Chapter 20

Rain pattered against the castle walls, turning the courtyard into a field of mud. Lilith had woken up early that morning to dress and prepare for the special day of the feast that was to be held for the two couples about to be wed—her and Aaden, and Freya and Evander. That day, though, Freya didn't seem to be as excited as she was.

Something between her and Evander had gone terribly wrong in the past few days and Freya refused to tell Lilith what it was that had caused this fallout. Things were still tense between her and Freya, the strain of their arguments over Evander still visible in their relationship, but Lilith desperately wanted to ask her if she was alright, if there was something, anything that she could do to help her. She had reassured Freya time and time again that she didn't have to marry Evander, but she could tell there was something that held her sister back from canceling the engagement. Whether it was a sense of duty or a fear that she was already in too deep in the relationship, Lilith didn't know; she only knew that Freya was wasting away and there was nothing Lilith could do to stop it.

Lying on Lilith's bed, Freya stared at the ceiling in silence while the servants helped Lilith dress. She had made no effort to get ready for the day, going as far as to refuse to let the servants help her, and she was still in her sleeping garments.

"Freya, will ye nae dress?" Lilith asked as she smoothed the deep blue fabric of her dress with her hands. It was one of the more opulent garments she had, decorated with lace and golden needlework around the sleeves, brought to her recently by her father for the specific purpose of wearing it for such an occasion. Freya had a similar dress prepared for her, draped carefully over a nearby chair.

"I will," Freya said, though she sounded anything but excited by the prospect.

A sigh escaped Lilith as she walked over to the bed and offered her hands to her sister. Freya looked at her for a moment, remaining motionless, but then took her hands and stood.

"I thought ye would be happier today," Lilith said. Only a few days prior, she would have been certain that Freya would be excited for this day, her wedding approaching, but after seeing how her relationship with Evander had changed, it didn't surprise her that Freya had lost her enthusiasm.

Lilith could only hope that meant she wouldn't go through with the wedding. There was still time for her to back down. Their father wouldn't force it on her.

"So did I," Freya said, lips twitching up into a small, sad smile.

Lilith, though, was entirely serious. "There is still time. Ye're nae wedded tae him yet."

Freya paused. Though she said nothing, Lilith knew her well enough to see that she was considering it, her eyebrows drawn into a soft frown. She prayed for her to see reason, to call the wedding off right that instant, but in the end, she only shook her head.

"I will dress fer the feast," she said. "If ye wish tae go now, I'll find ye soon."

There was no point in arguing, so Lilith gave Freya's hands one last squeeze before she let go. As she headed to the door, Freya finally allowed the servants to help her dress and forced a smile on her face as she looked at herself in the looking-glass, as though she was practicing looking jovial.

It was the first time Lilith had seen a fake smile on her sister's face and the sight was as jarring as it was upsetting. She never had a reason to fake her joy until now that she had been snared in Evander's net.

When Lilith entered the great hall, the guests for the feast were already gathered there. The music swelled over their conversations, the wine flowed freely, and the tables seemed to buckle under the weight of all the food that had been placed on them. Her father had spared no expense for the feast, and Lilith couldn't imagine how much more he would spend for the one that would follow her and Freya's weddings.

Her arrival caught the attention of everyone in the room, but most of all, it was Aaden who cut his conversation with Cameron short to stare at her as she walked through the room, his gaze never straying from her as she approached. The moment she was near enough, Aaden reached for her and pulled her close, snaking his arms around her waist, and Lilith couldn't help but smile, her heart fluttering in her chest as though she was a young girl with her first infatuation.

"Mo ghraidh… ye look so bonnie," said Aaden, pulling back just enough to spin her around. Lilith laughed as she twirled for him, her dress moving with the sway of her body. "Look at ye, ye must dance with me."

Before she had any time to react, Aaden was already pulling her towards the musicians, where a large square space had been cleared for the dancing guests. Though it had stood empty only moments before, now that the others had seen her with Aaden there, they stood and began to flood the space, preparing for the first dance of the evening.

As the band started to play the next song, the two of them shared their first real dance. It was nothing like the one they had performed only days prior, when Lilith was doing her best to frustrate Aaden as much as she could, constantly trying to throw him off rhythm. She let him take the lead now, and Aaden glided around the room, pulling her gracefully along. Every time the dance brought them close, he leaned in closer and closer until their bodies were almost pressed flush against each other, seemingly uncaring about the crowd of people around them.

If they paid them any mind, they didn't show it.

But it was the way he looked at her, eyes dark with lust, that had that familiar heat coiling in her core, her desire growing with every glance they exchanged. She hadn't predicted how difficult it would be to simply exist near him without needing him all the time, without having to fight the little voice in her head which told her they could simply leave the feast for a while.

