“You tell me.” But there was a twinkle in her eyes. “Just kidding.” She gestured at the blade and winked. “After this, you’re allowed to have a few secrets.”
“Am I then?” He might be beyond happy to see her smiling, but the lass aroused him to no end when she wore his tunic so he pulled her into his arms. He wanted a good morning kiss.
“No, you’re not really allowed to have your secrets but it seemed like the thing to say,” she murmured as she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Blade in one hand, shield in the other, her lips melted beneath his just as readily now as they had the night before. He had no idea how long they kissed save she gave into it as thoroughly as him.
Only when they finally pulled apart did she see the last gift beneath the tree. The one she needed to see and accept the most.
Niall carefully took the blade and shield from her as she stared at it. It was hers to pick up if she was ready to accept it. If she was the true warrior he knew her to be, she would. Then again, he thought her every inch his heroine even if she did not.
He understood confusion and trepidation.
He understood denial and defiance.
Nicole slowly sank to her knees and kept staring at it. Niall set aside the weapons and debated whether or not to give her space. Her thoughts were scattered so he had no sense of direction. Mostly her friends swirled through her mind. The hard times they’d had. The good times. Even the in-between times when she didn’t see them for months and worried they might be losing touch.
Niall made his decision based on that last thought. On her fear that her friends might vanish because life got too busy. Crouching beside her, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and reminded her that her true friends would always be there. Her days of being abandoned were long past.
Her eyes met his and she nodded. She understood.
Now she just had to make her move.
Would she, though? Was she ready to conquer her number one fear? Niall remained silent and kept his thoughts still. This hurdle was hers alone.
Long seconds or mayhap even minutes passed before she took a deep breath, nodded and simply said, “Okay,” before snatching up the hearing aid he had tried to give her the night before. “Okay,” she repeated and stood, still staring at the object.
Niall stood as well and kept his words soft but firm. “Like the blade and shield, ‘tis a way to lend you strength, lass. A weapon of sorts.”
Her eyes rose to his. “A weapon?”
“Aye.” He closed her hand around the small device, slipping into his brogue as he spoke from the heart. “Until Fate takes ye where she shall, this will help with the transition and keep ye sharp to yer surroundings where mayhap ye might not have been otherwise.”
“What about magic?” she said softly. “I know it couldn’t help Cassie but is there any chance…”
“Nay,” he said, preferring to be blunt rather than give hope when it was beyond him to give such. A lass like her deserved nothing but the truth so that she might move forward with her eyes wide open and her courage well rallied. “What ails ye is something beyond magic. ‘Tis part of yer destiny.”
Nicole stared at him for a long moment. He didn’t need to hear her thoughts to know how conflicted and frightened she still was. But she was, if nothing else, brave so she clenched her jaw then the hearing aid, a strong set to her chin as she kept his gaze. “Thanks for being honest, Niall.” She nodded. “I mean that.”
“Aye,” he murmured as her eyes turned back to the tree.
“You’ve done a lot for me and…” She shook her head, her emotions swamping his mind though she tried to get them under control. “And I’m not really sure how to show you how much I appreciate it. Outside of my friends, I haven’t dealt with a lot of your sort in my life.”
Niall shook his head, upset. He made her sit beside the table then crouched in front of her. Holding her hands, he made sure she was looking at him when he spoke. “Nicole, I dinnae need you to show me how thankful you are. I already know it. And I hope you know how thankful I am for all you’ve done for me.”
Before she could respond, he continued. “All I needed from you was what you just showed me. That you were able to accept the device. Gods know, you have and always will face all the evil you’ve been thrust into with courage.” He cupped the side of her neck while still squeezing her other hand. “But now I know that you can face your worst fear. That is everything. It means the enemy can use nothing against you.”
He nodded, so damn proud. “You are your own warrior from here on out. A lass who is not only a Broun but a MacLomain by right. Let nothing stand in your way.”
