Page 36 of Sadie's Highlander (Highland Protector 1)

“This place is beautiful,” Sadie said in a hushed reverent tone.

A sense of pride and contentment filled Alec’s heart as he led Sadie through the top three levels of the keep, giving her the grand tour from the freezing guard room located at the summit of the keep’s single turret down to the weapon- and banner-covered walls of the main hall. Castle Danu was by no means large, but it belonged to the MacDaras and as the eldest son, the keep would someday be his home—as soon as he chose a wife and decided to start a family.

“It warms m’heart to hear ye say such.” He pointed at the MacDara clan crest hanging above the stone hearth that stretched across the entire rear wall of the chieftain’s meeting room. “There. That crest symbolizes my bloodline and the history of my family.”

Sadie slowly approached the hearth, intently studying the crest as she walked. “The triquetra. Imprinted on a three-sided stone. A rough-looking pyramid of sorts. Interesting.” She stopped a few feet from the fire, holding her hands toward the warmth as she continued looking up at the MacDara symbol. “Most of the crests I’ve seen have animals of some kind. This one’s unusual. The triple goddess knot on the stone and three weapons centered on what looks like a…a round shield maybe?” She turned and waited, an expectant look on her face.

Tell her,an inner voice whispered.Tell her all.Alec sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Dare he tell her the entirety of the MacDara truths? He joined Sadie in front of the hearth, took her hand, and pressed a gentle kiss to the backs of her fingers. Upturning her hand in his, he lightly traced a finger across the lines of her palm. “The symbols on the MacDara crest not only tell of our past, but also speak to our future.”

When Sadie didn’t speak, Alec stole a glance at her face but then quickly returned his focus to her hand. ’Twas much easier to tell all while concentrating on the softness of this dear woman’s hand. Little did she know how much she held in that wee, gentle palm—she held his heart and soul.

Looking up at the banner, he pointed at the symbol. “At the center of the crest, ye see the Heartstone. A precious gift from the goddesses to humanity. Not only to ensure their survival, but to make that survival worth living.”

“What does it symbolize?” Sadie asked. She snuggled closer and leaned her head against his shoulder, still looking up at the tapestry hanging above the mantel.

“Hope, creativity, a desire for a better life…” Alec paused, pressed her hand to his chest, and curled his other arm about her waist. “And above all…love.”

“And the weapons?” Sadie whispered as though mesmerized by the telling of the MacDara saga.

“Also gifts from the goddesses to enable us—Clan MacDara—to ensure the blessed Heartstone is always kept safe. Each MacDara son masters one of the weapons, until such time to pass it down to the next.” Alec waited. Afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. The only sound in the room was the muted crackling of the fire.

Sadie shifted in his embrace with a contented sigh, then stretched up on her tiptoes and brushed a gentle kiss across his lips. “What a lovely legend of courage and gallantry you tell, Alec MacDara.”

Disappointment sank like a rock to the pit of Alec’s stomach.Dammit. She thinks it’s naught but a wee tale—nothing more than an ancient Highland saga.The knowing of what he had to do goaded him like a stubborn ram intent on battering its adversary into submission. He had to show her. He had to take her to the vault.

“Come with me.” Alec took her hand and led her to the right corner of the massive hearth. Both the right and left corners of the floor-to-ceiling fireplace were made of four-foot-wide columns of granite. The dark, slate-gray columns with striations of white perfectly framed the multicolored sandstones used to build the rest of the structure.

The granite columns were also the perfect material for the inconspicuous doorways leading to the maze of tunnels running beneath Castle Danu—the tunnels that bored deep into the mountain behind the keep and led to the reinforced vault housing the goddesses’ treasures. It had taken six years to construct the network of tunnels and create a safe, secure chamber. The first two years alone had been spent discreetly locating and enlisting other modern-day druids and believers trained in the fields of expertise needed for such a massive undertaking.

Sadie gave the stone wall a slow up-and-down look, then turned to Alec with a confused expression. “Nice rock?”

“Wait.” Alec sidestepped over to the base layer of sandstones farther to the left and bumped one of them with the toe of his boot. He took Sadie by the shoulders and stepped them both away from the wall by several feet.

A faint shushing hissed behind the slab of stone, then the mechanical grinding of gears rumbled and growled as the towering obelisk of granite slowly moved, swinging outward inch by inch to reveal a set of steel steps disappearing down into a brightly lit passage.

Without actually moving into the tunnel lined with riveted metal plating and wire-covered security lights, Sadie stretched on tiptoe and weaved from side to side, peering down the steps. “This place must have one hell of a basement.”

She turned to Alec and eased away from him until there was at least an arm’s length of space between them and she had a clear shot to the exit. “You’re not going to go all weird on me, are you, with some kind of torture chamber? I like a little kinky, but I don’t do pain. You can forget that crap.”

“Sadie!” Alec took a step back, the suspicion darkening her eyes hitting him harder than a blow to the jaw. “How could ye think such of me? Have I e’er given ye any cause to fear me or think I’d cause ye pain?”

“Well…” Sadie huffed and made a flipping motion with one hand toward the tunnel. “No…but…” She blew out a frustrated breath and scowled at him as though she were ready to throttle him. “I’ve misjudged people before, and what the hell am I supposed to think when you suddenly reveal a passage that looks like it leads to a freakin’ nuclear bunker or some sort of strange laboratory?”

“It leads to the Heartstone.”

Sadie stared at him, eyes narrowing as she inched farther away. “To the what?”

“The passage leads to the Heartstone.” Alec took a step closer and held out his hand. “If ye’ll trust me, I’ll show ye what few individuals other than those chosen by the goddesses have e’er seen.”

Sadie didn’t move, just watched him as though she expected him to sprout a forked tail and a set of devil’s horns at any moment. She finally glanced back up at the crest draping down the front of the stone hearth. “You’re telling me it’s real.”

“Aye.” Alec kept his hand extended, praying that she’d see the truth of it in his heart and feel how much he needed her to understand—and accept him for all that he was.

Catching the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth, Sadie finally relented and slid her hand into his. She gave a quick shrug of one shoulder and sheepishly glanced down at the floor as she inched over beside him. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings,” she said softly. “Sometimes it’s a little hard for me to trust. I’ve been burnt before.”

“I would ne’er hurt ye,” Alec whispered, then brushed a kiss to her temple. “Nor would I e’er allow anyone else t’cause ye pain. I swear it,mo cridhe.” Alec didn’t miss the sheen of moisture in Sadie’s eyes as she glanced up at him with a shy, trembling smile.

“I know you won’t hurt me.” She cleared her throat and squeezed his hand. “Now show me this Heartstone.”

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