Ellie hadn’t spoken more than ten words to him in the last two days and it was driving Caden mad.
He glanced over at her profile, set with determination as she busied herself laying out her bedding for the night. It didn’t escape his notice that she again prepared to sleep as far away from him as possible without actually being outside the circle of the firelight.
In truth, ten words wasn’t exactly accurate. She’d spoken hundreds that first morning when he’d told her he wouldn’t allow her to go with him, the majority of which he might not ever have heard before, but the meaning of all was entirely clear.
If he took her back to Dun Ard, she would follow. No matter what he did.
And he didn’t for one minute doubt her. He’d never met a woman as determined, as stubborn when she had her mind set, as Elliedenton.
“Besides,” she’d told him, her eyes flashing emerald in her anger, “if this brother of yours is the one who can make me see stars, I want to meet him as soon as possible. I can’t wait to get out of this place and back where I belong.”
She seemed to think finding her Soulmate would somehow send her home. But that couldn’t be. If that were the case, her being here would only make his brother more unhappy, and that certainly wasn’t his intent.
He hadn’t denied himself the pleasure of this woman only to have his brother’s chance at happiness snatched away.
Caden ground his teeth together in frustration at the thought. He hadn’t denied himself anything. He’d taken her, as if he had the right, as if she belonged to him.
It was Ellie who had done the denying. Her words had been clear.
“I don’t love you,” she’d said.
Of course she didn’t. He’d been a fool to let the idea enter into his thoughts to begin with. He’d long ago accepted that his life would never include love, just like his cousin Blane. It was their fate, their curse, to bear the responsibility for the happiness of others but to go through life with none of their own.
Having her angry was a good thing. It served to prevent what he couldn’t seem to prevent on his own. With her this angry, there was no chance they’d repeat their indiscretion of two nights ago.
But he did have a real problem with her not talking to him. Fury he could handle. This was something deeper. Something he didn’t like at all. For even as he’d accepted that she would belong to his brother, the one thing that had kept him going was the hope that she would remain his friend.
Now he’d likely ruined that chance with his rash behavior. He’d hurt her just like he’d managed to hurt everyone else in his life.
And as long as she refused to even speak to him, he had no chance of repairing the damage.
He stole another sideways glance her direction and decided to take the plunge, clearing his throat to see if she might look at him.
She ignored him, turning to her side and presenting her plaid-covered back to him.
He cleared his throat again, stalling for time as much as to get her attention.
“You spoke of returning to a ranch.” He rolled the unfamiliar word on his tongue, testing it, before he continued. “And seeking revenge on someone named Ray. What is this ranch that it would be so important to reclaim?”
At first he thought she might not answer, but after several long minutes she rolled onto her back, staring up at the night sky.
“My home,” she said softly. “The house I grew up in. The land where my family raised sheep for two generations. It’s all that I have in the world.”
“I see. And this Ray? His clan raided yer keep and occupies it?”
She responded with a short, bitter laugh, a sound unlike any he’d heard from her before. “Something like that. He married my mother a few years back. Thought he’d found himself a sugar mama to take care of him and pay all his bills while he ran around doing whatever he wanted. He cheated on her and she kicked him out. Now that she’s dead, the bastard’s back, claiming that what was hers now belongs to him.”
“And you want yer revenge.” That he could understand. He would be wild with the need if someone were to try to take Dun Ard from his people. “Because he threw you out with no place to go.”
“Oh, I could have stayed.” Another bitter laugh. “All I had to do was be Ray’s latest bed partner. And that wasn’t happening.”
Caden felt a white-hot fury sweep over him. This bastard, this Ray, had dared to dishonor Ellie? “What of the others of yer family, do they no stand up to this man?” If he could but spend a few minutes in her time, he would see to it this Ray suffered greatly for his actions.
“There are no others. Just me.” She wiped the palms of her hands down the sides of her face, leaving wet trails that glistened in the firelight.
“I dinna mean to make you cry.” Anything but that.
She flopped over to her side again, pulling the plaid up to hide her head, Baby at her side. “Go to sleep, Caden. And don’t worry about me. You didn’t make me cry. I won’t allow any man that power over me.”
He didn’t miss her emphasis on the word allow, the same word which had set her off before. Nor did he miss the strangled tears in her voice.
Caden lay down and rolled himself in his bedding, knowing it would be a long time before he slept this night.
This man, her mother’s husband, had demanded her favors in return for lodging in her own home. Was that why she’d given herself to him back at the pool? Because it was what she thought he expected? He’d certainly done nothing to convince her otherwise, completely unable to keep himself from pawing over her at every opportunity.
For all his good intentions and great words, he was no better than that bastard, Ray.
“That’s fair odd.” Colin perched on an outcropping of rocks at the river’s edge.
“Are we no on the right track?” Blane waited behind him, only yards from their campsite.
“No. We’re close now. I can feel Caden ahead. Him and…” Colin stopped, reaching out with his senses, the gift of his Fae blood. “It’s almost as if he travels with someone, but…” But not.
“Steafan, perhaps?”
“No.”
He knew how Steafan felt and this was entirely different. Though Steafan would have been a logical choice for Caden to have brought along, in spite of the fact that Wodeford had ordered the MacKiernan heir to come alone with the ransom. Colin had learned that much from Simeon.
And since he was thinking of Simeon…
“What are yer plans for Lady Baxter and her nephew once we reach Dun Ard?” Colin turned to find his laird stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“I’ve offered Simeon a permanent spot at Dun Ard. As far as Lady Baxter, I suppose I’ll have no choice but to wed the lady. Traveling alone with a group of men will completely compromise her honor, will it no?”
“And so yer going to make the sacrifice and force yerself to do the right thing, is that it?”
The sheepish grin on Blane’s face was all the answer Colin needed.
“Blessings on you, then, Cousin, for many years of happiness together. Does the lady have any idea what you’ve planned for her?”
Blane shook his head, the grin still firmly fixed in place. “I’ve no yet found quite the proper time to broach the subject. But I will. Soon.”
“Aye, well, you might want to drop a word or two about our…um…unusual heritage.” For lack of a better description. More than one person had been put off by the idea of marrying into a family of Fae descendants. As well they should.
“I’m no seeing that as a problem.” Blane shrugged his shoulders. “The lady would appear to be past her childbearing years, so it’s no like I’d be passing along any gifts to offspring.” The frown that flitted across Blane’s face was gone as quickly as it came. “Speaking of our companions, I’ll go check on them now.”
As he watched his cousin make his way back through the trees toward their campsite, Colin suspected it was the madness Blane’s father and brother had suffered that kept his cousin from wanting children, not the gifts of their Fae-tainted blood.
But that was only because Blane himself hadn’t been cursed with any of the Fae gifts. If he had, he’d know there was more to fear in the world than ordinary madness.
His curiosity piqued, Colin reached out again, searching for his brother’s soul with his own awareness, testing.
Yes, it was Caden and one other that he felt. And yet it was somehow different, as if neither one was quite complete. He could feel the jagged edges on each of their souls.
As if it would take both souls to make a whole.
Colin stood, staring into the inky night in the direction he felt his brother. They were within a day’s ride of one another now.
He smiled and turned back toward camp.
Whatever it was his awareness was touching on, he’d know before another night fell. Tomorrow should prove a most interesting day.