by Editor
“Wait! Stop! I say I’ve been claimed,” she hesitated only briefly before plunging ahead. “He’s claimed me with more than words alone.” King Will pushed her from his grasp as if she were dirty. Serena caught herself and turned to face him. “He’s seen me naked, he’s,” she stopped to take a quick breath, “he’s touched me, with his hands, with his mouth.” Serena saw Mari shake her head and close her eyes as if Serena’s shame was too much for her to bear. Serena looked away from Mari to Damin. “I may yet be a virgin, but I am not pure, not pure to wed with you, Damin. Again I am sorry.”
Names like “whore” and “libnì” mixed with pity and fear for her. Serena turned slowly to face the semi-circle. “I am no whore,” she said looking directly at those with the name in their minds and watched their eyes grow wide. “I love Keenan Maclean. I will wed no one, unless it is he.”
“Taynè!” King Will yelled and pulled her around to face him, his hand raised high to strike her face. Ewan’s large hand engulfed King Will’s fist, forcing it to his side while Brodick shielded Serena behind his massive body.
Serena heard the deadly cocking of flint pistols. She watched Ephram center one on Ewan and another of William’s old friends aimed his weapon at Brodick. Brodick turned slightly to better shield her, obstructing her view of the gun.
Please no! Please no! Serena desperately peeked out from under Brodick’s raised sword arm. She reached under her skirts and pulled free her own dagger, not that it would do much against pistols.
Chaos erupted. Ewan cursed loudly in Gaelic. Mari wailed in maternal terror. The clergyman dove into the tent while beseeching God. The women screamed and grabbed their children, running toward the safety of the wagons.
Serena turned her back up against Brodick, her own dagger raised. Her eyes moved across the scattering people of her tribe and came to rest on the woods.
The leaves quivered along the north path. Chiriklò darted out of the trees, beak closed like an arrow bent on a target. Following out of the dense trees and bushes thundered Keenan’s lathered horse. Keenan’s face boiled with war rage. He steered the horse with his legs alone while loosing two drawn daggers into the air. They hit their marks splintering the shafts of both pistols, scattering their fragments around the two men. A shower of gunpowder covered them like fine ash as they covered their heads in defense.
Without fully stopping his horse, Keenan swung down into a run before the last piece of metal thumped to the ground. His long sword sang for blood as he pulled it out before him ready to strike. Before Serena could move, he sandwiched her between him and Brodick, shielding her from any possible threat.
Two more horses thunder into the clearing. Before she could take two breaths Thomas and Gavin flanked her sides, blocking her view completely. Her face was smashed up against Keenan’s back, his shoulders so broad above her, his hair loose and falling down his back. She buried her face in the fresh pine smell that clung to him and tried to calm her heart.
“Keenan they may try to shoot you,” panic pitched her voice higher. He didn’t respond. “Keenan, I told them I wouldn’t marry Damin because you claimed me,” she paused, “intimately.” She knew the other men could hear her since they stood so close. But she had to warn him. “If they shoot, you will be the target.”
“My death doesn’t frighten me,” he said softly.
“Well it scares the bloody hell out of me,” she retorted and thumped his back.
“Ewan,” Keenan yelled. Ewan jogged over and replaced Keenan in front of Serena. She was still surrounded by human shields. She wiggled in the tight space until she turned toward where Damin and King Will had stood before. She peered out under Brodick’s armpit.
Mari was pleading with her father, but King Will didn’t seem to be listening to her. He only stared at Keenan. Turning her eyes slightly, Serena caught sight of Damin who gripped his bleeding arm where Chiriklò had pecked him with his beak. Her pet now sat poised in a branch over the man. Damin’s eyes watched him warily.
The clearing was once again silent. Keenan’s voice nearly shook the trees with its anger, yet the volume remained controlled. “I leave to clear a Faw’s name of murder, only to return to find members of the Faw Romany tribe ready to murder my men.”
“You have dishonored my daughter, Highlander.” King Will stood proud, defiant. “I have matched her with a respected man, but she is unclean and cannot wed him.”
