Chapter 26
The last thing Aaden had expected was a warm welcome from Lilith's family, and naturally, he received none. Laird Stewart was predictably furious, both with Lilith and with himself, though she had the advantage of being his daughter. If Laird Stewart was going to easily forgive anyone, it would be Lilith, not Aaden.
Still, Aaden had made his peace with the fact that the laird wouldn't be happy with him. What he hadn't expected was to find out that his cousin knew everything about Ruadh's plan.
It was time to tell everyone the whole truth, he had said. It was time to reveal everything, more than Freya could have ever known.
That bastard kens. He always kent an' he did naething tae protect our maither.
It wasn't often that his mother spoke of Evander in her letters to Aaden. There was a gap in his knowledge of their relationship, but he had always assumed Evander loved her, just like Aaden did. He couldn't fathom any other possibility. He couldn't even imagine that Evander could hate her just like Ruadh did.
Then again, perhaps it had been Ruadh himself who had poisoned Evander's mind, who had made him think of her as nothing but a tool to be discarded once it had lost its use. It wouldn't surprise Aaden, not when he had witnessed firsthand just how manipulative and convincing he could be.
Had he told Evander the truth about Aaden? Had he told him they were half-brothers? No, it couldn't be, Aaden thought. Ruadh himself had been adamant that Evander should never find out the truth, so why would he tell him himself?
Maybe it was the one thing Ruadh still hadn't revealed to his son.
Maybe it is time fer him tae find out.
If he already thought little of his mother, then what difference did it make? It wouldn't change his perception of her. Perhaps it would hurt him, but he deserved it. It was the least Aaden could do, the smallest punishment he could give him.
Everyone around them had fallen silent, even Laird Stewart, who was looking back and forth between them, trying to figure out what it was happening. Evander, too, was silent, though not for long.
"What are ye sayin'?" he asked with a small, confused frown. "O' course I ken. How could I nae? I'm part o' the plan."
In his rage, Aaden's hand reached for his blade on instinct, but he stopped himself before he could unsheathe it. Surrounded as he was by so many guards, he doubted he would get too far before he was struck down, and the last thing he wanted was to cause yet another commotion.
"I kent ye were a fool, but I never thought ye would be so cruel," Aaden spat. He had even gone as far as to defend Evander when Lilith suggested he could be on Ruadh's side, that he could know everything and still be helping his father. "How could ye dae this tae her? Have ye nae heart?"
"Her?" Evander asked, his frown deepening. Then, his confusion turned into a simmering rage, his hands curling into tight fists by his sides. "As if ye didnae dae the same tae Lilith! How can ye claim that what I've done is any worse than what ye did? Is it because ye claim tae be in love now? Dae ye think that erases everythin' else ye've done?"
It was Aaden's turn to be confused. In fact, everyone around him seemed entirely uncertain, as if no one knew what the two of them were talking about or what to even think.
"I'm nae talkin' about Freya," Aaden said. "I'm talkin' about yer maither. I'm talkin' about Ruadh."
"Me parents?" Evander asked. "What about them?"
"Ruadh—" Aaden began, but then he quickly fell silent and looked around him. For the first time since their arrival, he noticed that Ruadh was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?"
"What?" asked Evander. "Aaden, yer nae makin' any sense. What's wrong?"
Closing the distance between him and Evander, Aaden grabbed him by the front of his shirt, shaking him. He was vaguely aware of the guards around him, some of them stepping forward to put an end to a fight that had not yet begun, others standing still, uncertain of what to do, but he didn't let go of his cousin.
"Where is he?" he demanded once more. "Is he gone?"
"He went for a ride." Evander's voice was small, terrified as he spoke, his hand coming up to rest placatingly on Aaden's forearm. "It hasnae been long since he left."
Aaden cursed under his breath. Ruadh had been there for the entire argument with Lilith and he surely knew what had happened between the two of them. He was wise enough to know he had already lost, that there was no coming back from this, no matter what lies he tried to spin. What would he do now that his plan had been revealed? He knew Laird Stewart would never give Freya to Evander and he certainly suspected—as Aaden did—that he wouldn't give Lilith to Aaden either.
Everything had crumbled around Ruadh. He had nothing left to lose.
