Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

W hen Carys woke in the blue light of morning, she immediately felt the warmth of Cadell's presence overhead and the cold sheets in the bed beside her. She opened her eyes, but Lachlan was gone.

There was a pang of disappointment followed immediately by a creeping sense of relief. Her body felt loose and worn and fantastic, but she was also confused.

Carys had fallen in love with Lachlan in the Brightlands, the wandering, good-natured Scotsman with a quick smile, an amazing sense of humor, and kindness oozing out of his pores. He was hardworking but not ambitious. Easy but entertaining. He was the perfect boyfriend.

But now she was seeing Lachlan where he was born, a land called Alba ruled by powerful fae and scheming humans raised in the shadow of magic, myth, and monsters. A land where children were sacrificed to forests, dragons carried kings, and ancient magic touched everyone from the lord in the castle to the farmer in his field.

This was where Lachlan was raised. This was the world he was born into. This was the place that had made him. She didn't know Lachlan here, and she didn't know herself. Carys had been making love to a memory of what they had been, not the reality of who they were.

She turned to Lachlan's side of the bed and found the journal she'd been taking notes in open to a blank page.

Shit.

She grabbed for her journal and saw a scribbled note from Lachlan.

I didn't want people to start talking. It would make you uncomfortable. I left before the maid could come.

There was another line farther down the page, underlined for emphasis.

I did not kill Seren.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit." She flipped to the page just before the note and looked at the rambling notes she'd scribbled down two days before.

Who might benefit from Seren's death?

Regan—seems super evil

Eamer—things were cold between them, maybe jealous

Robb—ambitious, would be threatened by power

Aisling—fought like sisters

Elanor—doubtful but big unknown

Unknown fae enemies

Unknown human enemies

Not Dafydd, impossible

Not unicorns

Do the wolves have anything to do with this?

Lachlan?

His was the only name she'd written a question mark after because the thought of Lachlan killing his wife seemed utterly ridiculous to her when she wrote it down and even more ridiculous after their conversation the night before.

According to Lachlan, he'd wanted to give up the throne. Carys knew from details Duncan had mentioned that the Alban throne wasn't like the Anglian or the Cymric. There was a chief chosen from among the clans, but it wasn't a strict a hereditary title. The capital was in Sgàin for military and trade reasons, but if Robb ever displeased the other clan chiefs, he could be replaced, and he would be.

So the idea that Robb's son would give up the throne to be the consort of the Cymric queen wasn't a revolutionary idea.

Except maybe to Lachlan's father.

Robb immediately went to the top of her list. He struck Carys as an ambitious person and far more likely to believe that Dafydd's daughter should give up her crown instead of his son. Or why give up the crown at all? Maybe Robb envisioned a combined kingdom, uniting two old allies.

She jotted down another note.

Who rules Anglia, and could they be involved?

She needed to meet with Dafydd and find out what he knew about his daughter's marriage and future plans, but she needed to speak to Lachlan first and reassure him that he'd dropped off the suspect list.

I did not kill Seren.

Would he even talk to her after seeing her notebook?

"Shit." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, so the sex was probably a mistake."

Her body didn't agree. Her body felt loose and satisfied and… powerful somehow. Her body was ready to get out of bed, do a na ked booty-shake in front of the fire, and saunter down the hall to get a cup of hot coffee.

God, she missed coffee.

A knock came at the door, followed by Bonnie's voice. "Here to light the fire, my lady."

Carys pulled the blankets over her shoulders and dragged the bed curtains closed. "Come in. It's not locked."

She could feel Cadell resting above her on the roof. "Cadell?"

Nêrys?

"I want to speak with Dafydd today if I can. Can you talk to Mared about that?"

I will communicate with her right now.

Carys felt the loss of his constant presence and turned her attention to Bonnie, clutching a blanket around her shoulders so it wasn't obvious she was naked when she poked her head from behind the curtains. "I bet there's a ton of cleaning to do today, right?"

"Oh, not as much as you'd think." Bonnie glanced at her as she made the fire. "You turned in early. The girls said you asked for a maid to help you out of your gown when the music was still going strong. Not much for parties, are you?"

"It was a lot to take in." She ducked back behind the curtains. The room was freezing cold. She missed her woodstove. She missed her house and her bed and her central heating.

And coffee. She could not emphasize that enough.

Bonnie seemed slightly sympathetic. "I imagine it was a new experience for you. Lord Duncan was up bright and early today. I think he already ordered a tray from the kitchen for your breakfast, so that will suit you. No need to go down to dine with the ladies in the morning room if that's coming up."

"Great." Carys peeked her head out from behind the curtains. "Wait, am I supposed to be dining with the ladies in the morning room?"

"If you like." Bonnie glanced at her, noticed her bare shoulders, and her eyebrows went up. "Then again, maybe not. Good thing Lord Duncan ordered that tray."

Why was he always trying to make her eat?

"Yeah, that was… thoughtful." Or intrusive. No, it was thoughtful. The last thing she wanted was to look everyone in the face this morning after she'd run out of the party. "Bonnie, did people seem to notice that I left early?"

"I wasn't there, was I?"

"People talk, and you have ears."

Bonnie turned. "They noticed, but they were talking about Lord Lachlan more. He seemed upset. Queen Elanor was trying to speak to him, but he looked a bit stormy until he spoke to his brother."

"Right." Duncan butting in again. Carys sighed. "Can you pull some comfortable clothes out for me if you have the time? I'm absolutely freezing, and my head is swimming."

"Too much wine." Bonnie's voice was brusque. "I'll set out some day clothes for you. What are your plans for today?"

Find Lachlan and apologize for doubting his innocence.

Talk to Aisling and look for Seren's journals.

Find out what Dafydd thought the future had looked like for Lachlan and Seren.

"Just wandering around."