The Edinburgh Seer Complete Trilogy

by Alisha Klapheke

  “The streets are empty, Mother. Have you been out today? No one is around.”

  Aini hated the stress in his voice. She wished she could take him away from all this or annihilate those who caused him pain. But that person was his own father. Her stomach rolled. To have that kind of man as a father. She thanked God his mother seemed like a good person.

  Thane went on. “Has there been some sort of announcement or a curfew or something?”

  “Not that I know of,” Senga said.

  “I have a great deal to tell you.” Thane touched the spot where the piece of the stone rested under his sweater. “First, you should know that Uncle Callum’s entire retinue is here, just outside the main gates.”

  Senga lowered her gaze on Thane. “Start at the beginning of your story.”

  And so he did, with some moments filled in by Aini and the rest.

  The longest half hour in the history of the world passed finally. How could Senga possibly believe all of this madness?

  Senga looked at Vera. “You are Dionadair?”

  A grin tugged at Aini’s mouth. Senga trusted them.

  “Aye,” Vera said. “And I hope you’ll join us and become a rebel too.”

  Senga rubbed a spot between her eyebrows and went to the window. Then, as if what they’d told her had finally sunk in, she hurried over to Thane and grabbed him, pulling him into her arms. She said something to him and he patted her back.

  “It’ll be all right,” he said quietly.

  He gave her a smile, and Aini could see the little boy he used to be, all blue eyes and bright hope. Hope Nathair had all but ruined. Anger at the Earl of Argyll burned inside her, and it was all she could do not to rage around the room, destroying everything the man had touched.

  “Are you all right, Aini?” Neve touched her knee.

  “Yes. Sorry. Yes.”

  “Of course I’ll do whatever I can to aid you.” Unshed tears glistened in Senga’s wise eyes. “It’s long past time I stood up for myself and for you.” She pressed two fingers against her forehead. “I’ve been a terrible mother.” With a deep breath, she regained her composure and waved off Thane’s and Bran’s attempts to comfort her. “I’m fine. It does no good to wallow in self-pity. We have work to do. First, we must bring Callum in, have a meeting, then we’ll set you up in your Campbell tartan and have you fully look the part of the true chief of Clan Campbell. I must say I am very glad to have Callum here and on our side of things. My sister would’ve been proud. She always hated Nathair. I should’ve listened to her when she warned me of his angry streak on our wedding day.”

  Aini couldn’t stop herself from getting up and throwing her arms around Senga. “I hope this is okay.”

  Senga’s shining eyes were the same color as Thane’s. “Where did he find you?”

  “In a lab.”

  Senga laughed. “Of course he did. Thane, do you know how lucky you are?”

  Thane did a double-take. “How did you even know we’re together?”

  Vera and Neve said in unison, “Please.” Then they glared at one another.

  “It’s obvious, my dear,” Senga said to Thane, who’d adorably gone a little red around the ears.

  Aini lay in a curtained bed in the castle of the most powerful family in Scotland. She was dating the son of said family. He was about to overthrow the entire clan.

  How in the world had she come into this situation?

  Sweat pricked at her forehead as she got up to dress. The world was spinning too fast. She hadn’t slept a wink last night. It wasn’t the different smells of Inveraray—those were nice. Roses, wood polish, evergreens. The lack of noise didn’t hurt her state of mind either although it was odd to not hear Neve lightly snoring or the lorries squeaking by like they did at all hours back in Edinburgh. No, she hadn’t slept because two hundred and sixty, give or take, clan representatives and every adult member of Clan Campbell were currently driving sports cars, utility vehicles, and probably, horses directly to this very spot. Insane. Aini put a hand on the cold sink in the room’s private bath. These men and women, of the Highlands mostly, would either raise Aini and Thane up to lead, or rip them down and feed them to Nathair.

  Aini brushed her teeth and flossed twice because it made life feel better somehow.

  At least the meeting with Callum had gone smoothly. That was a good start, a good omen perhaps. He’d even apologized to Aini, Thane, and Vera for his comments against sixth-sensers.

