Page 33 of Taken By the Exiled Laird

She smiled to herself at the memory, then shivered pleasantly as that evolved into the memory of the last time she'd worn the dress she was repairing now. The feeling of his lips against hers, the touch of his fingers on her thigh…

"Ye're daydreamin'. Best watch ye dinnae stab yerself with that needle," Graeme teased, taking a seat next to her.

She glanced up at him and smiled. Theon and Keir had gone on patrol together today, and while Noah was contentedly cleaning his bow nearby, Graeme had been relentlessly pacing back and forth, obviously restless and eager for something to do.

"Never fear. Any stabbin' I do will be intentional and nae directed toward meself."

Graeme winked. "I believe it. But God be good, I'd never have thought Cameron's only daughter would be such a skilled woman. Ye can ride, ye can cook, ye can sew, and now ye can even fight. If we'd have had ye in our camp years ago, we might have actually gotten somewhere."

Briana chuckled. "A group of feral men, incompetent without a woman. What a surprise!"

With a shrug and a nod, he said, "I cannae argue. But I will miss ye when Theon's deal goes through and ye're away back tae yer life. We could have used a lass like ye around."

The warmth of the day vanished and Briana looked up sharply, a sharp pain in the palm of her finger as the needle slipped and pierced her. Ignoring it, her voice suddenly high-pitched, she asked, "What deal?"

Graeme's smile faltered. "I thought ye kent. Surely he's told ye what this is all about."

"What, what is it all about?" she demanded.

Across from her, Noah lowered his bow and spoke in a soft, gentle voice that took her back through the years. She remembered that voice. It had comforted her long ago when she'd learned that the world had fallen apart.

"The Broken Blades must take our lands back and free our clanspeople. Ye ken that's the goal. Theon didnae go about it how I would have, but he is right that yer father or yer betrothed will pay a fine ransom tae have ye back. Ye'll go back tae yer life, and we'll return tae ours until everyone is free. That's how it is. It's how it has tae be."

"But—" Briana protested. "But what if⁠—"

Noah shook his head. "This life isnae for ye anyway, me lady. Believe me. It isnae all secret kisses in the forest and oatcakes with honey."

His words hurt more than if he'd shot her straight through the heart. Was he mocking her? How long had he known about what was building between her and Theon? Had they all been laughing at her this whole time?

"Dinnae look so miserable," Graeme urged. "Think of it. Ye'll get tae go home."

Home.

Back to her father.

Back to the bare bedroom and the harsh punishments.

Back to the rage and the scolding and the beatings.

Back to a brother whose love had turned to ice and a father who had never felt anything for her but disdain.

Back to the cage to wilt and die in the darkness, never seeing the sun again.

Her hands trembled as she got to her feet. Graeme and Noah both spoke, but there was a buzzing sound in her ears and she could not hear them as she unsteadily walked away. Perhaps she wouldn't return to her father—but what then? To a husband whose father allowed his own people to starve and die? To be a pretty prize traded for power to a man she had never met? To be complicit in the suffering of the people she now longed to save?

Stumbling, she moved toward Theon's hut.

Secret kisses in the woods.

Yes, there had been many since the first. They'd both given in, not just in the village but many times since, never overly intimate but always enough that they were touching, or their lips were brushing together, or they found themselves in each other's arms. Neither she nor Theon ever spoke of it, but she had felt the feeling growing, and she had, foolishly, believed his heart had been blooming too.

Had it all been part of the game, then?

When he called her beautiful, had it been a punishment for carrying the Cameron name? When he'd kissed her, touched her, and whispered secret words in their mingling breath, had he only aimed to ruin her for the future husband he hated?

Her eyes burned, but the tears didn't fall yet. She entered the cabin and closed the door behind her, half-collapsing onto the bed. She lay back, her hands folded on her stomach, staring at the ceiling.

A lie.