“They weren’t following my commands. They were fulfilling the curse.”
“I disagree, hen. Regardless, do you think they’ll rise up to help us again? Or is the curse a one-time thing?”
So, he didn’t see it. In addition to the magic scenting the air around him, a very subtle aura of blue light shone around him since that night on Bass Rock. “Look.” She turned him toward the mirror beside the lab sink.
“I don’t see anything but how you messed my hair to prove you’ve had your way with me.” The corner of his mouth lifted.
“The blue light around you? You can’t see that?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“I thought everyone could.” That was going to make convincing Clan Campbell he was the Heir and deserved total respect much more difficult. “Maybe you’ll see the aura if you eat some taffy? The clan could see it then, if they ate some?”
“Another good idea. But,” he smiled down at her, “I think we’ve time for a wee kiss first. Don’t you? What’s saving my life if I don’t do my best to enjoy it?” His sad smile widened into something brighter as the late night sunset turned the lab’s high windows purple.
“I’m not judging, but how can you smile like that when you know war is coming and we’re going to be in the thick of it using experimental candies and ghosts to stay alive?”
“I’ve had a rough go of it so far. I’m not complaining. I just…now that I have someone who understands me, who likes me despite who I am and what I’ve done.”
She turned his chin so he faced her. “And I do. I forgave you. For all of it. And I hope you can forgive me.”
“What for? You did nothing wrong.”
“I lied to everyone for a very long time.”
He nodded and ran a palm over her shoulder. “I can’t let the bad things that will happen ruin what time I have with you. Nothing in life is safe, permanent. I know that much at least.”
Aini’s heart squeezed once, twice, then she pressed her mouth to his. The tip of his tongue swept gently across hers and a fever rode down her back and into her thighs, making her knees weak. This humble, brave man was hers. For now, anyway. She was determined to soak in every ounce of sweetness while they had this time together. Thane ran a palm up the back of her head and tangled his sticky fingers in her hair.
“Got you back,” he whispered, chuckling.
She grinned and caught a glimpse of his tattooed hand as he traced a thumb, just barely touching, over her cheek. Soft, gentle. He dipped his other hand to her lower back and eased her body against the strong lines of his.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to go claim your place with your clan,” she whispered, amused that her voice sounded so husky.
“Aye? It’ll be dangerous.”
“Yes,” she said, “but I’ll get to see you in a kilt again.”
Taking his top lip between her teeth gently, she kissed him thoroughly, inhaling his new scent. A rushing, lovely heat twisted through her veins and filled her with happiness, and legends, ghosts, and revolutions took second place in her heart.
This is a work of fiction. All events, dialogue, and characters are products of the author’s imagination. In all respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2018 by Alisha Klapheke
Cover art copyright © 2018 by Damonza
All rights reserved.
Visit Alisha on the web! http://www.alishaklapheke.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Klapheke, Alisha
The Edinburgh Heir/Alisha Klapheke. —First Edition.
Summary: Fate chose Aini MacGregor and Thane Campbell to change the face of Scotland forever and lead an unconventional rebellion using supernatural elements.
ISBN 978-0-9987379-9-7 (trade)
ISBN 978-0-9987379-8-0 (ebook)
[1. Fantasy. 2. Magic—Fiction.] I. Title.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Created with Vellum
Chapter 1
Sugar-coated Plots
Aini popped the hard candy into her mouth and waited for her feet to leave the ground.
“How does it taste?” Thane was heating another batch on the stove, but his gaze kept straying from Aini to the window.
The lane curved away from the lonely rebel safe house that was serving as their temporary living quarters. The small town of Greenock, just northwest of Glasgow, exuded the sleepy feel of a good long, nap, but Aini knew better than to be lulled into a lack of vigilance by its quaint charm. At any moment, Campbell kingsmen would spring out with guns blazing.
“It tastes fine. Maybe a little less sweet than normal. So you’re sure Nathair didn’t tell anyone other than that group?”
