The Highlander's Dark Seduction (Secrets of the Darroch Clan) (4 page)

“Be safe,” Iain told Lily with a fierceness that translated to an obvious declaration of love. Then, he turned toward Elizabeth. “Stay close to my wife’s side. Magnus bid me to protect you and that means my life is yours should you need it.” He inclined his head briefly and then sprinted away, a gleaming broadsword already in his hand.

Dear God, had that archaic weapon been glued to his palm the whole time he’d been kissing his wife and swearing his protection to Elizabeth?

“I feel as if I’ve fallen through time,” Elizabeth observed as she squeezed Lily’s hand tighter. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“I know. It is overwhelming, but you must believe the danger we face is all too real.” Lily gave her a quick hug and then drew her deeper into the drafty keep that looked as if it had been standing since medieval times, the walls hung with tapestries of hunts and battle scenes filled with warriors that looked like Magnus and Iain. “Come with me.”

And with no other greetings, they hurried through a small hall and then a kitchen where a hearth fire blazed. They did not linger to warm their hands though. Lily tugged her toward an open door lit with candles from low-hanging sconces. Elizabeth could see the shadowy shapes of flour sacks and barrels of wine or ale, but in the middle of the food stores, there were benches, a table and two narrow beds as if the place had been prepared for a siege. The sight of those careful preparations only added to her fear.

“Lily, I cannot lock myself away from danger while Magnus is out there.” She pulled her hand free from her friend’s and hugged her arms around herself. “I’m so frightened for him and I don’t understand the enemy he faces. Can’t we help?” She paced off nervous energy, walking in a circle on the smooth stones of the kitchen floor. “Can’t your husband help him?”

“You are concerned for Magnus?” Lily frowned. “I mean, of course I am as well. I’m worried for both of them. But they are trained fighters and they understand the nature of the enemy.” She sounded more certain than she appeared as she bit her lip and smoothed her tawny hair.

“Can’t we at least see what is happening out there?” Elizabeth’s gaze went to narrow slits in an exterior wall. “What will these
sidhe
creatures do? Do they fight like mortal men? Will they use swords?”

Already she closed the space between herself and the narrow openings in the wall. The silver light did not shine as brightly here as it did in the front of the keep. She couldn’t stop thinking about Magnus and how weary he’d sounded.

“I don’t know, exactly.” Lily frowned and followed her to the small window, dragging over a stool so they might reach it. “I witnessed a battle once, but the light was so bright I could not see for myself exactly what happened.” She set the stool beneath the window and climbed up onto the step before offering Elizabeth her hand. “Iain says they fight with swords though—just as Darroch men do. The
sidhe
move faster than mortals, but so can the Darroch brothers. I worry more for Iain now that his curse has been broken. He is all the more likely to be killed by a
sidhe
sword if he cannot track the enemy.”

Elizabeth climbed onto the stool beside Lily, her gown snagging on a rough stone. She snatched it away impatiently, wishing she wore the kind of practical garb that attired her friend.

As soon as her chin cleared the stone sill, however, her eyes went to the small, empty courtyard outside.

“One of them rests like a silver shadow behind the Blackthorn tree,” Lily whispered in her ear, pointing with a finger to the far right.

At first, Elizabeth could not see it. She gripped the stone sill tighter and bent her head so she would be level with Lily. And then, a soft glow became apparent even though dawn had already broken. A beautiful male warrior dressed in the exotic garb of a wealthy foreigner pressed with his back to the tree. A long sword gleamed at his side, the jewels in the hilt a colorful splash of color in the silver light.

“What does he wait for?” Elizabeth asked, nervous tension rising in her throat. She wished she could hear something, anything, that would give her a clue what happened outside the enclosed courtyard’s walls, but she did not even hear the buzzing sound that preceded the attack earlier when her carriage had been waylaid. “Do you think he will try and enter the kitchen?”

Elizabeth’s gaze went to the barred door on the far side of the hearth on the opposite wall of the storeroom that Iain had bade them to enter. Would the
sidhe
warrior try to breach the walls of Invergale that way?

“Nay.” Lily’s hand grabbed hers in an ice-cold grip. “Look.”

