Chapter 9

Aaden stared at the piece of paper on the small table in front of him. He sat under the window in his guest chambers, the room as richly decorated as the rest of the castle, with its colorful tapestries and soft velvet seats. Laird Stewart had not spared any gold when it came to the comfort of his guests, though Aaden knew there was more to it than simply making sure his visitors would enjoy their time. It was a show of wealth and power. It let everyone know he had the riches to spend on frivolous things, so he surely had the riches to spend on important things, as well—namely, his armies.

An extensive, if not comprehensive, list of ideas covered the piece of paper, written in Aaden's neat handwriting. He pored over it, rewriting each idea as he tried to settle on one of them.

"She may nae be impressed if she sees me fight," he mumbled to himself. As formidable a fighter as he was, Lilith was surely used to seeing men spar in the training grounds. Aaden had no doubts he could best most, if not all of them, but what good would that do if it didn't serve his purpose?

He had considered setting up an easel somewhere in the drawing room or in the library and waiting for Lilith to see him, but he was only a passably good painter at best. He risked her mockery rather than her enthusiasm and that would only hurt his chances. He had even considered finding a small animal, a puppy perhaps, or a bunny, as women found the little creatures irresistible, but he didn't know what he would do with it afterwards. It wasn't as though he could lug a small animal around with him when he returned.

If I return.

There was no point in ruminating on the future when there were so many uncertainties still. There was still a chance Aaden could avoid this marriage and save his mother, so he wouldn't start to despair just yet.

No, what he had to do, he told himself, was stick to the plan. After all his failed attempts to get closer to Lilith, he had to do something that would truly impress her and make her swoon. He could already imagine the adoring look on her face when he managed to dazzle her, the way her blue eyes would widen and her plush, rosy lips would stretch into a smile, the compliments she would give him, all the sweeter for how long she had withheld them. She was the kind of woman anyone would want to impress, beautiful and smart and?—

Part of the plan, Aaden reminded himself. He was only doing this because of the plan.

But what? What can I dae that will impress her?

One thing came to mind. Ever since Aaden was young, everyone had been impressed by his horse-riding skills. Some could match him in speed, but none could match him in showmanship. He had a way with horses that others didn't.

He could take Lilith horse riding, he decided. Not only would he show off, but it seemed like the kind of activity she could appreciate, more so than watching him fight or painstakingly paint trees. A race was the perfect way to get her attention. Lilith delighted in besting him, but if he showed her that he could do better than her in one task at least, then she would have no choice but to be impressed by his skills, even if losing the race angered her.

Before the ink had dried on the paper, he stood and left the room, heading to the stables.

"A race."

It wasn't a question, more like an unimpressed echo of Aaden's proposal. Next to him, Lilith looked at him as though he had sprouted a second head, evidently confused about the reason behind his suggestion.

She had agreed to ride with him to a nearby lake without too much protest, much to Aaden's relief. It was a nice day, if a little chilly, and the two of them were well on their way to the lake when the path widened and straightened before them, creating the perfect opportunity for him to show off his skills. He hadn't expected such a flat reaction, though. Usually, when Aaden challenged someone to a race, they were quick to agree.

Then again, he had never challenged a woman to a race before.

"Ye'll enjoy it," Aaden said, goading her. "Have ye ever raced ‘afore?"

"I cannae say I've had the pleasure," Lilith said drily. "Why dae ye wish tae race me?"

"I told ye, ye'll enjoy it," Aaden insisted, which was really no answer at all. "Dinnae ye believe me?"

For a moment, Lilith regarded him with curiosity as they rode next to each other in the leisurely pace they had established ever since leaving the castle, her gaze piercing as though she was trying to peer right into his mind. Aaden only smiled at her, small and tight-lipped, unwilling to divulge anything.

"Very well," Lilith said in the end, nodding once firmly. "Where does the race end?"

"Where the path splits," Aaden said, pointing at the fork in the road in the distance. It was a good chunk of dirt, one that would allow him to show Lilith just how good he was on a saddle, but not so long that it would leave their horses—and themselves—fatigued.

To say he was pleased was an understatement. He was close to victory now, so close to finally swaying Lilith that he could hardly contain his excitement. The only thing that was between him and Lilith's permission to court her, however reluctant, was a stretch of road.

"From here, then?" Lilith asked, as she brought her horse to a halt. Aaden pulled up next to her, nodding.

"Ye may give the signal," he said.

