matriarchy.â
âIt does not matter; the Sinclair recognizes Scotlandâs king. To be royalty among the Faol can have no meaning.â
After seeing what the royal family of the Ãan did for their people, Lais wasnât sure he agreed. Besides, Scotlandâs king had less sway in the Highlands than with the Lowland clans. âLaird Sinclair only submits to King David when he wants to.â
âHe is a Highland laird and Chrechte as well.â Ciara gave Lais an almost-there smile. âHow could it be any other way?â
He chuckled. âIt could not.â
âAnd your prince? Does he intend to submit to Laird Talorc?â There was very real worry tingeing her tone now.
âAs clan leader, yes.â
âAs pack leader?â
âOnly wolves belong to packs. Birds are flocks and ours knows no clan boundaries.â
âThat wonât be easy.â
âEirik is aware.â Anya-Gra had not let the prince forget it, voicing her concerns right up until the Ãan left the forest, each of three groups taking a different direction.
âWhy donât you call him prince?â
âBecause I am his friend.â
Ciara recoiled.
Lais sighed. âEirik is no murderer.â
âThat is your opinion.â
âIt is yours as well, when you are thinking clearly.â
âThank you for telling me my innermost thoughts.â
âI understand wanting to believe those you hold dear are good peopleâ¦and having to accept when you realize they were not.â
âMy brother
was
a good person. He was deceived.â
âDo you enjoy your life among the Sinclairs?â he asked, refusing to continue such an argument.
She might well be right. He knew what it was to be deceived. Would her brother have shifted his thinking if exposed to the truth? There was no answer to that quandary in the violence of the past.
âLaird Talorc and Abigail have been very kind to me.â
âYou live with the laird?â Lais asked with surprise and humor he made no attempt to mask.
Eirik had agreed to make his home in the keep until the Ãan were settled amidst the clan.
âI have a room next to their children.â
That was an interesting way of putting it. She could have said that she was part of the family, or treated like family, but she avoided doing so.
It probably made Lais a bad friend, but he could not help looking forward to the times to come with Eirik and Ciara under the same roof.
There was something there. Lais had never seen Eirik shift so fast and not once into a dragon in front of his people.
Eirik kept the dragon private and Lais thought he was probably the only Ãan who understood why.
Everyone else speculated it had something to do with the power or pride of the dragon, but Lais knew Eirik feared his dragon as much as he embraced it. To burn another Chrechte to ash was not an easy event to carry on oneâs conscience.
âEirik killed your brother in protection of the young of our race, but he saved your life this night. Will you let that go unremarked in your bitterness?â
Ciara jerked so hard she almost fell off her horse but shook her head. âNo. I would tell him of my appreciation.â A moment of silence passed. âI am not bitter.â
âGood.â He thought about what he had to say next. âYou can show your genuine appreciation and continue to maintain the secret of Eirikâs dragon.â
âLaird Talorc does not know he is a dragon?â Ciara asked, anxiety coloring her voice and making her heart quicken.
âAye, he does, but others do not. It is a closely guarded secret.â
âBecause of Faol like Wirp and Luag.â
âAye.â
âPerhaps news of such a being would frighten them off.â
âOr make Eirik the greatest target to them all.â
âI will not betray his secret.â
âThank you.â
She was silent as they entered the lower