Highland Fires (12 page)

The intense emotions running amuck through
Ahryn had drained her of all energy. She needed her realm and the
magic that would restore her.

Yet, she refused to allow herself to think
about such things until she and Lugus reached the gateway. Until
then, she needed to focus on what lay ahead of them.

She turned away from the railing and shielded
her eyes with her arm as she raised her gaze to find Lugus high
above her. She had no idea what he was doing, but she wished he
wouldn’t hang so perilously by one hand as he tied something off
with the other. If he lost his grip...she stopped that thought and
declined to think more about it.

No matter how many times she told herself to
stop thinking of Lugus, he continued to pop into her thoughts.
Constantly. He wasn’t hers, and she needed to remind herself of
that several times a day.

But when she saw his blue eyes sparkle with
determination and authority, she found herself eager to be apart of
it, of him. She looked away from him and glowered at the deck. She
wasn’t the type of Fae to become obsessed with anything, much less
a man, so why was that what she felt?

Anger soon replaced her resentment as her
gaze landed on the captain and Lugus’ sword that was strapped to
his hip. As he approached, she lifted her lips in a dazzling
smile.

“’
Tis a fine day,” the
captain said as he stopped beside her.

“That it is, Captain.”

“I gather your husband informed you that we
are on schedule and will dock on the shores of Skye today.”

Ahryn licked her lips and watched as the
captain’s eyes followed her tongue. “Aye, he did. I’m eager to be
on solid land again.”

The captain tried to respond, but when
nothing came out he cleared his throat and tried again. “Ah...most
women aren’t suited for sailing.”

“Oh, it isn’t that at all. I find being on
the water suits me wonderfully,” she lied and ran a hand down her
neck.

Again the captain’s eyes followed her, but as
her hand stopped at her collarbone, his eyes continued down to her
breasts.

The revulsion that rolled in her stomach was
nothing compared to the anger at him for taking Lugus’ sword. “See
something you like?”

He nodded, unable to answer and all but
drooling on the deck.

Ahryn rolled her eyes. “You have something I
want.”

“Anything. I’ll give you anything,” he said,
his eyes still on her breasts.

“If you touch her, I will kill you.”

Ahryn spun around at the voice behind her to
find Lugus glaring at the captain. Before she could begin to wonder
what all he had heard, he glanced at her and held up a hand to
silence any words she might think of speaking.

“I’m only taking what she offered,” the
captain said smugly.

Lugus smiled, and it chilled Ahryn, for she
saw what the captain didn’t. Fury.

The captain laughed and slapped Lugus on the
back. “She’s a feisty one, aye. There’s plenty of me to satisfy her
since you cannot.”

Ahryn took hold of Lugus’ arm when she saw
him ball up his fist. “Nay,” she whispered and prayed he heard
her.

“We’ll finish this later, darlin’,” the
captain said as he turned on his heel and walked away.

Ahryn felt the cool burn of Lugus’ cold blue
eyes on her. She turned her back to him and waited. She didn’t have
long to wait.

“What were you doing?”

“That’s my business,” she said. She didn’t
want him to know she would trade her body for his sword because she
knew he would object.

Lugus stared after Ahryn as she walked away.
He had felt her eyes on him as he hung from the rigging. He wasn’t
sure what made him climb down, but when he approached her and heard
her words, it had felt like he had been thrust into an ice
realm.

Even now as he tried to force the image of
her offering herself to the captain, he wondered at his fierce and
sudden need to smash the captain’s face in.

The more Lugus thought about Ahryn’s actions,
the angrier he became. It just proved to him how little he knew of
her, and he began to question his motives for allowing her to keep
her secrets. Maybe it was time she told him everything.

Then she’ll want me to do the same.

And he couldn’t.

He leaned back against the railing and
clenched his jaw. Patience. It was the key to surviving. At least
that’s what he told himself.

Lugus wouldn’t have made it out of the Realm
of Shadows without his legendary control and patience, and he
called upon his two strengths again for he had great need for
them.