"How generous o' ye," Lilith mocked with a roll of her eyes. Still, there was a smile on her face, one with a dangerous edge, but Aaden didn't have time to consider its meaning before she shouted, "Go!"

Within fractions of a second, she was gone, expertly riding her horse down the path. Cursing, Aaden followed her swiftly, chasing right after her, the two of them kicking up a cloud of dust on their way that painted the air around them a dull orange. She was fast and graceful on her horse, rivalling many of the best riders Aaden had raced against, and they weren't even a quarter through the race when he realized that the one who would be impressed by the end of this would be him, not her.

Aaden knew his horse well, though, and he urged it to gallop faster, knuckles turning bone white as he held tightly onto the reins. He could handle speed easily, following the fluid movement of his horse, the two of them catching up to Lilith step by step.

If I defeat her, she may be impressed.

After all, she had to know how good she was, and to find someone just as good or even better than her would surely be a surprise. He was getting closer to her, closing the gap between them in his frenzied chase. All he needed to do was push a little more, overtake her at the last moment.

I cannae let her win. I cannae.

Not only would it do nothing but undermine his efforts, but his ego would be bruised by the end of it, too.

The closer he got to Lilith, though, the closer both of them got to the finish line. The point where the road split in two, one side leading to the lake while the other led to the town, loomed in front of him and in his ears, he could already hear Lilith's mocking tone as she came to the realization that she had defeated him.

Before Aaden even knew it, Lilith breezed past the end point of their race, her bubbling laughter reaching his ears even over the thunderous sound of the horses' hooves. It was a close race, closer than it had seemed to him at first, but he had still lost to her and irritation simmered hot beneath the surface.

Abruptly, Aaden came to a halt next to her, his horse almost bucking him off with how roughly he stopped. Lilith was still laughing, her entire body shaking with mirth, and Aaden may have found the sound pleasant if the blood hadn't been rushing to his head, the anger threatening to spill out of him.

"Why didnae ye tell me ye could ride like this?" he demanded. All this preparation, all the effort he had put into it had been for nothing, but the worst part was the smug smile that Lilith sported. She seemed very satisfied with herself and her efforts, and though perhaps under other circumstances Aaden would have indeed been impressed by her abilities, now he couldn't help but think that she had somehow planned this, even though it had been his idea all along. Irrational as the thought was, he still clung to it stubbornly just to make himself feel better.

"Ye didnae ask," Lilith pointed out. "Ye only suggested we race an' we did. Are ye displeased now?"

"Nay," said Aaden through gritted teeth, but it was obvious to anyone with ears that it was a lie. He didn't particularly try to hide his displeasure either. Still, Lilith laughed once more and Aaden spared her one final glance before he put his horse into motion once more, heading to the lake and calling over his shoulder, "Are ye comin'?"

That laughter followed him all the way to the end of the path, and Aaden realized that if he wanted to win her favor, he would have to play dirty.

It had become a strange day for Lilith since Aaden suggested they go to the lake near the castle. It was nothing she hadn't seen before, but with Freya's appeals to treat Aaden kindly in the back of her mind, she agreed to his invitation. She hadn't expected the dare that was to follow, of course, but then again, Aaden hadn't expected her to win.

She would never forget his flushed face at the end of their race, the way he looked at her with such disbelief and anger than she momentarily thought he would turn around and leave. He had stayed, though. The two of them had taken the route around the lake before heading back to the castle, but it had been far from a pleasant ride. Throughout the entire time, Aaden had hardly said a word.

Lilith hadn't seen him, in the hours that had passed between their return and the start of dinner. Everyone else was at the table waiting for him, and the more the minutes passed, the more her irritation grew. Tapping her fingers impatiently on the table, she looked around at the others, though none of them seemed as irritated as she was.

When she caught Evander's gaze, the man took a deep breath and put on an appeasing smile that only served to irritate Lilith further. "Forgive me cousin," he said. "He isnae usually one tae be late without warnin'."

Yer cousin is actin' like a bairn simply because I won.

There was no doubt in Lilith's mind that this was nothing more than a tantrum. Aaden was so furious that he had lost and that Lilith hadn't warned him that she could ride well, that he now refused to eat at the same table as her, just like he had refused to speak to her on the way back. It was childish behavior and it only showed her that her first assessment of him had been correct.

"I kent he was a brute, but I never thought he would show me faither such disrespect," Lilith hissed, leaning back on her seat to cross her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps somethin' has happened," her father suggested from the head of the table, concern tinting his voice. Lilith wanted to point out that the most likely explanation was that nothing had happened and that she had simply always been right about the kind of person Aaden was, but she held her tongue. She had promised her sister she would give him a chance, after all, and she didn't want her to know about the ride they had taken together. "Cameron, go an' see where he is. He may need assistance."

