by Donna Grant
Quinn was busy with the deer. Fallon was busy with his wine. And Lucan was most likely watching the village. It was the perfect time for her to disappear.
She stared over the water, watching the waves roll in. The repetitive movement of the water had always soothed her. She took a deep breath and looked around. The cliffs were too high for her to climb, and the rocks that jutted out around the bay would be impossible to cross in her gown. Her only option was to return the way she had come and find some other route on the other side of the castle.
Cara lifted her skirts and started back up the path. She was halfway up and out of breath, her lungs burning, when she spotted another pathway that jutted to the left.
With a glance at the castle, she took it. The trail wasn’t near as steep, and it veered away from the castle, taking her along the coast. Cara lifted her skirts to her knees and lengthened her stride until she was running.
The farther away from the MacLeods she was, the better chance they had to live. When the ache in her side became unbearable, she stopped and leaned her hands on her knees. She glanced over her shoulder, amazed she had put so much distance between her and the castle.
Part of her wanted to return, wanted to make Lucan face the attraction between them. But she couldn’t. She would rather stay away and have him safe than risk his life.
She looked at the sun. It was almost midday. She needed to hurry if she wanted to get away before dark.
“Farewell, Lucan MacLeod.”
With one last, lingering look at the castle she took her skirts in hand and ran.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lucan clenched his hand into a fist and punched the stone wall in the bailey. The stones shattered and crumbled. His hand throbbed, but it only lasted a moment before he began to heal. He looked down at the rocks that fell to his feet and sighed.
His mother would have shaken her head for letting his temper get the better of him. For so many years he had kept his emotions in check. His control had been legendary in his clan. Yet one slender girl had shattered everything.
Lucan hadn’t asked for a woman, hadn’t wanted a woman.
Liar.
He placed his hands on the walls and let his head hang between his shoulders. So he might have wanted a woman, but he never asked to feel such hunger for one as he did for Cara. His body craved the release found in a woman’s willing body. He yearned to hold a woman in his arms and thrust into her wet heat.
With Cara he felt so much more than the physical longing. And with those more complex feelings came hope. Lucan knew all too well there was no hope for him, no salvation for his brothers. They were destined to live as they were—isolated and alone, watching the world from the castle.
And when you canna hide in the castle any longer? What then?
He didn’t have any answers; he never had. Returning to their home had been the one thing that kept the brothers together. In many ways, Lucan hadn’t wanted to live at the castle. There were too many memories, too much anger and resentment, in the stones to find any measure of peace. Yet it had calmed Quinn to a degree. In that instance, it had been worth it.
Somehow, someway, if they managed to escape Deirdre again, they were going to have to go out into the world and find a place. They couldn’t hide any longer. Too much had changed. They were Highlanders, yet they no longer fit in the Highlands.
Cara can teach you.
Lucan squeezed his eyes closed. Cara was never far from his thoughts. He found himself thinking of her constantly. It had been the mere thought of her as he and Quinn had returned from the village that made Lucan search her out. When he had found her and Fallon in one of the crumbling towers, the board breaking under her, Lucan had known a moment of sheer panic.
Time had slowed to a crawl as she screamed and fell. He had been at the doorway, a good twenty strides from her, but he had leapt and grabbed her arm.
He had wanted to shake her and pummel Fallon for letting her fall. Lucan couldn’t let Cara out of his sight without her getting into some kind of trouble. Fallon, however, proved once again that he would rather let someone die than release his god.
Despite Lucan’s anger, he couldn’t fault Fallon. He had his own problems to deal with, just as they all did. Maybe someday Fallon would be able to face his.
Lucan pushed away from the wall and walked to the blacksmith shop. The last time he had used it was about a decade ago when he had made Fallon a new sword. Since Lucan needed to do something to occupy his mind and his body, he started the fire in the forge and reached for some iron. Cara needed a dagger.
Cara berated herself for leaving the castle without any food or water. She knew the area enough to know there was a stream nearby, but that would mean she would have to follow it instead of striking out across the land.
She had no idea where she was going, only that she wanted to put as much distance between her and the MacLeods as she could.
No food, no water, and no weapons. What about shelter for the night?
She wrapped her arms around herself. In her haste to leave, she had acted rashly and not prepared for a journey. She hadn’t thought about the nighttime and being alone in the dark. Without Lucan by her side would the demons haunt her again? The first thing she thought of was a fire, but it would attract unwanted attention.
Cara had veered from the sea about an hour ago. The landscape undulated, rocks cropping up everywhere but giving her no place to hide. There was a forest about two leagues away where many of the village men went to hunt on occasion. That would be her first destination.
She wondered how long it would take before the brothers realized she was gone. Would Lucan come for her? Her heart sped up at the prospect, but in reality she knew the answer was nay. They didn’t leave the castle. Especially not for someone who had brought Deirdre upon them.
Cara couldn’t wait to meet this woman. Lucan had said she was beautiful, and Cara hated Deirdre for that. The jealousy that raged within Cara was pointless, chiefly because she knew how much Lucan hated Deirdre. But the envy stayed nonetheless.
