Highland Fires (6 page)

Just as he was about to step back through the
door he heard Ahryn’s magical laughter.

“I cannot express how grateful I am,” she
said as she stepped through the doorway. “I will never forget
either of you.” She gave them a little wave then shut the door.

When she turned to Lugus, her smile vanished.
“Ready?” she asked.

“What did you say to them?” he asked as they
crept to the shadows.

She chuckled. “I lied. I told them I needed
to go for a walk and clear my head for my impending marriage.”

Lugus shook his head, but he admired her
imagination. Where as he always went in with brute strength, Ahryn
used her head and thought things through.

“You know what will happen to them when
Marcus discovers what they did,” Lugus reminded her.

She shook her head. “He won’t do a thing
since neither man will remember ever seeing me.”

“So you can use some of your Fae magic?”

“Some and only in small doses.”

It was something Lugus tucked away for future
reference. He had assumed the bracelet rendered her without any Fae
magic or abilities.

With the cover of night and the clouds
concealing the moon, they were able to put a lot of distance
between them and Marcus. Yet Lugus didn’t stop. He had the distinct
feeling that he needed to keep moving and get Ahryn to safety. And
that’s when he realized there had to be more to Ahryn than she had
told him.

As they followed the coast, Lugus thought
back over the Fae court. Their kingdom was much like the Scottish
and English kingdoms. There was a king and queen, princes and
princesses, dukes, earls and so on. The Fae had begun Britain’s
monarchy.

Despite Lugus’ attempt to discern if he had
somehow known Ahryn before now, he couldn’t place her. If her
family was a member of the nobility, he didn’t remember it. This
didn’t surprise him considering he had spent several millennia
locked in the Realm of Shadows to pay for a crime he hadn’t
committed.

Just thinking of that realm sent a shiver of
dread through him. He had been the only person to leave that realm
alive. It was meant to kill, and it had nearly done just that. Only
his vengeance had kept him alive.

To this day he didn’t like dark places, not
when there had been a time he thought never to see light again. It
was why he loved watching the sun rise every morning. It was his
way of celebrating evading the darkness.

“Can we
rest?”



Ahryn’s voice jerked him to the present. He
looked over his shoulder at her and found her leaning against a
tree several paces behind him. Lugus thought over her request for a
moment, and then turned and walked to her.

“Just for a moment. We need to cover as much
ground as we can tonight.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? Marcus will
never find us now,” she said as she sank to the ground.

Lugus scanned the area. “I’m not so sure of
that.”

“How could you possibly know?”

Lugus jerked at her words. He didn’t need
another reminder that he wasn’t a Fae any longer.

“I apologize,” Ahryn said softly. “That was
uncalled for. I only meant–”

“I know what you meant,” Lugus interrupted
her. “Call it a feeling, but just as easily as Marcus captured you
with that slave bracelet, he will know where we are headed and
why.”

“I see,” she murmured.

Lugus squatted beside her and tried to see
her face in the darkness. “How did Marcus know you were a Fae?
Didn’t you cloak yourself?”

“Aye,” she said with a nod. “I took the
precautions so that no one would realize I wasn’t mortal. I have no
idea how Marcus knew. He wouldn’t divulge that information to me,
but I gathered that he was rather proud of the fact.”

“Is he intelligent enough to have done it on
his own?”

“He’s smart, but discerning a Fae from a
human when a Fae is using magic takes magic, not simple guessing. I
think he had help.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Lugus said. “The
question is who?”

“I wish I knew. Fae magic is some of the
strongest around.”

“Aye. Do you remember whose is as strong as
ours?”

For a long moment there was silence. Then
Ahryn said, “The Draconia.”

Just hearing the name sent wariness through
Lugus. “We fought over this realm once. It was a battle in which
both sides lost vast numbers, yet we came out ahead. The Draconia
left that day and never returned.”

“Were you there?” she asked.