Just as Cameron stood from his chair, though, a faint sound reached Lilith's ears and, judging by the looks on everyone's faces, they could all hear it, too. It was a song, one with which Lilith was very familiar, the tune carved into her memory. The volume rose steadily and soon everyone but Lilith was rushing to the windows to locate its source.

She didn't need to look to know who it was. There was only one person in the world who could annoy her so much. Still, she stood reluctantly and followed the rest, looking out of the window to see Aaden there with an entire band of musicians. When he spotted her by the window, he smiled as he sang and began to gesture dramatically, much to Lilith's chagrin.

As early I walked on the first of sweet May

beside a clear fountain

beneath a steep mountain

I heard a sweet flute soft melody play.

His voice was surprisingly melodious, a deep baritone with a slight hoarseness to it, even as he was all but shouting the song. Next to Lilith, Freya clapped her hands excitedly, her lips curled around a bright smile as she turned to Evander.

"It's the song our maither sang tae us when we were bairns!" she told him. "How did he ken tae sing this? Perhaps it really is fate, after all, an' they were destined tae be together."

Lilith knew better than that, but she didn't reveal that to her sister. It wasn't fate. It was Cameron, who had told Aaden about the song because he could never keep his mouth shut when it mattered the most.

"Nay one has done anythin' like this ‘afore," Freya told Evander in a quieter voice, but Lilith heard her regardless even over the music. "The other suitors were all too fearful o' embarrassin' themselves."

Aaden was, indeed, being utterly ridiculous, making a fool of himself to everyone, and Evander and Cameron could hardly contain their laughter seeing him act like that. And yet Lilith found herself smiling just a little despite herself. Aaden was being a fool, yes, but he was being a fool to win her over. He didn't seem to care about what anyone else would have to say. He didn't allow embarrassment to hold him back.

From the corner of her eye, Lilith could see her father watching her carefully, undoubtedly to see her reaction. He wasn't laughing, either. He was only smiling softly, as he always did when he heard that song.

Squinting her eyes to take a better look at the troupe, Lilith found some very familiar faces surrounding Aaden as they played their instruments. That baffled her more than anything else and she couldn't help but stare, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Are those me faither's musicians? How did he convince them tae play fer him?

As the song neared its end, Aaden only doubled his efforts, one hand placed over his heart as the other stretched out towards the window where Lilith stood, as though he could reach her through sheer force of will. The song reached its crescendo and Aaden fell to his knees, before singing the last few lyrics softly, gazing up with such earnestness that Lilith couldn't help but marvel at his performance.

He truly was an actor, she thought. He had been acting the part ever since he had stepped foot in the castle.

The moment he was done, the room erupted in cheers. Everyone but Lilith clapped, and Evander even goaded him to sing more, too amused by the performance to let it end so quickly.

When the room quieted, Aaden shouted up at Lilith. "Will ye allow me tae court ye?"

Lilith's first instinct was to say no, but Freya grabbed her hand before she could speak. "Please let him, Lilith," her sister begged, eyes wide and pleading. "Look at him! He truly wants it."

Lilith glanced at Aaden through the window, taking in his cocky stance, arms open wide, and that infuriating grin on his face that told Lilith he already thought he had won. She wanted to say no just out of principle and to wipe that smug smile off his face, but in the end, she only gave a heavy sigh.

She didn't know if she was more frustrated with Aaden for putting her through this or with herself for finding it a little endearing. Surely, she must be losing her mind, she thought, for even staying there for the entire performance.

But no one had done such a thing for her before and no matter how much she wanted to find a fault with this, she couldn't. It was a ridiculous show, but that only made the effort even more amiable.

"Fine," she said to Freya and then turned to shout out of the window. "Ye may court me. But it doesnae mean I will wed ye."

Once again, the room erupted in cheers and the musicians began to play once more in celebration as Aaden danced around them. He reminded Lilith of a goat, the way he jumped back and forth, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had made a mistake.

Her heartbeat quickened at the sight of him now, her stomach tying itself into a knot. She had to admit there was a thrill to being pursued like this, excitement thrumming in her veins like never before. But those feelings were dangerous. It was better to push them down, repress them until she no longer felt them at all.

She turned around when it was impossible to contain her smile any longer. She didn't want anyone to see it. In fact, she didn't even want to see it herself.