The temporary lab’s overhead light blinked across his glasses as his chest moved in and out. “That’s what I overheard when Rodric spoke to him over the phone. Just before Bass Rock. Said he wanted to keep this all quiet until the right time.”
Aini’s head began to feel a bit funny. She went to the window and the late summer chill seeped through the glass and into her fingers. Despite it being only the very beginning of September, the trip from Edinburgh to Greenock had been flecked with what felt like winter rain. She drew the curtains and took a breath, watching Thane and Myles work.
“What is that face you’re making?” Thane pushed his blond hair away from his black-framed glasses and eased the thermometer into the bubbling sugar.
“I was just wishing I didn’t like the new lab so much.”
At the townhouse in Edinburgh, the lab had been tidy—she’d obsessively wiped the long, metal table and the marble countertops—but the building had been ancient. The whitewashed walls still showed pitted rock and they harbored dirt she could never quite clean.
This lab was tucked into the guest house kitchen of a twenty-year-old home. Smooth walls. Electricity a person could rely on. Stools, windowpanes, and drawers made in this century. It was heaven.
“I feel guilty that I love it so much,” she muttered.
The old lab had been home and here she was mixing candy, doing experiments, and whistling merrily as home sat far away in Edinburgh, alone and dark. Well, maybe she wasn’t exactly whistling merrily, but the rest of it was true.
Gold stubble shone on Thane’s sharp chin and along the curve of his jaw. He rubbed at it with his tattooed fingers as he studied the temperature of the hard candy mix. It was odd to see him with a little scruff. But it made sense that he'd forgotten to shave or hadn't felt like bothering with the routine. Nothing was routine anymore. Aini simply chalked it up to yet another difference in this man standing in front of her. He was no longer a spy. He'd gone against his own kin to save those he believed needed his protection. This was the new Thane. And she was the new Aini. Both of them in hiding, and on the surface as well as beneath the skin, they were rougher, brighter—more.
“Guilt will get you nowhere, Aini,” Myles said, responding belatedly to her confession and looking around the lab she was trying not to enjoy.
She gave him a smile. “You’re right, but I can’t stop feeling it, or worrying about when they’ll find us here.”
Her fingers were drawn to the Adam’s apple moving in Thane’s strong throat. She curled them there for a second, enjoying the warmth of his skin and the beat of his pulse. A small smile pulled at his mouth as her feet left the floor.
Her stomach dropped as she focused on rising, floating—any thought that would lead to breaking gravity’s hold. A little lightheaded, she rose and rose and rose.
“Um…” The floor was suddenly very far away.
Thane reached up a hand and grabbed her shoe. The black flat slipped off and he held it gently. “You all right?”
“I guess.” The ceiling’s ivory paint was smooth under her fingers.
Myles clapped once. “Well! That is a record height, isn’
t it?”
“It is.” Aini put a hand to her head. A mix of fear and pleasure ran through her body. It was great they’d made such a successful altered sweet, but she wasn’t so sure she could control this. How would it help them in a fight if she just floated away like a balloon?
“Is it making you sick?” Thane’s eyes pinched with worry.
“Not really. I just feel…odd.”
“Can you move around?”
Imagining the air was water, she moved her arms and feet and aimed for the arch of the guest house door.
“I don’t think that’s working so hot,” Myles said.
He was right. She needed to pinpoint the way she usually controlled her movement while under the candy’s influence. Her tongue clicked against her teeth as she thought. She normally just looked at the place she wanted to go and her body obeyed, floating lightly over the floor. Maybe she simply had to focus a bit more now that the candy’s effect was stronger.
The spot between Aini’s eyes almost seemed to hum. Zeroing in on the sensation, embracing the feeling, she mentally “pushed” out from that point, toward the door. She sped over like she was on a zipline from the buzzing spot on her head to the door’s archway.
“You figured it out,” Thane said. “This will be great for visuals on a larger field of battle.”
“Field of battle.” Myles rolled his eyes, but it looked forced. Was he afraid? If so, she didn't blame him.
