“I…” Willow blinked, holding her eyes closed for a moment before meeting Lilith’s eyes. “I will speak to Keegan. I am sure he will see reason.”
Lilith nodded, her sobs quieting some.
“I will leave ye two to talk. I’m to tell ye that Keegan is with Damon in the healer’s chamber, should ye wish to find him.”
“Thank ye, Rodrick,” Willow replied, offering him a sorrowful smile.
The man-at-arms slipped from the room, and Willow was left beside her sister, unsure what she was feeling about her brother’s death.
“He is gone then,” Lilith whispered. “What shall become of Castle McCallum, I wonder.”
Willow turned to her sister, taking both her hands in hers and squeezing. “I thought ye might be more…Och, well, I supposed I dinnae ken how ye might be feelin'.”
Lilith’s expression was a mirror for her own—too many emotions and thoughts and truths all spinning around like dancers in a reel. Willow swallowed, her stare finding the floor.
“He was our brother,” Lilith sighed, “but he wasnae ever truly our family.”
Of all the things said, that rocked Willow to her core. She cried harder then, the sobs making her chest ache, and she pulled Lilith into her arms.
“I love ye, Lilith. I mean that with every bit of me.” Willow sat back, holding her sister’s face. “I…I am so verra sorry that I couldnae find a way to make our family better…whole.”
Shaking her head, Lilith pulled Willow’s hands down to her lap. “Ye have always been the only family I need. We both tried to create a pleasant relationship with Magnus, but he wouldnae have it. At the end of things, we cannae lie to ourselves. He…he never cared for us.”
They were a mess together then, each of them swiping the other’s tears away, and Willow embraced Lilith with everything she had.
“He was so cruel to ye, Lilith.” Her sister made a face at her. “Aye, to both of us. But I ken that he was particularly awful to ye after I was taken. I am sorry for that.”
“I daenae hold ye responsible for his actions, Willow. He started this mess by abducting Melissa. More, with the murder of Keegan’s parents.”
Willow nodded. “Aye. I believe he did, at least to a degree. Keegan hasnae forgiven him for that. I hope perhaps that now…now he might be able to let the past go. But with Damon injured…I daenae ken.”
Lilith tensed, gripping Willow’s hand tighter. “Do ye think it is verra bad? The man seems such a braw fighter….The war chief.”
Her tone was so hollow, and Willow felt a pang in her heart for the state of her husband. It was certain that Keegan was upset,livid. He was so close to his siblings, the only remaining blood kin he had, and she knew in her soul that if Damon should perish, it would ruin Keegan.
“I cannae tell ye that, Lilith. I daenae ken what happened out there. I only wish that I would have been able to do somethin' meself. Bein' trapped behind the walls was a torture that I feared might never end.”
“Aye, I take yer meanin'.” Lilith eyed the door. “I…I daenae wish to see our clan restored to someone like our brother. And I daenae forgive him for what he’s done. Still…I feel as thoughwe should bury him. We arenae how he was, and I wish for our actions to set us apart from his legacy of cruelty.”
The words were perfect, the exact notion filling Willow’s bones, and she hoped that Keegan would understand it for the same. They only wished to bury a fallen member of their old clan—for what was left of the McCallums, if anything?
“I daenae wish for him to rot outside, either. I, too, will never forgive the man for what he’s done. The way he treated ye while I was absent…Lilith, there will never be a day I daenae hate that ye had to go through that. Ye’re stronger than ye realize for survivin' him.”
Willow shook herself, remembering what she had been trying to say.
“The point is that we arenae the people Magnus might have wanted us to be. We are better. Keegan is better as well, and I believe that I can make him understand. He is just…Damon will need to be healed. Do ye understand?”
Lilith nodded. “Of course. I ken that the laird willnae be in any type of merciful mood should Damon…”
The sentence drifted off, and her sister did not finish. There was a deep furrow to Lilith’s brow as she stared down at the floor, and her shoulders were so slumped that Willow worried she might fully crumple into a ball.
Clearly, me sister regrets all this. And…perhaps, she has seen the good in the Brahannes and would be sorrowful to tarnish it.
“Allow me a moment, Lilith. Then, I will go speak to Keegan.” Lilith looked up with a pitiful smile—tiny and forlorn. “As for the castle…I daenae think ye should return there to live. We can travel with Magnus to bury him, but then…ye should return here with me.”
Her eyes flared wide. “Live in Castle Brahanne? Is that wise?”
“Our old home will be fraught with tensions and confusion following Magnus’s death. There will be some who wish to…ensure that nay McCallum heir can be produced.”