The clergyman peeked out of the tent cautiously.
“Brodick, tell me what’s gone on here,” Keenan said. “Talk fast.”
“Serena’s father demands she marry Damin Yallow, now, this day. She refused.” He stopped and took a breath that he let out in a huff. “She says you claimed her, with your words. When her father said your words didn’t matter, Serena told everyone that ye’ve seen her naked, that,” he hesitated. Serena felt him shift his weight from foot to foot. “That ye’ve touched her. Her father was about to strike her when Ewan and I stepped in.”
Could she blush any more? At least she was hidden, if only the ground would fall away beneath her feet and suck her down. At least Brodick had omitted her declaration of love.
Damin’s voice rang out. “I will wed her anyway.”
Despite her shock, Serena threaded her power out towards the man. And there it was. He was desperate to hang on to her, desperate now that he had spent the night developing uses for her magic. But under that desperation was anger. He would punish her. Serena grasped the dagger tighter, determined to use it if necessary.
King Will looked over at the fortress of Macleans. “I would have my daughter before me.”
Keenan nodded slightly and Brodick stepped aside. Serena straightened to her full height and forced her face into calm seriousness. She continued to hold the dagger along her side.
King Will took a deep breath. As he released it, Serena felt some of the anger flow out of him and his eyes softened. He spoke in quiet Romany. “Àngelas, I took you into our tribe when you were a young girl. I’ve raised you to be Romany and have found an honorable man who will care for you despite your strangeness. You would throw that back in my face?”
Serena’s eyes turned glassy, but she refused to let the tears escape. How could she make him understand, when she had trouble understanding her feelings herself? She spoke in Romany. “Father, you honor me greatly with this proposal. And I am very thankful to you for the years of protection you gave me, the wisdom you taught me, the care you have shown me.” She shook her head sadly. “But I cannot wed someone I do not love. And I cannot love someone when I love another.”
King Will lowered his voice even more. “What if he cannot love you?”
And there was the question that kept Serena’s stomach knotted. What if Keenan Maclean couldn’t love her, wouldn’t allow himself to love her? Was she dooming herself to a loveless life? Courage, she thought. Warriors took risks, didn’t they?
Serena spoke in Romany. “Father, even if he cannot love me, I still love Keenan Maclean. I will wed no other.” Serena kept her focus on her father. Keenan stood unmoving next to her. Did he think her rude for not speaking English? She blushed. Could he have picked up enough Romany to understand her words?
Damin stepped forward, still not ready to give up. “What does he have to offer for her? I offer two milk cows and a bull as a bride price.”
Serena lowered her eyes. What if Keenan offered nothing?
“I give the Faw tribe my sword,” he said and with one powerful toss, flipped the long sword high in the air to land, point down in the dirt beside King Will. Her father didn’t even flinch. His eyes moved over the intricate designs etched into the steel and the small jewels embedded at the ends of the well worn hilt.
“Keenan, that is yer grandda’s sword,” Thomas warned behind them.
“It is my sword now and freely given. King Will, I believe that the jewels alone will buy your tribe several milk cows.”
Damin’s hands fisted at his sides. “I give the Faw tribe the
bridal wagon I brought for Serena.”
King Will turned from Damin back to Keenan to see if he would raise the stakes.
“My sword also carries the allegiance of Clan Maclean. Your tribe would always be welcome on our lands and you would have our protection.”
“The Yallow tribe is just as powerful. An alliance with us far surpasses protection from a tribe leagues away,” Damin threw out.
King Will looked back to Keenan. Keenan’s voice stayed deadly calm, his eyes cold, calculating. “I could continue to match you object for object, but I’d rather jump to the end. King Will, in return for Serena, I gift you back yer son, William.”
King Will looked confused. “William is no prisoner.”
Keenan’s words held all the threat of a man determined to win. “With one word from me, yer son is dead. And if I must hold him as ransom for Serena, I will.”
It was a bluff, Serena thought. A good one, but Keenan couldn’t order William’s death. Actually he could, but he wouldn’t. She knew that without reading his mind.
