Caelen sobered. “She amazes me, Ewan. I don’t even know how to act around her. How can I ever go beyond the fact that she risked all for me?”

“You’d do the same for her,” Ewan said bluntly. “It stands to reason she’d stand up for you as well. They broke the mold when they made her. You’re well blessed, Caelen. I hope you know it.”

“Aye, I do,” he murmured.

“There,” Ewan said as he sat back. “ ’Tis stitched and the bleeding has stopped.”

Caelen tried to rise but he fell back on his side, every bit of his strength gone. His muscles felt like mush, and he was so weak he could barely lift his arm.

He cursed and struggled to rise again. “Help me up, damn it.”

“I’ll help you to the chamber where Rionna is if you swear to stay abed.”

“I’ll not bargain with you over Rionna,” Caelen growled. “I’ll not leave her even for a moment.”

“ ’Tis a serious wound, Caelen. You’re fevered and your strength is gone. You could die if you won’t have a care.”

“Help me up,” he said again.

Ewan shook his head and pulled Caelen to a sitting position. “I swear I have no idea whose loins you sprang from. I’m convinced you were left on the steps to the keep when you were a wee bairn.”

Caelen sobered as he struggled to his feet. Cameron’s words about their father drifted back into his hazy consciousness. He would never know if there was any truth to Cameron’s rantings. But he wouldn’t relate the story to his brothers. There was no need to plant any doubt in their minds. Cameron had existed on hatred and revenge for years and it had brought him nothing. In the end, he’d brought dishonor on himself and the father he claimed to avenge.

“ ’Tis over, Ewan,” he said quietly as they hobbled down the hallway. “After eight years, ’tis over. Cameron is dead and neither of us dealt the killing blow.”

“Aye,” Ewan murmured. “Our father can rest now. He has been avenged.”

“Nay,” Caelen said swiftly. “ ’Tis not about vengeance. ’Tis about what is honorable and just. Cameron acted without honor. He died without honor. ’Tis enough.”

Ewan’s brow furrowed as he cast a sideways glance at his brother. “I owe your wife a debt I can never repay. She not only saved your life, but she killed a man who has caused much grief to my wife and who threatened my daughter.”

“ ’Twould seem there are many of us indebted to my wife,” Caelen said dryly.

Ewan knocked at the chamber door and Caelen pushed impatiently in before the summons was issued. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Rionna sprawled facedown on the bed, face turned to the side and eyes closed.