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K eira turned around and came face to face with Evander, whose arms hung by his sides.

“Ye should be resting,” she chided.

“I should be, should I nae?” he drawled. “So what is this I hear about ye leaving the castle?”

“Evander—”

“I am certain I didnae hear wrong,” he continued.

A heavy sigh escaped Keira’s lips.

Evander turned to Lesley, who had been rooted to the spot, her eyes wide. “Excuse us.”

She nodded and scurried out of the room, the door clicking shut behind her and her hurried footsteps fading into the background.

“So why do ye want to leave the castle? Leave yer people?” Evander asked. His voice dropped as the next words left his lips. “Leave me ?”

“I am sorry. I see nay other way.”

“But I see another way. One that involves ye staying in the castle as its Lady. Like the good Lord intended.”

Keira laughed. In another world, they would’ve been the perfect couple. Both of them standing side by side, ready to do anything for each other. They would be utterly unstoppable.

“Ye were unconscious for four days, Evander. I was in the dungeons for those four days. Being in there gave me time to think. Gave me a clear head. This is the best thing for me. For both of us.”

A long pause ensued, and at that moment, Keira could see it—a cold rage ever so slowly contorting his face.

“Ye were in there for four days?” he asked, his voice wavering.

“It doesnae matter anymore. Do ye nae see?” she asked.

He didn’t respond. So she moved closer to him, cupped his face in her hands, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

“I wish ye the best, Evander,” she murmured, still cradling his face. “Ye truly deserve it.”

He did, that was for certain. After everything they had been through together, now that she had come out of the other side, she could properly see that deep down, beneath all the snark and poise, Evander had a kind heart.

Circumstances may have hardened his heart over the years, but they never turned him into a monster.

She dropped her hands to her sides and walked out, wondering if they would have been regarded as a power couple in another world.

It was too late to find out.

Even now, as she walked through the halls, the maids still shot her cold, baleful glares, and the guests, who were thinning out with each day, looked at her like she was the spawn of Satan himself.

She didn’t care, though. Not anymore. Her reputation may have suffered the biggest catastrophe known to man, but at least Evander was alive.

She wasn’t cursed. She could start a new life somewhere.

Somewhere far away from here, where people knew nothing about who she was and where she had come from.

The idea sank into her like metal in water. She would need to travel to the Lowlands. Her cousin, no matter how hard she tried to think otherwise, could be her new start at life. Her former castle was the only place where she could start over.

Truly start over.

She powered on through the halls, ignoring more people and focusing on her path, her trunk now in hand.

This was the toughest decision she had ever made, but she had four days to think in the dungeons.

It might be a difficult decision, but it was the best one.

It worked for her and the castle as well.

The castle doors came into view, and she quickened her steps. Usually, she would spend some time looking around, admiring the walls one last time, but now she just couldn’t wait to get out.

She pushed the doors open, the rays of the setting sun catching her face.

Evander walked out of the apothecary and back to his room, his body vibrating with rage.

He wanted to scream, to yell at someone and curse them for causing Keira to leave, but he couldn’t find anyone to do that to.

The maids scurried past him like he was carrying the plague, and normally, it wouldn’t have mattered to him.

He stepped into his room and closed the door behind him. He couldn’t sit or relax on the bed anymore. Instead, he started to pace back and forth, his heels knocking hard on the hardwood floor.

This could not possibly be the end for him and Keira, could it? She wouldn’t just leave him—leave the castle and everything she had managed to build over the past few months behind now, would she? Was she capable of doing that? Did she have the heart?

He looked out the window at the courtyard, hoping to catch a glimpse or some semblance of her walking along the green grass. But he saw nothing save for livestock and a few children, including his nephew, roaming the courtyard.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door, interrupting his thoughts, and his head whipped around. The door creaked open, and Rory walked in, a hesitant look on his face.

“I was informed ye have woken up. I had to come and see for meself,” he muttered. “Thank God. We thought she managed to kill ye.”

Evander felt his rage flare anew. “She?”

“Oh, ye ken. Lady Blythe,” Rory responded. “We thought she did to ye what she did to her former husband.”

So everyone had thought his wife had something to do with his heart failure. His wife. She was not Lady Blythe anymore. But somehow everyone seemed to have forgotten that part, since they spoke poorly of her in front of him.

Something about that reinvigorated him.

He mustered whatever strength he had left and walked to the door as quickly as his feet would carry him.

“M’Laird?” Rory asked as Evander brushed past him. “M’Laird, where are ye going? Ye should be?—”

“If one more person tells me that I need to be resting…” Evander growled and shut the door behind him.

He needed to find her. Stop her from leaving and throwing away whatever this thing between them was. He had been in the castle with her for so long that he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

Yes, he could not imagine his life without her. He fully acknowledged it.

