Warrior’s Redemption

by Melissa Mayhue

  Beyond the gardens, the half-finished walls of the bathhouse loomed eerily in the dark. Though it would be a wonderful addition to the grounds when Malcolm finished it, it would never compare to the bath he’d prepared for her tonight.

  “No!” she whispered into the night. She couldn’t allow herself to dwell on what had been. Now was the time for what would be.

  She carefully picked her way across the rocky ground to what would one day be the entrance of the building, her eyes focused on her destination.

  If a small piece of rowan wood would have been powerful enough to get her here, surely an entire rowan tree should be able to get her back to her own time.

  Forty-four

  THE GREAT HALL was ablaze with light and activity when Malcolm entered. Both fireplaces roared with freshly built fires, and torches had been lit all around the room.

  From the number of bodies seated at the tables, it appeared as though the MacKilyn traveled with fully half his household. Serving girls scurried from the filled tables out toward the kitchen and back again, carrying trays and pitchers of ale for their weary guests.

  Patrick sat at the main table next to an old man who could be no one else but the MacKilyn himself. A small girl and a young woman rounded out the group.

  Malcolm studied the woman’s face as he approached. The daughter no doubt. Pleasant enough to look at. But she wasn’t Dani.

  “Angus MacKilyn?” he asked as he approached, and the old man stood, holding out his arms for an embrace.

  Perhaps he always greeted his potential sons-in-law in such a manner.

  “MacDowylt, my lad. ’Tis good to meet you at long last. I’ve heard many things about you from those who have passed through my own hall.”

  The young woman smiled up at him and a wave of guilt swamped his conscience. He should tell them now. There would be no marriage.

  No marriage and no warriors to defend Castle MacGahan when Torquil’s men came seeking retribution.

  Another wave of guilt, this time accompanied by the familiar feeling of failure. This failure his largest of all. This time he would fail his entire clan, possibly leading to the deaths of every man, woman, and child in the castle.

  He felt the blood rush from his head and he sat down heavily in the chair Patrick had vacated.

  “Are you well, lad? You’ve a pale cast to yer face,” Angus observed.

  “We’ve only this very morning returned from a hard journey to the west,” Patrick hurried to interject. “Malcolm’s no yet had a chance to rest up.”

  “Ah, I see.” The old man nodded his understanding. “Speaking of a strenuous journey brings me to the subject of the boon I’d have of you, lad. The boon in return for the lending of my soldiers. But first, I’d have you meet my daughter, Aeschine, and her attendant, Marie.”

  So this was it. The time had come for him to do what needed to be done. He glanced to Patrick, heartsick when his brother quickly averted his eyes.

  Had Patrick guessed his intent?

  We both will do what we have to do. Dani’s words echoed though his mind as he rose to his feet to meet the woman he was to wed.

  “Give our host a proper curtsy, Aeschine,” Angus ordered.

  The little girl crawled out of her chair and curtsied clumsily. “I’m tired, Da. Can I no have my bed now?”

  “Janet!” Patrick called, and the chief maid materialized from the shadows as if by magic of her own. “Will you see to settling the ladies in their quarters?”

  Malcolm watched wordlessly as the old maid bustled the MacKilyn daughter and her attendant out of the great hall.

  The child was Aeschine?

  Malcolm sat back down, his mind reeling. This changed everything. She was hardly more than a babe, perhaps five or six years at most. The old laird must be crazed to think to marry off a bairn such as she.

  “I dinna believe I can agree to meet the terms of yer boon, Angus. I will no be a party to wed a babe such as yer wee lass.”

  There. He’d said it. It was out in the open and he’d deal with the consequences.

  “Wed my Aeschine? You?” The old man laughed. And continued to laugh, hard enough that Malcolm was forced to pound on his back when he choked.

  “No, no, lad,” Angus said at last, through a raspy gasp for air. “You’ve heard the talk, I see, but you canna believe all you hear. There’s them what likes to embroider the stories, aye? Especially when they dinna have all the facts at their disposal.”