Perhaps when Freya comes, she can keep the guests entertained herself fer a while.

Lilith smiled and Aaden caught it, giving her a slightly bemused, yet curious look. When the dance brought them together once more, his arm wrapped around her waist, and he yanked her close, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear in a way that set goosebumps down her spine.

"I cannae wait until we're alone," he said. "All I wish is tae take this dress off ye."

Blood rushed to Lilith's face, her skin burning with embarrassment that she hoped she could blame on the temperature in the room. Though there was little chance anyone could have heard Aaden over the music and the conversations around them, she still glanced at the guests closest to them to make sure no one had heard, but once again, they didn't seem to pay them any mind.

"Ye have already seen what is under it," Lilith pointed out, just in time before the dance steps separated them once more. In the time it took them to get back together, Aaden's gaze was glued on her, and Lilith could feel it like a physical touch on her skin, every place where it rested tingling with anticipation.

The moment Aaden could reach her again, she was once more ensnared in his embrace. "That is what makes me want more," he said, just as the final notes of the song rang out around them.

Huffing out a laugh, Lilith slapped him playfully on the chest. "Behave. May I remind ye we are in the middle o' the public an' we're nae wedded yet?"

"We should hurry up an' wed, then," said Aaden, his arm snaking around Lilith's waist to lead her back towards the table at the far end of the great hall, where her father and Laird MacEwan already sat. Somewhere in the middle of the dance, Freya had joined them as well, and now she sat next to their father with a frown on her face as she watched everyone enjoying themselves.

When Lilith glanced at Aaden, he was already looking at her. "I will pour some wine fer us," he said. "Go."

Nodding gratefully at him, Lilith wove through the crowd until she reached the table and took a seat next to Freya. She gave her a chance to start a conversation herself, but Freya remained silent, sharing none of her thoughts with Lilith for perhaps the first time in their lives.

Across the room, Evander was talking to a group of women, laughing boisterously, his chest puffing out as though he was a great bird courting potential mates. Lilith couldn't help the urge to roll her eyes at him. For all his promises, he hadn't changed after all.

"He's been jealous o' Cameron, tryin' tae forbid me from speakin' tae him," Freya said in a flat tone. "An' ever since he's started tae be jealous o' me, he's been tryin' his best tae make me jealous o' him. That is why he is speakin' tae those lasses. Frankly, it's immature an' foolish."

There was little Lilith could say to that, none of which could make her sister feel better. Now that she was observing Evander, she could see that he kept glancing at Freya, his gaze straying to her often and repeatedly, as though he wanted to make sure she was watching him. She couldn't help but agree with her sister; he truly was a fool.

Lilith would be lying if she said that Freya's recent arguments with Evander didn't please her, though. There was an odd contrast between the satisfaction of knowing her sister could now see him for who he was and seeing how much it hurt her to reveal the truth, but the pain would be temporary—as long as Freya decided to cancel the wedding.

It was better for her to hurt for a few weeks than for the rest of her life.

"He isnae the man I first met," Freya continued, her voice cracking on the last few words. With a sigh, Lilith reached for her hand and laced their fingers together, her heart slowing when Freya gave her a small, tentative smile. Despite everything, Freya was still trying her best to reassure Lilith, when it should have been the other way around, Lilith thought. "Or rather, he isnae who he pretended tae be. I dinnae think he changed. I think he simply stopped hidin'."

For Freya to speak about Evander like this, it could only mean that he had crossed several lines. "What happened?" she asked. "What made ye see that?"

Freya drew in a deep, shaky breath, as though it pained her to speak about it. "He spoke so terribly about Cameron. An' then, while he was yellin' at me, he told me that men only appear tae be sweet an' kind, sayin' that they love us, until they can get what they want from a lass."

The way Freya spoke those last few words made Lilith think there was more to the story than she was telling her. "Did he try tae dae somethin' like that tae ye?"

Silently, Freya nodded. "Cameron stopped him."

Lilith let out a sigh of relief, though it was short-lived as she turned to look at Evander once more. The sight of him, laughing and enjoying his time with the women who surrounded him, a drink in his hand and a cockiness in his stance, enraged her like few things had before. Her stomach churned, her mind conjuring up all the ways he could have hurt Freya when Lilith wasn't there to protect her from him. As her fingers curled tightly around Freya's own, she placed her other hand on Lilith's, trying to soothe her, but there was no stopping the waves of anger that rolled through her, one after the other, until all she could see was Evander and all she wanted was to expose him for the awful man he was.

From the corner of her eye, she glanced at her father, who was still speaking with Laird MacEwan, none the wiser. "Ye havenae told faither. Why?"