“It will,” Thane said. “You’ll be able to see who needs help and you’ll be able to get away from enemies.”
“Not if they have flyers.” Myles clamped his lips shut.
Thane glared.
Myles held up his hands. “I’m sorry, but seriously. She’ll have to be really careful about that.”
Now Aini did feel sick. They were so not ready for this. She focused on the ceiling’s peak and drifted like a leaf in the wind, her short dress shifting against her ribbed leggings. With a spin, she reached her arms wide and surveyed the makeshift lab in its entirety.
Thane’s mouth had fallen open. Myles elbowed him, and his lips snapped closed.
“You do look really amazing up there,” Myles said. “Like some kind of avenging angel.”
Aini couldn’t help but grin. “I like that.”
Myles shoved Thane so he was directly below her. “And here is your deadly devil on the ground.”
Thane pushed Myles off him. “Is it wearing off at all? That lightheadedness?”
Aini nodded and sure enough the hum between her eyes faded and she began a slow descent to the floor. “Your timing was spot on. So if I need to stay afloat longer, should I take two at a time?”
“We can try that out if you’re up for it.”
“Of course I am,” she said. "I am definitely up for it," she added in a louder voice to cover the tremble in her words.
Thane pulled her into his arms. His back muscles moved under her hands and she breathed him in, loving his familiar cotton scent and the newer sage that permeated his skin beneath the slight aura of blue.
“I wish we could stay here,” she said.
She hated how wistful she sounded, but the idea of being here with Thane in the lab, Father, unhurt and well fed, downstairs helping the Dionadair, and Myles, Neve, and Bran to keep them company, it was just so wonderfully…safe. Neve’s mother and brothers had been moved to another Dionadair house with the code name Potato Casserole. No one here knew the location so if they were caught, they couldn’t expose her family’s whereabouts. It was all so much better than what Aini had imagined their situation would be at this point. She'd thought they'd all be dead in the street by now or crowding one of the king's prisons. Everyone was safely tucked away and very much alive.
But none of this was even close to being permanent.
They’d defeated Nathair’s meathead thug—Thane’s cousin Rodric—but there would be retribution once Nathair realized no one from the operation on Bass Rock was answering his calls because they were either dead or had gone to the rebels’ side—though Thane and Bran were the only two who’d done that. This small pocket of time when Nathair didn’t know what had actually happened on the island wouldn’t last. Owen and his Dionadair rebels had to figure out what to do and act quickly. Everyone felt the pressure. Everyone had a guess on how Nathair would strike back and when. None of it was pleasant.
“We really need to get moving, though. I don’t understand why it’s taking Owen so long to come up with a plan.”
“He did almost die.” Myles pursed his lips. “That gives him at least two days to sit around and do jack, doesn’t it?”
“We don’t have two days. It’s been one and a half already. The Dionadair need a plan. I mean, what are we even doing right now?” She looked at the window again.
“One day at a time, hen,” Thane said. “You can’t plan this. Not fully anyway.”
She frowned up at him.
Myles laughed and greased a baking sheet with an oiled brush. “That is not Aini’s M.O. and you know it, man. Players are going to play. Planners are going to plan. No matter how much they stress themselves in the process.”
Thane held up the thermometer. “It’s go time. For the candy.”
“I’m not planning this part of our adventure,” Aini said to Myles as she squeezed the dye bottle. Two drops fell into the sugary bubbles and spread like octopus tentacles. “Owen is going to get better and he’ll have a plan that will work. The two Dionadair that went to Edinburgh and the other one that went south will be back within hours. They’ll have information about Nathair and where kingsmen have been stationed and what the word is around. Owen is going to lead this. Not me.”
“We’ll all need to give our suggestions on how to proceed,” Thane said. “That’s the only way we’ll find a way out of this alive. God knows just because I’m the Heir doesn’t mean I know what to do.”
