“I’m certain. If I wanted to go back, I would have by now.”
“The clan … the clan will be very happy to hear this.”
“Yes,” he said. “When is the handfast?”
“It needs to be soon.”
“How soon?”
She hesitated before answering, “Two days?”
“Is that a question or a statement, Adaira?”
“I have to meet Moray Breccan at the clan line in three days for the trade of goods,” she said. “I would like for you to be there with me, as my husband.”
Jack stared at her, his lips parting. She knew this was happening fast. She could sense how he was reeling, and she worried that she had asked too much of him in one night.
“So we’ll play for the earth tomorrow,” he said, listing their tasks on his fingers. “The next day we’ll marry. And the day after that we’ll go to our deaths at the clan line for a trade?”
“We’re not going to die,” Adaira said. “But yes, that’s the plan, if I’m not asking too much of you.”
“It’s not too much,” said Jack. “Although I must confess … you have my thoughts spinning.”
“Then I should go,” she whispered. “Let you get some rest.”
A small voice told her to prepare herself. That come morning Jack would have changed his mind and she would be deposited back where she started.
She had been let down before, broken by silver-tongued promises, and she wanted to protect herself from it. She wanted to slip back into her old armor, even as Jack’s eyes traced her.
“I’ll come to you tomorrow, just after noontide,” he said. “There’s something I must attend to in the morning, but after that I’ll be ready to play.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you, Jack.”
He moved to clear off the center of his desk, so she could easily step on it this time without disturbing his fragments of nature. Jack offered his hand again, and she took it, her fingers like ice as she climbed onto the desk and slipped out the window, cloak flapping in her wake. Her ankles jarred when she hit the grass, and she stood for a moment, uncertain if she should bid her betrothed farewell.
She turned to see him leaning on his desk, staring at her as if he was trying to convince himself that this wasn’t a dream. The firelight limned his face, burned in his eyes like stars.
No, Adaira thought as she drew up her hood, her face shadowed and hidden from him. No further words were necessary.
Adaira wrote her response that night, not long after she returned from visiting Jack. She sat at her desk in her bedroom and listened to the fire as it crackled in her hearth, listened to the wind as it tapped on the glass. She took out a sheet of parchment, selected a fresh quill, and opened her pot of ink.
Dear Moray,
I have received your letter, and I agree to meet you at the clan line in three days’ time at noontide on the northern coast. I will bring the best my clan has to offer you, and I am eager to see what the west will offer in return. As you stated before, let this exchange between us be the first step toward peace, and a new season for our isle.
You asked me to come alone for the trade, and while I will meet you unarmed and without my guard, my husband will be present. We can then discuss my imminent visit to the west. We look forward to meeting you face-to-face.
Adaira Tamerlaine
HEIRESS OF THE EAST
She sealed it with her clan crest and watched the wax harden. It was midnight when she rose and carried the letter to the aviary, where she chose the sleekest raven to deliver her message.
She watched as it flew west, into the darkest hour of night.
CHAPTER 14
Frae stood beside Mirin, watching her weave on the loom. It was an ordinary plaid, one that didn’t hold a secret because Frae wasn’t to learn that skill until she came of age. And yet Frae’s eyes felt crossed amongst all the threads. No matter how she tried, she didn’t see what her mother did. She couldn’t see the possibilities, how to make a pattern come to life, but she dutifully watched Mirin work.
The chamber brimmed with the clack of the shuttle, the musty fragrance of wool being woven—sounds and scents that were familiar but made Frae daydream. She stifled a yawn as her thoughts wandered.
When a knock sounded at the door, Frae’s heart lifted, grateful for the interruption, and she went to answer it.
Torin stood on the threshold.
Frae gaped at the captain for a moment, wondering why he had come. She thought maybe he was back to search the house again, but then she noticed a black-and-white collie panting at his side.
“Good afternoon, Fraedah,” Torin said. “Is your mum home?”
Frae shyly nodded and opened the door further.
Torin commanded the dog to sit and wait on the stoop before entering with muddy boots. Frae shut the door, uncertain whether to leave or stay.
“Captain,” Mirin greeted him, turning away from the loom. “How may I help you?”
“I’ve come to commission you, Mirin,” he replied.
“Another plaid, in the vein of your others?” Mirin asked, nodding to Frae, who hurried to boil some water for tea.
“No, not for me,” Torin said. “It’s for Sidra.”
Frae listened to Torin describe the shawl he wanted Mirin to weave as she quietly filled the pot and carried it to the hearth. She had taught herself how to move without sound, how to move like a shadow. Her game of stealth ended only when she had to set the kettle on the iron hook and stir the logs, renewing the flames.
The talk began to drift from the plaid to what had transpired a few nights ago. Her mum hadn’t wanted Frae to know all that had happened, but she had gathered bits and pieces of information, puzzling it all together to realize that Maisie had vanished and Sidra had been attacked. Sidra, who Frae thought was one of the most beautiful people on the isle.
The news had strengthened Frae’s fears. It felt like her heart was bruised.
“How is Sidra today?” Mirin was asking.
“She’s recovering,” Torin answered. Frae thought his voice sounded different from normal. Like he was short of breath. “I’m still searching.”
“No trace?”
He shook his head.
The tea prepared, Frae glanced at her mother, who was intently watching the captain.
“About this plaid, Mirin,” he continued with an awkward wave of his hand. “I would like for it to be strong as steel. Something to guard her when I’m away.”
He wanted it to be enchanted.
Mirin glanced at Frae, and Frae recognized it as the sign. The one that meant Frae was to go outside but to stay within the safety of the yard. She quickly filled two cups of tea and set them down on the table between Mirin and the captain, despite the fact neither of them had sat.
“Thank you, lass,” Torin said with a sad smile. It made Frae feel like she was important, and she wished more than anything she could remain in the room and hear the secret Torin wanted Mirin to weave into the plaid.
“I’ll go gather the eggs, Mum,” Frae said and meekly departed, latching the front door behind her.
When she turned to the yard, she saw the dog, waiting on Torin to return. She tentatively stroked its fur before walking around the garden toward the coop.