Me maither! Is he goin' tae hurt her?
"Would anyone like tae explain any o' this?" Laird Stewart asked, pulling Aaden out of his thoughts. "What, precisely, is the truth? The actual truth, nae whatever lies ye've told Freya an' Lilith."
With a huff, Aaden let go of Evander, pushing him back a little. He stumbled but caught himself, smoothing down his shirt with two shaky hands, though the look he gave Aaden now that he was at a relatively safe distance from him was nothing but haughty.
Before Aaden could say anything in response to Laird Stewart, Lilith jumped in. "Laird MacEwan has been hidin' a lot more than ye ken, faither. Aaden told me all about it an' he has the means tae prove it."
Aaden was only half-listening to what Lilith was saying, too preoccupied with his concern about his mother. He had to go after Ruadh. He had to find him before he could get his hands on his mother—if he hadn't already done so.
"Aaden, tell him," Lilith prompted, drawing his attention back to her. "The letters, where are ye keepin' them?"
"Right," said Aaden, taking a deep, steeling breath. It did little to calm his racing heart, its rhythm so erratic it seemed to rattle the bones of his ribcage. "The letters… they are in me chambers. I can bring them tae ye, me laird."
Laird Stewart dismissed Aaden with a wary sigh and a shake of his hand, and Aaden rushed to his chambers while the others watched him retreat. The sooner he could explain to the laird just what Ruadh had done and what he was planning, the sooner he could go after him. Perhaps Laird Stewart would even be gracious enough to give him some troops, if Aaden played his cards right.
Once he was in his chambers, Aaden rummaged through the bags he had brought with him, reaching under all the layers of clothes in there to get to the letters. He had taken great precautions to keep them hidden from prying eyes, keeping them all at the bottom of his bag where one could only find them if one was looking for them.
There were over a dozen letters his mother had sent him and Aaden had kept all of them. Some of them were creased and rumpled from all the times he had read them. There was a risk, he knew, in keeping them—one of those letters could cause great damage if it fell in the wrong hands—but he could never bring himself to burn them or otherwise dispose of them. They were the only things he had from his mother, the only way in which he could claim a connection to her. He could only hope his mother had kept the ones he had sent her, too, that she couldn't bring herself to throw them away.
Aaden grabbed all the letters and headed back out to the courtyard, where everyone was still waiting for him to return. They seemed to have hardly moved in the minutes it took him to fetch the letters, as though they were frozen in place, rendered inanimate by the shock of it all until the moment he came back.
"Here," he told the laird as he handed him the letters. "These are from me maither. She–"
Aaden's voice trailed off and he glanced at Evander, who was frowning at the letters as inconspicuously as he could over the laird's shoulder. The laird picked up the first one on the pile and unfolded it, eyes skimming over the words.
It was time for Aaden to finally reveal the truth. There was no stopping it now, even if he wanted to take it all back.
"Me maither is Janice MacEwan, Lady o' the MacEwan Clan," he said, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, though it was far from an easy task. Aaden's gaze found Evander first. Upon hearing his words, his cousin turned pallid, the color swiftly draining from his face. He looked at Aaden in disbelief, eyes wide as though he had witnessed something terrible that would be etched into his mind forever.
"What?"
Evander's voice was small, weak as he spoke. Suddenly, he looked like a boy again and Aaden remembered those years when they still lived under the same roof, when he was a child and Evander barely a toddler. The memories had faded since, leaving only vague images behind, but Aaden could remember a time when he was valiantly trying to protect Evander, looking after him like it was his duty.
Despite everything, he felt the same sense of duty now. A part of him wanted to ask the laird to speak in private, but this was something Evander needed to hear. If he knew what his father was doing to their mother, then he deserved every moment of anguish. If he didn't, then at least he would finally find out what kind of man his father was.
"It's true," Aaden told Evander. "Ye may read the letters if ye wish. That is why yer faither sent me an' me faither away, nae because me faither committed an act o' treason."
Evander was stunned into silence for a long while, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly as though he couldn't decide what to say or if he should say anything at all. When he finally spoke, he said, "But… but everyone kens… has he been lyin' tae everyone this whole time?"
"Aye," said Aaden, the word coming out as a weary exhale. "He never wished tae reveal the truth. It was too humiliatin' fer him."
