Page 102 of Taken By the Vicious Highlander

“Flesh?”

“Damon!”

“What?”

“All of the blood! The blood! Christ above, ye’re impossible.”

It was Mrs. Bryant’s turn to chuckle under her breath, which was not lost on Lilith at all.

The wound was much deeper than Damon had thought, though the pain of the stitching far exceeded the initial sting of the blade.

“Foolish. Nasty. Rotten,” Mrs. Bryant muttered under her breath with each stitch.

Knowing very well that she wasn’t talking about him, Damon asked, “Did ye hear then, Mrs. Bryant?”

She didn’t look up at him, but Lilith stopped pacing and waited for the healer’s response as well. “Aye, I heard enough.”

“The attack…” Damon started.

“Was an absolute shame,” Mrs. Bryant finished. “The festival was goin’ so well, Me Laird. Will ye think about holdin’ another one?”

That was something Damon hadn’t thought about yet, but the look on Lilith’s face told him that her mind had already been made up.

“Aye, we’ll meet with Cameron and Kerry to make sure we celebrate rightly, once the dust settles.”

“Aye, thedust,” Mrs. Bryant muttered, busying herself with her work once more as Damon’s eyes met Lilith’s again.

“Which was yer favorite stall, lass?”

“I liked the music,” Lilith said defiantly, resuming her furious pacing. The anger in her steps drew his lips upward.

“Aye, the music was fair. The flowers were bonny as well,” he mused.

“Sure,” she replied mindlessly before her steps faltered—precisely as he intended.

Good, now she kens I havenae forgotten about the letter.

“Was it those men near the tree line who attacked?” Lilith asked, changing the subject.

“Aye, and?—”

“And they were the ones who attacked Branloch and Kiel?”

“I didnae recognize them from the attack on Kiel, and Cameron didnae mention the attack on Branloch. Why?”

“Did they fight similarly?”

“Come to think of it, nay. They fought almost like the assassin I killed, but nae like the attackers we fought in Kiel.”

“So, the threat is still out there?”

“Most assuredly, lass. Could have told ye that afore.”

Lilith considered, each step turning the wheels in her head. “Do ye ken where they’re from? I recognized a few from our villages, but nae all of them.”

“I’m sure Magnus’s influence kenned nay boundaries—ye would ken better than anyone.”

“Well, he met with several clan leaders before I went to the wedding.”