Logan’s expression had grown more and more troubled as she spoke. “I dinnae care what nationalities you are and I wouldnae care if you didnae have a drop of Scottish blood. I want you.” His lips pulled down further. “And it doesnae matter in the least that I’m Laird. With God’s blessing, I’m free of a betrothal I’ve stayed true to and He’s given me the free will to follow my heart.” He pressed her hand over his heart. “Now this belongs to you, lass.”
Warmth uncurled inside. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined such an amazing man saying that. Her fingers rippled against the dusting of hair on his hard chest and she closed her eyes. She should just come out and tell him her secret. Why was it so hard? But she knew. She did not want to lose him. Selfish. He didn’t deserve this. Not at all. Opening her eyes, she was about to spill everything when Logan shook his head sharply and yanked the plaid over them.
“I’ve given you plenty of time,” Niall said with a grin as he ducked in out of the night.
Eyes wide, she yanked her dress back into position beneath the plaid as Niall shook the water from his hair and plunked down across from them.
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Logan muttered.
“Where else would I be?” Niall leaned back against the wall, crossed his legs and tossed Logan a skin. “You didnae think I’d leave the Laird unprotected all night, did you?”
“I know full well there are at least twenty men watching guard over me from those woods.” Logan handed her the skin. “And I’d rather they be under cover and warm.”
Oh, fabulous. Cassie took a swig, mortified to think of all the sounds she had made when she and Logan made love. Even more mortified to think one of those men might have very well been watching.
“‘Tis not up to you when it comes to your protection, cousin.” Niall shrugged. “Besides, they’re taking shifts and have found shelter in several nearby caves.”
“And why is it again that you’ve decided this is the cave for you?” Logan asked.
“Because no one can protect you better than I,” Niall said with absolute conviction. “And that is best done from right here.”
Logan muttered under his breath and took a swig of whisky when she handed it back. It looked like she wouldn’t be sharing any truths with him tonight after all.
She eyed Niall’s wet hair and kilt. “Logan, why don’t you magically dry your cousin off?”
“Och, nay lass.” Niall grinned. “I like being wet. It feels good.”
Interesting. She cocked her head. “Is that because your element is water?”
Niall’s brows arched in surprise before he shook his head and chuckled. “Nay. It just feels good after the battling is all. What little of it there was that is.”
She had grown more comfortable with Niall but then he seemed far less intense when he wasn’t hitting on her. Something he had not done since they left the MacLomain castle.
Like his cousins, he seemed to possess a rather consistent sense of humor. She had to wonder how they managed it considering the circumstances, better yet the current state of their country. But she speculated that perhaps the humor was an innate means of protecting themselves from how bad things really were. A means to keep things from growing too depressing at times. Or maybe even a means to keep their fellowmen’s spirits up. In any case, she found it an interesting shared trait considering they were such fierce warriors.
“What of the leader you brought back to the MacLauchlin castle?” Logan said. “I assume Clyde’s keeping busy with him.”
“Aye.” Niall’s eyes landed briefly on Cassie before returning to Logan. “‘Twas wise of you to keep the lass away for the night. The MacLauchlin Laird is making a bloody show of it for his people. And I cannae help but approve of his methods.”
Ah, she had wondered why they hadn’t gone back to the castle. Her eyes went to Logan, warmed by how thoughtful he had been. Yes, she loved history and knew she was going to see bad things while here but she was fine not watching torture for now. Then again, if she had seen what they had in that village, she might likely think otherwise.
“And what of his people?” Logan went on. “Were any hurt?”
A flare of anger crossed Niall’s features. “None were killed, but the bastards had their share of the lasses available.”
Cassie murmured a prayer and put a hand over her mouth. Those poor women.
“Bloody bastards, the lot o’ them,” Logan growled and took another long swig before handing the skin back to her. “Might the MacLauchlin release his wrath in full this eve.”
“Aye.” Niall nodded and took a long swig as well. “Clyde said you’re to take some of his men wherever you might be heading next. It seems he suspects you’ve a journey ahead.”
“Nay, he has too few to spare.” Logan eyed the fire, troubled. “I’ve sent a message to our castle that extra men be dispatched to protect the MacLauchlins.”
Niall nodded, yawned and leaned his head back against the rock, amused as he eyed the carpet of flowers surrounding them. “I never knew you were such a romantic, cousin.”
Embarrassment flared once more and Cassie looked anywhere but at Niall.
“‘Twas a thing this,” Logan said, fingering one of the flowers. “I didnae think I used any magic.”
Oh, he used magic all right. Just maybe not the sort he was talking about.
Niall chuckled. “‘Tis good that. It says much about the exchange.”
Exchange? Odd thing to call it. Then again, though Niall was certainly the lusty sort, she didn’t get the impression that he was particularly romantic when it came to the actual art of lovemaking. He seemed more of a rash type which she could not really imagine when it came to sex. But then what did she know about sex and its variations. Pretty much nothing save what she had just experienced. She decided prom night didn’t count because it sucked. Best just to erase that memory.