“Idiot, idiot, idiot,” Cara mumbled to herself.
Lucan was drenched in sweat from the exertion of pounding on the steel and the heat from the forge. The shape of the dagger had come along nicely. He lifted the iron in the tongs and inspected it. He had curved the blade, giving it a vicious point at the end of the weapon. The weight was good and light enough for Cara to wield.
He set down the tongs and reached for his tunic he had taken off hours earlier. He wiped the sweat from his face with his tunic and extinguished the forge. When he walked out of the blacksmith shop it was to find it well past midday. Which explained his hunger.
Lucan walked around the bailey to the kitchen and the well-worn path that would take him to the sea. He was surprised to find the gate that led out of the castle wall open but didn’t think much of it, since Quinn often went down to the water.
As Lucan made his way down the path, memories arose of him chasing after his father as they ran from the castle before Lucan’s mother caught them. The sky had been bright blue that day with occasional white, fluffy clouds that floated past. He and his father had spent the afternoon fishing and lying in the sand. It had been a glorious day.
When Lucan’s feet hit the sand he stopped and stared at the rock his father had stood on when he cast the net into the sea. He had seemed a giant then, tall and imposing.
With a shake of his head Lucan pushed aside those memories and removed his boots and trousers before he ran and dove into the sea. The cool water was wonderful against his heated flesh that had stood next to the forge for too long. Yet his muscles felt good and his control was back in place. He would be able to face Cara now and keep a tight rein on his desire.
Once he was cooled, Lucan moved to one of the boulders. He lay back, his skin touching the warm rock. A thread of smoke drifted through the sky from the village where the MacClures had burned the bodies of their clan. Lucan threw an arm over his eyes again
st the bright sun. He couldn’t stay long, but he would take what little time he had to himself.
After half an hour, Lucan rose and pulled on his clothes. When he walked into the castle he found Quinn had butchered the deer and was roasting some meat in one of the ovens. Lucan’s mouth watered as his stomach growled.
He grabbed an oatcake and strode into the great hall where, predictably, Fallon lay on the bench, his wine bottle in his hand.
“Where have you been?” Fallon asked through half-open lids.
Lucan slid onto the other bench. “Working.”
“On what?”
“Cara needed a dagger that would fit her hand.”
Fallon raised himself on his elbows and peered at Lucan over the table. “Is that so?”
“Aye.”
After a moment Fallon sat up and rested his forearms on the table. “Are you still angry with me?”
Lucan knew he referred to Cara falling. “Nay. You had gone up there to get her. She needs to know most of the castle isn’t safe. One wrong step and she could die.”
“I tried to tell her.”
He patted Fallon’s arm. “She’ll learn.”
Quinn walked into the hall from the bailey and kicked the door shut behind him. “I suppose you’re talking about Cara.”
“You don’t have to say her name like it sours your stomach,” Lucan said.
Quinn twisted his lips in a wry smile. “I don’t. She helped me clean the deer. Said she needed something to do.”
“That’s good. Where is she now?”
“I don’t know,” Quinn said. “The last time I saw her she was going down to the sea to wash the blood off her hands.”
Lucan frowned. “I was just at the beach. She wasn’t there.”
“That was hours ago.”
“Then where is she?”
“Easy, Lucan,” Fallon said. “I’m sure she’s around somewhere. She has nowhere else to go.”
Lucan took a deep breath to calm the prickles of fear that raced through him. Then he caught a look at Quinn deep in thought. “What is it?”
Quinn’s gaze jerked to his. “I didna think anything of it at the time, just thought she was talking as most women do.”
“Quinn,” Fallon growled.
“She said she needed to get away. That everyone around her died, and she didn’t want us to follow the same fate,” Quinn said. “I told her that was foolish because we were immortal.”
Lucan gripped the table until his knuckles turned white. He heard the wood begin to splinter, but he didn’t care. “What did she say after that?”
“Nothing. She went down to the beach.”
Lucan jumped from the table and raced up the stairs to Cara’s chamber. When he didn’t find her in there, he started shouting her name.
A moment later Quinn and Fallon were calling for her as well. After fifteen minutes when they hadn’t found her, Lucan knew she was gone. He met his brothers back in the great hall.
“I’m going after her,” he declared.
Quinn shook his head. “That’s not wise. Deirdre could attack tonight.”
“She could. She could also send Warriors. I promised Cara I would protect her.”
“She obviously doesn’t want your protection if she’s left,” Fallon said. “Think about that.”
Lucan heard his brothers, but he wasn’t going to spend time arguing. “I’m going after her. Either you can help me, therefore getting me home faster, or you can hinder me. Your choice.”
Fallon and Quinn shared a look before Quinn said, “All right. What do you want us to do?”
“I need to find which way she has gone.”
Fallon walked to the castle door. “I don’t imagine she’ll have gone to the village, but I’ll head there to look.”
“I’ll take the cliffs where you saved her,” Quinn said.