  When Senga brought up her deceased sister, Callum had given out another apology—this one to Senga for not looking into her well-being here at Inveraray more recently. He knew exactly how Nathair was and he claimed he should’ve done more to help her escape. He admitted to fear for himself and his county. After promising every weapon, resource, and able-bodied and willing man and woman of Perthshire to this new cause, he’d bent the knee to Thane and sworn fealty. Thane had jerked the man back up though, telling him it wasn’t official, so Callum shouldn’t swear yet. Thane had to first receive approval from the leading members of Clan Campbell, then they could move on to gaining fealty from other clans such as Callum’s. So far, this venture was looking up.

  But Aini’s nerves couldn’t feel the optimism that her practical mind wanted them to. They just kept vibrating and itching and pulling her thoughts apart so she had trouble remembering whether she’d told everyone she needed to tell something to.

  Wearing the blue and brown short dress Senga magically drummed up for her, she found everyone else downstairs where breakfast had obviously started long ago. Usually, Aini was the one making breakfast, or at least the one of the first in the group to get out of bed. Not today. Today, she’d hidden behind those bed curtains and ignored the sunrise, her mind dizzy.

  Neve handed her a blueberry scone wrapped in a linen napkin. “I actually thought you’d died.”

  “I bet the sun tried to go back down this morning because it thought something was wrong with Aini not buzzing around.” Myles poured her a cup of coffee.

  Thane took the coffee and handed it to Aini.

  Sun poured through the windows and turned Thane’s hair to gold.

  “Your hair isn’t black,” she stammered. It wasn’t what they needed to discuss on this most important day, but the words just poured right out of her mouth.

  Thane grinned with one side of his mouth and her stomach flipped pleasantly. “No, hen. I had it dyed back last night. I need to look like who I am now. Well, except for the glasses. Those are far away and will have to wait. Thankfully, my prescription isn’t so bad.”

  Aini wiggled her feet which were now, thank the stars above, wearing clean black flats. “I didn’t get rid of the purple,” she pointed to her hair, “but at least my feet feel like my feet again. Those old boots…” She shuddered. It was one thing to deal with dirt you’d earned on your own adventures, but someone else’s dirt? Too much.

  “I’m sticking with the blond for now,” Neve said, tossing her hair over her shoulder awkwardly and making Myles snicker. “It’s completely me.”

  “I can grab our stylist to fix that if you’d like,” Thane said.

  “Our stylist.” Myles slapped a knee. “You are too much.”

  “Oh as if you lived in squalor back in the colonies on your multi-millions worth plantation,” Thane said.

  “We did not have a stylist.”

  “The Campbells have one because Nathair has to make public appearances. It’s part of his job.”

  Myles’s eyes went wide. “Did you just defend Nathair Campbell?”

  “I defended the Campbells.”

  “I guess that’s something we’re going to start doing,” Aini said.

  Bran took a loud sip of coffee, then refilled the cup before the attendant could get to it. “Thane will lead the clan, and we’ll be sided up with them.”

  Vera’s hand went to her stomach. “I’m going to boak.”

  “I’m used to backing them as needed,” Bran said.

  “W
hy did you always stick with me, Bran?” Thane sat back while the household staff cleared his plate and Bran’s beside him.

  “Because you stuck with me. I love you, lad.”

  Thane winked. “And I you, friend.”

  “No really. You’re my only friend and you saved me from my own natural inclination toward self-pity.”

  “This is just beautiful.” Myles leaned back in his chair and propped a knee against the table’s edge.

  “I didn’t know you were having problems when I met you, Bran.” Thane touched the rim of his coffee cup and stared into the black drink. “You seemed to have it all together. You made a killing tending bar up here. You had a smile for everyone.”

  “And I wanted to off myself every single night. Until I met you and you needed me.”

  “I needed you?”

