Page 65 of The Bells of Triumph
“Are ye ready to get some sleep?” Seamus asked gently another hour later.
“Aye,” she yawned, hardly able to keep her eyes open any longer. “But what about the clan? What about Campbell?”
Her diligence was unlikely to let her sleep anytime soon, knowing that Campbell was still out there, wrecking havoc.
“Some of the rebels who did nae fight today have offered to run a patrol around the borders. Errik and Liam have taken care of all the arrangements. At least for tonight, the clan will be safe.”
His words soothed her soul, giving way to the exhaustion that was creeping in around her mind. Her body was weary, having spent all of her energy in the battle today. But even more so, her mind was drained. She had spent so long worrying about Campbell and Finn and Seamus and everyone else that to finally have it all settled left her feeling a mix of relief and listlessness.
“Then let us get some sleep,” she told him.
He took her by the hand and led her out of the Great Hall and through the castle corridors. She hardly paid any attention to where they were going, too captivated by the idea of finally getting some sleep.
“It feels like it has been several lifetimes since I was able to roam these hallways freely,” he confessed, his voice quiet but still echoing against the stone floors and bare walls.
“What do ye mean?” she asked, a little more awake than she was a moment ago.
“Once Campbell took over, I was nae allowed to go anywhere without his guards following me. As I got older and more defiant, he stopped letting me out of my rooms much at all. I think the last time I felt safe walking through this castle was the day before Campbell invaded.”
Her heart broke as she imagined a young Seamus, locked in his room, aching for his mother and father to comfort him.
“And do ye feel safe now? Can ye walk these halls without worry now?”
She nearly held her breath as she waited for his reply. Just as badly as she wanted to see Campbell defeated, she wanted to patch up Seamus' old wounds. She wanted to love him so fully, so completely, that it was as if those wounds were never there in the first place.
“Aye,” he answered, breathlessly, as if his reply surprised him just as much as it did her.
She squeezed his hand and didn't let go.
The rest of their walk through the castle was made in comfortable silence. She was determined to soak up every second she had alone with him, as they were few and far between. He seemed just as content to let it be so.
Just as she began to recognize where she was, Seamus pushed open the creaky old door that led to his room. The last and only time she had been inside, she had thought him atraitor yet was still arguing for him to return to the Lost Valley. Campbell had appeared and demanded that Seamus share her. The thought of it all had her stomach turning. She never wanted to feel so disgusted by Campbell and so unsure of Seamus again.
As though he were thinking the very same thing, Seamus gathered Flora up in his arms and held her tight as he walked them inside and shut the door behind her.
“I will never let anything happen to ye, my love. I will never leave yer side again.”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek and sighed as he set her in the threadbare blankets strewn over his bed.
“Good. Now come to bed.”