"But me maither… I ken she doesnae love him, but she wouldnae betray him like this," said Evander. "She would never—she is kind an' loyal. She would never dae that."
The news seemed to have caused Evander genuine distress, his words choked off by the waves of emotion that crashed over him one after the other. From the way he spoke about their mother, Aaden doubted that he actually knew Ruadh had her under threat of death, after all. He appeared to be clueless about everything, swept along in his father's lies as everyone else.
"Yer parents were nae married when she had me," Aaden said. "She an' me faither were in love, but she was promised tae Ruadh an'… well, he refused tae let her go."
Evander was unsteady on his feet, swaying where he stood, but he managed to keep himself upright, much to Aaden's relief. He didn't have the time to deal with Evander as his world collapsed around him. Under any other circumstances, perhaps he would have tried to comfort him, but now he was more concerned about their mother. Evander would pull through. With time, he would come to accept the reality, no matter how painful it was.
"What does this have tae dae with Freya an' Lilith?" Evander asked. "This… what does it have tae dae with me faither's plans?"
Aaden took a step closer to Evander, hesitating for a moment. "What is it that ye ken about the plan?"
"I ken what ye ken," Evander said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Our clan needs the gold an' the lands, so we were meant tae wed Lilith an' Freya. That's always been the plan."
It wasn't news to anyone, so no one was surprised to hear those words from Evander's mouth. Still, Laird Stewart frowned deeply, his face turning an ugly shade of red at the reminder of what they had almost managed to do to his daughters and his clan.
Aaden nodded. "Aye… but dae ye ken how yer faither forced me intae this?"
"Ye owe him," Evander said. "That is what faither said. Ye owe him fer what yer faither did."
For a brief moment, Aaden glanced at Lilith, who stood side by side with her sister, the two of them holding onto each other's hands. She nodded firmly at him, and that was the only thing that gave him the courage to keep talking.
"He is keepin' our maither imprisoned," he said. "He is threatenin' tae kill her if I dinnae dae as he tells me. I would have never done such a thing otherwise. I would have never come here an' lied tae everyone like this, but I had nae choice."
"Nay," said Evander, shaking his head viciously, his golden hair swaying wildly with the gesture. "Nay, it cannae be. Me faither has done many things, but he wouldnae dae this! Even fer him, it is too much."
"It is true, Evander," Aaden said. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Laird Stewart, but there was no indication in his expression whether he believed him or not. There was nothing in his face that betrayed any emotion or thought. "It is true an' now that his plan has been revealed, she is in danger. Dae ye ken where he could be keepin' her?"
"I—" Evander began, but then he quickly fell silent again, lost in his thoughts. Aaden placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him on track. "I dinnae ken. I didnae even ken he was doin' any o' this, Aaden!"
Evander's tone had turned high and reedy, hysterical as he slipped out of Aaden's grip and began to pace back and forth in a short line. For a moment, Aaden couldn't help but wonder if it was perhaps all a performance, fabricated by Evander for the specific purpose of tricking them all in case they found out the truth.
But Aaden couldn't get past the genuine fear in Evander's eyes.
"Maither is in danger," Aaden said firmly, to make sure he got the message across to Evander. "If we dinnae find her, yer faither could hurt her now that he kens the truth is out."
That brought Evander to a halt, his entire body seizing with terror. Still, though, he shook his head, refusing to believe it. "What are ye sayin'? How could he hurt her? This isnae happenin'. It isnae happenin'."
"It is," Aaden said, his tone a little harsher than he intended. He needed Evander to understand, though. He needed him to get past his denial. "If what ye say is true, if ye truly didnae ken anythin' about all this an' if ye care about Maither, then ye must help me find her."
That seemed to snap Evander out of his denial, if only for a moment. "O' course I care about her," he said, turning his glare on Aaden. "How dare ye even suggest that I kent? Dae ye think I would have let him hurt her?"
"It's yer chance tae prove it," Aaden pointed out calmly, trying to keep himself composed. It would do no good, arguing with Evander when the most important thing was to get their mother back. "Tell me where he could be keepin' her."
"I dinnae ken!" Evander insisted. "Dae ye think he told me? Dae ye think I magically ken where tae find him?"