  “You did. You still do. You always will. I see your dark spots, have lived with you through the dark places, and will launch into more darkness until one of us stops breathing. You were a boy with a golden heart. Now, you’re a man I can follow instead of lead. It’s a relief, really. I’ve done well.”

  “You sound like his daddy.” Myles raised his eyebrows. “Doesn’t he?” He nudged Aini.

  “Yes. I do think Bran served Thane in ways Nathair never could.”

  “And at times when I couldn’t,” Senga said as she walked in, a small, white dog at her heels. “I couldn’t trail you like Bran. I also had my own demons to wrestle.”

  “You are the best mother a man could have.” Thane stood and pulled a chair out for her.

  Aini melted. “When you’re finished here, Thane, would you meet me in the gardens out back? If you think we have time before the representatives get here that is.”

  “You have time.” Senga said something to an attendant who set a plate in front of her. “Go on, Aini. Just allow me a moment with my son first.”

  “Of course.” Aini gave Neve a brief hug and found the door to the outside.

  Chapter 17

  Among the Twisted Vines

  Under rolling clouds, Thane strode around the side of the castle and searched for Aini. Myles had tipped him off that she’d gone in search of a quiet place to take a breath but hadn’t taken a car into town or anything. She just wanted some time away from the arguments and discussions about what might happen when the clan representatives arrived. Thane couldn’t blame her. It’d been a wild few hours, and she had to be thinking of her father back at the safe house and wondering if he was truly safe.

  He wasn’t. None of them were.

  He found Aini leaning against the pointed arches of the southwest bridge, her form tiny under the frame of solid stone. A lock of her hair had escaped and blew the way she was looking, toward the snow-touched vines of the sleepy garden and the low hills beyond.

  She has so much more than shallow beauty. A sharp mind within and a brave heart beating in her chest.

  With a silent prayer that she would still want him after all of this, despite what he’d done during his time with Nathair, Thane approached her. At least she didn’t know every crime. If she learned what he’d done to persuade Rodric to include him in the operation on Bass Rock, she’d never speak to him again. Even if it was truly the one way he could’ve been there, in that position, to help Aini and the Dionadair survive that night.

  As always, Thane wrestled the horrible memory down, then buried the blood and guilt in the farthest reaches of his mind, and tried to remember who he wanted to be, not who he’d had to be all these years. He started toward Aini again, his heart drumming an uneven tattoo on his ribcage.

  She didn’t look up as he walked up and touched her on the back. Her skin was warm under her dark blue short dress. The brown stripes in the fabric matched her eyes.

  Maybe she’d come to her senses and decided not to be with him. He wouldn’t blame her a bit. “Do you wish I’d leave you alone?”

  A smile pulled at those full, plum lips of hers. “No,” she said, staring at frozen spots in the evergreens spilling over the earthen walls. Her flats crunched the gravel as she adjusted her weight away from the arch. “Is this going to work? Will Callum’s support be enough?”

  Thane swallowed. “There’s no way to know. I think maybe that’s not what you really want to say.”

  She spun to face him. “Should we get your mother away from here? Just in case this all goes badly? If she has to lose you, right in front of her…”

  “So you think I’ll be shot down the moment everyone arrives, aye?”

  “That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want her to suffer. She has been through so much.”

  “And we should tuck her away safely, hm?”

  “She would hate that. She wouldn’t go.”

  “No, she wouldn’t. You’re a bit like her, you know.”

  Aini smiled. “I should be so lucky.”

  “Thank you for coming here. For risking everything.”

  “I’m still amazed you put me up as leader of the rebellion.” Her eyes were so dark they were nearly black. Like the peat water in the lochs. “There aren’t too many people who would give up the chance to rule it all.”

  He frowned at her. Her eyes were open and true. What did she mean? He’d done it because they were a team and he wanted to do everything with her at his side if she willed it.

  “You could’ve claimed all that power for yourself,” she said. “You know you’re the Heir, but you don’t care about that part of it, do you?”

  Not after the life he’d had and what he’d seen of power in one man’s hands. He shook his head. “I only want us all to be free of my father.”

