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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

T hey took the dog.

As he and Valora rode back up the path that led to the castle, the dog followed them once more and Torrin had surrendered himself to his fate. There was no escaping it; whether he liked it or not, the dog would come with.

"What shall we name it?" Valora asked, and Torrin couldn’t help but think that it was all worth it if she was going to be so happy just because of the dog. Never before had he seen her like this. It was as though another Valora stood before him, one who had lived a softer, more carefree life.

One who hadn’t been sold off to an auction without her knowledge and against her will.

"It should have a grand name," said Torrin. "Somethin’ that inspires awe. It’s only natural fer a dog this size."

"Ach, but I think he’s adorable," said Valora, and Torrin had to admit that she had a point. "What were ye thinkin’?"

Torrin shrugged a shoulder. Under him, his horse seemed anything but happy to have a new companion, since the dog seemed to have made it his life’s mission to annoy every other living creature of baser instincts.

"I dinnae ken," said Torrin. "Perhaps… Shadow? Or simply Beast."

"Ye cannae call a dog Beast!" Valora objected, throwing her hands up in the air with such frustration that Torrin feared she would fly right off her saddle. "That’s preposterous! He must have a good name!"

"Alright then, ye give me an idea if ye dinnae like mine," Torrin said, already beginning to get exasperated. He had known from the start that taking the dog would be a bad idea, but then again, it wasn’t as though he had had much choice on the matter.

Not only did Valora push for it, but the dog itself would not stop following them around until Torrin had no choice but to accept the fact it would follow them all the way to the castle and then stay there for the rest of its days.

For a while, Valora was silent, but Torrin could tell she was in deep thought. She was taking this seriously, he noticed; very seriously, in fact, as if the dog’s name would make or break its entire future.

"I ken!" she exclaimed loudly and suddenly, after a silence so long that Torrin startled when he heard her voice again. "We should name him Arrow."

"Arrow," Torrin said, trying out the name. "Why Arrow?"

"Because he’s fast like one," said Valora with a pleased smile, clearly proud of her choice. "I think it suits him."

If he were honest, Torrin didn’t care one way or the other.

He was the one who hadn’t wanted the dog to come with them in the first place, so naming him was not high up on his list of priorities.

Valora was so pleased by her choice, though, and so pleased by the fact that Torrin had relented in the end, deciding to take the dog along, that he didn’t really mind whatever she picked.

"Arrow it is, then," he said. As long as she was pleased, then that was what mattered. "A fine name fer a fine dog."

Torrin glanced at the creature that was trying to run alongside the horses, tangling itself in their legs and frustrating them.

That was an arrow that most certainly didn’t fly straight, he thought, though he didn’t share that thought with Valora.

Instead, he watched the creature in silence for a while, shaking his head to himself at its antics.

It would be a handful, but there were plenty of people in the castle who could take care of it. Besides, he reasoned, perhaps a dog would help not only Valora, but also anyone else who needed company, anyone else who was not feeling their best. It was a cheerful little thing.

But he had an inkling that Arrow already knew how to do that without anyone showing him.

Torrin knew something was wrong the moment he and Valora entered the curtain walls, past the iron portcullis that protected the keep.

There was a strange atmosphere in the air, a tension that he normally didn’t feel when he was home, and Torrin’s mind immediately began to come up with the worst-case scenarios of attacks and devastation.

The first person he saw in his path was Noah, which didn’t surprise him. He could only assume his friend had been waiting for him ever since whatever what was going on had begun, and now that he was back, Noah was quick to grab him and pull him aside the moment he dismounted his horse.

"Thank the Lord ye’re back," Noah said. "Laird Keith’s men are here. They wish tae speak with ye."

Torrin let out a long, heavy sigh. There was only one reason why Laird Keith’s men would have come to his lands, of course, claiming they wished to talk, and that as to bargain for Valora.

Torrin didn’t wish to hear any of it. The more his men had to say to him, the less he wanted to listen to them, but he couldn’t simply send them away without starting a full-out war.

"Did they say what they want?"

