Chapter 25
Isla was already up and about as Cam reached her door. She had not slept well. She was expecting Hamish to batter down her door at any moment through the night. Worry was also eating at her, and eventually she had given up on a full night’s sleep. Though Cam coming to her meant either Aislinn was well enough for him to feel safe leaving her, or the unthinkable had happened. And judging by how clam he was before her she hoped that it was the first rather than the latter. Because a clam Cam could be the most dangerous if things had gone wrong.
Corey had kept watch from the end of the corridor, all night he had watched Hamish act the immovable wall in front of the door. He needed to know how Aislinn had fared. He knew what had poisoned her but had no idea as to how she had managed to ingest it. He had kept it locked in a chest, that chest in a niche in the little house he stilled shared with his family. On he and his mother knew what belonged in that chest.
He had checked its location before the evening meal. As always it had stood untouched. But after the poisoning had been confirmed, and Camdyn had removed him, quite forcibly, he had run to make sure that chest was where it belonged.
Only it wasn’t. And he had yet to find out where it had gone. For if someone had already used it, and it had gone wrong, what else was that person capable of. He could not logically think out the problem before him, until he knew how the girl, who he had meant no harm, fared.
As Cam walked towards where he was hidden, he knew he would not be seen, but unless he moved closer he may not be able to hear any conversation, for it was obvious he was heading towards Isla’s room. He knew he needed to keep his distance for now or Cam may actually kill him, but this did not mean he couldn’t figure out how to learn all he needed. It would also give him time to find the culprit. Hopefully, if he could find the guilty for Cam and it would finally mean he could claw his way back into both his and Hamish’s good graces.
Her entire body ached. Almost like the winter she had had the flu. Her stomach revolted, her throat burned and her mouth tasted awful and fuzzy. Almost like some small rodent had died in there. Eyes burned behind eyelids lit red by the sunlight coming in through the open shuttered window. She wanted to tell someone, anyone, to close the shutter, it was just one more pain to add to the list.
Trying to stay as still as possible, her head pounding as her muscles ached. She heard faint breathing from someone in the room. She was sure that if they were alert she had not moved or made noise enough for them to have noticed. She hoped so, for if they started talking her head may just explode. She was sure she had felt Camdyn sleeping behind her at some point, but she was sure if the one in the room with her was Cam he would be touching her in some way. Even if it was just holding her hand. Or was she hoping for too much.
The light in front of her dimmed, and she could feel the fuzziness take over. She settled back down and fell back into sleep.
Hamish could go days without sleep. In fact, he had done on more than one occasion. Sometimes battles and hunts had called for it. Two years ago, a search he would rather forget had meant four days of his life had passed in a blur. But it had taught him that his body could take a lot, and he was in his prime. One night without sleep for his friend, well more a brother than friend, was nothing on what he could actually take.
He had sat in the chair by the fire. He had turned it so he could see both the door and the woman on the bed he was sure had stolen his comrades’ heart. He should know. He had lost his, and it had been taken with her as she had gone. This girl was not going to die, for if they lost her, they lost Cam. He had survived, but Cam was built differently. He very rarely let people in, but when he did they were kept close and protected. Hamish had been open before, easy to get to know, but had learnt to be hard since. Can could not get any more closed off to those he did not know. He could, however, cut himself off from those that he actually cared for. That, Hamish could not allow.
Noticing a change he leaned forwards slightly and listened.
Yes, there it was.
She was breathing deeper. The stillness that had held her had become more rigid. He was sure that she was awake. There was a slight movement between her eyebrows. He released a held breath, and almost turned it into a chuckle. It was, in fact, he was certain she had winced. While he did not like to think of her in pain. That pain meant that she was alive. And if she was feeling the pain, that meant she had to be awake on some level at least. She had not opened her eyes yet. Maybe this was just one small step in that direction.
The stiffness slowly dissipated and he knew she had fallen back into a deep slumber. It was probably for the best for her. Cam on the other hand, will be getting very frustrated if she did not wake for him soon. And a frustrated Cam was the equivalent to the clan as being caught in the middle of a pack of starving wolves, with a freshly caught deer. The chances of anyone but Cam winning were nil. While Hamish knew Cam would act like that, he felt a smile tug at his lips. He deserved to have a woman make him wait for her for once. He hoped Aislinn gave him the chase of his life, because now he was sure. She was a fighter and Cam had just met his match.
Even though he was deep in thought, he was still on guard. He was not the second best warrior in the clan for nothing. That was why as soon as the door started to open he was on his feet and heading towards it. Only to pause and stand back as Isla bustled in with Cam towering behind her, directly on her heals. That was his time he thought. Leaving them to it, he took up his position at the door again.
Cam hovered. He knew Isla was going to let her temper at him loose soon. He knew he should back off slightly. Let Isla actually do her job here, rather than her having to push at him to move, as she checked Aislinn over. But she was not talking, she made grunts and hmmm sounds, though nothing was useful information at all.
“Please, Isla.” Such quite words, from such a large protective man.
Taking pity on him, Isla let him in on what she knew, though she had wanted to be sure of her findings first. “She’s slightly better than last night. She is still not at the point when I can say for sure that she will definitely recover. But as of now, she is making steps in the right direction.” Making sure the covers where settled back over Aislinn, she turned towards Camdyn. “She’s a fighter Camdyn. I have a feeling she comes from a line of them. She will not let this beat her, and you will not forget that.” With a finger pointed at his face at the last, she gave him some final instructions and left. Leaving Cam alone with Aislinn once more.
Ignoring Isla once she had left his line of sight, he went over to Aislinn’s side of the bed. Dragging the stool left there last night closer. He took her hand that had laid on the top of the covers. Squeezing gently, letting her know he was back, and there for her. Sweeping her hair off of her forehead with his free hand. He established himself there for the foreseeable future.
Meals came and went. Minna arrived at one point with Iona and they forced him to leave the room while they changed and washed her. He was shocked to find Hamish still on guard. Though he knew he should have expected nothing less than that from the man who was more his brother. He had just been too trapped in his own world to think of such things.
As soon as the girls left he was back in his previous position. Watching her breath, he knew with each breath she was still fighting. While she was still fighting, he still had hope. His dream had left an odd feeling within him that would not die. It needed her to survive and that meant he had to see that recovery for himself.
The sun was setting over the mountains, again earlier, winter would be upon them soon. He had preparations to make for the final weeks before the snow would hit, keeping them in doors till the sunshine and rain of the spring to come. Yet as darkness spread in an array of inky black and velvety blue, what some found frightening he found comforting. He felt at peace in the night.
Watching the stars appear, tiny pricks of light against the velvet sky, the open shutters inviting the night in. The fire had become glowing, smouldering logs that would have to be changed soon or it would be too cold within the room. But he did not wish to move, for the beauty he found in the night was wiped out completely by the incessant relief he felt as the hand he held tightened on his own, and long eyelashes fluttered on cheeks which had gained in colour over the course of the last day.
This feeling, this moment, was worth all the worry and stress of the last twenty-four hours. He would not wish it on her again, but he knew that without this incident, he would not have reached his stunning conclusion as quickly as he had. And knowing himself, he could have been exceedingly stupid for a long time if not for the dream brought on by the woman before him. His fear for her had been the cause he was sure. And for that he would be forever grateful, well, once she actually managed to wake fully and he could see her healthy again.