Mari gasped, her hand touched King Will’s arm. King Will studied Keenan for several long moments. Damin opened his mouth to speak, but King Will held up his hand to stop him.
“Keenan Maclean, I accept your terms. I will take your sword and the promise of William’s safe return for my daughter.”
Keenan nodded, and King Will looked over his shoulder. “Father Banning.”
“Ah, yes, yes, I am here.” The nervous priest stepped forward and wiped his hands along the sides of his long vestments.
“There will be a wedding today.” King Will said evenly. “For although I accept Keenan Maclean’s terms, I will not let my daughter leave with him without his vow before God.”
“Father!”
King Will continued to stare at Keenan. Serena felt her father’s stubbornness like a massive boulder. Blood would spill before he budged on this point. Her father’s pride had already taken such a hit. She could feel him mentally digging in his heels.
But she had to try. “Father, you can’t expect him to marry me today.”
“I expect a lot from the man who takes my daughter,” he replied evenly without moving his eyes from Keenan. Serena didn’t even think that her father blinked. It was a staring contest, like two wolves. “Would you demand any less if she was your daughter, Maclean?”
Keenan’s expression didn’t change. Serena tried to thread her way into his mind, but it was as if she threaded it through a dark room. She released the thread and just opened her heart up and cleared her mind. Faint shades of emotion pricked her consciousness. Stubbornness, subdued anger for being trapped, then something calmer, perhaps acquiescence. Serena blinked. Was she really picking up on his feelings or had she grown very adept at reading expressions and body language?
Keenan turned to her. His face still looked like a beautifully carved rendition of an ancient warrior as his hair fell haphazardly around his broad shoulders. But something was different, the ice in his eyes melted as he looked into her own. Was there admiration in the gaze, perhaps encouragement? She wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it was not rejection nor pity.
Keenan turned back to King Will. “I would kill any man who tried to steal my daughter without vows between them. I accept yer terms.”
Mari gave a little shriek and wiped at her eyes.
“I but ask for an hour to bathe and talk with my men.”
King Will nodded majestically. “Agreed.”
Damin Yallow threw up his hands in disgust, turned and stalked off toward the bridal wagon, his father following.
Mari engulfed Serena in her warm arms. Her duy’s lips brushed against her ear. “Oh Àngelas, you wed today.” Her duy pulled back to gather the hair from Serena’s face and smiled brightly. “My daughter, a wife, married to the man she loves.” Mari pulled her back into a hug. Serena leaned into her mother and watched numbly as Keenan walked off toward the stream where her tribe washed. The other Macleans looked between one another, shock marked their faces. Only Brodick turned to her and winked. Then they all followed after their leader.
Mari ushered Serena through a quick bath in a tub of cool water. Serena was too numb to respond much to her duy’s chattering. After Serena was dried and dressed once more in the bridal gown, Mari stopped talking. She looked into Serena’s blank face and mentally asked, “what is it, child?”
Serena let out a breath she hadn’t realized she held. “What if Keenan can’t love me?”
Mari looked at her. “But you love him.”
“But what if my love is not enough? What if I spend the rest of my life loving someone who doesn’t love me in return?”
Mari squeezed her fingers and smiled grimly as Serena shook her head slowly. “Love, Àngelas, is a leap of faith.” Serena looked blankly at her. “You have to trust in it for real love to grow. If you think about it, if you loved anyone else, someone you could read, well then it would be cheating, wouldn’t it? You’d know for sure if they loved you and there would be no risk, no trust, you would just know.”
Serena nodded slowly, trying to take in Mari’s wise words. She looked down at her hands. “What if he chooses the prophecy over me?” Serena jumped when someone rapped on the wagon door. Mari swung the little door outward. Thomas and Brodick waited to escort Serena to the priest. Thomas wore his normal frown while Brodick smiled encouragingly at her.