Aaden would get nowhere while Evander was in this state. Once again, he gripped his shoulder, hoping the gesture would ground him enough to help him think past his fear. When he spoke, he did so calmly yet firmly, looking right in Evander's eyes.
"Ye must think. Is there any place ye can recall him visitin'? Anywhere he visits often or anythin' that is out o' the ordinary?"
"I dinnae ken, Aaden!" Evander shouted, his panic getting the better of him. Drawing in a deep breath, he ran a hand through his hair, fingers tugging at the strands. "There is a cottage nae too far from the castle. It's near the loch. We used tae go there sometimes tae hunt an' swim. Faither has been visitin' often lately. He said it needed tae be repaired an' he had tae be there tae oversee the work, but it always struck me as odd that he would go there himself."
Aaden exchanged a quick glance with Laird Stewart, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as he did. There was no guarantee that was the place where Ruadh kept his mother, but it was the only clue they had. They had to start from somewhere and that seemed like the best place to look.
"I will need troops," Aaden told the man. "I understand ye may nae wish tae help me, but I am askin' ye tae give me some men. Nae fer me, but fer me maither, who is innocent in all this."
Laird Stewart didn't respond immediately, and with every passing moment, Aaden began to lose hope. He wouldn't leave his mother in Ruadh's hands, though. If he had to go to that cottage and fight all his men on his own, he would, troops be damned.
"Please, faither." Lilith took her father's hands, her eyes wide and pleading. "Ye ken he is sayin' the truth. He had nae choice an' his maither is innocent in all this. Why should she suffer?"
It took another brief moment for the laird to make up his mind. With a nod, he patted Lilith's hand reassuringly and said, "Cameron, gather some men. We are goin' tae find the Lady MacEwan."
Cameron wasted no time before turning on his heel, rushing off to notify the men. Aaden could finally breathe again, some of the crushing weight coming off his shoulders now that he knew he would have some help in his quest for his mother, evening out the odds.
"I will prepare as well," said Evander, but he seemed too rattled to Aaden. If there was going to be a fight, then he doubted Evander was in the right state of mind for it and besides, if they found their mother, Aaden didn't want Evander to see her in such a state.
"Perhaps ye should stay here," he told him, in as gentle a tone as he could muster. "Once we find her, we'll bring her here."
"Dae ye think me weak?" Evander said, and Aaden should have known that he would take offence, despite his best intentions. "I will come with ye. I must speak tae me faither."
Before Aaden could say anything else, Evander left, too, heading off to prepare for the trip. He was a grown man, Aaden reminded himself. He didn't need to coddle him, even for something like this.
"I will come with ye too." Lilith stepped up to him, determination etched in her face. "I wish tae leave ye alone."
"Nay," said Aaden immediately. He didn't need to consider it—the answer was too obvious.
"But—"
"Aaden is right," Laird Stewart said. "It's too dangerous, Lilith. Ye shall stay here with yer sister until we return."
"If ye are goin', Faither, then why should I stay behind?" Lilith asked, her hands coming to rest on her hips. "I can help. I'm good with a bow."
"It's too dangerous," Aaden insisted, repeating her father's words. At least for once, the two men seemed to be in agreement. "Ye cannae come, Lilith. We'll be safe, I promise ye."
Lilith seemed anything but pleased at being denied, but Aaden could deal with her anger if it meant that she would be safe. She looked between him and Laird Stewart, and Aaden could see the cogs in her mind turning as she tried to find a way to convince them, only to sigh and throw her hands up in resignation.
"Fine," she said. "As ye wish."
She didn't pull back when Aaden took her hand and tugged her closer, pressing a soft, quick kiss to her lips. With her father there, he didn't want to risk anything more than that, but he also didn't want to leave Lilith without a farewell kiss.
"We willnae be more than a few days," Aaden promised her. Either they would find his mother there and bring her back or they would find nothing and then they would have no choice but to return empty-handed to look for other places where Ruadh could be keeping her. "I'll see ye soon. And if the laird returns, which is unlikely, tell him that we went with yer father to help in a village a day's ride away where there was a fire. That he demanded our help as fergiveness for our actions, to prove our good intentions."
"Aye," said Lilith. "Be safe."
