Adaira stared at him coldly. “Where is your laird?”
“She’s not here. We’ve come to settle this matter with you, since word has spread that you are holding our heir in your dungeons.”
“I won’t settle anything with you,” Adaira said. “Call your laird. She is the one I will speak with.”
The blond smiled. His upper teeth were rotten. “Come now, Cora,” he crooned. “This will be a simple exchange, one that we can do without bloodshed.”
She was silent. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Jack knelt with Mirin and Frae in the corner.
“Your brother is intent on seeing you home safely,” the Breccan continued. “If you will release him from the dungeons and follow him into the west, we will bring the three Tamerlaine lasses back to you.”
Torin winced. Adaira glanced at her cousin. She could read the defeat in his face as a small tendril of blood began to stain his throat. She had never seen her cousin vanquished, and the sight alarmed her.
“I won’t negotiate with you,” she said, returning her gaze to the Breccan. “Summon your laird. I will only make an arrangement with Innes.”
“If you refuse to settle with us,” he said, waving his hand toward Torin, “then we’ll slit the captain’s throat.”
“Then you would be slitting the Laird of the East’s throat,” Adaira said calmly. “And I will see to it that Moray’s head is sent back to the west by sunrise.”
The Breccan paused, brow arched. The realization dawned on him, and his smile deepened. Adaira had given up her power, which meant she must not plan to stay in the east. He turned to one of his men and said, “Ride to the west and bring our laird back with you.”
The warrior nodded and slipped out the door.
The period of waiting felt like a year. The silence roared, but Adaira didn’t move or speak. She remained rooted to the floor, waiting for her mother to arrive.
At last, the door creaked open.
Innes stepped into the house, dressed for war.
“What has happened here?” the laird demanded, but the frown on her face eased when she looked at Adaira.
Their gazes met. Everything around them melted into obscurity as Adaira studied Innes and Innes studied Adaira, the emotion rising like a wave coming to shore. Adaira swallowed it down, holding it deep in her chest as she began to see all the features she had stolen from her mother. Her hair, her sharpness, her eyes. She wondered how she hadn’t noticed it before, when they met on the northern road.
“Did you know?” Adaira whispered, unable to help herself. “Did you know who I was when I saw you last?”
Innes was quiet, but a flicker of pain passed over her expression. “I knew.”
Things came together in Adaira’s mind. She now understood why Innes was so quick to apologize for the raid. Why she had brought the Elliotts’ winter stores back, including an overpayment of gold. She had known Adaira was her lost daughter, and she had sought peace with her.
“Then you also knew that Moray was stealing Tamerlaine daughters?” Adaira dared to continue. “That your son was kidnapping and holding innocent lasses in the west while their parents mourned for them in the east?”
Innes’s frown deepened. For a moment, Adaira was terrified of her as the laird’s gaze swept the room, landing on the scar-faced Breccan. “I was not aware of this. Is this true, Derek?”
Derek seemed to shrink as he said, “It is, laird. Moray sought justice for you and your family. For our clan.”
Innes’s hand shot out to strike him. Her leather bracer caught Derek in the mouth, and he stumbled back, blood drooling from his lips.
“You have acted without my permission,” she said in an icy tone, glancing around the chamber at the other Breccans. “All of you have let my son lead you astray, and you will pay for these crimes in the arena.” Innes paused, bringing her attention back to Adaira. “I apologize for this pain. I will see it rectified.”
“Thank you,” Adaira whispered. “I would also ask to see the blade removed from the throat of the Laird of the East.”
Innes glanced at the Breccan holding the dirk at Torin’s throat. Her shock was only noticeable for a split second before her expression became pointed, and the warrior released Torin with a slight shove. It took everything within Adaira not to rush to her cousin and help him to his feet. She could only watch as Torin stood and limped across the room, coming to stand behind her.
“You wrote to me of a settlement,” Innes said.