Lugus swallowed and looked to the ground. “I
was. My brother and I had just come of age to fight, and despite
our father’s wishes, we fought.”

“I recall from the teachings that the
Draconia were the only ones able to control dragons.”

Lugus lowered himself to the ground and
leaned against a tree facing Ahryn. “I suppose they also told you
that the Draconia taught us everything there was to know about
dragons?”

“Well…they say they didn’t
teach us
everything
, but they did bring the dragons.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I will admit
that it was long ago, but I would have thought that part wouldn’t
have been forgotten. Nay, dragons at one time were on just about
every realm. They are more ancient than our race or the Draconia.
The dragons on this realm and the Fae realm were very similar, and
when the time came for the Fae to leave, the dragons left with us
and intermingled with the Fae dragons.”

“And the Draconians?”

“During the great battle, both sides used
dragons, and just like with our people, both sides suffered heavily
with the death of the dragons. As far as I know, the Draconia took
their dragons with them, the ones alive…and dead.”

“Would a Draconia have dared to return to
this realm?”

Ahryn asked the question Lugus hadn’t been
able to. “Anything is possible, but I would doubt a Draconia would
enter this realm without Theron knowing about it.”

“What do they look like?”

His gaze went to her face
even though he couldn’t make out her features in the dark. There
was something in her tone, and it was more than curiosity. “Not
much different than you or I.”



“Could you spot one in a crowd?”

“I doubt it. It is no secret they can blend
in with humans.”

He heard her sigh. “So, I could very well
have walked by him at Marcus’ castle and not known it.”

“We don’t even know for sure if a Draconian
is here, and we won’t know that until you return to your realm.
Until then, we can only speculate.”

She leaned up and moved
closer to him. “But it makes sense, Lugus. No one should have known
I was a Fae. No one.”



“Unless another Fae betrayed you.” As soon as
the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. “It’s my turn to
apologize,” he said.

She held up a hand. “Nay. You only spoke the
truth.”

“So it is a possibility?”

Ahryn got to her feet and dusted off her
gown. She wished now she hadn’t brought up the subject.

“Ahryn?”

“Aye,” she replied softly. “It’s a
possibility.”

She felt more than saw Lugus rise. The clouds
completely concealed all light, leaving her with nothing but a
silhouette to see.

“Tell me,” he said as he moved past her and
began to walk.

Ahryn was more than happy to be moving again.
This way she wouldn’t have to worry about Lugus trying to read her
expression. Not to mention, she wouldn’t have to see his when she
finished her telling.

“Remember when I said my father tried to make
me marry?”

Lugus grunted ahead of her.

“The man my father chose was a very high
ranking member of the powerful royalty guard.”

“Aimery?” Lugus asked.

Ahryn chuckled. “Nay, not Aimery. He is too
involved commanding the entire Fae army to think about a wife or
family.”

“I take it this man wasn’t happy about being
rejected?”

Ahryn still recalled his rage and harsh
words. “Nay, he wasn’t happy. In fact, he was part of the reason
that I ventured here.”

“He wouldn’t leave you alone?”

She shook her head as she tried to keep up
with Lugus’ long strides. “My parents assumed I would change my
mind toward him if he continued to try and win my suite.”

“Didn’t you tell them how you felt?” Lugus
asked.

“More than once.”

“Would this suitor of yours resort to
something like this to get revenge?”

Ahryn opened her mouth to answer him when
Lugus suddenly swung around and yanked her behind a tree. He
pressed her against the tree and put a hand over her mouth. She
heard a stick break beneath someone’s foot. Her gaze jerked to
Lugus’, and she wished she could see into his eyes.

He lowered his head until his mouth was near
her ear and whispered, “No sound.”

She couldn’t have spoken had she wanted to.
Every fiber of her being was on fire from his touch. It was the
second time that day he had been pressed against her, and her body
had responded instantly both times.

