Cassian (The Immortal Highland Centurions #2) - Jayne Castel Page 0,64

manner just strengthened her resolve. It unfettered the last of her reserve. It was time for some plain speech; she needed to say this before her courage deserted her.

“I’ll rest in a moment,” she said, facing him, hands on hips. “But there are things that must be said.” She broke off, aware of his steady gaze upon her. Aila sucked in a deep breath. “Firstly, I want to apologize.”

He visibly stiffened. “Look, Aila … I don’t think—”

“I threw myself at ye, and I’m sorry for it.”

“This isn’t your fault,” he replied, his voice strained.

“All the same, I should have heeded ye.” Her jaw firmed. “I admit my part in this mess, Cassian. Despite yer warnings, I said I was comfortable just spending the night with ye—but it was a lie … I’d hoped for more. Now all I ask in return is the same honesty from ye.” She swallowed as tension crackled between them. “Tell me the real reason why ye spurned me.”

XXVIII

THE SUN RISES

CASSIAN WASN’T SURE how to respond. His first instinct was to make some excuse, as he had back in Stirling, but as the moment stretched out, the words wouldn’t come. He was weary, both in body and soul—and the angry woman standing before him deserved the truth. “It seems I underestimated you, Aila,” he said softly. “You aren’t an easy woman to fool.”

Aila folded her arms over her chest and stared down her nose at him. “Why would ye want to fool me?”

Cassian heaved a sigh. “Sit down … I’d prefer not to explain this with you looming over me.”

Aila didn’t move.

“Please. You’ll want to be sitting down when I tell you this.”

Silently, she did as he asked, sinking into a cross-legged position a few feet back from him. “Go on,” she said stiffly. “I’m listening.”

Cassian watched her shadowed face. It was too dark for him to make out the details of her features, yet he could sense just how on edge she was.

You don’t need to tell her everything.

Was it too late to make up a plausible story? Aila wouldn’t know any different. He could tell her an altered version of his tale, yet keep the immortality out of it. He could make her pity him, weep for him even.

Cassian’s throat constricted. No. He wouldn’t do that. It would be disrespectful to both Lilla and Aila. She demanded honesty, and his conscience wouldn’t let him have a moment’s peace until he spoke the truth.

Of course, it would be the death-stroke between them. She’d recoil once she knew what he really was. But that would be for the best.

Clearing his throat, Cassian inhaled slowly before speaking. “I’m not who you believe me to be. I’m not like other men.” His gaze fused with hers. “I can’t … die.”

“Excuse me?” Aila’s voice hardened; she clearly thought he was toying with her.

“Over a thousand years ago, I marched into Caledonia with the Ninth legion of the Roman imperial army,” Cassian pushed on. He’d set himself on this course now. He wouldn’t stop until she knew the whole story. “We’d been sent to put down the Picts, but in the end, they bested us … and after the final stand in the far north of this land, I was taken captive.”

Aila had gone dangerously still, but she said nothing.

Cassian continued. “A Pictish druidess cursed me to an immortal life. I cannot leave the boundaries of Scotland, I cannot father children … and I cannot die.”

Aila made a soft, choked sound. “May the devil blind ye,” she finally managed. “I can’t believe ye would make up something like this … just to rid yerself of me.”

Cassian shook his head. “I know it sounds far-fetched … but it’s true. Every word.”

“Far-fetched? That’s a pretty word for a filthy lie!” Aila’s voice rose as she scrambled to her feet.

“Wait, Aila.” Reaching up, Cassian undid the leather vest that covered his chest and opened it to reveal the faded design of the eagle above his right nipple. Even in the murky light, the inked mark was clear. “I am a centurion of the Ninth … this is the mark of my legion. I had it carved into my flesh on my twenty-first birthday.” He swallowed hard. “As I told you on the journey from Dunnottar, I grew up an orphan, running wild on the streets of Brigantium in Hispania. When they let me join the legion, it was the proudest moment of my life. I lived to serve Rome … but that empire