Page 104 of Highland Ruse
Torra closed her eyes and leaned her face toward the crisp breeze. Her chest expanded with the force of her inhale and she smiled.
“Let me show you freedom.” Delilah motioned to the window, encouraging Torra toward it. She complied in slow, shuffling footsteps, her eyes still closed in appreciation.
Delilah glanced toward the rear of the room where Percy was adding drops to a steaming mug. Kaid was facing Delilah, watching her with a light expression on his face. There was something about the casual half-grin, the way he had made himself comfortable leaning against the wall, which made her heart swell with what she saw there.
He was proud of her.
Heat fluttered low in her stomach and blossomed over her chest and cheeks. But she was not yet done.
“Open your eyes,” she said.
Torra obeyed and looked at the castle and its many guards below, with the village beyond and all the people who bustled at the thriving market. Even further were the swells of craggy hills, all velvety grass with jagged gray stone peeking through.
“This is freedom,” Delilah said.
Torra’s gaze moved slowly as she regarded the scene below, taking it all in—the beauty, the vivacity of it all. Her eyes went glassy with unshed tears and the tip of her nose reddened.
“This is freedom,” she repeated in a voice thick with emotion.
“This is how Edirdovar should be too,” Delilah said gently. “You can bring this back to your people if you desire.”
Torra did not turn from the scene. “It’s dangerous.”
“We would be at your side.” Delilah squeezed the woman’s hand. “You need only think about it. You are free regardless of what you choose. And you have our friendship and protection always.”
A tear crawled down Torra’s cheek, but she did not swipe it away.
Delilah backed away from Torra, leaving the other woman to witness the extent of her freedom. When Delilah crossed the room and slipped from the door with Kaid, Torra still had not moved from her place at the window.
No servants appeared in the hall near Delilah, but she eased herself against the wall and in the shadows at the same time Kaid shifted to stand protectively in front of her.
She knew she couldn’t be seen, not before Kaid was ready to announce the plan. And first they’d need Torra’s compliance. Hopefully it would come soon, not only through their efforts to convince Torra of her rightful place, but also through the tea Percy concocted.
Based on what Percy stated, she’d found a combination of extracts and herbs to aid in bringing Torra’s wits together. It sounded an impossible task, to be sure. But then, Percy was a woman who made miracles happen on a daily basis.
Footsteps sounded nearby and Kaid nudged Delilah back into one of the darkened alcoves. While Delilah didn’t want to be caught, she was very much enjoying the press of Kaid’s body against hers. Their eyes met and they shared a secret smile.
“Ye were amazing in there, Delilah.” The quiet intimacy of his voice sent warm ripples of desire through her. “I dinna know how ye do it, how ye’re so patient and ye know exactly the right thing to say. I dinna know what I’d do without ye.”
She flushed at his praise.
Sylvi was wrong to offer such a silly warning against Kaid. The more he touched Delilah, and kissed her, and loved her, the more she knew his affection to be true.
“We shouldn’t linger,” Delilah whispered.
“We should go somewhere no one will find ye.” He grinned. “Like my chamber.”
The blatant suggestion in his voice turned those delicious ripples of pleasure into excited prickles of anticipation.
The footsteps turned the opposite direction, away from them. He caught her hand and pulled her out of the alcove. Together they made their way down the hall, and were almost to Kaid’s chamber when a little voice stopped them mid-step.
“Elizabeth?” it whispered in wonder. “Elizabeth!” This time the shout was high-pitched and desperate.
Delilah swung toward the cry, and her heart nearly burst from her chest with delight at the girl running toward her with arms outstretched.
Claire.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
