Page 63 of A Fearless Rebel

“Ye stayed there then?” Esme’s voice was hard.

“Aye, to nurse my brother until he died.” She didn’t meet the woman’s stare, but noticed Esme look away. “I stayed with his body, pretending he was alive until family from the north arrived.”

“Did ye even wonder about my brother?” Esme asked with a sneer.

Ava closed her eyes and swallowed. “Of course I did. No second passed that I did not wish to see him. Is he…?”

“He survived. Barely.” Lady Fraser’s words took a moment to sink in.

Her entire body went limp and she swayed.

“Come, sit down,” Lady Fraser murmured, once again taking her arm. “Bring some mead,” she ordered someone.

Moments later, a cup was pushed into her hand. Ava took a deep drink and placed it on the table. “I wish to see him.”

The women exchanged looks but, finally, Lady Fraser nodded. “Of course. He is in yer chamber.”

Hurrying up the steps, she only slowed upon reaching the door. Once there, she took a deep breath before entering.

The room was bright. Several lanterns were lit on multiple surfaces.

On the bed, her husband slept. Yellow and purple bruises covered most of his face and an angry red mark crossed his neck. She didn’t know what other injuries there were since blankets were pulled up to his chest. Nearing the bed, she had to resist the urge to push a lock of hair away from his brow. Even battered, he was achingly handsome.

“Keithen.” His name, just above a whisper, sounded strange on her lips.

His eyes fluttered and then opened. Upon seeing her, they widened. For a long moment, they looked into each other’s eyes, not speaking. Finally, Ava reached for his shoulder and pressed her hand upon it.

“How are ye feeling?”

He gave a soft nod, then he let out a long breath. “Better now that I see ye. What happened?”

Unsure of how much to divulge in that moment, Ava skirted the question. “I was with my brother. He died.”

“I cannot say I am sorry.”

Everything was her fault. Keithen’s injuries, Alastair’s death and other things she wasn’t prepared to think about.

“I know it was best for me not to come back. But I needed to know how ye fared.”

Unsure she was strong enough to hear his recriminations, she continued without stopping. “Once I am sure ye are healing properly, I will leave.” She lifted the blanket to find that his chest was bound tightly. Broken ribs.

His left leg was splinted from the knee down. A fracture that would undoubtedly leave him with a permanent limp. A cut on the right thigh had been stitched. Like his face, there were angry bruises all over.

Pulling up the blanket, she met his gaze. “Yer healer has done well.”

“I have ye to thank for my life.”

Ava shook her head. “How can ye say that? It was me that caused all of this to happen.”

“Ye care for yer family and had to see about them.”

“I have been so very foolish. Because of me, ye almost died.”

His gaze lifted to her. “And because of ye, I live.”

He paused for a moment. “Why did ye not return?”

The burden that she carried, the weight like that of a boulder upon her shoulders seemed to press down. “I was on my way back to Mackenzie Keep when I stopped to rest…”