Pledged to a Highlander (Highland Promise Trilogy 1)

Royden went to her and brushed a piece of dust out of her hair. “Arran and Raven will be grateful.”

Oria’s smile vanished. “I should have tried to find out more about what happened to Raven and where she was. I might have been able to help her.”

Royden gave her arm a tender squeeze. “You did the right thing. There was no telling who was watching you. You might have been tortured for the information and Raven would have been found. You both would have suffered. You made the right choice.”

“It was so difficult, knowing she was out there somewhere, possibly in dire need, and doing nothing to help her.”

“You did do something. You protected her the only way you could and by doing so you saved the Clan MacKinnon as well.” Royden took her in his arms. “You did right by Raven, by us all. Don’t ever question that you didn’t.”

“Did you ever question your decisions?” she asked, wondering if he too punished himself with doubt and what ifs.

“I did. I fear I wallowed in it for a while until the anger pushed aside everything. The anger drove me, sustained me, helped me to see what mistakes I would never make again,” he admitted.

“You didn’t make any mistakes,” she admonished. “You fought like a true warrior.”

“The mistakes came before the attack.”

“Tell me,” she urged, eager to know, eager to help him heal from all he had suffered.

“Not here,” Royden said and took her hand.

He led her to his old bedchamber and sat on the bed, bracing himself against the wood headboard, then reached out and took her hand, tugging her down to sit across his lap. He had often dreamt about a day such as this, where they sat in his bed and talked and eventually made love. An unexpected joy filled him that part of his dream had finally come true and he planned on making sure the latter part came true as well.

“Tell me,” she urged again, cuddling against him, the pleasant scent of fresh rain on him rushing up to tingle her nose.

He had avoided talking to her about anything to do with the horror of that day. Now, however, comfortable with her safe in his arms, he found he wanted to discuss some of it with her. “One thing that troubled me about the attack was how the warriors got past the sentinels we’d posted. My da had doubled the sentries. Some of them surely would have lost their lives, but some should have been able to alert us to the approaching troop long before they arrived at the keep.”

Oria’s brow wrinkled. “You’re right. How could they have gotten past so many of them?”

“The only answer that seems feasible is that someone knew where every single sentry had been posted.”

“Who would know that?”

“A number of people, the sentries themselves included,” Royden said.

“Do you think one of your own betrayed the clan?” Oria asked astonished. “Have you discussed this with your da?”

“Betrayal seems likely and, aye, my da and I have talked about it. It’s not something we want to believe, but it’s something we can’t ignore. It is also something I will never let happen again.”

“How will you prevent it?” she asked, relieved to know he’d taken precautions and curious as to what they were.

“I change the sentries’ positions throughout the day and night. They never remain in the same area. I’ve assigned the task to Angus and John. They go and move the sentries around so even the warriors themselves don’t know where they’ll be posted or for how long.”

“That’s brilliant,” Oria said. “I feel safer already.”

“It wasn’t my idea. I learned it from Platt, the man whose command I served under and who led the attack here that day. I hate the man, but he has a brilliant mind for strategy. He had men infiltrate areas and garner information long before we attacked.”

“You think that could have happened to the Clan MacKinnon? You think someone might have been planted here long before the attack?” she asked, a slight shiver racing through her, thinking how easily she had trusted everyone in the clan.

“If not, the answer points back to a friend who betrayed us all,” Royden said, the thought of it sparking his anger.

“It troubles me to think that someone we trusted, we called a friend, could betray us,” she said.

“And it leaves you wondering who around us can truly be trusted,” Royden said.

Oria rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m so glad we can trust each other.”

“Didn’t you trust Burnell?” It still rankled him and probably always would that she had been married to another man before him even though their marriage hadn’t been truly sealed, a relief to him. But odd as it was he was also grateful she’d been wed to Burnell. That marriage had kept her safe.