Cadha seemed to heed her words, leaning into Avery as she stroked her hair.
Avery rocked her until she fell asleep, her love for the girl swelling over her. Who would have thought that she’d find two loves in this time—Bhaltair and Cadha?
When Cadha drifted off to sleep, she looked up at Bhaltair, who was looking at her with . . . longing. There was no other word to describe the look in his eyes. Her heart lurched in her chest, wondering what he was thinking, but he averted his gaze.
“Let’s leave the lass tae her slumber.”
She leaned down to place a kiss on Cadha’s forehead before leaving.
“Thank ye,” Bhaltair murmured after he closed Cadha’s door. “Those were wise words that ye spoke. I wouldnae have kent what tae say. Ye’re . . . natural with her. At ease.”
“She’s a special little girl, and not just because of her ability. I’ve come to love her,” Avery said.
And you. So very much.
Something shifted in his eyes, and she wondered for a paranoid moment if she’d spoken her thoughts aloud. He studied her for a long moment, and again she wondered what he was thinking, ached to know, but he uttered a hasty goodnight, leaving her alone in the corridor.
Chapter 22
During the next few days, Bhaltair focused on preparing for the twofold attack. He’d lead the offense against Odhran and Dunadh Castle while Daileas would take on Cormag and Clan Roideach’s stronghold, Castle Fawdor. With Seamus’ help, along with Alpin, they’d secured even more men willing to fight on his behalf.
While he spent his days with his men preparing for battle, Avery spent her time practicing her own spells to fight—and finish—the aingidh once and for all. He only saw her for meals, but they shared their nights together. He used this time to show her with his body what he’d only just realized, but may have been true all along.
He was in love with her.
He’d always known he desired her. Making love to her hadn’t sated his need—it had only made it grow. And he knew he cared for her, deeply, more than he’d cared for any lass. But he hadn’t realized the true depth of his feelings for her until after he’d watched her rock Cadha to sleep and urged her to live in the light.
In that moment, the knowledge of his love for her had struck him like a thunderbolt. Avery was the missing piece in his life, the piece he’d always longed for but didn’t know he needed. While his niece had opened up his heart, the bonnie time-traveling witch had captured it.
But she was a stiuireadh, and though she was now steadfast in her determination to protect Cadha, he’d not forgotten how she’d initially wanted to return to her time, how she’d expressed desire for her freedom, to travel freely from time to time. He came with a niece to raise, a laird and chieftainship, a clan. How could he bind her to him when he was tied to such duties?
He wouldn’t. He loved her enough to let her go, as much as it pained him.
He made certain to maximize the time he did have with her, sitting next to her at meals as she told him how she was getting stronger with her spells and how Cadha was slowly coming into her abilities. He listened intently, just wanting to commit to memory the sound of her voice.
Whenever he had a break, he would seek her out in the forest clearing where she practiced her spells, watching her issue spells or train Cadha, awe flowing through him at the sight of her commanding the elements to her will. It was a wondrous thing to fall in love with a witch. If only this witch couldn’t leave him to travel through time.
“It’s getting harder to concentrate with you staring at me,” Avery said, one drizzly afternoon. He’d just watched her hurl several Offensive spells at a birch tree.
“And why is that?” he asked, approaching her with a teasing grin. “Ye have no idea how bonnie ye look when ye perform yer spells.”
“I think I look like a sweaty mess,” Avery muttered, reaching up to wipe sweat from her forehead.
“I think ye look like queen of the forest sidhe.”
“A fairy queen?” Avery echoed with a laugh of disbelief. “I don’t think so.”
“I disagree,” he said, reaching out to press her flush against his body. He walked backward with her, as if they were dancing, maneuvering her until her back was against the birch tree she’d just assaulted with her spells. “I donnae have many memories of my mother, but I do remember one story she told me of a sidhe of the forest who lured children intae her trap.”
“Your parents seemed to enjoy scaring you,” Avery said. “I couldn’t even watch a scary movie until I was twenty.”