“‘Twas far more than an exchange,” Logan murmured, his hand sliding into hers. “I mean to make Cassie Lady of MacLomain castle.”
Her eyes rounded. Say what?
Niall’s grin slowly dropped and he spoke before she could. “‘Tis a fine thing that ye got some lusting out with such a bonnie lass, but ye are not born of the Next Generation, cousin. Laird Grant said—”
“I know what Grant said,” Logan cut him off. “But I willnae give up my lass.”
“Um…” she started.
“Ye speak against the MacLomain arch-wizard then?” Niall interrupted with a frown. “That willnae go over well.”
“Um…” she said again, trying to jump in but wondering what the hell would be the most effective thing to say.
“Grant will see things differently once he learns I am no longer betrothed,” Logan said.
“I dinnae think it has much to do with yer betrothal but something that was meant to be by the Fates.”
“Guys…” She scowled when Logan continued.
“Then tell me this. Why are there four Broun lasses and only three of you lads born of the Next Generation?”
Niall shrugged before the corner of his mouth shot up. “Mayhap one of us is meant for two of them. I know Rònan and I would be just fi—”
“Enough,” Logan ground out.
But Niall kept going. “Well, I for one willnae go after yer lass but I cannae speak for the other two. Especially Darach. He seems quite taken with her.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed and Cassie finally managed to insert a whole sentence into the runaway conversation. “Hey, guys, I’m sitting right here ya know.” Then she pushed out a few more sentences while she was on a roll. “First of all I can’t be Lady of any castle without a proposal.” She gestured back and forth between her and Logan, sort of amazed at how brazen she was being. “And no offense but you and I are nowhere close to that stage in the game.” Then her eyes went from Logan to Niall. “Furthermore, I’ll be with a guy because I want to be with him not because Grant or anyone else says I’m supposed to be.”
Niall shrugged. “The best of luck with that, lass.” He yawned again and closed his eyes. “‘Tis time for me to rest.” His lips quirked. “Dinnae let me keep you from your business.” Then his lips hitched up just a bit further. “Mayhap this time try to keep it down a notch, though.”
Cassie almost groaned. Unreal.
Logan’s mood seemed to have soured as he muttered, “And here I thought ye were here to protect me.”
Niall gave no response and within a few seconds his breathing slowed.
“Did he really fall asleep that fast?” she said.
“Aye, always after battling.” Logan laid back. “Time to sleep, lass.”
His discontent bothered her. “Sorry to be so blunt before but surely you understand that…well, you can’t just declare I’m going to be your wife without asking first. Not to mention the fact that we just met. It’s way too soon. We don’t know each other nearly well enough.”
Did he seriously want to marry her? Or was he just caught up in long repressed lust? While she contemplated continuing their conversation from earlier and telling him more about herself, she just couldn’t do it with Niall here.
“Dinnae worry, lass.” She rested her cheek on his chest when he wrapped his arm beneath her head. His deep voice rumbled softly against her ear. “‘Twas just my desire for you speaking. When a lad’s gone so long without the love of a lass, the length of time he’s known her means verra little.”
Understandable. In her own way, she could completely empathize. Save in her case, it had always been a complete lack of interested men. She was about to respond when his breathing slowed. A quick peek at his face proved that Niall was not the only one with the ability to zonk out fast. Probably for the better.
She could use some time to think.
That was the last thought she had before she dozed off.
“Cassie? Are ye there?” came a whisper. “Can ye hear me? Please say ye can hear me.”
Startled, she shot up and looked around. Logan and Niall were gone. So was the cave. Instead, shadows rippled through a thick forest swathed in purple twilight. It almost seemed as if she hovered high in the trees as she looked down. A band of warriors traveled on horseback. She honed in on the child with a sack over his head riding in front of one of them.
“Robert, is that you?”
“Aye, ‘tis me,” he whispered so softly she had to strain to hear. He was clearly trying to keep his words from being heard. “Are ye still coming?”
“Of course. Are you doing all right?”
“Aye.” But he sounded scared. “They mentioned that they were being followed so we’re no longer in the cave.”
Cassie nodded. “Have they said anything else? Do they know who is following or have they said where they’re heading?”
“Nay, they didnae say who follows,” Robert whispered. “They say that their Laird is eager for their arrival and that 'tis taking too long.” His voice quivered with fear. “And they will suffer for it.” Then his voice sounded stronger. “He waits for us at the oak tree ford.”
The oak tree ford? Wasn’t that the meaning of Athdara’s name?
The man sitting behind Robert suddenly grunted and shook the child’s shoulder roughly. “What are ye saying, ye little bastard?”
Trying to keep anger from her voice, Cassie said all she could think of to soothe him. “We are coming for you, Robert. Stay strong. It will be all right.”
But it was too little too late.
Chapter Twelve
LOGAN CRADLED CASSIE against his chest as she murmured again and again that the man had just pulled Robert off the horse and was dragging him somewhere. “He’s going to hit him, I know it.”
Regrettably, she wasn’t talking to him. There was no way to know who she spoke with now.