  “But you did ask for a boon in return for the lending of yer men. And in the past you have insisted that yer allies marry yer unwed daughters, have you no?” Malcolm had heard those stories from many places.

  “A boon I did request. It is that you house my traveling party for a few days while we rest before continuing on our journey to my elder daughter’s home in Perth. She’s agreed to take Aeschine to live with her since the death of Aeschine’s mother. And I’d have you welcome us again on our return trip home.” Again the old man laughed. “And as for trading my daughters’ hands for the strength of my alliance, I had no need to require it of any, though many offered such through the years. It’s a story that grew out of my having naught but female children, I suppose. And perhaps the one young buck I bullied into asking before he was ready. But only because my oldest girl wanted him.”

  Malcolm felt like a fool. He could only be thankful that the child had left the room before he’d opened his mouth to speak.

  “My apologies, Laird MacKilyn. It seems I have misjudged you. Please consider Castle MacGahan open to you at any time you’d like to stay for as long as you’d like to stay.”

  “Aye, well, I ken it to be a great deal to ask. I travel with a large number of my household and I’m well aware it’s a drain on yer coffers to feed us when we’ve all suffered the bad crops of the last season.”

  Malcolm sat silently as the serving girl set a small tray in front of him filled with cheese and meat before filling his tankard with ale.

  Ale he really felt he needed.

  Once more the old man laughed, more to himself than anything. “I’d no have you take this the wrong way, lad, but it’s all well and good to be yer ally. Yer a strong and able warrior and I’ve a respect for that. An honorable man too, as I hear it. But I’ve long heard the whispers of yer clan’s claim to otherworldly ancestors and though I personally have no belief in such fancy, I’ve no desire to taint my bloodline with such whispers. Even if my lass were old enough to take a liking to you.”

  Malcolm joined in the laughter this time. “No offense taken, I assure you.”

  He dug his hand into the bag at his waist, searching for his knife to cut a slice from the meat. Instead his fingers closed around a small, hard object. One he’d all but forgotten he had.

  Dani’s ring.

  He’d placed it in his bag after he’d taken it from Torquil’s hand and in the days that followed, he’d forgotten all about it.

  But he had it now. And he had a powerful need to see her and share with her all that had happened in this room tonight.

  Forty-five

  MALCOLM KNEW THE bedchamber was empty the moment he opened the door. Not a single candle burned, though, for a fact, there had not been time since he’d last stood in this chamber for them to have burned down. Someone had purposefully blown them out.

  “Dani?”

  He could feel she was gone. He called her name anyway. A useless gesture, but one he felt compelled to perform.

  As useless as checking in her chamber. It too was empty.

  He hit the hallway at a run, yelling for Patrick as he reached the main level.

  “What in the name of the holy saints ails you, Laird Malcolm?” Janet’s head popped out of a doorway he’d just passed.

  “Dani,” he began, his heart pounding in his chest. “Lady Danielle. She’s no in her chambers and I canna find her.”

  “Come to think of it . . .” The old woman shook a finger in the air as if it helped her think. “Wee Joanie menti
oned having seen yer lady in the back halls. Headed outside, Joanie seemed to think.”

  Outside.

  Malcolm grabbed the old maid, kissing her forehead while she sputtered her protests, and then he ran for the back exit.

  Once he stood in the silent night, he paused, trying to guess where she might have gone. What had she said just before he’d walked out the door? She’d declared her love, and there was something else, something odd he’d attributed to the strange things she was prone to saying. Something about how she would love him always.

  No matter what. No matter when.

  He heard the words in his memory with a whole new sense of understanding.

  In spite of his claim that he’d send the MacKilyn away, she’d had faith in him that he’d do the right thing, the thing that was best for all of his people, rather than think only of himself. She was planning to return to her own time because she understood him better than he understood himself. What a fool he was. She’d all but outlined her plan to him, right down to the . . .