With that, Aaden, along with Laird Stewart, headed inside for the final preparations. There was much he still wanted to tell the man and even more he wanted to tell Lilith, but it would all have to wait. With any luck, it would all be over soon and the laird would be swayed to give him Lilith's hand in marriage.
Then again, Aaden had never believed in luck.
Lilith was left staring at Aaden's and her father's backs as they left her and Freya there, in the middle of the courtyard. The guards had begun to disperse by then, no longer needed and eager to return to their posts, and Lilith turned to Freya with a roll of her eyes, still in disbelief that she would be left behind.
Why had her father have allowed her to train if not to join him in his battles? Why would he hand her a bow and arrow as a young girl and then deny her the chance to prove herself?
After all, she could remain far away from the soldiers and their blades and anything that could truly harm her. She could help from afar, perched on a tree and hidden from sight, there to assist as needed. Had she been born a son, her father would not have given it a second thought, commanding her to prepare for the fight.
"Ye're displeased," Freya said. "Did ye truly think faither would allow ye tae go with them?"
"I was hopin' he might," said Lilith. "I was hoping' Aaden, perhaps, would try an' convince him, at least, but he too thinks it is too dangerous fer me tae join them."
"O' course he does," said Freya. "Faither would never put yer life in danger, Lilith, an' neither would Aaden."
"I cannae simply sit here until they return." Lilith didn't think she could bear it, spending her days in the castle shooting her arrows or painting or reading, simply trying to pass the time until they returned. She would go mad before they came back, her concern for Aaden and her father, for Cameron and the rest of the men getting the better of her and sending her into a frenzy. Besides, this was the moment she had always been waiting for, the chance to prove herself as someone who could stand her ground in a real fight.
"An' what will ye dae, then?" asked Freya. "Faither an' Aaden will never allow it. I doubt Cameron would allow it either."
Lilith considered the question for a moment, before a smirk bloomed in her face. It didn't take Freya long to realize that she had come up with something, answering with a smirk of her own.
"What are ye plannin'?" Freya asked. Though Lilith knew she worried about her, she had always been willing to go along with her mischief, ever since the two of them were children.
"I need ye tae distract the guards when faither and the others leave'," Lilith said. "An' then I will follow after them."
"Ye'll need a horse," Freya pointed out.
"Och aye," said Lilith. "An' I will find one."
She was a skilled rider, after all. She hardly needed a saddle, so preparing one for herself would be a matter of minutes.
"Promise me ye will be careful." Freya pulled Lilith into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders. Lilith returned it, holding her sister just as tightly. "It truly is dangerous, Lilith. They are nae wrong about that."
"I ken," Lilith said. She was under no delusions that this would be without any risk at all. Still, the thought of danger was not enough to dissuade her from following. "I'll take care, I promise."
It didn't take long for the small army of men to be gathered at the gates. Among them were her father, Aaden, Evander, and Cameron, all of them armed to the teeth and ready for battle. Six more men surrounded them, their expressions stony and unreadable.
Lilith and Freya watched them as they departed, the ten of them rushing out of the castle walls and into the distance. Once they were far enough from the castle, Lilith turned to her sister and gave her a sharp nod, one that Freya reciprocated.
Then, she crumbled right to the ground.
"Freya!" Lilith shouted, alerting all the guards and the servants around them. Freya played the role of a fainting maiden well, her body immobile and her limbs heavy even as Lilith shook her. As the guards came to help, swarming the two of them, Lilith stepped back under the guise of giving them space. Slowly, she backtracked, taking step after step backwards while everyone else was busy trying to bring her sister back to consciousness, and once she was certain no one was looking her way, she broke into a mad sprint, heading for the stables.
By the time anyone would notice that she was gone, it would be too late.
Before reaching the horses, Lilith stopped by the training grounds to pick up her bow and her arrows, slinging them over her shoulder. Once at the stables, Lilith grabbed her horse and put on the reins, not bothering with a saddle before she jumped on and headed out of the gates. The guards, too busy tending to Freya, had left the gates open and paid her no mind as she breezed through them.
In the distance, she could see the small party that was heading to Laird MacEwan's cottage, tearing through the valley below. Now all she had to do was follow them and make sure they would not spot her.