Page 9 of Highlander of Steel
“But… ye daenae have to do the same,” she continued. “It willnae serve the purpose that ye think it will.”
His hand closed around her wrist, pulling her toward the heavy oak doors of the castle. There was anger in his grip, and a muscle twitched in his jaw.
“Please, me Laird,” she begged. “I ken ye both think ye have to do the very worst to each other, usin’ whatever means ye can, but?—”
“Ye think I’m anythin’ like them?” Killian growled, shooting her a fierce glare as he yanked her into the entrance hall.
In the welcoming glow of lanterns, flickering torches, and guttering candles that dripped from a chandelier of antlers, she saw him in a way she hadn’t been able to before.
He wasn’t just handsome; he was extraordinary. The most beautiful man she had ever seen, every strong feature sculpted by divine hands, every small scar somehow adding to the rugged splendor of him.
Whenever she told tales to Skye about dashing princes and valiant heroes, thiswas the man she pictured in her head. A man who could kiss a princess and slay a dragon and save a village in the same breath.
And, right now, he was glaring at her with such fury that she fearedshemight be the dragon rather than the princess.
She backed away from the heat of his anger, his hand releasing her wrist as she did. He closed his eyes.
“I just meant that…” she began to protest.
His eyes opened again, so blue that she forgot what she was trying to say.
“Take her to a guest room,” he said to a maid who had appeared out of nowhere. “The lady will be stayin’ with us for a while. See to it that she has whatever she needs.”
He walked off before Ailis could finish explaining herself, leaving her with the maid. A woman of perhaps thirty who looked like she had woken up from a nap and didn’t seem at all pleased to be the one left in charge of the captive.
“This way,” she said brusquely as she, too, began to walk away.
With miles of unfamiliar terrain and a river between her and Castle Ainsley, Ailis had no choice but to follow. She was here now, whether she liked it or not.
In an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar castle filled with her family’s sworn enemy, Ailis dreamed she was drowning.
Fighting the current of a crystalline blue cove, the color of Killian’s eyes, she scrambled toward the shore. She forced her arms through the water, kicked her legs like a frog, strained to keep her head above the surface, but the saltwater filled her mouth and nose regardless. The shore too far to reach.
She woke with a gasp. Her hand flew to her chest to feel the comforting rise and fall, while her eyes flicked up to the gauzy canopy of her bed. Though it made no sense, she could taste salt on her tongue. She lifted her fingertips to find that tears had rolled down her cheeks.
“Stupid bloody dream,” she muttered, for it wasn’t the first time it had plagued her, and likely wouldn’t be the last.
Heart pounding with the rush of fear that came with the nightmare, she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.
I should’ve kent it wouldnae be so easy to sleep tonight.
She turned to find the cup of cold barley tea on the bedside table, left untouched after the maid had brought it. Ailis had requested it, but something about the maid’s icy attitude had made her think twice about drinking the brew.
But with her throat so dry, she decided to take the risk of being poisoned over being parched.
Her hand had just reached for the handle of the teacup when a loud yelp tore from her throat, her fingertips knocking the cup instead.
Quick as a flash, the shadowed figure in the chair beside the bed lunged forward and caught the cup before more than a few drops could spill.
As far as Ailis knew, there hadn’t even beena chair beside the bed when she had fallen asleep.
“Clumsy,” Killian’s low voice rumbled as he picked up the cup and handed it to her.
She blinked at him. “Clumsy?” Anger triumphed over her fright. “Ye try keepin’ yer wits about ye when a strange man is sittin’ in yer room! Ye scared me half to death!”
Nothing could have compelled her to admit that she had been curious to know if he would visit her in her new chambers.Although, in her defense, she had assumed he would visit her in a dream, not beright there, apparently watching her sleep.
Since her arrival at Castle MacNairn and Killian’s abrupt departure, she had struggled to keep him out of her thoughts: the awe-inspiring sight of him heaving ropes, the memory of his strong arm around her waist, the gentle caress of his fingertips, the insistent pull whenever she had tried to put some distance between them.