“You’ve helped the Campbells plan for years. You do know military strategy,” Aini argued. “Plus you’re a Dreamer. I don’t think it’s farfetched to think you’ll Dream up something we need to know along the way.”
“I don’t know. Last night I did Dream about an ice storm. It gave me a headache like the recurring stone Dream I had until we went to Bass Rock. But how does a Dream about a storm help? I don’t even know where the rough weather will take place.”
“It could be important though. We should tell Owen.”
He shrugged. “As for the work I’ve done over the years…a full-scale rebellion isn’t anything like rounding up pockets of criminals or spying on traitors.” His gaze lingered on the pale scar marring the back of his hand. “We need allies.”
Myles tossed the pizza cutter and scissors they’d used to cut the candy onto the countertop. Uncapping a marker, he began drawing swirling lines on his trousers. “Vera said she had ideas to talk about.”
“That woman is crazy,” Aini said.
Thane chuckled. “You’re not wrong.” He added a single teaspoon of the lavender-grape flavoring and two full tablespoons of the boosted anti-gravity concoction he and Father had come up with. “I don’t think this will kill anyone,” he said, eyeing the candy, “but whoever eats these will not feel normal for a good hour or more after the effects wear off. Not to mention how bizarre they’ll feel during the experience.” A loose curl of dark blond hair fell over one eye as he muttered something about hormones and adrenaline, then rattled off a formula interspersed with strings of Scots Gaelic.
Rain began to fall against the roof and its metallic scent permeated the room. The smell reminded Aini of blood, of the night on Bass Rock Island where she’d thought she was going to lose everyone. An unseen pull tugged her fingers away from the pot’s covered handle and onto Thane’s forearm. She brushed her thumb over his skin and soaked in his warmth, the solidity of his presence. He was the true Heir to the Scottish throne, the one meant to free their homeland from the hands of the tyrant English king, but he was also the one who made her heart whole. He belonged
to everyone. But he was also just hers.
His big hand covered her fingers and he smiled, though his eyes darkened. “Do you think they’ll follow me?”
He was talking about the clan chieftains. At some point very soon, Aini, Myles, Neve, Vera, and several other Dionadair rebels would have to travel to Thane’s massive estate in Inveraray to meet with the men and women who influenced the bulk of Scotland’s people and, most importantly, its weapons. It’d be a huge meeting of all the clans loyal to the Campbells and the vast majority of Campbells themselves. Thane and Aini would have to convince them that Thane should lead the clans instead of Nathair. Then there was the little bit about a full-on rebellion against the king.
Aini poured the hot, colored sugar mix onto the baking sheet. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy to persuade the clans, but surely when they’ve heard what really happened to Rodric…” She fought a shiver remembering how the ghost kings engulfed him and the others. “And how the stone roared for you, they’ll come around.”
To say the least. No one would want that curse on their head. Vague folklore said the Coronation Stone's curse promised the power of the old to protect their own. On Bass Rock, the power had shown up in the form of the dead rulers of Scotland supernaturally killing Thane's horrible cousin Rodric and the other Campbells there. Aini wasn't sure how the curse would work if another enemy threatened Thane. Even Neve with her substantial knowledge of legend and history didn't know the true nature of the stone's curse.
“After all, you’re a Campbell too," Aini said. “And a more powerful one. Or, you will be. I mean. Come on. Nathair doesn’t have the spirits of old kings on his side.”
“He has a huge army. And the very-much-alive king’s army too. And these clansmen, they’ve been trained to follow Nathair. To fall in line. To support his agenda and my grandfather’s for generations. When someone has been brainwashed, it’s nearly impossible to persuade them of anything that contradicts what they’ve been taught. Look at what I’ve done in my life. But I’m no fool. And I do have a soul. A heart. Despite that, I did as I was told almost every time Nathair asked me to do unspeakable things. Years spent by the fire and at clan gatherings, reciting Campbell oaths and lies…breaking through that conditioning…it’s an impossible task we have, my Seer.”
The Edinburgh Seer Complete Trilogy Page 26