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A shared breath. A moment suspended in time.

He wrapped his arms about her, cradling her as they kissed. The chill in the air vanished beneath the warmth of her mouth and the tender, clumsy wonder of discovery. She responded with shyness.

And then she stiffened.

Gently, she pressed her palms against his chest.

He stepped back at once. Her eyes, so luminous and so stormy, locked with his.

“I must return to Stirling,” she whispered. “And I believe you wish to remain … free.”

The words rang between them with the solemnity of a vow.

She looked away, her gaze falling to the flags beneath their feet. But not before he caught the flicker of longing in her eyes.

He ran a hand through his hair. The ache in his chest rivaled the one in his healing side.

She was right.

He had made promises to himself. And so had she.

Their paths ran together for now. But every step forward was a step toward farewell.

“Deuce it,” he murmured under his breath. “It is true.”