The air was tinged with the brininess of the sea, and the hushed roar of crashing waves sounded in the distance. Faye continued to put one foot in front of the other, allowing Moiré to guide her to the unknown location.
The dense forest cleared away, revealing a cliff that spilled out to a vast sea.
Fear clutched at Faye’s heart, and she faltered. “Where are we? Where is Ewan?”
“I’ve spent my life being weak.” Moiré pressed the point of the blade to Faye’s stomach.
The tip pricked Faye’s skin beneath her kirtle and made her continue the slow march forward.
“I’m the daughter of a second son.” Moiré gave a mirthless laugh. “Destined to be a servant to my kin for the rest of my life. Do ye know that babe in yer belly will have a better advantage in every way than I’ve ever had?”
Faye hated that she couldn’t put her hands over her belly to protect her unborn child. It left her so much more vulnerable than she’d ever realized possible. “So, ye’ll kill me? And Ewan? Why? For power?”
Moiré pulled in a deep breath, her chest puffing with pride. “To be chieftain.”
Faye gaped at Moiré. “Will ye kill yer own da as well?”
A pained look crossed Moiré’s face. “He was already dying.” It was said so defensively, Faye knew Moiré had a hand in helping his illness along.
“It was why I planned to do this,” Moiré continued. “I didn’t have to hurt ye as well until ye told me ye were with child.” Tears welled her large brown eyes. “I tried to save ye, but the tea I made ye dinna work.”
The tea.
Horror chilled Faye to her bones. “Ye were trying to kill my child?”
“Dinna look at me like that,” Moiré snapped. “As though I’m a monster. I couldna allow an heir to come between me and the chieftainship. And I dinna want to kill ye.”
They were near the cliffs now. The wind gusted with more force, billowing against their faces, and carrying with it the salty mist of the ocean.
“And now ye think ye have to kill me?” Faye’s voice was quiet, but her thoughts screamed through her brain with a multitude of scenarios to free herself.
Moiré nodded and sniffled. “I’m sorry.”
“Why lie to me about Ewan?” Faye demanded. “The letters…” She shook her head. “I know about them.”
Moiré thinned her lips. “So ye wouldna question why he dinna return to Dunrobin, so I could find a way to give ye a tea that would work with the new herbs I took from Sorcha’s garden.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “I tell ye, Faye, I was trying to save ye. But after we came across the blood, after ye demanded to be answered…I couldna keep it a secret any longer.” Her arm at Faye’s back tensed. “Especially no’ with that babe in yer womb.”
“What about Ewan?” Faye choked.
“He’s alive,” Moiré offered graciously. “For now. Cruim insisted he stay a prisoner rather than kill him outright. My da has a tender heart. One that willna beat long enough to see all this through, I wager.”
Faye staggered under the force of her relief. Ewan was alive. Her thoughts flicked back to the cottage. Why had there been so much blood?
Could Moiré know for certain that he’d not been killed when she’d been with Faye the entire time?
She slowed her pace as they neared the edge. The deep blue sea stretched endlessly beyond, and the breaking waves over the rocks below filled their ears. Faye’s heart slammed in her chest, its rapid-fire beat so loud, it drowned out nearly everything else. It was a pain more vicious than anything she’d ever felt.
Her mother’s words rushed back to her, the reminder that the glory of love was worth the pain of loss. Such a thought hadn’t fully registered with Faye. Not until that very moment.
But she wouldn’t think of Ewan being dead. She couldn’t.
“What about Lara?” Faye asked.
Moiré narrowed her eyes. “Ye’re too clever. Mayhap, ’tis a good thing ye’ve interrupted my plans.” She lifted her shoulder. “Lara’s womb finally took root.”
It was too much. Faye’s feet stopped moving forward. She wouldn’t die like Lara had.
“Walk.” Moiré prodded Faye in the belly with the dagger, her hand at Faye’s back pressing even harder.
This was exactly the reason Faye’s eldest brother had insisted his sisters train so hard. To ensure they were never in such a position. She couldn’t think through the moves too much, not when each thought resulted in a new way everything could go so horribly wrong. She had to trust that she was strong enough, skilled enough. Or the cost would be her life as well as that of her unborn child.
Faye jerked sharply to the side as she swung her elbow into Moiré’s face. The blade sank reflexively into Faye’s side, more pressure than pain. Moiré put her hand to her face where she’d been struck.
An opportunity to run.