"Nay," said Noah. "But we both ken what they want."

"Och aye," said Torrin. "I ken very well."

For a moment, he considered his options, but really, there was nothing he could do but hear them out and then send them away. He didn’t want to risk angering them to the point of insult, but he also wasn’t willing to bargain.

He knew what he was going to do about Valora; he had already given her the option. Anything else was off the table.

"Where are they?" Torrin asked.

"In the great hall," said Noah. "They’re waitin’."

"Take them tae me study," he told him. "I’ll be right there."

With a nod, Noah left to gather the men. Torrin preferred meeting them in his study, where it felt as though the entire room was his domain, his battlefield, the place he knew better than anyone. It would also give him time to do the one thing he needed to do the most.

Marching back to Valora, who was keeping herself busy with Arrow, he gently grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away, speaking urgently into her ear.

"I must take ye tae the chambers," he said. "Laird Keith’s men are here, an’ there’s only one thing they can want. I want ye tae stay there an’ nae open the door fer anyone other than me or Daisy, dae ye understand?"

As he spoke, Valora’s eyes widened more and more with fear. Much to his surprise, she never once tried to argue, which could only mean that her brush with Laird Keith and his men had left her so shaken that she wasn’t willing to risk being in their path again.

With urgent steps, the two of them made their way through the entrance hall, up the stairs, and finally, to Torrin’s chambers. He opened the door and let her inside, grabbing her shoulders for a moment to make her look at him.

"Promise me ye’ll stay here," he said. "Nay matter what, promise me ye willnae leave this room."

For a moment, Valora was stunned, as though she hadn’t been expecting such a fierce reaction from Torrin. But she was under his protection now; he would do anything to keep her safe, no matter how things worked out between them.

"I promise," she stammered out, nodding. "I promise I willnae go anywhere."

"Good," said Torrin, taking a deep breath to calm himself. It did little to help. How could it when the enemy was in his own home? "Good . . . I’ll have two guards outside the doors. Naethin’ will happen tae ye."

"I ken that," Valora assured him kindly. "I dae. Dinnae fash, I’ll be fine."

Torrin could only hope that was true and that there was really no reason for him to worry.

Perhaps Laird Keith had only sent his men there to talk instead of planning something much more nefarious, but he couldn’t get the thought that this was only a ploy out of his mind.

What if they had gone there just to keep him busy while someone tried to steal Valora away, as they had done the last time?

It sounded audacious, downright insulting to think that he would allow something like that to happen in his own home, but he wouldn’t put it past Laird Keith to pull something like that.

Once he closed the door and found two guards to keep watch outside his chambers, Torrin took a moment to compose his expression into one of chilly neutrality before he made his way to his study.

There, he paused by the doors, taking a deep breath, and then opened them to find about a dozen people in there—all of them Laird Keith’s men, save for one of his own; Noah.

As always, Noah stood by the desk, watching the Keith men with narrowed eyes. Torrin took his time entering the room and closing the door behind him, then covering the distance to his desk. The men watched him warily, and that pleased him. The more they feared him, the better it was for him.

When he finally sat down in his plush chair, sinking into the soft leather, he leaned forward and steepled his fingers under his chin, staring the men down.

Laird Keith had sent a variety of them—some older, some younger, some clearly of high rank than others.

He didn’t understand the purpose of it; he didn’t understand why he felt the need to send such a large party, but he didn’t bother questioning them about it.

It wasn’t as though he would be getting any real answer, he figured.

Without being addressed, one of them stepped forward.

He was an older man, the kind that Torrin would think would be in charge of the group, with hair so gray it was almost completely white and a pair of piercing blue eyes.

Before speaking, he cleared his throat, the sound loud and grating in Torrin’s ears.

"Laird Gunn, we have come tae present ye with an offer," the man said, not bothering with pleasantries. It was better this way. The last thing Torrin wanted was to be thanked for his hospitality by the enemy. "Whatever ye paid fer Miss Valora MacNeacail’s hand, we will double it. Ye take the gold, we take the lass, an’ everyone is happy. "