The greenish light that filled Machara’s dungeon was enough to invoke fear in even the most courageous of people. The terror I felt while descending the stairs to the prison was so acute, I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to move if not for Maddock’s reassuring hand on my back, slowly pushing me downward.

As we neared the last step, he leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Doona breathe through yer nose, lass. It makes it worse. And doona let her see how frightened ye are.”

I already knew that much. The last thing I would ever let Machara see was that I was frightened of her. That was exactly why I moved down so slowly—I needed every last step to gather my courage.

She spoke before she even saw us, and her tone was as frightening and filled with malice as one would expect. “Ah, the new one has finally gathered the courage to come and see me.”

At the end of the stairs, we stepped in front of her cell, and I saw her for the first time.

I’m not sure what I expected, but every part of her was just a little bit more than what I imagined. She was taller, thinner, and her nails came to creepy long points that made me want to gag. Her neck was long and gorgeous, and her eyes were a color entirely inhuman in nature.

Maddock spoke before I had the chance. “It had nothing to do with courage, Machara. She had no interest in seeing ye.”

“Bollocks. I can smell the fear on her.”

I could feel that Maddock meant to speak again, and I hurried to step in front of him. I didn’t appreciate either of them speaking about me as if I wasn’t there.

“Maybe you’re smelling your own stench, Machara. Fear wasn’t what kept me away, it was disinterest. We’ve all been rather busy with the wedding. You remember my sister, don’t you? She’s the one you tried to kill, but she outwitted you so, so easily.”

She hissed at the mention of my sister, and her face twisted into something that looked far more otherworldly than human, and it made me wonder just how capable she was of twisting her shape.

“’Tis true that I grew reckless in my haste to be free of this prison, but I willna make the same mistake again.”

Maddock stepped between us, his temper short as he spoke to her. “Yer son, Machara. We have him.”

I watched her eyes carefully, but they gave nothing away.

“Ye doona have him, but ye shall all know him soon enough.”

He crossed his arms and kept his expression steady. “And just what do ye believe he will do to us?”

She smiled, and every hair on my body prickled uncomfortably. “He will help me destroy ye. ’Tis his destiny to do so. He will be powerless to resist my call.”

Maddock grabbed my hand and pulled me away, not stopping until we were up the stairs and back inside Nicol’s bedchamber.

“Why would she tell you that?”

“’Tis one of Machara’s many flaws. She believes herself invincible, even after being bested over and over again. She doesna hide anything, for she believes it doesna matter if we know. But it does, lass. And now, I am inclined to agree with Nicol. We canna allow Brachan to live.”

---

I had no time to sneak away to search for Brachan. I didn’t even have time to come clean to Maddock about the fact that I’d seen him several days ago. By the time Maddock and I stepped out of Nicol’s room, the men were gathering in the dining hall for their meeting with Nicol.

I was tortured over what to do. I couldn’t allow them to sit around and make plans to kill an innocent man. I’d heard every word Machara said, but her words had done nothing to make me feel differently about him.

I’d seen the pained expression in Brachan’s eyes. All of this was new to him, and he didn’t want Machara inside his mind. If there was any way for him to resist her, Brachan would find it. The Eight just needed to give him the chance.

I didn’t ask if I could attend. I simply took a seat in what I presumed was usually Raudrich’s chair and ignored every surprised glance that passed my way.

Maddock, at least, understood why I was in attendance.

“Ignore them, lass. They doona yet know that this involves ye as much as anyone.”

I decided my best course of action was to wait and see how the conversation panned out. Hopefully one of the other men would share my sentiment—that they couldn’t plan to kill a man who’d yet to do anything wrong.

Nicol took the lead, but other than telling them that he’d learned one of his children with Machara still lived, he didn’t say much and quickly passed the baton to Maddock, who filled the rest of the men in on everything else.

For much of Maddock’s explanation, the men seemed to be in agreement with my point of view, but the moment Maddock told them what Machara had said, their minds swayed to Maddock’s way of thinking.

Harry was the first to voice his concern. “We canna risk it. We all remember how Machara was able to control Calder, and he dinna have a drop of her blood within him. This man is of her blood.”

I stood, realizing it no longer benefited Brachan for me to keep his secret.

“Wait just a minute, Harry. You guys have to judge this man for yourselves. Just because things played out with Calder one way, doesn’t mean they will work the same way with Brachan. After all, Brachan is half Nicol’s, and you know that must mean he has some goodness in him. I’ve spent more time with Brachan than anyone, and I truly don’t believe him to be a threat.”

Paton spoke up from across the table. “Time, lass? Ye were unconscious for most of the time he spent by yer side.”

I glanced at Maddock nervously. He would be so angry, but it was time for me to tell all of them. “I saw him after I was awake, and he was nothing but kind. And I saw him the other day in the village.”

As if my mention of him summoned him from the ether, the doors to the dining hall opened, and Brachan stepped inside.