Just as he pushed away from the railing to
climb back up the rigging, he caught the captain looking at him as
he smiled and nodded.

It was the straw that broke the dragon’s
back.

Lugus turned on his heel and made his way
below deck. He didn’t bother to knock on the cabin door before he
threw it open. The site of Ahryn huddled on the bed with her head
upon her knees didn’t halt him or tamp down his growing ire.

“You’re right, it is your business. However,
until you walk through the gateway I would appreciate if you do not
do anything that might hinder us reaching the gateway.”

She merely blinked and gave a slight nod
before she looked away.

Lugus refused to feel guilty for raising his
voice. “Get some rest. We’ll be traveling by night,” he said just
before he shut the door behind him.

He leaned back against the door and wondered
where his control had disappeared to. Not since the fight with his
father that ended with his father’s death had he lost his temper
so. And it scared him. When he lost control, people got hurt.

With his heart still pumping wildly, he
slowly made his way back up on deck to continue his work. While he
hung from the rigging, he wasn’t planning their arrival at the
gateway or even thinking of the traps he wanted to plant for
Marcus. Instead, his thoughts were on Ahryn and how he wasn’t
himself when he was around her.

From everything he had learned from her in
their few short days together, her offering herself to the captain
didn’t fit in to who he thought she was. And he was rarely wrong
when it came to people.

Though he wasn’t the type of person to need
others to talk to, he wished now he had someone to confide his
troubles with, someone to help him see what he was overlooking when
it came to Ahryn.

But he knew no matter how much he might like
such a person, there wasn’t anyone, nor would there ever be
someone. Even as a young Fae, he and Theron hadn’t been close like
most brothers were. In fact, they never had anything in common,
which only served to push them farther apart.

The one time Lugus had needed Theron by his
side, Theron had shown just how little he thought of Lugus by
siding with the elders in sending him into the Realm of
Shadows.

To this day, Lugus hadn’t completely forgiven
Theron.

Lugus, disgusted with himself for losing his
temper then wallowing in self-despair, shut off his mind and
focused on his duties.

He didn’t free his mind until someone clapped
him on the back and pointed. Lugus followed the man’s finger and
saw the land nearing through the rays of the setting sun. He sat
back and watched the huge orange sun sink into the sea as the night
slowly closed in around him.

Little by little, the calm that he was
renowned for descended upon him. When he felt he was once again
himself, he climbed down the rigging. As soon as his feet hit the
deck, he knew Ahryn stood waiting for him. He turned around and
found her standing near the railing, her right hand hidden in the
folds of her skirt.

“We’re here,” she said softly.

He walked to her and stared at the
approaching land. Within the hour the anchor would be dropped and
they would step into the rowboat that would take them to the
isle.

“Aye,” he said and braced his hands on the
railing. “Are you ready?”

“I don’t know.”

Her candid answer made him turn and look at
her. “I vowed to get you there.”

She licked her lips and shook her head. “It
isn’t that. I’m not the brave sort, Lugus, and what we must face
frightens me to my very soul.”

“Being brave doesn’t mean that someone isn’t
frightened. It simply means they know what is before them and they
do it anyway. You are brave. You escaped Marcus and came to me not
knowing whether Marcus would find you or if I would refuse
you.”

One corner of her mouth pulled into a grin.
“I’m more frightened now that I know the Draconians are out
there.”

“Come,” Lugus said as he pulled her below
deck to their cabin. Once inside, he shut the door and faced her.
“Listen to me closely because I only have time to explain this
once.”

“You’re scaring
me.”


“I know, and I
apologize, but it must be said.” He took a deep breath before
beginning. “If something happens to me-”

“If?” Ahryn repeated.

Lugus squeezed his eyes
closed and tried again. “
If
something does happen to me, you need to know
where to go to return home. Only you can open the gateway,
Ahryn.”

When she sank onto the bed and looked up at
him with her bright mystical blue eyes, he continued.

