"My sister is probably very worried about me—"

"Do not try to get out of this," Connor said sharply. He grabbed her by the arm when she would have run away. Fear slid down her throat. The torn piece of her shirt fell to the side, revealing the binding once again. His face hardened.

"There is not a single thing I'm trying to get out of," she said through tight lips, wrapping the shirt tightly around her. Her face must have looked as pale as snow. "I must be off—" Saeran tried to pull herself out of his grip. Instead of letting her go, he threw open a door and pushed her inside.

"Why are you parading around as if you're a man?" he asked. "If the laird knew you were a woman—" He cut himself off, and his eyes widened. "If he knew you were a woman, he would have to choose."

She swallowed thickly, staring at him. A cool draft was breezing through the unused room, making the skin on the back of her neck raise. Or, mayhap it was the fact that he'd connected everything together so quickly. Or, mayhap it was the fact that she'd failed herself and her sister.

The person standing in front of her was the laird’s squire. They talked every day. What were the chances that he would hide this for her, a complete stranger?

Her throat became tight. It was impossible to breathe.

"Please," she said quietly, strangled. "Do not let him know of this. I have to stay with my sister."

He stared at her. For so long, nothing happened. She started to tremble.

"You are lying to a man who is ultimately going to protect you," he said, disbelieving.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, he won't have to protect me. I can take care of myself."

He snorted. "Yes, because you can definitely protect yourself. What happened moments ago was a clear example of that." His sarcasm stung her.

"You caught me off guard!" she said defensively.

Connor stared at her again. "You're lying to the second most powerful man in the Highlands, and about something that's...that's serious. Is your real name even Saeran? Does that not hurt your...your..." He gestured to the torn binding and, she assumed, her chest. She couldn’t make herself answer him.

Her face flamed. The rush of blood to her face made her dizzy. This was a mess. Not even a fortnight after her arrival, someone knew—and someone who was nearly as dangerous to her safety as the laird himself was.

"Please—"

"Saeran—or whatever your name is. Do not ask me to lie to the laird about this. He might not seem like a barbarian to some, but he has the power to be the most ruthless person ever known. To lie to him...not only would I be punished, but so would you."

"I know I would be," she said quickly. Fear made her desperate—bolder than she'd ever been. To have her secret found out... Blaine would kill her before Grayham could get to her.

"Then why risk it?" he asked, astounded. "Being a woman is much easier than being a man."

"I—"

He held up a hand quickly, horror lighting his eyes. "You've been training as a squire, haven't you?"

She nodded, not understanding what was so wrong about it.

"You've been training with swords and fists."

Again, she nodded. She'd been doing it for the past fortnight. It wasn't a big deal anymore. All she suffered from were bruises.

Her lips pressed.

Blaine.

This was all Blaine's fault.

Nay, she thought. Blaine is only trying to keep us together.

For some reason, the thought didn't feel as comforting as it used to. It only made her angry, as completely unjustified as it was. She wanted to be a lady. She wanted to be safe with a strong husband. She wanted to have her family. She wanted to have children. She wanted... She wanted everything that Blaine was going to get by being married to The Lion, as dangerous and threatening as he was.

He was a threat to her. Earlier, with the fire crackling and his eyes staring at her as if he were stripping her of all her secrets, he hadn't seemed like The Lion should have.

In the hall he had. His roaring and rudeness, the brute strength he had exuded... It had been terrifying in an enchanting way.

But in his study, he'd been a completely different man—and that had terrified her for reasons she couldn't explain.

"You could have been hurt!" he suddenly burst out. Horror washed over his face.

Saeran grimaced.

"We have to tell the laird. A woman—a lady—should not be involved in sword play!" He whirled around, pale as a ghost. Panic climbed up her throat.

"No! No, you can't do that," she burst out, grabbing his arm. He tensed under her, but at least he stopped. "I can't be taken away. He can't choose me, and he definitely can't know who I really am. Please, do not do this to me."

He slowly turned his head. "You are asking me to lie to him."

"I cannot be taken away from my sister."

"Why?"

She blinked. "Why?"

"Yes. Why can’t you leave Blaine? Why would you want to stay here with her? Are you a spy? Do you work for the English?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her.

"No! No—I'm here for her, I’m not a spy at all!"

"But she is wretched!"

Saeran bit her lip. "She is worried about becoming the laird's wife. He's reputed to be a barbarian and—"

"'Reputed'", he echoed. He glared at her, and she took a step back. Only seconds ago this boy had tried to accost her, thinking she was the same gender as he. Now, he was defaming her sister—in front of her! The situation was too odd for her to dwell on. All that mattered was getting him to stay quiet.

