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He stares at me for a long moment, his bright blue eyes duller somehow. “Aye,” he answers quietly. “S’pose you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” I say, trying to sound lighter as I give his cheek a pat. “Now come on, Nessie. We have to get you back to the loch before you go full dinosaur right here in this castle.”

He snorts under his breath even as he turns to follow me when I move for the door. “Anything you say, princess.”

I grin. Okay, maybe it’s not as annoying as I thought.

The sun is getting low when we arrive at the farm—Lachlan walking me back to the barn before stopping. The loch is in the other direction, so I know it would be silly for him to walk me all the way to the farmhouse only to turn around and head a different way.

For a moment we’re just standing there awkwardly, and I know that we’re both thinking about what happened down in that room. We didn’t really talk about it on the hike back; honestly, we didn’t talk about much ofanything—Lachlan was lost in his thoughts, and I was content to let him process things. But now it’s impossible to avoid, a thick tension caught between us that refuses to be overlooked.

“I’m sorry that we didn’t find more,” I say finally, not knowing what else I can offer him.

He shakes his head. “I told you we wouldn’t find anything. So what we found already proved me wrong.”

“Right,” I say, chuckling softly. “Bet that was hard for you to admit.”

A ghost of a smile touches his lips. “Like pulling teeth.”

There’s another stretch of silence, during which Lachlan’s features morph into an expression of deep thought, his eyes averting to the ground as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Almost like he’s nervous, which seems unlike him.

“Key, about what happened…”

“Yeah?”

It’s embarrassing how eagerly I press for more, but I can’t help it.

The thin line his lips make immediately puts me on edge. “Look,” he starts, and I bristle because when is thatevergood news? “I’ve been thinking…I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Not a good idea,” I parrot, feeling my stomach twist. “What do you mean?”

Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment…or maybe I just want to hear himsayit.

He gestures vaguely between the two of us, still not looking at me. “This. Us. Whatever that was…It can only make things complicated. Nothing good will come of it.”

“Oh.”

He takes a deep breath, blowing it out. “There’s nothing certain about my future, Keyanna. We know that. I don’t know how much time I have before…”

Part of me aches for him in a way that doesn’t involve wantinghim to touch me again, but I can’t pretend that disappointment isn’t there too.

“I see,” I say woodenly.

“Don’t,” he sighs. “Don’t act like that.”

“Act like what?”

“Don’t act like I’m rejecting you.”

“Aren’t you?”

He throws his hands up exasperatedly. “I’m trying to do the right thing!”

“Or the easy thing,” I counter.

“That’s not bloody fair,” he growls. “YouknowI’m right. If you and I get involved…what then? What happens when there’s no end to this damned curse, and I end up a monster forever?”

“That won’t happen; we can—”