Page 92 of Laird of Wrath

“Excuse me?”

“I said ye’re a fool,” Sienna repeated. “What if somethin’ happens to me, hmm? Am I nae yer weakness?”

Callum swallowed hard. “Of course ye are. I wouldnae let anythin’ happen to ye.”

“Is that so?” she challenged. “Then why would ye let somethin’ happen to Rhea?”

“I wouldnae!”

“That isnae what ye just said,” she pointed out. “Ye’re only losin’ yer mind over this because ye’re nae used to carin’ about her. Ye’re used to carin’ about me, about Hudson, about our people. How is it different with Rhea?”

Callum’s thoughts came to a screeching halt. He didn’t have an answer for his sister. He didn’t even have an answer for himself. It was something he had never given any thought before. It hadn’t even occurred to him to ask himself such a question, but now that Sienna was posing it, he couldn’t help but consider it.

But she wasn’t done yet.

“Besides, daenae ye see how ye’re already hurtin’ her?” she pressed. “How much this is causin’ her pain? Rhea loves ye, Callum. She loves ye so much, and ye’re treatin’ her like she doesnae matter.”

“She does matter,” Callum said through gritted teeth. “More than she’ll ever ken.”

“Aye, but ye’re naeshowin’it to her,” Sienna emphasized. “What does it matter if ye love her when ye’re nae showin’ it to her? What does it matter that ye daenae want to hurt her when ye’re already hurtin’ her? Are yer intentions what matters or yeractions? Because trust me, Callum, she doesnae feel like ye love her, and she certainly doesnae feel like ye care.”

Callum’s breath caught in his throat, his stomach dropping as he considered.

All this time, he had tried his best to keep Rhea safe in the way he thought best. All this time, he had kept his distance from her so that she wouldn’t get hurt, but he didn’t realize just how much his actions were hurting her, just how his distance was doing the exact opposite of what he intended.

He looked at his palms on the desk before him, his gaze distant, lost. Then, he raised it to Sienna, looking her in the eyes.

“I’m truly a fool,” he muttered.

She gave him a soft smile. “Aye.” She nodded. “That ye are.”

“I thought I was protectin’ her.”

“I ken,” she assured him. “And I’m sure she’ll understand when ye explain it to her. But ye must explain it to her, Callum. And ye must tell her how ye feel. And of course, ye must apologize for bein’ a fool.”

Telling Rhea how he felt seemed like an impossible task. Callum was so used to hiding his feelings, so used to pushing them deep down inside him until he didn’t have to consider them anymore,that admitting his feelings for her seemed harder than any battle he had fought in the past.

But he had no other choice. He had to muster all his bravery and tell Rhea that he loved her, or he risked losing her forever.

“Where is she?” he asked, flying out of his seat and heading to the door.

“In her chambers,” Sienna replied. “Where she’s been all these days.”

Callum paused by the door for a moment, turning to look at his sister. “Thank ye, Sienna.”

“For what?”

“For tellin’ me I’m a fool.”

Sienna’s laughter echoed in the room. “Of course, Brother. Any time.”

EPILOGUE

The door opened without so much as a knock, and Rhea whipped her head so fast to look behind her that she feared for her comfort in the next several days.

Instead of seeing an attacker, though, she saw none other than Callum, bent over, desperately trying to catch his breath as if he had run to her chambers, a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead. His dark hair was pushed back, and his lips were parted as he tried to draw breath, his hand clutching the doorhandle like a lifeline.

Rhea hadn’t seen him in days. He had disappeared from everything—the breakfasts, the dinners, the courtyard. He had been nowhere to be found.