Panic shot through her like a comet blazing across the darkened sky.
“What?” Ronnie asked.
“I ken that look. Ye want to go, but ye cannae,” Morgana blurted. She glanced at Ryder, hoping he’d defend her stance on the matter.
Ryder rolled his shoulders back and cleared his throat. “Perhaps this is a matter best left to yer sister.”
“I’m brave enough, and I can handle a blade just fine. I’ve been practicin’. Ye cannae tell me that I cannae go lookin’ for my sister,” Ronnie protested, his eyes flashing with anger.
“It’s nae about that, lad.” Ryder placed a hand on his shoulder. “Think of yer sister. Do ye have any idea how worried she’d be? Now, are ye sure ye want to be the cause for yer sister worryin’ herself sick? Because ye ken she would do it.”
Ronnie’s eyes flicked from Ryder to Morgana and back again, before he let out a defeated sigh. “Ye’ll never see me as anythin’ but a lad, will ye?”
His words pierced Morgana’s heart as if they were a spear made for a boar. She stepped back, her shoulders slumping.
“Go,” she mumbled, not sure if she was ready to release the word or her brother. “Feya is just as much yer sister as she is mine. I cannae force ye to stay. If ye say ye can take care of yerself, then ye can. Ye’re of age. Just, please, be careful.”
The sorrow and self-doubt vanished from Ronnie’s face and demeanor. It was as if she had just given the boy all the armor he would ever need to face the path ahead of him.
“I’ll find her,” he vowed.
Then, he bowed to her, turned on his heels, and bolted to the stables.
“Dinnae look at me like that,” Morgana grumbled as she caught Ryder staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She could feel the judgment rolling off him like heat from a fire.
“Do ye have any idea what ye just gave that boy?” he asked as she started for the castle. “Ye gave him confidence. I’ve never seen someone transform so dramatically.”
Morgana shrugged. “Ronnie has always been eager for adventure. But I recognized the look in his eyes. He would have run off after them. Best to give permission rather than stir contempt.”
“Ye never told me ye were a wise sage,” Ryder teased.