Nicole notched her chin a little as his words sunk in. “I always have one way or another,” she conceded, a bit of her spunk simmering to the surface. “Before all the evil that is.”
Niall grinned and granted, “There has been more of that than usual.”
She eyed the hearing aid. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try this out on occasion.”
“Why not now?” he said softly. “’Twould not be so bad to have in place if you need it.”
“Yeah, maybe.” If he wasn’t mistaken, there was an octave of excitement in her voice as she tucked it into her ear. “I really don’t need this right now,” she murmured as she kept fiddling with it until her eyes widened and she whispered, “Oh my God.”
Niall wished her friends were here. That they could see the look of awe on her face. She might have been able to hear things before but he wondered how much she had to strain to do so. Or maybe she'd just become so used to her reality that it seemed normal.
“Everything sounds so much clearer, louder,” she whispered. “I guess I don’t have to be so strict about people calling me Nicole anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s why I never allowed people to call me by a nickname.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “I was always able to catch my name based on its second syllable. The ‘cole’ sound. It was distinctive enough I guess.”
Niall was caught off guard by the surge of emotion he felt. How saddened he was that she had gone so long without hearing things as she should have.
“What?” she said, her eyes on his face. “Everything okay?”
He made damn well sure those thoughts were shut off from her and nodded. “’Tis just hard to imagine how you must’ve been hearing beforehand.”
Her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t quite believe him, but thankfully her attention was drawn to the door. “Rònan!”
Niall was surprised he hadn't sensed his cousin coming but probably shouldn’t be considering how wrapped up in Nicole he was. He stepped aside as she flew into Rònan’s arms and gave him a big hug.
“Thank you for the shield,” she exclaimed. “Totally awesome.”
Grinning, Rònan held on to her for as long as possible. “Anything for ye, lass.”
When Rònan’s hand snaked toward her arse, Niall narrowed his eyes. His cousin grinned and kept his hand where it belonged. At long last, they pulled apart and joined him.
Nicole’s eyes were wide as she stared at Rònan. “Check out your hair! Totally works for you.”
Refusing to let what the enemy had done bother him, Rònan cut off all his hair.
“Aye? It looks all right then?” he said to Nicole, clearly pleased with her compliment.
“Definitely.” She kept studying him. “Your eye looks a lot better today.” She cocked her head. “Wow, it almost looks completely healed.”
“Aye, ‘tis my dragon blood,” he said. “Though it cannae heal others it tends to heal me fairly quickly.”
Niall poured everyone mead and nodded at the food a servant had brought in. “Let us break our fast together this fine Christmastide morn, aye?”
“Aye,” Rònan agreed. He plunked down but not before his eyes went to Niall’s back. Better yet, the nail marks left behind from when he and Nicole coupled together at the mountain. “Och, lad,
I see yer lass is as wild in bed as she is on the battlefield.”
Niall didn’t miss the envy in his voice.
“You bet your ass I am,” Nicole said, grinning as she sat.
He realized that Rònan showing up had lent her a reprieve from all the intensity. Only concerned for her well-being, he found contentment in her revived spirit and smiled as he handed her some bannock.
After that, they enjoyed their meal, chatted and laughed far more than they probably should have considering the circumstances. It was a few hours that none of them would likely get again anytime soon. An escape. A place where they could enjoy getting to know one another within the comfort of a castle and under the protection of Iosbail Broun…or Iosbail MacLomain depending on who you asked.
“So you’re gonna play a Christmas carol on that thing,” Nicole finally said to Rònan as they all lounged back with full bellies. Niall had wrapped a fur around her shoulders and pushed aside the animal skins so she could enjoy the falling snow in combination with her Christmas tree.
Rònan lifted the bagpipes and grinned. “Aye, lass. Anything you like. I might not be inside your head like my cousin, but I can repeat a tune if you think it.”
Nicole shrugged, but he saw the casual humor in her eyes go soft and turn to something else. “I always did like Carol of the Bells. The words almost seemed to be sung by someone stuck on the outside of Christmas looking in on all the magic of it. There but not quite there.”
