Highland Fires (11 page)

He was a prince, not some beggar in need of
work. “How is your shoulder?” she asked.

“It’s fine.”

She licked her lips. “We won’t make it will
we?” He tried to hide the doubt in his blue eyes, but she saw it
anyway.

“We will make it.”

She reached around and loosened her plait,
then ran her fingers through the long strands as she gazed out her
window. “If the Draconia are aiding Marcus, they are most likely
already at the gateway and waiting for us.”

“Then we’ll find another gate.”

His statement had her swinging her head
towards him. By the look in his eyes, he was serious. “Because of
me your home was burned and you cannot return. Because of me you
have had to barter your weapons. Because of me you are bruised and
battered and exhausted. I cannot ask more of you than I already
have.”

A hint of a smile pulled at his mouth. “I
have much to atone for. Bringing you to a gateway, regardless of
what happens between then and now doesn’t matter.”

She didn’t know why she had expected him to
want to take her because of her, not because he felt he needed to
pay some penance for past deeds. In her heart she knew she should
be grateful he was willing to help at all, but when it came to
Lugus, she found she was anything but reasonable.

“You don’t believe me,” he said, his voice
full of shock.

Ahryn looked away. “It isn’t that at all,
Lugus. I just want to return home.”

“And you will,” he said before he left the
cabin.

She fell back on the bed and stared at the
ceiling. As the granddaughter of the High Chancellor, Ahryn and her
siblings had been sought after for marriages that would align
certain houses. All she had wanted was a man she could love, a man
who was strong and caring.

No matter how hard she had looked, she hadn’t
found a man she wanted strongly enough to consider marriage. Until
now.

She wasn’t a fool. She knew that any union
between her and Lugus, Fae prince or not, could never be. His
immortality had been taken away, and he was exiled from the Fae
realm. And he didn’t want her.

Oh, his body might want her, but the fact he
continued to pull away from her told her that his heart belonged to
someone else. Moira.

Somehow Ahryn knew that Moira was connected
to Lugus’ banishment, but to what degree she had no idea. And why
wasn’t Moira with him now? If only the cursed slave bracelet wasn’t
on her arm, she would be able to see all she needed to know instead
of wondering.

And wondering drove her crazy.

Chapter Ten

Every muscle in Lugus’ body ached. Not even
all the hours he had worked hammering the steal had prepared his
body for the rigorous work the sailors did as they climbed to the
tip of the masts and back.

At least he wasn’t scrubbing the deck.

Slowly, he walked below deck. He was half
asleep and in sore need of a comfortable bed, hot bath and good
food. None of which he would get while on the ship. His feet
stopped when he reached the cabin door.

Ahryn would be inside most likely fast asleep
since it was well into the night. He could very well picture her
with her flaxen hair spread around her like a golden sheen of
silken threads, her luminescent skin aglow in the moonlight while
the blanket molded to her curves.

If he walked into the cabin, he knew he would
claim her, and whatever she was, nobility or commoner, he would not
take advantage of her despite the desire she claimed she had for
him.

With a deep sigh of resignation, Lugus
lowered himself to the floor and stretched out in front of her
door. As exhausted and drained as he was he didn’t care if anyone
saw him or not. All he wanted was some rest for his mind, body and
soul.

Just before sleep claimed him, he found
himself wondering what Theron would think of Ahryn.

~ ~ ~

Ahryn didn’t know what woke her. All she knew
was that she was alone. She rose on her knees and looked out her
small, round window. The sea was calm. So where was Lugus?

She scooted from the bed and yanked on her
gown before opening the door to go in search of him. After the
previous night, he needed rest, and she was going to make sure he
had it, even if she had to barter herself to do it.

But when she opened the door she found a
huddled form on the floor. Only the long, pale length of Lugus’
hair let her know it was him. She knew the floor wasn’t where he
needed to be, but as long as she was in the bed, he wouldn’t
be.