“The stones are on the coast. From the
directions given to me before we left Scotland, the captain has
landed south of the gateway. When we reach land, we need to follow
the coast north.”

“North,” she repeated.

“Even with the storm we made good time, and,
unless magic was involved, we should reach the gateway before
Marcus.”

“And if we don’t?” she asked.

“Don’t think along those lines,” he said as
he leaned against the door. “If you can find the gateway, you have
two choices, you can walk through it alone, or if you need help, go
to the guardians. They will live close to the gateway and will feel
you coming. But no matter what, forget me and find the
gateway.”

She rose from the bed and gawked at him.
“Forget you? You expect me to leave you if you’re wounded?”

“I do.” He crossed his arms over his chest
and returned her stare.

“Nay. I cannot.”

“You won’t have a choice. If I fall it will
be because Marcus and his army have found us. I will be able to
give you some time to get away, but the forfeit of my life will be
worthless if you are caught.”

She looked down at her floor. “I don’t like
this.”

“There are many things in life I don’t like,
but we all do what we must.” He felt the ship slowing and knew they
would anchor at any moment. “Now. Are you ready?”

She nodded.

“Good. Go up on deck and wait for me
there.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

He didn’t answer her as he left the cabin.
His steps were unhurried as they walked up the steps to the deck.
It wasn’t hard to find the captain. He stood by the helm and looked
over his ship with greedy eyes.

Lugus made his way to the captain and prayed
Ahryn wouldn’t see what was about to happen.

“I see you’re anxious to depart,” the captain
said as Lugus joined him.

“We are.”

The captain laughed and slapped Lugus on the
shoulder. “I envy you your high-spirited wife.”

“I know.”

The captain’s gaze narrowed on him. “You’re
still angry about earlier.”

Lugus turned and faced him. There was no need
to answer him, he knew the captain saw the fury in his eyes.

“She offered herself to me,” the captain
explained.

“I know,” Lugus interrupted him. “And that’s
what confuses me.”

“I have power. Women are drawn to power.”

Lugus almost laughed. Power. The captain
didn’t know the meaning of the word. “Think what you like. Now,
give me back what is mine.”

“I never touched her,” the captain said as he
took a step away from the helm.

“You know of what I speak.”

The captain’s hazel eyes sparked with anger.
“Nay. ‘Tis mine now.”

Lugus took a deep breath and glanced at the
night sky. “You have two options, Captain. You can either hand over
my sword and continue on with your boring life, or you can refuse
and I will slit your throat and take my sword anyway.”

“You’re bluffing.”

In the blink of an eye Lugus withdrew his
remaining dagger and held it up to the Captain’s face. The blade
was long and thick and so sharp it could slice a rock.

The Captain swallowed loudly before
unbuckling the scabbard and handing it to Lugus.

“Smart. For once,” Lugus said. He buckled on
his sword and sheathed his dagger, then turned on his heel and went
to find Ahryn.

She stood at the railing, the moonlight
shining on her like a beacon as she looked forlornly at the isle.
Their real journey was about to begin.

Chapter Twelve

Ahryn gripped the side of the boat so hard
her knuckles hurt. Her mouth had gone dry the moment she left the
ship and they began to row the boat toward shore. Even without her
magic, she knew her journey with Lugus to the gateway would not end
well.

She glanced over at him. He sat beside her,
his face forward as if calculating just how many rows it would take
the men before they reached the shore. Lugus was calculating in
everything he did. She had been shocked to see him wearing his
sword again but had decided against asking how he had managed to
get it back from the captain.

With each row of the oars, her stomach would
drop to her feet like a weighted stone. To her surprise, Lugus
reached over and took her right hand in his. As his hand closed
over hers, she could literally feel his strength fill her. She gave
his hand a little squeeze to thank him.

And then they reached shore.

She waited in the boat as Lugus and the other
men jumped out and pulled the boat to the shore. When Lugus took
her hand she rose and walked to the front of the boat where he
lifted her out and sat her on the shore.