“And what of me sister, Magnus?” Keegan would not call the foul scum of the earth Laird. “Have ye seen fit to ruinherreputation?”
The man scoffed, tossing his head back before lazily returning his attention to Keegan.
“I havenae touched yer precious Melissa.” He smirked—an evil slash through his face that turned Keegan’s stomach. “The lass is far too scrawny and skittish for me likin'. I prefer them round and ready to serve their laird.”
If it weren’t for the iron hold Keegan maintained over himself at nearly all times, he would have heaved his breakfast onto the man’s feet. ‘Hell,’ he thought, ‘if it dinnae make me look weak, the thought of tarnishing his leathers is quite appealing.’
Still, Keegan was done delaying the exchange another moment. It was far beyond time to get this over with, and even as every bit of him ached over the thought of Willow returning with her brother, he’d made a promise. And he was nothing if not a man of his word.
“Let us be done with this, Magnus. Send forth Melissa, and I will retrieve,” Keegan had to swallow down a sudden lump in his throat, “yer Willow.”
Magnus cast a lackadaisical glance over the field. He appeared so utterly disinterested that every near in Keegan’s body felt ground down by the abrasiveness of it.
“I daenae see the spoiled lass. Are ye perhaps hidin' the evidence of her demise?”
If the man were genuinely concerned for his sister’s fate, Keegan imagined that the McCallum would not sound so wearied. In every other way aside from his literal words, Magnus appeared incredibly disinterested in the fate of his sister, and Keegan’s stomach churned.
He had not wanted to accept the possibility that family could be so cold to each other, but still, the man must have a sense of pride at least. Retrieving his stolen “property” must matter to the man.
“She is there, Magnus,” Keegan bit out, his temper bleeding through his words.
Laird Brahanne raised a hand, gesturing for Willow to be brought to the edge of the front line so that her brother might see her more clearly. He still would not allow her any closer, however. She remained a bargaining tool, yes, and even more, Keegan was not sure of her safety among the warriors lined up on the other side.
It should have been something he took greater note of, the way that he was still so concerned about the lass’s safety, but again, Keegan would not let his mind travel those roads. Little good came from indulging your heart or desires too much.
He would not make that mistake again.
“Ah, so she is. Ye havenae lied.” Magnus regarded him, his beady eyes leering from under his thick brow. “A man of yer word. Aye, it is so.”
“Let us get a move on, Magnus. I daenae have till the sun is up the morrow.”
The other laird looked past him at Willow, and Keegan’s grip on his pommel tightened.
“Apologies, Laird Brahanne, but ye see, I fail to understand what use I could have for a spoiled sister who I cannae be using to secure alliances as a result of yer little…theft.”
Keegan felt as if a horse had thrown him or he had been riding in a carriage that came to a sudden halt.
Furrowing his brow, Keegan went rigid, his body tensing so that he might be ready for an attack. “What?”
“I will give ye this then.”
Unease pinched its way through Keegan’s guts. He could sense something was off with Magnus. Whatever he might have been preparing for, Laird McCallum was sure to do something else. He’d come to recognize that about the man over the years, and after what happened with his father, Keegan refused to treat the man with anything but suspicion.
“A much fairer way to be paying for the return of yer unsullied sister. A piece of Brahanne land for the lass. What say ye?”
17
“Land?” A rage like nothing he’d ever felt before swelled through Keegan, and he glared intensely at the man standing before him.
How could I have missed it? Of course.
The world froze into a stillness like ice as Keegan stood before Laird McCallum, who was demanding a piece of Brahanne land yet again. It always returned to the bloody land.
When Melissa had first been taken, when Magnus had fought against his father, and in the skirmishes they engaged in during Keegan’s youth, the bastard had always only wanted one thing—land.
His vision went blurry as the scene around Keegan crystallized into the horrid truth. Magnus did not care for Willow’s return, as she had predicted, and he had undoubtedly been using herarrangement with the MacMillans to obtain a piece of their territory.
It was just about the damned land.