She turned on silent feet and pulled a
blanket from the bed then walked to him and gently draped it over
his body. Quietly, she closed the door, undressed and climbed back
into bed.

His actions tonight proved
he would go out of his way not to be near her. She knew he would
fight the need in his body until the last, and if she pushed him,
he would give in but end up resenting her because it wasn’t what he
wanted, or
who
he
wanted.

Ahryn had seen the other sailors looking at
her. All she had to do was give one the slightest impression she
wanted him and he would be hers. It was the Fae magic that pulled
to the humans. But it didn’t work on Lugus, and in a way she was
grateful. She wanted him to want her for her, not because he
couldn’t resist her Fae charms.

She regretted the few times she had pushed
him to make love to her. At the time, she hadn’t any idea just how
deep his feelings ran for Moira, but now that she did, she knew she
didn’t stand a chance. And because she admired him, she refused to
put him in that position again.

With the blanket pulled up to her chin, she
rolled onto her side and tried to sleep, but all she could think
about was the nearly uncontrollable need her body had to be held by
Lugus.

~ ~ ~

Lugus opened his eyes when he heard the door
click shut. He had come awake the instant he had heard the door
open, and for a moment he wasn’t sure what Ahryn’s intentions were.
When he felt the blanket against his skin something had moved
within him. No one had done something out of kindness for him
in...an age.

It wasn’t until she had closed the door
behind her that he allowed himself to open his eyes and turn on his
back. After he had repeatedly turned her away, she continued to
show him compassion. He didn’t understand why.

Of all the people she bestowed her kindness
upon, he was the least deserving. And that’s when he realized he
never wanted her to know what he had done to be banished from the
Fae realm. He had seen laughter, determination, fear and kindness
in her mystical blue eyes. He did not want to see the loathing and
revulsion that was sure to shine through when she learned the
truth.

For many years he had yearned for a Fae to
come and end his life for what he had done. But now...now he prayed
they didn’t. He needed to make sure Ahryn reached the Fae realm
unharmed and safe, then he would welcome death.

Then he would seek it.

Ahryn.

Her name meant passion, and she embodied her
name like a well fit glove. Like most Fae, she was elegant,
beautiful and graceful, but she had other characteristics that
molded her--kindness, determination and faith.

In his mind’s eye he pictured Ahryn’s lithe
body in his hands, her back arched, and her full breasts heavy and
eager for his touch. His body hardened as desire flared in him.

Lugus closed his eyes and tried to erase
Ahryn’s image with one of Moira’s, but no matter how hard he tried,
he could not recall Moira. Not the shade of her hair, the feel of
her body, but especially not the green of her eyes.

He ran a hand down his face and refused to
give in to the anxiety that rolled in his stomach. He told himself
it was because he concentrated on Ahryn and arriving safely at the
Isle of Skye that he couldn’t remember Moira’s face. Once Ahryn was
gone, then he would be able to remember details of Moira.

With his conscious at ease, Lugus closed his
eyes and didn’t fight the fact that all he could think about was
Ahryn’s mystical blue eyes filled with passion.

~ ~ ~

Ahryn woke feeling as though she hadn’t slept
more than an hour. She was tired, cranky and restless. Not a good
combination on a ship.

She raised a hand and brushed the hair from
her eyes. Her dreams had been plagued with fear. She had been
running from something. At first, she had thought it was Marcus,
but soon came to realize it wasn’t him. It was something else,
something more dangerous...more evil.

The jingle of the slave bracelet drew her
attention. She dreaded having to tell her family that she had been
impulsive and childish in leaving the realm and being caught by
humans. She knew her father would be slow to forgive her, but if
she needed anything, she could turn to her grandfather. He had
always been there for her.

A soft knock brought her out of her musings.
“Who is it?” she asked as she sat up and clutched the blanket to
her chest.

“Me,” Lugus answered. “I’ve come with food.
Are you decent?”

