Bhaltair's Pledge: Highlander Fate, Lairds of the Isles Book Two
Page 4
Bhaltair swore, closing his eyes briefly.
“Ye may have been right—about my men,” he said grimly. “One of my men could have let him in—”
“Or he could have used a Transport spell or used an enchantment to lure the guards away from their posts,” Avery interrupted.
“Aye. But Lioslaith told me she used a Protective enchantment on the castle grounds tae nae allow him tae enter.”
“Some witches are powerful enough to override such enchantments,” Avery said, chilled at the thought.
Fear flared in his eyes, and Avery felt the need to reassure him—and herself. She reached out to touch his arm in a gesture of comfort.
“When Lioslaith comes, I’m sure she’ll know what to do.”
“Aye,” Bhaltair replied, though his face was still tight with worry.
His gray gaze swept over her face, his expression softening. She swallowed, unnerved by the look, and started to remove her hand, but he placed his hand over hers.
“Avery. Had it nae been for yer warning—” He shook his head, pain shadowing his handsome features.
“I’ve nae been kind tae ye. I ken how difficult this must be, especially for someone who hasnae handled such a thing before.”
“It’s all right,” Avery said, unnerved by the delicious feel of Bhaltair’s hand over hers. “You just want to protect Cadha.”
“I shouldnae have judged ye so harshly,” he said. “I am sorry for that.”
“It’s all right. Really,” she said. Her heart had picked up its pace at his nearness—at his touch. It would be so easy for him to lean down, to brush those sensual lips against hers . . .
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and for a heady moment she wondered if he was thinking the same thing. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, with only the sound of Cadha’s breathing and the chirping crickets outside filling the space of silence.
Bhaltair broke the spell, removing his hand from hers and abruptly stepping back.
“I—I’m going to cast a Protective spell on the cave’s entrance,” Avery said, taking a breath to quell her racing heartbeat.
“Aye. After ye do that, I’ll sleep near the entrance. Ye stay back and sleep near my niece,” Bhaltair said.
Avery wanted to protest. As a witch, she’d sense a stranger's approach before he did. Yet by the determined look in Bhaltair’s eyes, she knew it would be no use arguing with him. He was used to being the protector.
She moved to the entrance of the cave, murmuring several Protective enchantments her mother had once taught her. Her thoughts drifted to the aingidh, to the darkness she’d sensed in him. Her insides went cold at the thought of what he would have done had he gotten his hands on Cadha. She suspected, deep down, that the aingidh’s interest in Cadha went beyond helping the rival clan with lands. There was such . . . hatred in his eyes.
A surprising wave of protectiveness swept over her, so intense that it startled her. She barely knew Cadha—and Bhaltair—but she wanted to keep them both safe from this aingidh.
You don’t know what you’re doing, she reminded herself. You’re a carefree time-traveling witch, not a protector—not like Lila. Wait for Lioslaith to return. She’ll know what to do.
Yet as she drifted off to sleep moments later, curled up on the pallet next to Cadha’s while Bhaltair hovered by the cave’s entrance, that sense of fierce protectiveness remained.
* * *
“Take my hand,” Avery said gently as Cadha gave her a hesitant look.
It was early the next morning, not long after dawn. She, Bhaltair and Cadha had already eaten some of the bread and fresh water Lioslaith had stored in her cave. Now, Avery was attempting to coax Cadha down to the stream at the base of the mountain to wash.
“’Tis all right, lass,” Bhaltair urged, giving Cadha a reassuring smile, and though it was directed at his niece, it still made Avery’s heart leap in her chest.
At his words, Cadha took her hand, and Avery carefully led her down to the stream.
As they washed, Avery noticed that Cadha was shaking. She suspected it wasn’t from the slight chill in the early morning air, and she felt the sudden urge to reassure the girl.
“Bhaltair is doing everything he can to keep you safe,” she said.
