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His wife.

The woman he could trust more than himself.

He needed to trust someone like that.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He chuckled. “I wilna get used to the strange words ye say sometimes. Okay?”

She smiled. “Sorry. I mean, are you all right? Your heart started to beat faster all of a sudden.”

She put her chin on his chest to look at him. Her eyes were big and soft and glossy. He took a strand of her hair, auburn now in the darkness.

“Aye, I am all right. I was just thinking about ye…”

“Oh. Well, good thing I was thinking of you, too.” She kissed his chest gently.

“And about trust.”

She stiffened and looked up at him, the smile faded on her lips.

“Do you think you can ever trust me fully?” she asked.

“I want to.”

“But—”

“I dinna ken if ye understand what yer clan did to me.”

She bit her lower lip. “Tell me then,” she said softly, so softly it could have been a spell.

Craig lay back, his head filling with memories of blood, burning wood, and screams of pain.

“I suppose I didna quite believe the betrayal was true till I saw her. Marjorie.”

He swallowed in an attempt to loosen his tight throat, letting the tension in his stomach, the burning anger, in. Not chasing them away like he always did.

“I sneaked into the castle, made my way upstairs, and there she was, in that room with yer brother. Her face pale, cut and beaten, scratches and bruises on her bare legs. I couldna think. I had to kill him, even though it wouldna undo his terrible deed.”

His throat convulsed with the sadness and guilt that rose up from deep within in a heavy, dark wave. His eyes burned from the tears.

“I kent the betrayal, but seeing what he did to her… It broke something in me, too. She’s my only sister, the only one from our common mother. Owen and Dumhnall are my half brothers, and Lena is my half sister. I love them, but Marjorie is special. ’Tis like she’s a part of me. Do ye ken?”

Amy exhaled softly. “More than you know.”

Craig nodded. “All I could think of was, how did I not ken? How did I miss the signs that these people were untrustworthy like that?” He exhaled sharply. “We Cambels were their vassals. Under their protection. We swore loyalty to them. Alasdair had been a friend. I played with him at gatherings as a child. We trained with swords together. I liked him. How could I have befriended a monster like him? And how could I have let my sister wander out like that, unprotected? It was when I carried her out of that castle and saw my grandfather’s body, still warm but lifeless, that I decided I wilna trust another soul ever again, unless I ken them well. Like my clan. And even then…”

Amy’s eyes were full of sorrow.

“And even then, I dinna say everything to them.”

He had not told anyone of the secret tunnel here in the castle. He hadn’t said anything to Owen about the note he’d intercepted. And he was right. Owen had betrayed him today, bringing the villagers in.

“But you want to trust someone, don’t you?” she whispered.

“More than I want to take my next breath. I want to trust ye.”

She closed her eyes then, as though something invisible had hit her.