She briefly thought about standing naked on
the bed to see if he would notice her but remembered the vow to
herself to leave him be.

“Just a moment,” she said as she climbed out
of bed and hastily threw on her gown. She reached for the laces to
tie it and said, “You can enter now.”

She concentrated on her laces as she heard
the door open, and Lugus stepped inside the small cabin. It was on
the tip of her tongue to ask him if he slept well on the hard floor
but bit her tongue before her crankiness could show through.

He set the tray on the small table that was
nailed down to the floor planks and waited. Ahryn lowered her hands
and raised her gaze. She didn’t like the haggard look that had
replaced his cool features.

“Thank you,” he said.

She stilled at his words. “For what?”

“The blanket.”

“You’re welcome,” she said as she reached for
a piece of bread while she sank into the chair. “Thank you for
bringing the food.”

He shrugged away her words and sat as he
began to eat. “We should reach Skye sometime today.”

“So soon?” She had feared the storm had blown
them farther out or off course somehow. She was relieved to hear
they were still on schedule.

Lugus nodded. “I spoke with the captain this
morning. Unless something strange happens, tonight we’ll be
sleeping on the isle.”

“How far to the
gateway?”



He took a deep breath and
swallowed his food. “That depends on where we land. The gateway is
on the coast, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to
find.”



Ahryn should be feeling pleased at the news,
but the nagging sensation that they wouldn’t reach the gateway as
easy as Lugus said wouldn’t go away.

“And if Marcus is there?”

Lugus slowly set down his cup as his blue
eyes locked with hers. “Every gateway has guardians the Fae placed
there. If need be, we will seek their aid. However, I don’t plan on
allowing Marcus time to catch us. We will travel light and swift
once we hit land.”

His words, though they comforted her, didn’t
alleviate the fear that grew within her. And he only had one dagger
in which to fight with.

“Ahryn.” His voice was soft but
commanding.

“Don’t think I don’t trust you,” she
explained. “It isn’t that, but a growing...fear that I cannot
dispel.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You
feel it as well?”

She searched his face and saw he wasn’t
jesting. Her eyes glanced around the small cabin to see if
something or someone hid waiting for them.

“They aren’t on the ship,” Lugus said.

“I feel as though they are.” Her gaze
returned to his face. “When did you begin to feel it?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. How long?”

With his arms crossed over his chest he said,
“Since we departed Scotland.”

Ahryn found it difficult to breath. She rose
and tried to pace the tiny space. “I didn’t feel it,” she said. “I
need to feel my magic, to feel connected to our realm.”

Lugus knew she was fast becoming hysterical.
He was surprised she hadn’t done it before now, and in truth, she
had every reason to be frantic. Without her magic and any
connection to the Fae, she could die.

He stood and took hold of her shoulders to
force her to meet his gaze. “I never go back on a promise, Ahryn.
We will make it there no matter what I have to do.”

Her brows furrowed as she searched his eyes.
“I don’t like being frightened.”

“Not many people do. Now,” he said as he
moved her toward the chair, “you need to eat as much as you can
before we land.”

She nodded woodenly but picked up her food
and began to eat. Satisfied, Lugus resumed his seat and stared at
his food. He wouldn’t admit to Ahryn how worried he was about
reaching the gateway before Marcus. If Marcus was in league with a
Draconian, then they were most likely already there waiting for he
and Ahryn to arrive.

And without his sword, he was useless.

He glanced up and found Ahryn watching him,
so he hastily reached for his food. He ate without tasting it as
his mind ran over each and every possibility they could, and
probably would, encounter until they reached the gateway.

And none of them were good.

Most importantly, he would have to make sure
that he reached the guardians of the gateway quickly. They could be
Ahryn’s only chance of survival, though he wondered what the
guardian’s price would be for such a request.

Whatever it was, he was prepared to pay
it.

Chapter Eleven