“I ken. For now,” Cadha said, her lower lip trembling. “He’s giving me tae cousin Odhran. He and his wife, Lady Erskina, donnae like me.”
“Why do you think that?”
“When cousin Odhran smiles at me, it looks like he ate something sour. And Lady Erskina told me I behave like a lad; she’ll have me doing embroidery with other lasses once they take me in.”
Cadha grimaced. Avery tried not to let her lips twist in amusement. The poor girl was born centuries before her time.
“Do you have a favorite game? Or a toy?” Avery asked, trying to recall what games and toys were like in this time period.
“Aye,” Cadha said, her eyes lighting up as Avery patted her dry and helped her dress. “I like tae run with my friends; we chase each other, and sometimes one of us hides and we have tae look for ‘im. And I like archery. Sometimes Uncle Bhaltair lets me play, though I willnae be allowed tae once I live with cousin Odhran and Lady Erskina.”
Avery chuckled; Cadha had just described the games tag and hide-and-seek. She vaguely recalled one of the historians of her coven telling her that many childhood games played today were also played centuries ago, even more so in the past, given the modern advent of technology.
“Well, when we have a spare moment, I can play any of those with you—except for archery. You’re probably better at that than I am,” she said, impressed that young Cadha could already perform archery. “At least until your uncle gets you back to the castle and your friends there.”
Cadha blinked, looking at her as if she had grown two heads.
“Ladies donnae play with toys or games,” Cadha said, shaking her head. “Lady Erskina says they tend tae the household and care for their husbands and wee bairns.”
“Some ladies do,” Avery replied with a wink, deciding that she didn’t care too much for this Lady Erskina.
Cadha grinned, her smile reminding Avery of her uncle’s. And this time, when Avery took her hand, Cadha was less hesitant as she led her back to the cave.
Bhaltair stood by the entrance, his body tense with worry. The tension ebbed from his shoulders at the sight of them. He watched his niece for a long moment as she headed inside the cave, before his gaze swung back to her.
“Lioslaith didnae leave us endless provisions,” he said in a low voice.
Avery nodded her agreement. She’d noticed that Lioslaith had left them enough bread and water to last the rest of the day and possibly another. She didn’t intend for them to stay here for long. And the two-day limit she’d initially given her had passed. She suspected that Lioslaith wasn’t coming back anytime soon.
With a surge of irritation, Avery recalled how Lioslaith had insisted that Avery was the one destined to help Bhaltair. Lioslaith’s prolonged absence had to be purposeful: a way of forcing Avery to help Bhaltair and Cadha.
“We cannae rely on Lioslaith tae return,” Bhaltair continued, voicing Avery’s thoughts aloud.
“Agreed,” Avery said with a sigh. “We need to get you and your niece somewhere safe.”
“I need tae get my niece somewhere safe,” Bhaltair corrected her, and for some strange reason the exclusion caused a shard of hurt to pierce her. “There’s a man I trust; he lives on the outskirts of the clan’s lands. He’s nae involved in clan matters; many of the nobles have forgotten he even exists. Cadha and I can go there while I gather men tae fight Clan Roideach. If ye still cannae use yer magic, I’ll help arrange transport that will take ye back tae Skye. And then me and Cadha will no longer be yer concern.”
He turned away from her to approach Cadha before she could reply. Avery didn’t feel relief at Bhaltair’s offer to provide her transport back to Skye. Instead, sadness melded with unease coursed through
her.
Chapter 6
Bhaltair watched as Avery and Cadha chased each other around the cave, a smile tugging at his lips.
It was just after sunset, and they had spent most of the day in the cave, with Bhaltair taking brief treks out to make certain that no one else was near and they hadn’t been followed. They’d eaten the reserves of food Lioslaith had stored, saving some for supper tonight and then for the journey to Daileas’ home the next day.
