Page 108 of Highland Ruse

Behind his damn back. “Who?” He had to fight to keep his demand from being too hard with his desperation. “What did she look like?”

“The same as she always has.” Torra shuddered. “Long white hair and a purple cloak.”

A chill went through Kaid’s veins. There was only one person who fit that description perfectly.

Rhona.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Rhona was nowhere to be found.

The hairs on the back of Kaid’s neck prickled with unease.

He pushed his first and middle fingers against his temples to stave off the building pressure and entered Torra’s chamber once more.

She stood where she always did now, staring out the window overlooking the village in the distance.

Percy glanced up from her book and kept her finger on the page where she’d stopped reading.

“Ye canna find her, can ye?” Torra asked without looking at him. “Nathaira.”

“Nathaira?” he repeated. “Ye mean Rhona?”

“If that’s what she goes by here, then yes—Rhona. It has been some time since I’ve seen her at Edirdovar.” Torra turned from the window. The late afternoon sun glowed against her face and lit her red hair like a flame.

There was very little anxiety on her face now. She was regal in the deep blue gown of velvet with split sleeves and full skirts. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders in silver and red, and her back was straight and proud.

Percy’s teas had worked wonders.

“I knew she’d left with how she walked,” Torra said. “Too fast, desperate almost. She kept looking toward ye.”

“Do ye know where she’s going?” He figured he already knew the answer, but wondered if she might have better insight.

“To my half brother.” She spoke calmly, but a line of concern creased over her forehead. “If she knows I’ve escaped—if she tells him where I am and they find me—”

“We will protect ye no matter what.” Kaid hoped she would hear evidence of his genuine promise in every word he said.

She flicked a glance out the window before returning her haunted gaze toward him. “And if I do not feel safe, I can leave?”

It had been a generous offer Delilah had extended, a wild gamble. Though Kaid would never have been so daring as to propose freedom, he understood why she’d done it and still held tight to the hope it would pay off.

He nodded. “If that is what ye wish.”

Torra considered this a moment and drank another sip of tea before speaking again. “He will bring a powerful force to see me dead.” She stared out the window and shuddered, as if she could already see the men coming over the hills.

“I’d rather bring a powerful force to see him dead—with you and I at the lead together,” Kaid said. His pulse raced with the danger of moving too quickly and frightening her. It was like reaching out the first time to stroke a skittish horse’s neck.

Torra swallowed and swung her gaze back toward him. “You truly want an alliance with me.”

Kaid gave a nod. “Ye’re the rightful laird to the MacKenzie clan.”

One of Torra’s fingernails dug against the edge of her thumb. “And ye’re just as serious about helping me reclaim my rightful place?”

Kaid’s heart swelled with a hope so great, it almost stole his breath. “Aye.”

“My father wanted this.” She spoke more to herself than to him and lifted her chin with a tilt of defiance. “Then gather yer men and tell yer clan. Ye will have an alliance with the MacKenzies, and I will take back my rightful place.”

Kaid bowed low. “Aye, Laird MacKenzie.”