  “Rowan tree,” he muttered aloud, already running. Pray Odin he wasn’t too late.

  A glow hung over the bathhouse, as if someone had lit a thousand candles behind a curtain of green silk.

  “Dani!” he yelled, pushing himself to run even harder until at last he reached the wall, vaulting up and over rather than, rounding the building to where the entrance would be.

  She stood by the rowan tree, one hand clutching its trunk, the other shielding her eyes. Not three feet in front of her a sphere of blinding green light pulsed and seethed, seemingly alive with a million flashing colors.

  “Dani!” he called again. “Don’t do it, love. You belong here with me.”

  She turned, surprise evident in her expression. Surprise that melted into resolve. “I can’t stay here, Malcolm. Not anymore.”

  “Because you dinna love me enough to stay? Because yer no willing to risk what is to come?” He had to know.

  “You’re such an idiot,” she yelled over the increasing hum of the pulsing sphere. “I can’t be here and watch you with someone else because I love you too much. My being here would be bad for everyone.” She took a step toward the sphere.

  “If you go into that light, I’ll follow you. I swear it. I’ll no let you leave me.” He meant it. He wouldn’t lose her. He searched desperately for anything to change her mind. “I’ll follow because you’ve promised to picnic me another date in the spring.”

  “I have to go. I can’t stand to see you with another woman and you can’t risk your people’s safety by refusing to marry. Just like you can’t go with me because your people need you. You know that all as well as I do.”

  “Here’s something else I ken, love. The MacKilyn has no interest in me as husband to his daughter. He wanted only safe lodging for himself and his traveling party while they rest before continuing on their journey to Perth.”

  She reached out, once again clutching the tree. “Are you telling me the truth?”

  “I am.” He shouted now to be heard. “What’s more, he told me he’d no want anyone from the House of MacDowylt to marry into his family. Doesn’t want us corrupting his bloodline.”

  Behind Dani, the circle shimmered, increasing in size until it burst.

  Malcolm ran forward, throwing his body over hers, pinning her to the ground to protect her from the shards of light that fell like sizzling rain all around them.

  When the light show at last ended, he lifted his head, capturing her eyes with his. “Looks as though yer Magic vessel has deserted you. Yer mine now, love, stranded here with me for the rest of our days.”

  “It didn’t desert me,” she assured, her fingers tracking softly over his cheek. “I sent it away. There’s nothing more I want in life than to be with you. I told you that before and I meant it.”

  Malcolm rolled over onto his knees and helped Dani to sit up, unwilling to release her hand even as he remembered what had originally sent him to find her.

  He reached into his pouch and pulled out the delicate jewel. “This belongs to you.”

  Before he could place it on her hand, she pulled away from him, offering her other hand instead.

  “I wore it on my right hand when it was a gift from my aunt. But as a gift from you, I’ll wear it on my left. A symbol of our love for one another.”

  He slipped the ring on her finger and helped her to stand, pulling her close for a long kiss before they headed back to the warmth of the keep. Their keep. The home they would have together with her as his wife.

  He had no illusions. Their trials weren’t over, and wouldn’t be until Torquil was dealt with and Christiana was safe. Still, Dani had helped him discover the most important lesson of all—to believe in himself. With his SoulMate at his side, he could accomplish anything. In her love he had found his true redemption.

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at

  WARRIOR’S REBIRTH

  by Melissa Mayhue

  Coming soon from Pocket Star Books

  Prologue

  PACIFIC NORTHWEST

  PRESENT DAY

  NOTHING WAS AS it should be here.

  Not this place and certainly not him. Surrounded by this kind of natural beauty, no one should feel such an overwhelming sense of disappointment.

  Chase Noble loosened the shoulder straps of his pack and dropped it to the ground before settling onto the bench overlooking Fairy Falls. He pulled a long swig from his Camelbak and stared into the cascading water.