Bhaltair and Avery had developed an informal schedule with Cadha, who had already seemed to grow comfortable around Avery. Avery would play a game with Cadha, and then Bhaltair would take her out of the cave to take in some air, though Cadha seemed eager to return to Avery. He’d gently explained to her that Avery would leave them soon, and Cadha had tried to hide her disappointment behind a polite smile.
Bhaltair himself tried not to think about Avery's pending departure. He should look forward to it; the sooner he sent her on her way, the sooner he could seek out a witch who could help them. A witch who didn't make his senses stir with desire. Yet still, the thought of her pending departure made his chest tighten.
Besides his conflicting thoughts about Avery's pending departure, his worries about the aingidh and how he'd gotten into the castle had dominated his mind. What would have happened to Cadha had Avery not been there to stop him? Why had the dark witch stepped onto the castle grounds alone—or had he not been alone? How did he know that Clan Roideach hadn’t launched an attack as soon as he’d fled with Cadha and Avery?
Panic flared in his gut. A part of him ached to return to the castle solo, to make certain his castle and the people there hadn’t come under attack. But he recalled Hamish’s words when he’d informed him he was fleeing the castle with Cadha. Donnae fret about the castle; I will make certain yer men are prepared for any attack. Yer only concern is yer niece’s safety.
“Bhaltair?”
Avery’s voice pulled him back to the present. She approached him, flushed and sweaty from the game of chase she’d just played with Cadha, and an inappropriate rush of desire washed over him. Even disheveled, Avery was the loveliest lass he’d ever seen.
“Aye?” he asked, praying that his tone sounded even.
“I think your niece is hungry,” she said, gesturing toward Cadha with a smile.
“I’m nae hungry,” Cadha protested. “I want tae keep playing.”
“Ye need food in yer belly, and then ye need tae rest, lass,” he said, giving Avery a grateful look. Cadha was a bairn; she would have happily played the night away without eating.
Cadha pouted but put up no further protest as they sat down to eat their rations in front of the fire. He and Avery remained mostly silent while Cadha spoke of how many games of chase she'd won when playing with her friends. It relieved him that Cadha's fear from the night before had dissipated; Avery had done well with distracting her.
Soon, Cadha's eyes began to droop, and though she weakly protested, Bhaltair put her to bed.
After his niece drifted off to sleep, he joined Avery at the entrance to the cave where she stood with her arms folded across her chest, looking out at the night sky blanketed with stars.
“I remember visiting this mountain when I was a bairn with Boyd,” he said. He pointed to the thicket of trees where they’d tied their horses. “We’d hide there and hope tae see witches come out of this cave.”
Avery turned to face him, her face lighting up with a smile.
“Did you see any?”
“No,” he confessed. “I think Boyd was more disappointed than I was. He was always more fascinated with the stiuireadh than me.”
That familiar grief tightened his belly as he thought of his brother, and he briefly closed his eyes. He could feel Avery’s sympathetic gaze on his face.
“I can’t say I know what you’re going through,” she said. “I love my sister with every bone in my body. I couldn’t imagine losing her. I’m sorry for what happened to your brother.”
“Yer sister,” he said, wanting a distraction from his grief. “She’s a time traveler as well?”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes lighting up at the mention of her sister. “She came to this time to help a laird fend off a dark witch—much like the one who’s after Cadha. They fell in love and married.”
He studied her, not missing the pang of envy in her eyes.
“Is there someone in yer own time?” he asked, the question causing a strange feeling in his belly. “A husband?”
Avery let out a sharp laugh. “No. Lila’s the one who always wanted a husband, family, stability—despite her abilities. I’ve always wanted the opposite. Complete and total freedom. I love traveling from time period to time period, rarely staying for long.”
He ignored the sting that pierced him at her words. Her plans for her future had nothing to do with him. He also had no interest in wedding anyone, preferring the freedom of his solitude. Once his niece was safe, he would return to it. If only his brother were alive to raise her.
“I should have listened tae my brother when he told me he feared looming danger,” Bhaltair muttered, closing his eyes.
