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Ivana nodded “It would make sense, else ould there be two bodies in one coffin? The second engraving on the lid would suggest so, too”

“Aye, the scholar las said “He promised to show Alistair what he found, but I cannae recall hiain”

Isla listened to the conversation intently Perhaps it was her feelings for Lachlan that led her to iine a more romantic version of events The tomb dated back hundreds of years Had the scholar lived with the affliction for that long? Had he made an oath to someone he loved and finally returned to keep his pro made by his ancestors?

They would never know

“Whatever happened here, one thing is certain,” Ivana said Isla narrowed her gaze, wondering if the lady had read her mind “The ht it represented the loss of ed to Nikolai”

“I think you’ll find that these types of marks are often tribal,” Lachlan said in a sy to the scholar”

Isla snorted “No doubt Nikolai distorted any truebehind it and saw it as another way to inflict pain and exert his control”

Ivana touched her husband’s ars Noe know that the , kinship, and loyalty Those of us who bear it share all of those things We are not kin by blood but through our shared struggles and experiences”

“Well,” Leo began “I must applaud Talliano for his efforts Without his tenacity and persistence, there would be no cure for our affliction”

Isla sed deeply The hour spent in the toet her own troubles Daould see her relegated to a pile of ash if she did not leave soon

“It is so dark down here I have lost all concept of tiazed at Lachlan “It is time for me to leave It is time for me to return to the castle and take the cure” She walked over to the toether in prayer She blessed the wo fro so, she hoped she would be more fortunate She hoped that her fate followed a different path

Chapter 12

No one questioned Lachlan’s presence in Isla’s bedchalas to offer some objection, but the old man appeared more subdued since their return frolas wasn’t kin, he treated Isla like a daughter and Lachlan suspected he used his jovial manner to hide his anxiety over her peculiar condition

Lachlan closed the wooden shutters on the s and drew the heavy drapes as Isla instructed He turned to face her, his chest tight with a strange sense of foreboding that he tried to dismiss

“Do you remain in here until the sun sets?” he asked, curious to know of her daily habits Whilst being confined to her rooined the coin to feel more like a prison