Avery had told him of moving paintings in the future called “movies”. She’d explained it to him several times, but he couldn’t comprehend such a thing. He’d told her it seemed like too complicated a process to just tell a story. Avery had laughed and agreed with him.
“Donnae ye want tae ken the reason I bring this up now?” he asked.
He leaned down to nibble at her earlobe. Avery’s breath hitched; he could feel her heart rate speed up against his chest. He grinned, enjoying the effect he had on his witch.
“Why?”
“Because ye remind me of those forest sidhe. I cannae stay out of this forest because I always want tae be near ye,” he confessed. He wound his hands in her hair, gently tilting her head back. “Ye’re always luring me tae yer side.”
He captured her lips in a fervent kiss. As his tongue explored her mouth, he lowered the bodice of her gown. He released her lips to reach down and capture one of her golden nipples in his mouth; Avery let out a moan.
“Every time I come out here tae watch ye,” he confessed, releasing her nipple from his mouth, “this is what I want tae do tae ye.”
He kept his gaze locked on hers as he lowered himself to his knees, lifting her gown. She watched him, wide eyed, her breathing ragged, as he leaned forward to taste her sweetness.
“Bhaltair!” she whimpered.
He hiked her legs up over his shoulders, not relenting until she quaked against him, her orgasm claiming her, spilling her sweetness into his mouth. Only then did he release her, standing to lift up his kilt and burying himself inside her.
“Oh God, Bhaltair,” Avery gasped as he began to thrust.
He cupped her face as he sank himself inside her, over and over. He could lose himself in her forever, this beautiful witch who had captured his heart. He wanted to make it last, and he gritted his teeth with the effort of delaying his climax, until the pleasure became too much to bear, and he came with a cry, spilling himself inside her. Her orgasm followed his, and she sank against him, trembling and weak.
“This,” Avery said, as they caught their breath, “is why I can’t concentrate when you watch me.”
They shared a laugh as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, wanting to savor this moment with her, to imprint it onto his memory, his heart, before she left him forever and returned to her own time.
* * *
After days of preparation, Bhaltair and his men were ready for battle.
The night before the attack, he went over the final battle plan with his men. Avery joined them for this, as she had her own role to play in the battle, and it was difficult to keep his eyes off her and concentrate. When the meeting ended and his men filed out of the parlor, he met Avery’s eyes, giving her a secret smile before she left. He couldn’t wait to join her in his chamber, to worship her body, to hold her in his arms.
He felt Daileas’ gaze on him and turned, giving him a puzzled frown.
“Aye?”
“Ye love Avery.”
He stilled before turning away, his mouth tightening. Damn Daileas’ perceptiveness.
“It doesnae matter.”
“I would say it matters a great deal. I could tell ye loved the lass ever since ye thought the aingidh had killed her, perhaps even before then. Fenella’s noticed as well. I was waiting for ye tae admit it tae yerself.”
“It doesnae matter,” Bhaltair repeated, “because the la
ss is only here out of obligation. She didnae even want tae stay in this time when she first arrived. Lioslaith had tae make her stay.”
“And how does she feel now?”
Hope pierced Bhaltair’s chest, but he wouldn’t allow it to bloom.
“She still speaks of leaving,” he said, his heart twisting. “She doesnae belong here. And I—I cannae wed a stiuireadh. As laird, I’ll have tae wed a noble lass. The clan needs stability after the death of my brother and Odhran’s treachery.”
“Ye can marry who ye please. Yer men admire Avery for all she’s done for us, they’ll nae offer any protest. Ye’re still nae allowing yerself tae be happy, and that’s foolish.”
Chapter 23
Daileas’ words echoed in Bhaltair’s mind as he rode toward Castle Dunadh the next night, primed and ready for battle.
He’d held Avery in his arms without making love to her last night, and they’d spoken little, the upcoming battle dominating their thoughts. He’d wanted to tell her he loved her, wanted to ask her to stay, but he didn’t want to distract her from the pending confrontation she’d have with the aingidh. And if he were truly being honest with himself, he feared her rejection. Avery had never expressed a desire to stay beyond wanting to protect Cadha. He knew that she cared about him and wanted him—her body responded to his with fervor each time he took her—but could he hope for anything else?