“Even if you had, you don’t know if anything would have changed,” she said gently. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”
He knew that Avery spoke the truth; Hamish had told him the same, but it didn’t stop guilt from holding him in its relentless grip.
He looked down at her, intending to thank her for her words of comfort, but as he gazed down at her the words died in his throat. The moonlight only enhanced her lovely features, and her golden hair looked almost white. This was a lass made for moonlight.
Avery met his eyes, but there was no sympathy in them now . . . there was something else. A need. A desire. A desire he shared.
He reached down to stroke the side of her face. Her breath hitched, and he lifted his hand to wind around the golden strands of her hair. It was as if a force he couldn't control urged him forward until he’d claimed her lips with his in a fierce kiss.
Her lips parted, allowing his tongue entry, and he groaned. She tasted of honey, the night breeze and moonlight.
As their kiss deepened, time itself seemed to dissolve around them; there was no beginning, no end, only this golden-haired witch who had ensnared him with desire. Her arms snaked around him, and he pulled her flush against him, relishing in the feel of her soft, lush curves pressed against the hardness of his body. His cock stirred, and he let out another groan against her lips as he envisioned sinking himself inside her, feeling her nude form against his.
His kiss turned possessive as he plundered the depths of her mouth; he wanted this moment to last forever. Avery let out a whimper, causing him to pull her even closer. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, imitating his own, her sweet breath mingling with his as her hands wound around his neck, holding him close to her lovely body.
“No . . . !”
It was Cadha’s cry that made him tear his lips from Avery’s, and he stumbled back, as if someone had splashed a bucket of cold water over him. Avery stumbled back as well, blinking, her breath coming out in short, rapid bursts.
Bhaltair tore his gaze away from her, guilt flooding him as Cadha tossed and turned in her bed pallet, in the midst of a nightmare. What was he doing? He needed to focus on Cadha and only Cadha.
He hurried toward Cadha, gently shaking her awake and pulling her into his arms.
“All is well, lass. Ye were just having a nightmare. I’m here. I’m here,” he said, rocking her back and forth in his arms.
He saw Avery hovering out of the corner of his eye. She finally slipped out of the cave; he suspected it was to give them privacy. He was grateful for this; her very presence alone made it difficult for him to concentrate.
He trained his entire focus on his niece, making a silent promise as he rocked her. I’ll only focus on ye and yer safety. I’ll nae let the bonnie stiuireadh distract me from my duty.
Chapter 7
He still hungered for her.
Bhaltair gritted his teeth, training his gaze on the road ahead. It would prove difficult to keep his hands off Avery, but he would try. He turned his thoughts to the task that lay before him. He needed to gather men and launch an offensive against Clan Roideach. As for the aingidh himself, he prayed Lioslaith would take pity on them and return to help. Without Avery, he and his men were no use against magic. Even though Avery had clearly taken a liking to Cadha, he doubted she’d changed her mind about helping them. His eyes strayed to her, and as if sensing his gaze, Avery turned, her blue eyes meeting his. He recalled how they’d shadowed with desire as he kissed her, and he was relieved when she quickly averted her gaze. Even looking into her eyes caused his senses to stir with need.
They rode for most of the morning, only stopping once to give Cadha a chance to stretch her legs and to water their horses. He and Avery only spoke brief, polite words to each other; it was as if the heated kiss they’d shared had never happened.
It was nearing midday when they approached Daileas’ large cottage, and a sense of calm bloomed in his chest. Daileas was like a second father to him. He’d been a close friend of his father’s, and though he was a noble, he chose to live in a cottage rather than a sprawling manor home. He didn’t participate in clan matters, a decision he’d made after the deaths of his two brothers in a skirmish with Clan Roideach. He’d made a unique arrangement with Bhaltair’s father, using his family’s inheritance to pay his rents in advance, in exchange for not having to participate in clan matters or disputes. It was an unusual arrangement, but one Daileas and his late father had seemed content with.