"I will," Freya said. "I… I wanted tae delay it, because he had already planned the feast, but I suppose it would have been better if I had told him ‘afore all this. What are we even celebratin'? I cannae go through with this weddin', Lilith. An' if I dinnae wed Evander, then ye dinnae have tae wed Aaden. The burden is off ye now an' I'm sorry I ever placed it on yer shoulders. Yer free."

Freya looked so defeated by it all. For the first time in her life, her eyes seemed dull, lifeless, her gaze unseeing, as though she couldn't focus on any of her surroundings, lost in her own head. Lilith leaned closer, eager to tell her it was no burden, in the hopes that it would make Freya feel a little better, but before she could reveal that she and Aaden were in love and that she very much wanted this wedding, Evander interrupted them, suddenly materializing next to them.

"Come," he said, offering his hand to Freya with one of those sickeningly sweet smiles of his. "Let us dance."

"I dinnae wish tae dance with ye," Freya said without hesitation.

For a moment, Evander froze, surprised by the rejection. He recovered quickly, though, huffing out a soft laugh as he stepped a little closer. "Surely, ye cannae be angry with me still. I apologized fer what I said, Freya. Obviously, I didnae mean any o' it. I was… upset when I spoke like that."

Over Evander's shoulder, Lilith saw Aaden approach and stood, hoping that he could drag his cousin away and defuse the situation before the guests found out something was wrong.

"I said I willnae dance with ye," Freya insisted. "Leave."

Before either sister could react, Evander grabbed Freya's hand, trying to pull her to him. Lilith didn't give him much of a chance, though, before her own fingers wrapped around Evander's wrist, squeezing with all her strength.

"Let her go," she said, the command coming out of her lips like a growl. "Ye're naething but a pitiful, cruel, weak man."

Evander scoffed, his hold on Freya remaining strong. "Shut yer mouth," he hissed, just as Aaden's hand curled over his shoulder. The rage in Aaden's eyes was unmistakable, but Evander wasn't clever enough to put an end to it and step away. "Dae ye think me cousin will save ye? He doesnae even like ye. He's only doin' this because me faither forced him. He never wished tae wed ye."

Lilith's blood ran cold in her veins. That had been her biggest fear all that time: finding out that all the lies Aaden was telling were a product of a bigger lie, and that he never truly loved her but was rather after her fortune. She had even expressed that fear to him, only for him to reassure her his interest was in her and not the gold and the land that her father could give him.

"Is that true?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

It took Aaden several seconds to respond and that was more than enough of an answer for Lilith. Her stomach dropped and it felt as though her ribs were cracking under the weight of his lie. Tears gathered at the corners of Lilith's eyes, but she refused to let them fall, rapidly blinking them away.

How could he dae this tae me? How could I let this happen at all?

It was all her fault, she thought. It was all her fault for trusting him, for opening her heart to him like she had never done for anyone else. She should have known that he wasn't any different than the other suitors who had come to her doors. Why would he be? All they wanted was wealth and a pretty wife.

Everyone around them was just as frozen as she was, Freya's mouth hanging open, Evander grinning smugly. Aaden had turned pale, his face coated in a thin sheen of sweat.

"It isnae like that," Aaden said, eyes wide with something akin to terror. "Let me explain?—"

"I've heard enough from the both o' ye," Lilith said, glaring at him and Evander. Before anyone could say anything else, she pushed past them all, then past through the crowd, all the way to the grand doors, spilling out into the courtyard. Behind her, she could hear her name being called, the voices almost drowned out by everyone else who was wondering what had happened.

Lilith took no time to catch her breath, though in her grief and her anger, all the air had rushed out of her. Instead, she ran to the stables, feet thudding against the ground with every step, her shoes sinking into the mud. The rain fell relentlessly on her, soaking her dress and her hair, but she paid none of it any mind. She didn't care if she was going to ruin her clothes. She didn't care that it was cold out and she had nothing but that dress to protect her from the falling rain, which was already heavy and soggy with it.

All that mattered was that she escape from that place. She couldn't bear the thought of ever laying eyes on Aaden again after this.

"Prepare a horse fer me, please," she told the stable boy as she opened the door, shivering from head to toe. The cold was starting to get to her, but there was no going back now.

"Me lady!" the young boy said, jumping to his feet. "It is rainin'. Where will ye go in this weather?"

"Please," Lilith repeated, and the boy must have heard something in her voice or seen something in her broken expression, as he threw himself into the task. Soon, her horse was ready and Lilith thanked the boy before she left, furiously riding away from the castle and down the path.

She had no destination. It didn't matter. Her only goal was to leave that place, that man, behind.