So he’d not said anything, just holding her until she fell asleep, though a taunting voice whispered in his mind, “Coward.”
He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the reins. He needed to focus on the battle ahead, and then he would ask if she would consider staying longer, perhaps to help with Cadha’s training. The thought of her rejecting his request caused him more fear than the battle ahead, and he swallowed hard.
His gaze shifted to the left flank where Avery rode. While he and his men charged the castle, Avery would draw Glaisne away from the castle and fight him. He’d not wanted her to fight on her own, but she had given him a steely look and insisted that this was her fight and the reason she was here in the first place, reminding him once again that she was only here for one task.
Bhaltair’s eyes returned to the road ahead until the castle loomed in the distance before him.
He signaled to Hamish, Seamus, and two other men, who led the other flanks, and they increased their speed, racing toward the castle. He cast one last look at Avery, their eyes locking before she gave him a wavering smile, turning her horse to head toward the glen that lay before the castle.
Be safe, my love. Fight well, he thought, before kicking the sides of his horse and charging toward the castle gates.
The two stunned guards manning the gates threw down their swords, likely realizing that his men severely outnumbered them. Bhaltair and his men charged past them and into the courtyard.
Bhaltair leapt from his horse once he entered the courtyard. Startled guards streamed out of the castle, attempting to fend them off, but his men outnumbered them.
Bhaltair effortlessly fought his way past the guards and made his way inside, flanked by Hamish and another one of his men. Two guards darted toward them, and Bhaltair raised his sword and lowered his body, kicking out at one guard’s knees. The man stumbled to the ground with a cry.
Bhaltair stepped forward, pressing his sword to the guard’s throat.
“My cousin?” he snarled. “Where is he?”
“H—he’s being taken tae the stables by his personal guard,” the guard stammered, looking terrified.
The damned coward, Bhaltair thought with a surge of anger, charging down the corridor that would lead him to the rear stables. He couldn’t let his snake of a cousin get away.
He fought past two more guards, easily disarming them, before he reached the rear doors. He darted out of the castle, racing toward the stables, trailed by his men.
Fury tore through him at the sight of Odhran mounting his horse along with two guards. Bhaltair’s men raced forward to surround them.
Bhaltair darted toward his cousin, reaching up to yank him from his horse.
“How dare ye run away from a conflict ye started?” Bhaltair spat. “Ye’re nae only a snake, ye have no honor!”
Odhran’s guards leapt down from their horses, but Bhaltair’s men fought them off. Bhaltair only had eyes for his cousin, whose face was pale with fear as he reached for his sword.
Odhran charged forward, his sword clashing with Bhaltair’s. His father had trained them both, and their moves were similar; they met each other blow for blow. But the very thought of his father, his brother, the family that Odhran had betrayed, gave Bhaltair’s surging fury the upper hand.
In a quick move, he used his sword to disarm Odhran. He shoved him to the ground, stepping forward, his blade to Odhran’s neck.
Though rage coursed through Bhaltair’s veins, he hesitated. Odhran deserved to die, but he still didn’t want to kill his own blood.
Odhran smirked, noting his hesitation, and reached down to unsheathe a dagger from his belt, shooting to his feet with a roar. He had the dagger aimed at Bhaltair’s heart, poised to stab him straight through—
Bhaltair was faster. He sank his sword into his cousin’s stomach. Odhran let out a groan of pain, stumbling to his knees as Bhaltair yanked his sword from his flesh.
“Was this worth it, cousin?” Bhaltair hissed, tears stinging his eyes.
Odhran’s eyes met his. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came as he fell back, his eyes going dim as death claimed him, his blood soaking the ground.
Bhaltair tossed his sword down and closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of grief for one of the last members of his family, his blood, a man he had once trusted with his life.