One Faye would not waste.
She sprinted back toward the forest. Warmth washed over her side where she’d been sliced, but she forced her thoughts from it. She was nearly halfway to the tree line when a solid weight knocked into her back and sent her landing hard on the ground. Pain shot through her side and dazzled her vision from where the wound at her side absorbed the impact.
Faye kicked her feet out, hitting one foot square into Moiré’s chest. Moiré staggered backward. But not far enough. Before Faye could scramble to her feet, Moiré was on her again.
Her fists came down on Faye, merciless and unending. Faye blocked them as they came, each one stinging at her forearms, unable to get a hit of her own. She thrust her hips up and pushed with all her might. The action sent Moiré crashing to the ground beside her.
This time, Faye managed to get to her feet. Something caught against her toe, tripping her, so she sprawled forward. The thing at her foot pulled. Moiré, dragging her backward, toward the cliff.
But Faye wasn’t done fighting yet.
The cliffs were visible in the far distance. Ewan leaned closer to his horse, urging the beast onward. To Faye. And their bairn in her womb.
The agony in his chest was so intense, it made drawing air difficult. He couldn’t lose her. Not when he hadn’t told her he loved her. Not when they were just starting their life together.
As they grew nearer, Ewan fell prey to despair. No figures were visible as they approached the spot where Lara had died.
And then he saw it, a woman in a yellow kirtle with brown hair pulling another person backward by her leg, a woman with blond hair.
Ewan’s heart caught.
Faye.
And Moiré.
Ewan cried out to his horse in an effort to make him go faster, but the beast was already going as swiftly as was possible.
Faye kicked at Moiré, who continued pulling her to the cliff’s edge. Ewan watched, helpless as Faye struck out at Moiré. She fell, and the two rolled on the ground together, arms lashing out, legs kicking.
Ewan’s pulse ticked with frenzy. They were still too far.
All at once, Faye sent Moiré flying off her, as she scrambled to her feet and ran. It looked like she might escape when Moiré lifted something and threw it at Faye’s head.
Faye dropped, unmoving.
Ewan cried out, but he was still too damn far away, his voice drowned out by the wind.
Moiré pulled Faye by her feet, so her skirts bunched up as she was dragged. Still, Faye did not move. Not even when Moiré was poised with her at the edge of the cliff.
Ewan was closer now. It would be mere moments until he could help.
But before he had the opportunity, Moiré shoved at Faye, so her body rolled to the very edge of the cliff.
Nay.
Ewan wanted to call out to them again, but he couldn’t. Not with his heart lodged in his throat. He pulled his dagger free and rode with such haste, the world bounced around him.
It would be difficult to strike Moiré from his current position, but not impossible. Ewan held his breath to steady his hand and released the dagger.
It sailed through the air toward Moiré, its path true. Just as it was about to connect, she bent, and it flew over her head. His insides crumpled at his failure. And of what it might mean.
Oblivious to what had happened, Moiré shoved at Faye. A startled scream carried on the wind toward Ewan.
He found his voice and bellowed against the wind for Moiré to stop. She doubtless couldn’t hear him over the roar of the waves crashing against the rocks below the cliff, for she didn’t even turn. Nay, she kicked her foot hard at Faye with an impact that sent her rolling over the edge of the cliff.
“Moiré.” Her name tore up through his soul, raw with rage and horror.
His cousin spun around just as a hand shot out and grabbed her by the ankle. In one moment, she was standing there, gaping in surprise at Ewan and the next, she was gone. A shriek caught on the wind and died away.
But it was not his cousin he feared for. He dismounted and ran toward the cliff, his heart caught in a fist of desperation and dread. After all, how could Faye survive a fall such as that?
She was gone. In that one instant, the woman who had brought so much passion and joy and love to his life was gone. And in her womb, she’d carried their babe, a mere blossom of a bairn and a symbol of the love they had never spoken, but he knew they both felt.
Tears stung his eyes.
He’d been a coward. And a fool. There had been so many moments he could have told her he loved her.
Faye.
His Faye. With her golden blonde hair that he’d stroked as she slept in his arms. There were too many stories of her life he’d never hear, too many kisses he’d never share with her again. There was a child neither of them would ever meet.
A knot ached in the back of his throat. He made his way to the cliff’s edge on legs that threatened to buckle. Each footstep brought a new memory of the woman he loved, the life they had shared.
What he would never have again.
That life was gone.
All he had left was regret.