  If it weren’t for his unwavering faith in his father’s promise, he could easily believe he’d never find the spot he could call home. The one spot where he truly belonged. The one spot where his fate awaited him.

  Foolishly, he had allowed himself to have such high hopes this time. Even the name had held promise. Every word his buddy Parker had spoken in describing this location had convinced him it would be the one he’d sought his whole life. Maybe it had been because Parker had spoken so lovingly of the place he remembered from his childhood. Maybe it had been the shimmer of heat waves wafting up from the ground, lending a surreal haze to the moment. Or maybe it had been no more than the small dark patch of mud in the Kandahari dust, all that remained after they hoisted Parker’s lifeless body from the ground for their return trip to the outpost.

  He’d known at that moment that he had to come here, just as surely as he’d known he wouldn’t sign on for another tour of duty.

  Though he had no doubt he was intended for the life of a warrior, he hadn’t belonged in that faraway land any more than he belonged here.

  Chase squinted up toward the sun dappling down through the canopy of trees, pausing before he took his next drink.

  “You could make this easier, you know, Da. You could at least point me in the right direction. One small hint is not so much to ask after all these years.”

  That his father wouldn’t answer didn’t stop Chase from speaking. He was used to it. His father rarely answered, and then only in whispered riddles that wafted to him on a breeze.

  Having a full-blood Fae for a father had never been easy.

  Patience.

  The word settled over him even as the leaves rustled overhead.

  “I’ve been patient, Da. It’s not like I’ve had any other choice. But now I feel as though . . .”

  He let the thought linger on his tongue, not at all sure he could find the words to explain it even to himself. Lately it had felt as though he was running out of time, as if all his options had been used up and he stood at the edge of some vast precipice.

  The vision was so strong; he could actually see himself taking that first step, soaring off into a blue sky of possibilities.

  “Yeah right,” he muttered, leaning over to lift his pack onto the bench beside him.

  He couldn’t help but picture his older sister’s face at that moment. If she were here, Destiny would be sternly warning him about the importance of keeping his feet planted firmly on the ground and his eyes focused on the fut
ure. It was a lecture his bossy sister had given him often before he’d taken off to find his own way in the world.

  The thought of her had him smiling as he stood. It had been much too long since he’d seen his sisters.

  Even in his memories of Destiny, she was correct. No more flights of fancy. For now, he needed to set some priorities and stick to them. First on the list, find a place to crash and get himself a job. His savings wouldn’t last forever. Maybe after that he’d make an effort to locate Destiny and Leah.

  Soon.

  The wind ruffled his hair as he hoisted his pack onto his back, the feeling so much as if it was his father’s fingers that he paused in his preparations to leave.

  “Oh yeah?” he asked aloud, looking up toward the dark clouds billowing overhead. “How soon?”

  Four fat raindrops plopped on his face, one after another, as if to tell him the conversation with his father was over.

  He turned and headed back down the trail. No point in rushing now. The skies had already opened up, pelting down on him through the breaks in the foliage. As his mom used to say, he wasn’t made of sugar; he wouldn’t melt.

  In spite of today’s failure, he felt better than he had in months. He had a plan and knew what he would do next. And best of all, though he still didn’t know where he belonged, half an hour on that mountain had restored his hope. Hope that he would find his spot in the world.

  Soon.

  One

  NORTHERN HIGHLANDS, SCOTLAND

  1294

  JUST BECAUSE SHE could never tell a lie certainly didn’t mean Christiana MacDowylt could never deceive. She’d become well practiced in the art of truthful deception. She’d been forced into it. The truth, the whole truth, would likely get her killed in moments like this.

  She kept her eyes fixed on the retreating forms of her brothers and the women they protected as they disappeared into the forest, leaving her behind.

  “I dinna want to leave without you.” Her brother’s words echoed in her ears as if he had spoken them only seconds before.