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“Of me or of the Gallowglass?” Slayer asked, glancing over her dirt-smudged face and light-colored hair that needed a good washing to be able to see its true color. Her odor was not that bad. He had dealt with far worse smells. Besides, the fresh spring air would help to dissipate it.

“A bit of both,” she admitted, too fearful to speak anything more than the truth to him.

He was abrupt in his response. “You need not be concerned. No harm will come to you.”

Her stomach roiled and she had to force herself to say. “And yet you sound annoyed.”

“I am not annoyed with you, and I owe you no explanation.”

His anger at seeing her chained like an animal and made to suffer with a hood over her head had yet to subside completely. Burning the abbey did not seem like a fitting enough punishment for what had been done to her. It had taken extreme control for him not to strangle the monk. But that was no concern of hers. She only needed to know she was well-protected.

Sky tried to keep her stomach calm, but his annoyance set her on edge, leaving her anxious. He was a powerful man who explained himself to no one, and though that intimidated her, and grew her even more anxious, she feared she would never find her way home if she held her tongue. The thought of never returning home, never seeing her da and sisters helped to loosen her tongue.

“You said that I am your brother’s wife and now his widow. I am truly sorry for your loss, but I know nothing about an arranged marriage to your brother.”

“Your father and my father arranged the marriage.”

Sky needed to hear that from her da, but she could not very well call the mighty Gallowglass warrior a liar. She chose to present a more rational reason for him to take her home to her family.

“You are kind to offer me a home even though I never knew your brother, but I would prefer to go home to my family,” she said, her heart thumping madly, worried that he would deny her.

“You have a new home now and will remain at Clan Ravinsher.”

It was a proclamation issued with authority, leaving her no choice in the matter, and it sent a chill through her.

Her affliction had caused her to shy away from confrontation for fear of the endless trouble it could cause. Couple that with her sisters never failing to defend her, and it left her with a lack of courage to defend herself.

She thought a minute and asked, “At least a visit so I can find out if my sisters are home and safe?”

“Elsie is home with her husband, Cavell. Leora has yet to be found,” he said as if that should suffice.

Her heart thumped more madly at the news. Eslie had agreed to wed Cavell for the sake of their clan, and Sky hoped—prayed—the marriage would be a good one. She prayed even harder for Leora, fearful that something dreadful had happened to her.

“Elsie will search for me. I must get a message to?—”

“By now she knows, but I will see that a message is sent to Cavell.”

“And Leora?”

“I sent my most skilled Gallowglass tracker to find her.”

That was a relief, though no doubt Elsie was doing what she could to find her, and Elsie would also do all she could to bring Sky home. She would not rest until she did. The thought gave her hope. Worry surfaced soon enough when she realized it would probably take time before she returned home. What would happen when Slayer learned of her affliction? Or did he already know?

Her da would have never arranged a marriage for her without revealing her affliction to a future husband. Though not a secret, it was not often spoken about, clansmen fearing to mention it, worried it would bring harm upon them. So, it was not widely known.

Leora would have come right out and asked him directly if he knew. Elsie as well, though more mannerly. Sky found the prospect daunting, so she decided to talk around it to see if it would surface during the conversation.

“Do you know why your brother chose to marry me?”

“Why does anyone agree to an arranged marriage? Convenience. Benefit to the clan. An alliance.” He hesitated before saying, “Duty.”

“I cannot see what benefit I would bring to Clan Ravinsher.”

“Evidently, my father and your father thought differently.”

His father, of course. “Perhaps your father can shed some light on my query.”

“He’s dead as well, though he was poisoned, whereas Warrand was attacked after leaving your clan and killed.”