I ground my teeth. ‘Get out.’

Brochan finally worked up the courage, reaching up for the flimsy rope ladder and pulling himself up. Speck followed on his heels and I took up the rear. Hands hauled me onto the deck and I spun round. The Sidhe were drenched and their boats had been pushed back some distance by the force of the wave but they were still standing.

‘Sorley!’ I screamed. ‘Move this beast!’

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 your wedding, 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.’