Page 18 of The Laird's Dark Obsession

“I dinnae think I’ve ever observed anyone training, other than yer brother,” Kira said with a snort.

Hunter as a young boy had been clumsy yet confident, making it a sight to behold as he stumbled about the training ground as if ready to go to war right then.

“Ye never watched yer faither?” Edine queried.

Kira looked her way, surprised to see that the question was so earnest. She assumed even the mere mention of her father would send all those around her into a spiral. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she looked back to the warriors.

“I was never close with my faither. I think he’s hated me since I was born, since labor is what killed maither.”

Absentmindedly, she touched the necklace as they talked. Edine questioned again, her voice soft and quiet. “Really? But ye were always his shadow when he was around.”

“Nae by choice,” Kira sighed. “Faither was a…” She had to clear her throat as anxiety gripped at her. “He was a strict man. Cold, methodical… cruel.” Taking a deep breath, she tried to makethings lighter. “My happiest memories have always been at the Galbraith Keep. Those hours we spent playing together were some of the only times I truly felt like a child. That will always make them special to me. As well as ye and Hunter, of course.” She bumped Edine playfully with her hip.

Edine gave her a sad, sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, Kira. I dinnae realize things were like that for ye at home. I suppose it makes sense, though. Ye always seemed a little… sad. Even when ye were smiling.”

Because I always knew I had to go home at the end of the day,she explained internally.

Edine rested her head on her shoulder then and took a deep breath. “I enjoy talking to ye, Kira. Even though our past is complicated… Like this, it feels like we are back in time. Ye’re still the lady I looked up to as a bairn.”

A genuine smile, though faint, appeared on her lips. And just like she had many times in their childhood, Kira pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “I hope that one day, ye can see me as a sister again. Despite it all.”

The words were genuine and while her anxiety made her wish she could suck them back in, her heart felt good that she had said it. Edine had always been a source of comfort for her because her view of her hadn’t been skewed by expectations or anything else. There had been many times, even when Edine hadn’t walked yet, that being around her and seeing the light in her eyes when shelooked at Kira… There was something about it that made her feel like herself.

Their moment was drawn to a close when shouts were heard across the training ground. They straightened their postures and watched as the warriors chanted and hollered with their backs to them. Before long, the crowd parted to make way for none other than the Galbraith Laird.

Hunter was shirtless and sweat glistened off his muscles, telling her that he had been training alone somewhere else. He spoke to his men, but Kira couldn’t make out what was said. The men laughed and cheered, though.

Hunter paced to the center of the field and when he looked up, spotting Kira and Edine at the fence, his face tightened and his eyes narrowed. He stormed over, irritation, and rage clear on his face.

“Why would ye bring herhere, Edine?” he snapped.

“We were on a walk and happened this way. Enough of that,” Edine warned.

It was a little amusing to hear Edine attempt to fuss at her brother for his attitude, but Kira was distracted by his words still. She hadn’t even thought about it, but he was sort of right. It wasn’t exactly a good look for Hunter to let the daughter of his enemy wander about with his sister, especially right in front of the men who were sworn to protect them with their lives.

Hunter’s eyes cut to Kira then. “And why did ye agree to come? Ye ken ye dinnae belong,” he bit out.

Annoyance flared in her. Perhaps it was all the reminiscing she and Edine had been doing that had her feeling a little more confident around him. She surprised even herself when she quickly retorted, “I was simply too curious to see if ye had improved from yer childhood days. Ye were rather terrible back then.”

Tension snapped in the atmosphere between them.

Had they been alone in her chamber, she was certain she would have been backed into another corner with him in her face. He stepped closer but before he could so much as open his mouth, his eyes faltered to her necklace.

The lack of shock in his expression told her exactly what she had been wondering: it was Hunter who had found her necklace. Even with all that hate in his heart for her, he had searched those endless fields for her necklace.

“It seems ye cannae help but remember me,” she taunted.

His eyes narrowed to slits. “Dinnae speak of what ye dinnae ken,” he warned. He turned away but spoke as he walked off. “Very well, ladies. Stay and watch. Then I expect ye to return to yer chamber at once.”

When he reached the center of the field once more, he called out an order that Kira didn’t recognize. One warrior came forward, a tall, beefy man that looked as though he ate a day’s worth of food at each meal.

Hunter and the man circled one another, taunts muttered back and forth. And then they lunged for one another.

Fists were thrown and hits were dodged as they danced around, both fighting for dominance in the fight. Kira noticed that there wasn’t a single misstep in Hunter’s rhythm. While she knew nothing of fighting, in his younger days the awkward footing and stumbled steps were obvious to anyone watching. He moved as though he knew not only the next move of his opponent but every subsequent move too. The match was already planned out in Hunter’s head, and he wasn’t going to let it stray from course.

“Hunter never took training seriously until our parents passed,” Edine told her. “For the month that followed their deaths, I dinnae think I saw Hunter anywhere but the training grounds. Rain or shine, he was out there. He even took his meals there. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he slept there from time to time. I dinnae think he ever took time to mourn them. He only ever prepares for what’s next.”

Kira’s heart squeezed at the thought. She had tried for all of those years to not picture what those following days had been like for Hunter and Edine. Until he kidnapped her, the last time she had seen him had been in his father’s study with death at her feet. Even when he had been a clumsy boy, he had beenstrong and serious. To picture him weak and wounded from their deaths had been too much for her.