He raced to the apothecary. If anyone would know where she was headed, it would be her best friend.

As he turned a sharp corner, he stumbled into Lesley—and Hudson.

“M’Laird?” Lesley greeted, the upset look on her face fading excruciatingly slowly.

Evander’s eyes darted between her and Hudson. From the looks on their faces, he could tell they had been engaged in a rather important conversation. One he would have cared about if something else was not his priority.

“Keira. Where did she go?” he asked, turning to Lesley one more time

“M’Laird—” Lesley began.

“Please dinnae try to convince me of anything. Where did Keira go?”

“The inn,” Hudson offered. “One of me men escorted her there. She plans to leave for the Lowlands tomorrow.”

“The Lowl—” Evander exhaled and took a step back.

“M’Laird, yer health—” Lesley tried again, but Evander had already left.

He was gone before they could try to reach him or stop him from doing anything.

“Do ye see what ye have caused?” Hudson growled, snatching at Lesley’s wrist and squeezing it hard. “Ye had one job. Lesley. One. Now ye have managed to ruin everything—like ye always do.”

“I did what ye asked,” Lesley protested, her voice on the verge of tears. “I gave him the root that stopped his heart. That was what ye wanted, was it nae?”

“He was supposed to stay dead. The plan would have worked if ye havenae decided to bring the bastard back to life.”

Lesley sniffled. “I couldnae do it. I couldnae watch another man die. Again.”

Hudson rubbed a hand over his face. “God, ye ruined everything. Now I have to go to the inn meself and finish it.”

Lesley swallowed. “Are ye mad? Ye cannae kill her. She’s our friend. She’s me best friend.”

A harsh chuckle escaped Hudson’s lips. “Well, if ye had killed the Laird like ye were supposed to, we wouldnae have come to this, would we? This was supposed to be simple, Lesley. Ye were supposed to let his heart fail. And then let him die . Ye had nay problem doing it to the former Laird.”

Lesley, in her anger and frustration, lifted her free hand and slapped him hard across the face. The sound reverberated through the halls.

“Ye bastard. How dare ye?! I only agreed with yer plan because Fletcher was abusive. I was doing everyone in the castle a favor by poisoning him.”

Hudson leaned in, his lips curled into a sneer. “Is that what ye tell yerself to sleep at night?”

“Ye’re such a disgrace of a braither,” Lesley hissed. “With each passing day, ye become more and more like Fletcher.”

Hudson absorbed her words, and for a minute, Lesley thought he was going to retaliate physically. Instead, he stepped back, adjusting the hilt of his sword.

“I ken exactly what to do with ye. But I dinnae have the time. I have to get to her before the Laird does. And I have to finish this once and for all.”

Lesley reached out a hand to him in utter despair. “Hudson, please, dinnae kill her. She did nothing to nay one. Ye cannae do this to her.”

Hudson regarded her for a moment, a malevolent look on his face. “If I cannae have her, nay one else will.”

Keira stared out the window at the endless flora below. The view was nothing like the one her room in the castle offered. Instead of overlooking the courtyard, the window overlooked the woods instead.

Nothing could be seen for miles except stretches of forests and trees. On the horizon, on the other hand, were mountains.

The sun had completely set by now, and she stared forlornly at the mountains looming beyond the window. The thought of starting a new life away from her home crept into her mind. But first, she must return to her old one.

The thought sent a shudder down her spine. Even though she didn’t want to do it, even though every fiber of her being was telling her not to, she must return to her father’s clan first. That meant facing her cousin, who had warned her to never set foot in the castle again.

She had never planned to return, but the circumstances had changed. And she needed to change with them as well.

Her room at the inn was half the size of her room at the castle. It was dingy and only equipped with the necessary items such as candles, bedcovers, and a dusty desk that sat close to the wall.

By first light, she must leave this village. She must put everything behind her and say goodbye forever.

A knock on the door pulled her out of her momentary reverie. She turned around and watched her man-at-arms walk in, a small smile on his face.

“Ye shouldnae stay so close to the window, M’Lady,” Hudson cautioned. “’Tis dangerous.”

“Ye came,” Keira said, returning his smile.

Part of her had prayed that she wouldn’t have to make this journey on her own.

“Aye.” Hudson nodded. “Ye didnae think I would let ye travel back to yer cousin alone now, did ye?”

The door creaked behind him, coming only slightly to a close as he approached her, each step sending a resounding clack through the floor.

“How are ye?” he asked.

“Sad,” Keira responded, wrapping her arms around herself.

For some reason, the evening cold was suddenly beginning to get to her.

“Dinnae worry.” Hudson moved closer still. “It’ll all be over soon.”