Almost immediately, a foghorn sounded and the ferry shuddered, rolling away slowly then picking up speed. Several Sidhe tried to fling magic at us but the bolts of lightning and various other projectiles fell short.
‘Shall I send out another wave?’ Speck enquired.
I watched as we grew further apart. ‘No. It’s not their fault Aifric has a silver tongue. They’re only doing what they think is right.’
I sensed rather than saw Byron come up behind me. ‘You’re more forgiving than I am.’
I sighed. ‘It’s not about forgiveness. It’s about empathy.’
He ran a hand through his golden hair, which was damp with sea spray and curling more than it normally did. ‘That didn’t exactly go to plan.’
Speck smiled in commiseration. ‘Well,’ he began. ‘We can always—’
Lexie appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. ‘Come with me,’ she ordered.
‘What? Why?’
She muttered something at him about male stupidity and dragged him away. Byron and I looked at each other. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘None of this was your fault.’
‘It was my plan.’
‘Yeah,’ I conceded. ‘You’ll need to work a bit harder next time. I think you’ve still got potential though.’
He didn’t smile. ‘Angus told me about Morna.’
I glanced away. ‘Yeah.’ I clenched my teeth together so tightly it hurt. ‘I saved Taylor. I couldn’t save Morna. She deserved better than that.’ I shook my head, feeling the tears at the back of my throat. I pushed them away. If she’d seen me crying when there was still work to be done, Morna would have scolded me to hell and beyond.
Byron leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. ‘He’ll still pay for what he’s done. We’ll work this out,’ he promised.
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘We will. Robert the Bruce didn’t quit.’
‘Eh?’
I smiled. ‘Never mind.’
Byron drew back and watched me for a long moment. ‘I saved you,’ he said, eventually.
I blinked. ‘Excuse me?’
‘I saved you. In the church. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead now.’
I crossed my arms. ‘I had things under control.’
‘Ha! It didn’t look like it from where I was standing.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘Really? We’re really going to do this? Because while you were primping and preening and getting ready for yourwedding, I was kicked around and locked in a cage. You were probably enjoying chilled champagne and strawberries while I was working on a way to save Candy, Taylor and Tipsania.’
Byron pursed his mouth. ‘Doesn’t matter. I still rescued you.’ He moved closer again. ‘You needed me.’
‘I did not!’
He smirked. ‘You did. I understand it’s hard for you to admit but you need a big, strong man like me around to save your skin from time to time.’ He rocked forward on his toes. ‘You owe me.’
‘Screw you!’
He laughed. ‘Funny. I was just thinking that would be the ideal payment.’ He dropped his voice to a husky whisper. ‘I’m picturing you lying on my bed in suspenders.’ He paused. ‘Nothing else.’