* * *
The battle ended quickly.
The night attack had worked. They’d taken Odhran’s men by surprise, and they’d outnumbered them. Many of Odhran’s men had even refused to fight Bhaltair’s men, having only joined Odhran out of fear. He prayed that Daileas’ attack on Clan Roideach’s stronghold was just as successful, and sent a scout to their lands to inform him of the outcome.
Once the castle was secure, Bhaltair went in search of Avery. He found her not far from the castle, standing in the center of the glen, her eyes wild with panic.
“Avery? What is it?”
“Glaisne wasn’t here. I used multiple Locator spells to try and find him, but I think he blocked me. Something’s wrong, I feel it. We need to check on Cadha.”
Panic spiked in his chest. Cadha was back at Alpin’s manor with several trusted guards watching over her.
“Can ye do a Transport spell?”
She nodded, placing her hands over his and murmuring the words of a spell. There was the familiar tug of wind on their bodies, the swirling blackness, and then they were back in front of Alpin’s manor.
They raced inside. Two guards stood guard outside of Cadha’s door, their eyes widening with surprise at Bhaltair and Avery’s approach.
“My laird?”
Bhaltair ignored them, kicking open the door. Terror seized him at the sight that greeted him.
Cadha’s chamber was empty.
She was gone.
Chapter 24
Icy fear coursed through Avery’s veins as she sank to her knees in the forest clearing. Bhaltair stood behind her, his own fear palpable. In the distance behind them, she could hear the shouts of his men as they scoured the grounds for Cadha.
But Avery knew they wouldn’t find her. The aingidh had taken her . . . she felt it in her bones. If she didn’t find him in time, he would kill her.
Quelling her panic, she closed her eyes, placing a strand of the aingidh’s hair and one of Cadha’s favorite dolls down on the ground.
“Seall an stiuireadh Cadha dhomh. Seall an aingidh Glaisne dhomh.”
To her relief, her magic responded immediately to the command of her spell.
A series of flashes flooded her mind. She saw a craggy mountain, a
sprawling forest, Glaisne holding a struggling and weeping Cadha in his arms.
Her heart leapt into her throat. She recognized that mountain. Caisteal Abhail, where she, Bhaltair, and Cadha had initially stayed. The location of Lioslaith’s cave.
She stood, her heart pounding violently against her rib cage.
“I know where they are,” she said, meeting Bhaltair’s terrified gaze. “Give me your hand.”
Bhaltair obliged, and she uttered the words of a Transport spell.
Their surroundings faded from view as darkness sucked them in, and when the world appeared to them again, they stood on the top of Caisteal Abhail.
In the distance up ahead, she could make out two figures. Glaisne and a small, limp figure he held in his arms. Cadha.
Panic tore through Avery. Was she already too late? At her side, Bhaltair charged forward with a strangled cry of rage and grief.
“Bhaltair, no!” she shouted, terror gripping her. “He’ll kill you!”
She might as well have been shouting to the wind. Bhaltair kept charging forward, reaching for his sword, even as Glaisne lowered Cadha to the ground to face them. Fear and panic battled for dominance in Avery’s chest. Glaisne wouldn’t hesitate to kill Bhaltair.
“Ceangail a ghairdeanan!”
She directed the Binding spell at Bhaltair, hurtling him back and rendering him still. He let out a snarl of frustration, but Avery ignored him as she darted forward; a Binding spell was the only way to keep the stubborn man she loved out of harm’s way.
Glaisne’s focus turned toward her, his eyes a storm of rage. Fighting past her fear, her gaze dropped to Cadha’s form on the ground, relief filling her chest when she saw the rise and fall of her chest. She was alive—for now.
“Please—don’t do this!” Avery cried, holding up her hands in a gesture of appeasement as she approached. “I saw your memories. I know what you’re trying to do. You must know that what will come is to come. We may have time travel magic, but there are some things we can’t change!”
Bhaltair's Pledge: Highlander Fate, Lairds of the Isles Book Two Page 13