On the opposite side of the courtyard, a leather boot dangled over one wall. A long, masculine leg followed it. By the time the huge, muscular Highlander appeared at the top of the wall, Elizabeth already knew who it was.

“Magnus.” Fear swirled in her stomach, an ice-cold poison that made her sway on her feet. “He will be ambushed.”

“They should sense each other,” Lily tried to assure her. “Even if Magnus doesn’t acknowledge the
sidhe’s
presence outwardly, he must feel the presence of an enemy in the courtyard.”

She sounded as uncertain as Elizabeth felt while Magnus dropped to all fours at the base of the wall. He crouched there, still and watchful, his muscles tensed. Elizabeth remembered the way he’d held her. Protected her.

Even the way he’d looked at her had stolen her heart. He did not stare at her with mockery and amusement or behave as if she was some hulking oddity in a gown. Whether he acknowledged their kiss or not, he
had
kissed her with an intensity that set her soul on fire.

She could not allow him to be hurt now when he had saved her before. Especially not when he stalked toward the Blackthorn tree with the easy walk of a man who was in a place of safety.

“Magnus! Behind the tree!” She shouted her warning before she’d even made the decision to do so.

Leaping from the stool, she scrambled toward the barred kitchen door.

“You must not go out there!” Lily chased her, but she was not as fast or as determined.

Outside, the clank of metal on metal was deafening. Light sparked brightly through the narrow windows and glowed through the cracks around the kitchen door. Elizabeth hefted the heavy iron bar from the entrance using both hands. Her arms protested at the burden but her will was stronger.

“If I stay here, I will go mad.” The metal cut into her hands as she raised it over her head. “All my life I have been a poor excuse for a society heiress. I have never felt a sense of purpose before, Lily. Today, I do.”

She burst out the door and away from her shouting friend. Lily would bar the door behind her, she knew. She would honor her husband’s wishes because she would protect her home and her husband first before anything else, which was only right. But Elizabeth had no such allegiance. Her loyalty now was to repay the man who had saved her.

Unfortunately, she could scarcely distinguish the being inside the bright glow battling Magnus. It was as though he fought a bolt of lightning, although now and again she saw a sword swing—his or his enemy’s.

If Magnus knew she was there, he did not acknowledge it, his expression fierce. Her gaze swept the courtyard in the hope of a weapon but she spied nothing. In the meantime, she could sense Magnus weakening even if she knew nothing about sword fighting. His blade moved slower. He stumbled backward while the enemy surged forward.

Desperate to at least distract the powerful
sidhe
, Elizabeth raced across the courtyard and scaled the wall. Or at least, she attempted to. When her skirts prevented her from finding her footing, she ripped aside even more of the hated ruffles. Silk barrier gone, she climbed a few feet to sit on the edge of the rock barrier. Putting a finger in her mouth, she made the ear-piercing whistle that an American groom had once taught her for calling back a mount.

As she hoped, the battle sounds paused, swords lightly humming in the aftermath as they ceased clanging against each other. For a moment, she could see both Magnus and his enemy glance her way. But Magnus recovered first, recognizing his chance. He struck a blow to the enemy that echoed like thunder and sent sparks showering across the courtyard as if lightning had struck from heaven above. The silvery
sidhe
wavered and fell, the glow around him dimming as he did so. The shimmer from in front of the tower faded as well until the sky returned to its normal morning hue.

The battle must have somehow died along with its leader.

But Magnus would not have noticed since he already barreled across the cobblestones toward her, running faster than her eyes could see.

“Ye dinna understand ‘stay inside’?” he thundered at her, in the brogue that thickened when he was tense, or in this case, furious. He leapt to the top of the wall beside her with the grace of a winged creature and then, more carefully, he said, “You could have died.”

With a glance over his shoulder, he whistled for his horse in a way not unlike the groom had shown her once upon another lifetime. The mare pranced out of the mist, head bobbing and mane shaking as if to acknowledge his wishes.

Then, like a western cowboy doing a trick, Magnus dropped onto the horse’s back. She blinked at his rapid movements, even more amazed when he held up his arms for her to follow him down. A moment’s hesitation had her thinking about all the people who had accused her of being awkward. Graceless. A bull in a china shop.

