Page 100 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
Amara took it reverently, fingers brushing the frayed threads. “It’s beautiful.”
“Swear ye’ll wear it?”
Amara wrapped it gently around her shoulders and nodded. “Swear it.”
Only after Daisy threw her arms around her one more time and Mabel ushered her away did Amara allow herself a breath. The weight of the scarf around her neck, the press of the dagger against her leg, and the ache in her heart all pulled in different directions.
She left the room slowly, moving as though gravity had grown heavier. Down the narrow staircase, her boots echoing against the stone. With each step, her body remembered what was coming next.
She was going back to the place she never thought she’d see again.
Back to the father who gave her away.
The entrance hall was full of movement, but her gaze went directly to him and her heart ached.
Rhys stood straight-backed near the open doors, speaking quietly with Finn, William, and Myles. The early light from the open keep doors spilled across the floor, throwing golden edges on the fur at Rhys’s collar. He was dressed for travel, sword belted, his expression unreadable.
William saw her first. “Well, there she is,” he called, grinning. “Radiant as ever. Can we come too, or has our laird decided to ride off with all the beauty in the keep?”
Myles raised a hand, a piece of bannock dangling from his fingers. “I can ride backward, sideways — whatever ye need. I’ve got naught but time and charm.”
Rhys gave them both a dark look.
“Stay. Watch the keep. That’s an order.”
William held up both hands. “Aye, aye. Nay arguments.”
Myles gave a tragic sigh and bit into his bannock. “And here I thought I was due for a heroic adventure.”
“Ye’re due for a bath,” William muttered.
Amara smiled, but her eyes drifted to Finn. He hadn’t said anything. Just stood with his arms crossed, face half in shadow. She opened her mouth to greet him, but he only gave a slight nod and looked away.
Something pulled in her chest. They hadn’t interacted much, but had he been feeling some kind of way about her departure too? Did her walking back into the lion’s den of Murdoch Castle make him anxious or even start to relive whatever tortures her father put him through?
She was about to walk over to him. Something inside her pulled her toward him, and told her she should try to put his mind at ease. Then Rhys stepped beside her, his hand settling briefly against the small of her back.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice low.
She nodded, though her insides warred with the answer.
The gates creaked open with a groan, and she stepped into the cold air beside him, the scarf warm at her neck and the weight of a dagger pressing lightly at her thigh.
The hooves of their horses echoed in soft rhythm against the dirt path, muffled by the hush of the forest canopy above. Sunlight filtered through pine branches like gold-dusted lace, and birdsong filled the quiet between them.
But Amara felt none of it.
She sat straight-backed on her mare, the reins loose in her gloved fingers, her gaze fixed ahead.
Every step took her closer to her home.
And yet, it didn’t feel like home anymore.
“Ye’ve gone quiet,” Rhys said after a long silence. His voice was low, soft with curiosity. Not pressing, just… noticing.
Amara’s throat tightened. She took a long breath before answering. “Just thinkin’.”
He glanced at her, eyebrows slightly raised but didn’t interrupt.
