“I’ll find my sister and return to the village,” she said and went to turn away.
“Now see, it was not that difficult to obey my word,” he said, a teasing chuckle highlighting his remark.
She warned herself to leave, keep hold of her tongue, not look back, but unfortunately she did not pay heed to her own warning. She turned to look at him and once she saw that smug smirk on his face, her tongue slipped away from her. “Obey? You actually think I intend to obey you? You are more a fool than I thought.” Anger flared in her eyes when he laughed.
“I could not help myself. You are so easily teased, and I so enjoy the challenge you present,” he said, fighting not to laugh. “Though I should remind you that if we were not alone you would find yourself in trouble for calling me a fool.”
“And here I thought it was something you heard often,” Annis said with a sweet smile.
Brogan let some laughter slip. “Thought by many I’m sure, but none say it to my face, except for my father, of course. He reminds me often that I am a fool.”
The thought that his father could be so cruel when the fault was his own for what Brogan suffered had her defending him. “Your father is more the fool for bringing the curse down on you.”
Brogan’s smile vanished. “Never speak about the curse. I will not have you touched by its horror.”
With his smile gone and the intensity of his words, Annis got a peek at a different man. A man who would let no one get the least bit close, a man who was more alone than anyone could ever imagine and to even imagine such loneliness troubled her heart. It was not right. Brogan had done nothing wrong, his father had and he should be the one to bear the burden, not his son.
She thought about the witch in the hills. “What if there was a way to break the curse?”
“There isn’t,” he said, warning himself not to discuss it any further with her, but for some strange reason unable to resist doing so. “I have searched endlessly for a solution only reaching the same conclusion over and over—the curse cannot be broken. It must be fulfilled and that is impossible to do.”
“What do you mean?” Annis asked curious, not having heard that.
His tongue was curt. “I will talk of it no more with you.”
Annis would not be dismissed or dissuaded. “You throw away any chance of finding a solution if you refuse to talk of what you know, hear what others may know, and come away with more knowledge because of it.”
“Rannick thought that and lost three wives and a bairn. He has traveled to foreign lands searching for the magic that could right this terrible wrong and has returned—” Brogan shook his head. “He is more animal than man now, no one able to go near him. His father keeps him locked away, for fear of what he might do to others.”
“Why then does Lord Lochlann search for a wife for his son if he is barely human?” Annis asked, a shiver of fear rising gooseflesh along her arms. She shook her head, recalling what she had heard. “I forgot. An heir. It is because Lord Lochlann is determined to have an heir to the Clan MacClaren.”
“He does. Whereas Rannick refuses to father any children and have them suffer the horrors he has. He wants to see the MacClaren bloodline brought to an end.”
“And do you want that as well?” Annis asked.
It took a moment for Brogan to respond. “It is the only way to end the curse.”
His moment of pause made Annis believe it was not truly what he wanted and she offered what might be of help to him. “There is the witch in the hills that may be of help.”
Brogan shook his head. “She is nothing more than a myth. I should know, since I have searched for her.”
“Maybe you did not search in the right place.”
Brogan’s smile returned. “You suggest I do not know what I am doing?” He laughed. “You do enjoy insulting me, don’t you?”
Annis grinned. “It has its moments, and in this case, I would suggest you take another look. You do not know what you might have missed.”
“Annis!”
Annis cringed and Brogan chuckled as she turned to face her sister.
“What are you doing?” Elysia demanded, hurrying toward her. “I am sorry, Lord Brogan, for anything my sister may have said to offend you. Please forgive her.”
“Forgive me for what?” Annis demanded. “I did nothing to offend him. His own words manage to do that on their own.”
“ANNIS!” Elysia scolded.
Brogan laughed. “Has your sister always had a difficult time controlling her tongue?”
“As long as I can remember. Please, do forgive her,” Elysia pleaded.