Lucan’s chest tightened in frustration. “I’ll go to the beach and see if I can find anything.”
But no matter how hard Lucan searched, he found nothing of Cara. He was climbing the path back to the castle when Quinn and Fallon came into view.
“Nothing?” Lucan asked.
“Nothing,” they replied in unison.
Cara couldn’t have just disappeared.
“Did she try to swim, you think?” Quinn asked.
Lucan glanced at the water over his shoulder and shook his head. “Nay, I don’t think so.”
His foot slipped and he grabbed a larger rock that protruded from the ground to hold him. That’s when he saw the spot of grass that had been stepped on.
“What did you find?” Quinn asked.
Lucan shrugged and moved the tall grass out of the way. A smile pulled at his lips when he caught sight of more trampled grass.
“This path hasn’t been used in a while,” Fallon said. “We used to use it to go hunting bird eggs.”
“It’s also the way Cara went,” Lucan said. He looked at his brothers. “We’ll be back tonight.”
“If she wants to come back.”
Lucan glared at Fallon. “She’s not thinking straight. Once I talk to her, she’ll come back.”
Quinn crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s not a child, Lucan. She’s a grown woman.”
“Who needs us. We don’t know what Deirdre has planned for her.”
“So you want to keep her locked away just as Deirdre kept us?” Fallon asked. “Think, Lucan. You cannot make her return.”
Lucan hated that they were right. He wanted Cara with him, even if having her near was the cruelest torture imaginable. “All right. I just want to find her and make sure she’s safe. If she doesn’t want to return, I won’t make her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Quinn asked.
“Nay. Stay here in case we’re attacked.”
Lucan turned away and started down the path at a jog. The urge to run full out, the ground falling behind him, and find Cara was strong. So strong he didn’t want his brothers to see it.
But once the castle was out of sight, Lucan stretched his legs into a run. With his heart pounding in his chest and his mind racing with possibilities, he pushed himself harder.
Every once in a while he would stop and track Cara. He knew as soon as she headed away from the coast that she was going to the forest.
There was nothing that was going to stop him from finding her now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cara stopped to rest against one of the tall pines of the forest. She looked behind her, her gaze scanning the trees. For almost two hours now she had the suspicion something was watching her. And following her.
She tried to stamp down the fear that continued to grow but was helpless against it. Deirdre’s wyrran could be tracking her. Her heart thumped in her chest, beating double time when she saw something move in the trees.
The urge to run was strong, but Lucan had told her to stand her ground, to know what she was fighting. If there was a chance to win, she had to get the upper hand.
Upper hand with what, you fool? You have no weapon.
Cara still couldn’t believe she had left with nothing. She glanced at her feet and saw a stick that was long enough and thick enough for her to use as a weapon.
She drew her mother’s vial from beneath her gown and wrapped her fingers around it. Prayers tumbled from her lips, but nothing could ease the terror inside her. She tried to recall everything that Lucan had taught her, but one afternoon of training a warrior she did not make.
A twig snapped to her right, and she jerked her head around, the stick raised in her hand. Only there was nothing. She knew her imagination was running away with her, that she was envisioning monsters where there weren’t any.
She gasped when she turned back around to find a man standing before her. He had dark hair held back in a queue at his neck. The saffron shirt beneath his kilt of bold green and blue with black was threadbare but clean. His tartan wasn’t one she recognized, which meant he wasn’t from a neighboring clan.
“Are you lost?”
She started at his deep, rich voice.
“I can help you,” he continued. “The forest is easy to become lost in.”
She licked her lips. “You’ve been following me.”
“Aye,” he answered with a small nod. Blue eyes watched her with patience. “I saw you come into the forest as if you were running from something.”
“What clan are you from?”
His gaze dropped from hers for a moment. “Shaw.”
There were no Shaws anywhere near them. She didn’t know if he had been banished or left his clan on his own, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know which. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for your offer.”
“You don’t look as though you’ll be all right, lass. There are many wild creatures in the woods, and that stick in your hands willna keep them at bay.”
“I know all about wild creatures,” she mumbled. She would much rather face a boar than one of the Warriors.
He lifted his hands. “I have no weapons, and I mean you no harm. I only want to see you safely out of the forest.”
She glanced at the sky. It would be dark soon. And the night brought all kinds of things she wasn’t ready to face. Not without Lucan. “Is there somewhere I can stay the night?”
“There is a shelter,” he said slowly, his eyes narrowed as if he wasn’t sure he should have told her. “I can take you there.”
Cara dropped her head back against the tree. She didn’t know what to do. Sister Abigail had always told her she was too trusting. The stranger, Shaw, didn’t look as if he meant her any harm, but that didn’t mean anything.
“You don’t trust me.” It wasn’t a question.
Cara shook her head.
“You are right not to trust,” Shaw said. “There are too many . . . things . . . to be wary of.”
It was the way he said it that made her take another look at him. In his blue gaze she saw pain and weariness and . . . something else that looked almost familiar.