"You do not even know the man!" he said, clearly offended on behalf of his laird. "If you just tell him, he will understand."

"He will not," she denied, shaking her head. The way he'd yelled about the hall and its changes came back to her. She wrung her trembling hands together. "He will be forced to pick between Blaine and I. She will be picked, and I—I will be sent off to marry." Grayham. Bile rose in her throat.

"Now, now," he said, holding a hand out. "I highly doubt he'd choose Blaine if you came into the picture. He'd be pleased to know your true gender."

"You can't know that," she insisted, taking the hand he held out. She clasped it tightly, trying to make him believe her. "And I cannot risk it."

"It won’t be a risk," he denied.

She stared at him. Saeran didn't think he'd be swayed in the matter, as much as she desperately needed him to.

"What do I have to do to convince you that revealing me is a bad idea?"

"Bribery?” He laughed a little.

Her lips tightened. She'd do anything. Forced to Grayham's side, as barren as she was, would result in her death.

"I'd try anything," she said with conviction.

Connor didn't react.

"Anything," she pleaded, tightening her fingers around his. He looked down between them, brows drawn over his eyes.

"You're asking me to lie to the laird," he repeated quietly. "What has you so terrified of marriage to him? He would not hurt a woman."

She didn't know if she could tell him everything. Blaine would flog her if she knew they were having this conversation, if she knew Saeran had gotten into this situation at all.

She needed Connor to trust her. If he thought for a second that she was a threat to the laird, he would expose her. Telling him the truth about why she couldn’t marry would eliminate the possible threat he thought she posed.

"I will not be the one to marry him," she finally said. She dropped his hand, instead wrapping her arms around herself. "Blaine will."

"He has a choice in who he marries, though. He should know there's another option."

She looked at the ground. "Tell me. The laird needs an heir, does he not?"

"Well—" He leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his chest. "Before the king brought you two to him, he was not concerned. If anything happens to him, Brodrick will take over. But now that it has been presented to him, yes, he does need an heir. I always believed he did."

Her chest tightened even worse than before. The only one who knew Saeran's problem was Blaine.

"What does this have to do with you?" he asked, coming forward.

"I cannot marry the laird because I am barren," she said, refusing to meet his eyes. All she would see was pity. Connor made a sound, and then swiped a hand over his face. "I'm..."

"He can't know," she insisted softly, unable to look at him.

"The king would give you a husband who will understand." He sounded so sure of himself. She only laughed.

"Have you ever heard of Hans Grayham?"

Stony silence. So bad that it made her shiver. Saeran cast a glance to Connor.

"Yes, I know of him. Everyone does."

"That's who I'm going to marry if the king realizes any of this is going on.” She worried her lip, tightening the torn cloth around her chest. Speaking, even thinking about him, gave her shivers. Made it hard for her to breathe. "How do you know of him, all the way in the Highlands?"

"There's much to know," Connor muttered. "He was the laird's sister's husband."

She stared at him.

"Grayham’s third wife?"

"Yes." One word. Short. Pained.

"I'd heard rumors...that...that the laird was the one to kill her," she whispered.

Connor's eyes blazed. "Who did you hear that from? Kane would have never done anything to hurt Annalise. He worshipped her every breath."

She backed away at his vehemence. "It was only a rumor I heard—"

He laughed sharply. "Oh, so you're one of those ladies. The ones who believe and simper over everything they hear at court." He raked his eyes over her. Disgust that she couldn't understand darkened his eyes.

"I'm sorr—"

"Oh, I just bet," he snapped. This was not going well. Instead of making him favor her, she'd angered him. It rubbed off on her, causing frustration to flare inside of her.

She stepped forward, stabbing a finger at him. "I don't understand what has you so angry! All I did was voice my suspicions."

"Gossiping," he said, shaking his head. "Gossiping to me about the death of a beautiful woman. Thinking that her brother was the one who ended her life. Have you ever watched a lion stalk his prey?" he asked, raising a brow.

She wanted to vomit. A threat. He was threatening her—because she had misspoken.

"I take that as a no," he said. He stalked to the door, his lithe body stiff with anger. "Well, you might want to take note of how Shaw will react when he learns of your...secret, and how you lied to him.”

Connor was going to tell him. Her blood ran cold. "Connor, please, I meant no—"

"Offense? 'Tis quite all right," he murmured, smiling at her. "I'll not be the one to worry over it anymore. I'll leave that to The Lion when he finds out that a person he had planned to protect is not only lying to him, but spreading rumors about his sister's death."

Before she could say anything else, he stalked out of the door. She watched him go, trembling.

She'd begun to grow hopeful, but now…