“I’ll send the auxiliary forces,” Torin said, handing her the letter. “And yes, of course I approve your letter.”
Adaira folded and sealed it. She pressed her signet ring into the wax, marking the Tamerlaine crest.
Torin’s breath caught when he saw that Adaira was removing the ring from her hand, still warm from the wax. He felt the blood drain from his face when she approached him, the golden ring cupped in her palm. She extended it out to him, waiting for him to accept.
“What are you doing?” he growled at her. “I don’t want this.”
“I cannot lead this clan in good faith,” she said. “Not knowing who I truly am.”
“You’re a Tamerlaine, Adi. One wild story from the enemy doesn’t change that.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed sadly. “But it has pierced the hearts of the clan, and I no longer have their trust. They will listen to you, Torin. You saw what happened outside. You are their protector. You are of their blood. After I meet with Innes and the settlement is made tomorrow, I will announce that you have replaced me as laird, and hopefully the east will be at peace again.”
Torin glared at her. Her edges were blurring; he blinked away his tears before they could fall. What was this settlement she continued to speak of? Why did the notion of it terrify him?
“Please, Torin,” she whispered. “Take the ring.”
He knew she was right. And he hated it.
He hated that their lives were breaking apart, and he was powerless to stop it.
He hated that she was stepping down.
He hated that he now had to carry this weight.
But he did as she asked. He followed her last order; he slipped the ring onto his finger.
Adaira retreated to her room. She locked the door and melted to the rug, weeping until she felt hollow. She lay there, longing for her parents as she watched the sunlight move across the floor with the passing hours.
Eventually, a rap sounded on her door, and she forced herself to stand.
Answering the knock with a hitch of anxiousness, Adaira was surprised to see two guards stationed at her threshold. She wasn’t sure if they were there by Torin’s orders, to protect her, or had been appointed to keep an eye on her. To prevent her from leaving.
“A letter has arrived for you,” one of them said, extending the parchment.
Adaira knew it was Innes’s reply. She accepted the letter and shut the door, breaking the seal. The Laird of the West’s response was surprisingly terse:
I agree to your terms, Adaira. I will see you at dawn.
—I.L.B.
Adaira threw the letter into the fire. She watched it turn to ash until her red shawl caught her eye, draped over the back of her reading chair. Lorna had given her this plaid years ago. Her mother had asked Mirin to weave one of her secrets into the pattern.
Adaira was weary of secrets. She was weary of lies. She hated how she had worn one around her shoulders for years.
She gathered her plaid in her hands. It was soft, well worn from years of guarding her against the wind when she roamed the hills. She pulled at it with all the fury and anguish within her. The enchantment was gone, and the plaid tore apart in her hands.
It was late afternoon when auxiliary forces arrived to keep watch over the river in Mirin’s valley. Jack needed to speak with Adaira. He left his mother and Frae under the protection of the East Guard and walked the hills to Sloane, slowly, as his body still felt weak. He had filed down the worn edges of his nails, but there was still a tremor in his hands. He wondered how long it would be before he could play again.
This entire day had been strange, almost dreamlike. As if an entire season had bloomed and died in a matter of hours.
Eventide was on the cusp of surrendering to a dark night and the shadows had grown thick at Jack’s feet by the time he walked into Sloane.
He didn’t know what to expect, but he was surprised by the animosity in the city. He walked through gossip and whispers, and most of it was about Adaira, about who she was and what the clan wanted to do about her. Some thought she had known who she was all along and had willingly fooled them. Some were sympathetic to her plight. Some thought she had been fraternizing with the enemy, beneath the guise of a trade, and should face a trial. Others thought she should abdicate her lairdship by sundown, but not before she ensured the safe return of the three girls.
Disconcerted, Jack went straight to Adaira’s quarters by way of the main corridor, only to discover that guards were stationed there. He didn’t know if they were present to protect her or keep her locked within. So Jack slipped into his chamber and used the secret passage to approach Adaira’s room.