With more than a little pleasure, she swept them from her mind and focused on Magnus’s waiting arms as she jumped. She landed exactly where she wanted to be, sealed to the Highland warrior’s side. She clung to him with both arms, grateful that he was whole and unharmed. She did not care if he knew her feelings or if they were foolish and unreturned. As long as Magnus Darroch breathed, she would be beholden to him.

Indeed, she would love him.

Wrapping that knowledge close to her heart for fear it would somehow shatter, she ducked her head against his chest as he spurred the mare into the swiftest possible pace. They galloped through the trees, away from the dying battle, and back into the ancient forest.

Chapter Four

As he cradled Elizabeth Harrison in his arms, Magnus could not remember the last time someone had made such a sacrifice for him.

Sure, his brothers put their lives at risk for their clan’s honor every day. They knew they faced death or worse each time they faced a dark, otherworldly enemy. But they did not endanger themselves for
him
. The Darrochs battled for their sister, their name, the history of their clan.

Elizabeth had fled the comfort and safety of Invergale, defying the odds that she would be hurt or killed, and she’d done it to save him. His heart was so full it damn near sent him reeling off his horse. His chest ached with the raw pain of a blow. No wound he’d received in combat had ever hurt worse. And it was rooted in the knowledge that this strong, fearless yet so vulnerable mortal woman had risked all to come to his aid.

“Are we safe yet?” Her voice whispered softly against his chest, his senses keen enough to hear her despite the clamor of blood rushing to his ears and the rumble of his horse’s hooves as they pounded over ancient forest paths.

“The
sidhe
retreated when I buried my sword in their commander. They wage war as one mind, like bees in search of a hive. When the leader is deflected from the cause, the rest dissipate.” And the only reason his opponent had been distracted now nestled against him in a sweet, trusting bundle of torn skirts and soft limbs.

Magnus feared his aching heart was about to fall out of his chest and make itself known. He did not know what to do with her or how to react. He needed to send her home. Remove her from the Highlands and the risks of his dangerous, cursed life. But he instead, he found himself reining in the mare.

“Where are we?” She lifted her head, tousled blond waves fallen loose from the once-complicated plaits she’d worn. Her hair was a beautiful thing, a flaxen veil that he’d guess few others had been privileged to see.

With the fussy ruffles torn away from her overly tight and trussed gown, Elizabeth’s more regal beauty was almost blinding. She was at home here in a way he would have never guessed a woman of her upbringing could be. She was no delicate bit of fluff to decorate a drawing room or parlor. Elizabeth had the spirit of an ancient Amazon warrior and the strong constitution of a Highland maid. She damned near took his breath away.

“Magnus?” She frowned, her fingers reaching for his cheek to smooth along his jaw. “Are you hurt?” Her gaze searched his face while her hands skimmed along his shoulder and his chest as if inspecting him for damage.

He wanted to keep her with him always. To claim her in the way a man claimed a woman. For this lifetime and all the ones that followed. But he knew that would not be fair to her.

“I am fine,” he lied, his heart aching with a fatal blow struck by her sweet hand. “Merely overcome by a need to thank you. You should not have endangered yourself for my sake, but that will not stop me from acknowledging what you did. I owe you my life.”

“It is no more than you’ve already done for me.” Her gray eyes matched the color of the overcast sky full of mist. “This place is so lovely.” She looked around the glade where he’d reined in. A brook babbled nearby, the water making a soothing music as it rushed over the rocks. “Do you know it?”

How had he known to stop here? He hadn’t even made a conscious choice to bring the horse to rest in this place.

“Aye. I know it well.” Sliding out from beneath her, he dropped to his feet and then reached to help her down. “This is a magical glade. A place where
sidhe
lands meet that of mortals. A place where time does not touch.”

She slid easily into his arms, trusting him more every time she came to him. Knowing that cut him deeper. Would make their inevitable parting all the more impossible.

“Truly?” She frowned, her expression growing fierce as he let her go. Touching her was a temptation he could not battle for long. “How can we be safe in lands so close to your enemy?”