“Aye,” Rònan murmured. “And you’ve a love of a version by a Celtic woman group from your time.”
“Yeah,” Nicole said, a little surprised. “I do. They’re pretty great.”
Rònan nodded and lifted the pipes. “Let’s see then.”
Niall had seen his cousin do a lot of things, including killing ruthlessly time and time again in battle, but he had never seen him take up the pipes as he did now. As if he wanted to give back something even he didn’t fully understand.
So when he started playing, Niall was taken aback by the sound. By the pure feeling. It was bloody powerful. Because of his magic, Rònan even managed to backdrop the sound with the echo of violins to mimic the sound of the music she admired so much.
By the time he was finished and the last note trilled away, Nicole had a faraway look in her eyes. Niall kept his mind separate from hers, determined that she might enjoy wherever the music took her.
Rònan’s words slipped into his mind. “She is happy, Cousin.”
“Aye, thank ye.”
“Why do ye thank me when ‘twas ye that caused such?”
“’Twas yer pipes.”
“Och, nay, the happiness in her runs far deeper than a turn of the pipes could ever take her.”
“Sorry, guys, but I’ve gotta go to the bathroom,” Nicole said, cutting into a sentimental moment as only she could.
Niall grinned. His lass didn’t hold back in the least.
Rònan nodded. “I’ll show you the way.”
“Nay, lad.” Niall snorted. “Ye’ll do no such thing.”
Nicole nodded at the screen on the other side of the room “Pretty sure that’s where I go.” She shook her head. “I only know that because Jackie reads so many historical romances. I’ve learned far more than I ever wanted to know about the Dark ages. Or Golden ages. Or Regency period. Or Medieval period. Whatever.” She stood. “Seriously, I gotta go.”
“Aye,” both men said and nodded at the screen.
Her eyes flickered between them before she nodded. “Sure, okay. Be right back.”
Rònan and Niall had only been talking for a few moments when Nicole piped up. “Um, here’s the thing. You guys need to get out of here. This is officially too weird.”
“We dinnae care in the least if—”
“Leaving now,” Niall said as he yanked on boots and dragged Rònan out. “Should we wait or meet you below stairs?”
“Downstairs works,” she called. “Thanks.”
Rònan waited until they reached the bottom stair before he nudged Niall and grinned. “So she was happy when she awoke, aye?”
“Verra.” Niall smiled and stopped. “Again, many thanks for the shield and for caring so much, Cousin.”
“Aye, ‘twas my pleasure.” Rònan kept walking but stopped when Niall leaned against the wall. “Are ye coming then?”
“Nay, ye know I mean to protect her,” Niall said. “Coming this far is only because she deserves her privacy.”
“Aye.” Rònan nodded and leaned against the opposite wall. “Then I’ll wait with ye.”
Niall nodded his thanks and eyed Rònan, curious. Because his cousins’ thoughts brushed his on occasion and Niall’s more than the others, he knew his dragon kin had not slept well the night before. Almost as if he was haunted. “Ye told me that ye remember verra little of what happened in the Otherworld prior to Nicole arriving. But do ye not recall the things ye said to her when she got there?”
None would catch it if they didn't have MacLomain blood and a certain eye toward the way Rònan could turn into himself, but Niall knew better. His cousin was shying away from something.
“A lass came to me. A bonnie lass if ever there was one.” Rònan closed his eyes and shook his head before his gaze once more met Niall’s. “She said she could smell my scent…my fire. Her touch was soothing, gentle. She relieved me of great pain, Cousin.”
“Did she give you her name?” Niall frowned. “Hell, ye should have already been in the twenty-first century to see if one of these Brouns were yours!”
“Nay.” Rònan shook his head, disturbed. “She flitted in and out, there was no direct connection. But ‘twas her face that somehow eased me from whatever the bloody bastards did to me there.”