“How long did her vision last before?” Niall said, worried.
“Not this long,” Logan replied as twilight crept through the trees. Grant, Darach, and Rònan had arrived a short while ago and crouched nearby, concern on their faces.
“And it wasnae like this before either.” Logan looked at Grant. “She snapped right out of it. This time she seems caught in the vision.”
Grant had already put a hand to her forehead in hopes of drawing her out but had no luck. “Keep speaking with her. If anything can pull her back, ‘tis a voice she recognizes.”
Logan nodded and kept murmuring in her ear, urging her to focus on his words. He never stopped stroking her hair in hopes that maybe physical connection might help as well. His eyes met Grant’s and his frown grew heavier. The thought of her somehow getting caught wherever she was scared the bloody hell out of him. She might think they needed to know each other longer to feel so strongly, but he knew better. He had not been exaggerating in the least when he told her his heart was hers. But then wizards tended to have more insight than most.
Her mumbled words suddenly stopped and she whispered, “Logan?”
Thank God. “Aye, lass, I’m here.” He tilted up her chin but like before her gaze seemed distant. “Can you see me, Cassie?”
She blinked several times and nodded. “I saw Robert again.”
“I know.” He rested her head against his chest. “Just take a few minutes to acclimate then you can share what happened, aye?”
“We don’t have a few minutes.” She pulled back. Strangely enough, when she spoke to him, she looked just to the right of his face though he knew she intended to look directly at it.
“They’re on the move again with Robert and they know they’re being followed. Robert didn’t know if they knew by who, though.”
Again Logan and Grant’s eyes met. The Hamilton looked perplexed.
“Did they say where they were heading?” Rònan asked.
Cassie’s head turned slightly, almost as if she was surprised that he was there. As they had with Logan, her eyes didn’t quite focus on Rònan but more so on Darach, who crouched beside him. “Yeah, that’s sort of the super strange part. They said their Laird was waiting for them at the oak tree ford.” Her face turned back to Logan. “That’s the meaning of Athdara’s name right?”
Logan frowned, discomforted by the uncanny information. “Aye, but ‘tis likely just a coincidence."
Darach looked at Grant. “We need to know who brought those horses to New Hampshire, Da. Was it you then?”’
“Nay,” Grant murmured.
Cassie’s brows perked and her eyes turned back in the general direction of Darach, clearly surprised he was there. Enough was enough. Something was wrong with her and he needed to know what. Logan looked at his cousins. “I need a moment alone with my lass. Make sure the men are ready to travel.”
Grant’s brows drew down sharply and he spoke within the mind. “Your lass?”
“Aye, until she wishes it otherwise.”
Grant stood and sighed. “We’ll speak of this later, lad.”
Cassie remained silent as everyone walked away, her fingers clenching and unclenching ever so slightly on her lap as though she was nervous. Logan again tilted her chin until her eyes went to his. This time they seemed a bit better focused. “Are your visions starting to affect your eyesight, Cassie?”
She swallowed and shook her head a little too quickly. “No.”
Frustrated by what he knew was a lie, he said, “‘Tis understandable if they are. ‘Tis also something I need to know as it puts you more at risk on this quest.”
“I’m not worried about being more at risk,” she murmured, her eyes now firmly locked on his. “I just want to get Robert back.”
Logan caressed her cheek, his worry only growing. “I got the sense you wanted to tell me something last night before Niall arrived. What was it?”
Her eyes held his for a long moment before she shook her head. She was up and off his lap so quickly that he shot to his feet to steady her.
“I’m fine, Logan.” Cassie started to walk away then stopped short, spun on her heel and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes were
surprisingly confrontational when they met his. “No, that’s not true.” She shook her head. “I’ve been lying to you and it’s time to come clean.”
Logan remained still and nodded, his words gentle. “Okay, lass. Say what you will.”
He thought for sure she would at last share that she did, in fact, have a love in the twenty-first century. For surely a lass this beautiful was pursued by many.
Cassie started to talk then stopped. She crossed her arms over her chest, then she uncrossed them. For a woman good at blurting things out, she was remarkably tongue-tied.
“There’s something you should know about me,” she finally said. “Something I should have been honest about from the start.”
When he saw how uncomfortable she was, he could not help but go to her. He didn’t pull her into his arms but took her hand and squeezed, words just above a whisper. “You can tell me anything. ‘Tis all right.”
If he was not mistaken, her eyes started to moisten before she blinked and straightened. Though her next words were firm and clearly spoken, he wasn’t sure he heard her correctly.
“I’m going blind…and it has nothing to do with my ability to have visions.”
The announcement hung between them as he tried to process what she had said. As if to fill in the blank space, she rambled, “I was diagnosed with something called Macular Degeneration. Usually, it happens when you’re older and takes a long time.” She shook her head, not quite meeting his eyes. “Not in my case. It started years ago and has been progressing pretty fast lately.” Her shoulders pulled back and her eyes were at last strong when they met his. “I got laser surgery so that I could enjoy seeing clearly for awhile longer without my glasses, but it is a temporary solution.”
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