“Ye look beautiful, Serena,” Brodick said as she stepped down and Mari fussed at the ribbons she’d woven in her hair.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Thomas said nothing. Did she really want to know what he thought? Yes. Leap of faith or not, she needed to know what she was walking into. Serena walked between the two men, listening to their thoughts as they reviewed Keenan’s words when he spoke to them at the stream. Keenan didn’t want bloodshed, that this was the best strategy. Then Keenan’s words came to Serena. “I can marry her here and still die while she fulfills the prophecy by marrying Lachlan after my death. The prophecy never states that the witch must be pure, never married before.”
Hurt coursed through her causing her to stifle a sob. Instant tears stabbed behind her eyes. Brodick turned his head to look at her.
“What’s wrong, lass?”
Serena shook her head unable to speak. What was there to say? She was about to marry a man who planned to die.
As she approached the small tent erected for the ceremony, her legs grew numb. Keenan stood there proud and brooding, watching her as she stepped up alongside him. She turned toward Father Banning and concentrated on his droning voice. Behind her the busy minds of her tribe whirled about as they watched in stunned silence. Serena could hear Damin Yallow’s horse dragging away the bridal wagon. Keenan’s deep timbre pulled her attention back as he recited his wedding vows. Then she repeated her vows. “Through happiness and sorrow, until death do we part.” The words caught in her throat. Until death do we part. And just when would that be?
Chapter 13
Keenan watched Serena impatiently as she hugged her mother. His new bride seemed melancholy to be leaving despite her fight earlier to claim him. Brodick came over and thumped him on the back.
“Meala-naidheachd ort, Keenan! No bonnier lass lives that I have seen.”
Brodick always had a way of lightening the tensest atmosphere with his good humor. Keenan grinned slightly. “I have to agree with ye there, but I will take offense if ye continue to notice her so intensely.” Brodick laughed.
“Aye, good tidings are in order, Keenan,” Gavin said as he walked up. Keenan nodded to him. “Any thoughts of how ye’ll explain this to Lachlan?”
Brodick punched Gavin’s arm.
“I was just asking,” he said rubbing the bruised limb.
Keenan looked at Thomas and Ewan who walked up in time to hear the question. “Nay, na’ yet.”
He turned toward Serena where she stood near Mari. She didn’t smile.
“What did ye say to Serena?” Keenan looked to Thomas. “
When ye walked her to the ceremony.”
Thomas frowned even more. “Nothing.
“I told her she looked bonny,” Brodick said.
Keenan nodded but continued to watch Thomas. “Did she touch ye?”
Thomas shook his head.
“Aye she did, Thomas. Remember, she stumbled a bit on one of those roots and caught herself on yer arm. Ye let her hold yer arm the whole way over.”
Keenan scrubbed his hands over his face, closed his eyes briefly and glanced back at Serena. He lowered his arms and crossed them over his chest. “Rather then, Thomas, what were ye thinking when ye walked her over to the ceremony?”
“What?” Thomas stammered. “Ye doona think she kent my thoughts, do ye?”
“Of course she kent yer thoughts, ye idiot,” Brodick said glowering at Thomas. “She said she could hear strong thoughts sometimes without trying.” He nodded, his bushy eyebrows raised, to emphasize his words.
“I, I doona ken what I was thinking at the time, probably about traveling home.” Thomas turned red through his hasty explanation.
Keenan watched Serena where she sat just inside the wedding tent while her parents moved about collecting her few things in a roll of fabric. She was beautiful as usual, her hair woven with ribbons cascading like red gold over her shoulders and breasts. Her delicate features held the mask of serenity, but Keenan knew better. Somehow he knew. It was more than the subdued spirit lurking behind those telling violet eyes that warned him. It was as if he felt the weight of her sadness pressing in on him.
“I want ye all to think happy thoughts, right now,” he commanded.
“What?” Ewan and Gavin asked in humorous synchronicity.
“Now.”
“What do we think about?” Brodick asked.
“Think about how happy ye are that Serena is my bride.” Keenan watched Serena’s face and Brodick followed his gaze. “Think about how beautiful the moors around Kylkern are. Think about the wonderful Macleans ye will see again soon, whatever. Just think of happy thoughts.”