His breath rushed between his lips, grazing
her skin as he shielded her body with his. His large hands held her
arms still, as if she might run when what she really wanted to do
was sink her fingers in his long locks. She closed her eyes and
forgot about the threat that had made Lugus press her against the
tree and instead let her body feel since her eyes couldn’t see
him.

She lifted her hands and placed them on his
waist. He inhaled sharply which brought a smile to her face and a
thread of hope to her heart. She had thought him immune to her, but
maybe he wasn’t as immune as he claimed to be.

The urge to feel more of him was nearly too
much to bear. Ahryn didn’t understand the sudden and intense
feelings rushing through her body, but she did know she had never
felt this for anyone before Lugus.

She turned her head toward his face and found
his mouth mere breaths from hers. Her lips parted on their own
accord and she waited, breathless, for his lips to meet hers. The
moon broke through the clouds, and Ahryn was able to see Lugus’
face. His eyes were troubled as they stared down at her, as if he
was unsure if he wanted her.

Just as quick as the moon shed her light, she
took it away.

And then Lugus took a step away from her.
“Whatever it was is gone,” he said softly.

Ahryn couldn’t have agreed more. She took a
deep breath and tried to swallow. She could still feel the heat of
him, smell the delicious scent of him, but most of all, her body
still yearned for his touch.

“Stay close,” Lugus said as he turned and
walked away.

Close was exactly what she wanted. The
question was, would he allow her to get close?

Chapter Six

When Lugus knew Ahryn couldn’t move another
step, he stopped. The small clearing was perfect. It afforded them
a nice view of the shore while keeping them hidden from anyone
tromping through the forest.

He bit back a grin when he saw Ahryn
literally crumple to the ground. They had forgotten the blankets in
their rush to leave the castle, and there hadn’t been time to grab
other luxuries, but still Lugus felt as though he should have
provided that for her. Regardless of whether he was immortal or
not, in his heart he would always be Fae, and Fae men looked after
their women.

Though he knew by watching Ahryn this day
that she could take care of herself. She hadn’t complained once,
not even when she was nearly asleep on her feet. He sighed and
moved closer to her. Like it or not, he would have to stay close.
Despite it being summer, the winds off the sea had a way of turning
things chilly, and without protection it would lead to a miserable
night.

Lugus looked at the small bag of food that
would last one more meal. They would need their strength for
tomorrow, and if they were lucky they would find someone to trade
with for food. He reached for the bag, then looked at Ahryn. She
was already asleep, and he was loath to wake her.

He decided against it and closed the bag. He
was too exhausted to eat himself, so he leaned against a tree and
dozed, careful not to fall completely asleep and allow someone to
come up on them. With one last glance at Ahryn, Lugus closed his
eyes.

He wasn’t sure what woke him, but when he
glanced over at Ahryn, it was to find her shivering and curled into
a ball. Realizing it hadn’t been that long since she had swam in
the frigid waters of the sea, he hastily crawled over to her and
molded his body to hers. Though the Fae didn’t normally get sick,
it had happened before while they were on Earth.

The warmth of their bodies soon pulled Lugus
to sleep. He fought it as long as he could, but the allure was too
strong.

~ ~ ~

Ahryn stretched and drew in the warmth that
surrounded her. She had dreamed that she was freezing to death,
then all of a sudden, the sun burst through the clouds and heat
suffused her.

She tried to roll to her side, and that’s
when she felt it.

A body.

A very
male
body.

Lugus.

She knew without looking it was him. She
would have liked to think he slept beside her because he was
attracted to her, but the truth was, she knew he had come to her
because she had been cold. That was just the type of man he
was.

Just as she was about to sit up, his hand
moved to her hips. She stilled and stared at the canopy of trees
above her. Her heart began beating loudly in her chest as his hand
moved to her stomach to stop just shy of touching her breast.

A deep throb of longing jolted through her as
Ahryn silently begged Lugus to move his hand higher, to take the
pleasure she would gladly give him.