  “What made you decide this is what you wanted to do, to claim your right and fight Nathair?”

  The fire in her eyes, the strength he’d seen that had made him want to destroy his father and all the man had created, was still there in the brown-black depths. It was quiet now, smoldering, but still there.

  “You.”

  He brought her fingers to his lips. Her lids, slightly purple at their edges, pressed together and a single tear escaped each one. If only he could take her away from all this and escape to the quiet of the Highlands. They could find peace in a wee house with nothing to do but mind the sheep and make love. Not necessarily in that order.

  “It’ll be over soon. For good or bad. It’ll be over.” He kissed her fingers. They were soft and light and smelled like the herbs and grasses she touched in passing.

  Through her thick lashes, she looked up at him. It was like his body had a burning thirst and only her touch could quench it. He clapped a hand around her waist and crushed her sweet mouth with his. She made a little noise, and his chest heaved with wanting her as he eased into the kiss. Her arms circled his neck, and he ran his lips along her warm throat. As they fell against the arch, his entire body—from the tip of his head to the toes in his boots—sparked and burned.

  “They’ll be here soon,” he said. “I should stop.”

  She grabbed his coat and whirled them both around to bump against the arch. “Oh no you shouldn’t.” She kissed him firmly. A punch of desire hit him. “If we have to deal with the pain of this world,” she said against his lips, “we get to enjoy the perks of it too. I’m pretty sure you said that first.”

  He grinned. “How can I argue with you, my Merlin?”

  “You can’t. Now shut up and kiss me,” she said, and he did.

  When he knew they had to stop or risk moving into something she might not be ready for, he found a bench for them. While Vera, Bran, Callum, and the rest worked on forming the best arguments to win over Clan Campbell and those clans loyal to Campbell, Thane and Aini told jokes Myles had taught them and made up stories about each of the sheep on the hill.

  Chapter 18

  With a Shout and a Turn

  A riot of rumbling engines, loud voices, and an explosion of ravens soaring into the snow-gray sky tore Thane’s attention from Aini’s troubled face.

  A gun fired.

&n
bsp; They traded a confused look, then ran toward the shouting.

  In the drive in front of Thane’s insanely large childhood home, two armies had assembled.

  Callum bellowed over his group of currently unarmed men and women from Perthshire toward a group of newcomers. “Calm yourselves. I called a gathering to talk and that talk includes why there is a disguised Dionadair truck alongside my vehicles. I wouldn’t call you if there wasn’t a very good reason. We need to listen to Thane and his group here. They have information vital to Scotland’s well-being. To its future.”

  “How did they know the truck belonged to Owen and the rest?” Aini craned her neck to look at the truck they’d come in.

  The rebels had painted it just before the group had left the safe house. It bore no telltale gunshot wounds or the bright blue color the rebels sometimes painted on bridges and roads.

  Thane shrugged, eyes narrowing behind his glasses. “I’m sure they’d have changed the plates.” He should’ve made certain.

  Menzies—the very cousin he’d warned everyone about—raised his crooked nose and waved a gun at Thane. “Here is the man of the day. I know full well you’re the one who put Callum up to this gathering. You think you can show up here with people we’ve never seen before,” he gestured toward Vera and Aini, “and suddenly we’re at your feet? Earl Nathair may’ve gone off the map, but we’re not desperate enough to need you and your wild ideas, whelp.”

  “We’re not desperate at all,” a man in Campbell tartan said.

  “Earl Nathair hasn’t disappeared,” a red-cheeked woman said. “He is just on the job, man. Watch yourself. Don’t go calling our chief’s son a whelp, Menzies.”

  “Aye,” another agreed. “Go easy. That’s the earl’s son, remember.”

  More voices joined in to defend Thane, but it wasn’t exactly what he needed them to feel. “Thane is the heir to Clan Campbell and fights as well as his grandsire once did.”

  “Menzies,” Callum said darkly. “You know me. Do you think I’d call a gathering just for the giggles?”