“Aye, ‘tis hard to imagine what ye suffered.”
Rònan shrugged as if it were no big deal, but Niall didn’t miss the unease that flickered in his eyes. “I did manage to convey one thing to her, though.”
“Aye? What was that?”
“My oath that I would find her,” Rònan said. “That I wouldnae abandon her.”
Niall frowned. “I dinnae ken.”
Something crossed his cousin’s face that alarmed him. Downright confusion.
“Rònan?”
“Aye?”
“Why did ye promise this lass ye would find her?” Niall said. “Where is she?”
“With the wee King.” Rònan’s eyes suddenly glazed over. “Calling for me from far away.”
Worried, he grabbed his cousin’s shoulders and shook him. “Rònan, are ye with me, lad?”
Rònan’s eyes remained unfocused as he looked at something only he could see. “’Twill be the end of them both if I dinnae save them.”
“Rònan?” Nicole said and hurried down, obviously having heard them. She already had on her dress and boots.
“What’s going on with him?” she asked when she got to the bottom. Hearing aid in place, she held her shield and dagger. “Is he all right?”
Niall started to nod but knew she deserved the truth so shook his head. “Nay. He speaks of the lass he saw in the Otherworld.”
“Okay.” She nodded. Though upset, she seemed to come to a quick conclusion and handed him her weapons “He needs a woman’s touch. He needs to connect. I don’t know how I know, but I do.”
Niall had no idea what to make of that but certainly would not fight it. He stepped aside so she could cup Rònan’s cheeks.
“Hey, do you see me, Rònan?” she said. “Are you with me?”
“’Tis ye, lass,” Rònan murmured and tried to focus on her.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Nicole clamped her hands tighter, stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head down so he was forced to look in her general direction. “And I need you right now. Nicole needs you. Nobody else. You hear that?”
“I hear ye, Jaqueline,” he whispered. “And I will save ye.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered and glanced at Niall, distressed. “I was right. It’s Jackie.”
; “’Tis nothing we can worry over at the moment, lass.” Niall shook his head. “If he doesnae remember saying her name we will wait till we’re with the Bruce again then share. If we do so earlier, ‘tis verra likely Rònan will go rogue trying to save her and we cannae have that right now.”
Nicole nodded. “All right.”
She tried to get through to Rònan several more times, but it didn't work.
“I will save ye,” he kept saying.
Apparently fed up, Nicole pulled back and slapped Rònan hard. “Snap out of it.”
There’s no way a slap would bring his Rònan back. Or at least that’s what he thought. But something about the connection forged between his lass and cousin seemed to work because Rònan blinked several times and caught Nicole’s hand before she slapped him again.
After a few more blinks, he frowned. Both Niall and Nicole waited with baited breath as his cousin slowly but surely came out from beneath his spell.
“Are you with us, sweetie?” Nicole finally asked.
“Aye.” Rònan made light of it. “Where else would I be?”
“Good question.” Nicole leaned her forehead against Rònan’s chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Rònan rested his chin on top of her head, still a little out of it as whatever magic seized him let go. Not pleased in the least that either of them were connected to this dark magic, Niall touched her lower back, came close and clasped Rònan’s shoulder. “How do ye feel, Cousin?”
“Good enough,” he rumbled, but there was an octave of discontent in his voice as he stepped away.
He wasn’t good enough in the least but completely confused. Just as much as they were.
“Rònan, what happened?” Nicole asked. “Did you see the woman with white hair again? Is that who you made the oath to?”
“Oath?” Baffled, Rònan shook his head and readjusted his plaid, clearly discontented by the exchange. “An oath means signing away your soul. I would never make an oath to anyone beyond my kin.”
“But ye did,” Niall cut in. “Ye made an oath beyond the one ye already gave the wee king upon his birth.” He looked his cousin dead in the eyes. “Ye made an oath that ye would find a lass, that ye wouldnae abandon her.”
Honor of a Scottish Warrior Page 24