Highland Fires (17 page)

It would be easier to convince him if she
knew more of his past, so she decided to see if he would impart
some of his past.

“When did you get banished?”

If he was surprised at her question he didn’t
show it. “Five years ago,” he answered simply.

Ahryn took his easy answer to mean that he
was willing to talk about the events that led to his banishment.
“How did it come about?”

For a moment she didn’t think he would
answer, then he said, “Someone was dying because of something I had
done. To try and make amends I gave up my life force.”

“To try and save the person?” She had never
known anyone to do something so heroic.

He nodded but looked straight ahead. “Rufina
held my life force. In doing so, I gave up my immortality to save
the dying person, but Rufina didn’t allow me to die.”

The way he spoke, the hurt and anger showing
through in his voice, Ahryn knew then Moira had had something to do
with it. “Who was it you tried to save? Was it Moira?”

He gave a curt nod.

Ahryn could have cheerfully kicked herself
for bringing up Moira’s name and now her memory. She found herself
curious about the woman that held Lugus’ heart in her hands.

“What does she look like?” she asked and
looked down at him as he walked beside her.

He shrugged. “She has blue eyes. No wait. Her
eyes are green, and she has blonde hair.”

Ahryn watched as Lugus withdrew from her. It
was obvious he was delving into his memories of Moira, memories
that she could never compete with.

Lugus couldn’t believe he had said Moira had
blue eyes. Every night for five years he had dreamed of Moira’s
Druid green eyes, but even now he couldn’t recall the exact shade.
It was then he realized he hadn’t dreamt of Moira in several nights
and had gone just as many days without thinking of her.

It was such a new and different feeling that
he didn’t know whether to rejoice or mourn Moira’s absence from his
life. Part of him wasn’t ready to let go, but the other part was
eager to explore the unwanted attraction he had for Ahryn.

He sighed and wished he could go back through
time and do things differently. If he were still a Fae and heir to
the throne, he could have courted a bride properly and already had
sons and daughters filling the palace with laughter. He could see
himself with a beautiful bride by his side, someone like Ahryn.

The thought brought him up short.

Though he was attracted to Ahryn, he refused
to allow himself to become attached in anyway. He wanted her to
forget him when she returned home, but the passion they shared last
night would make that difficult. He cursed himself inwardly for
being so weak that he couldn’t control his own desires for a few
days until Ahryn had passed through the gateway.

His father had been right all those years
ago. He wasn’t fit to be king.

~ ~ ~

Rufina watched her husband pace before the
thrones as he rubbed his hands together joyfully.

“We must have a grand celebration,” he
said.

Rufina shook her head. “I would ask that you
hold off on such plans until the babe is born.”

Theron stopped pacing and walked the steps to
her throne. “There is always cause for celebration. We will have a
ball like no other.”

She laughed knowing she would be unable to
dissuade him from his course. “And just when is this
celebration?”

“Tomorrow,” he replied gleefully. “The
invitations went out this morning.”

“Yet I just told you last night of the
news.”

“I informed the staff first thing this
morning. They immediately set everything in motion.”

His smile was so bright that she didn’t have
the heart to tell him she was unnerved to have visitors in the
palace. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what she feared, but she had
the unnerving feeling that something terrible might happen.

“I ask but one favor,” she said.

“Anything.”

“Keep Aimery and the guards close.”

The smile disappeared from Theron’ face. “Do
you sense something?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” And in truth, she
didn’t. It was more like a nagging doubt than an unwavering
assurance that something would indeed happen.

“It’s probably just the babe affecting your
powers. That does happen.”

Rufina laughed as relief swept through her.
“I had forgotten that.”

“Everything will be fine, my love. You’ll
see,” Theron promised.

Rufina watched him hurry from the throne room
before she too rose and went to make a list of everything she would
need for the nursery.

Chapter Seventeen

Ahryn didn’t try to draw Lugus out of himself
the rest of the night. He was so deep in his memories that it was
as if he didn’t see the ground before him. So when he suddenly
stopped and whispered her name, it surprised her.

“Ahryn,” he said more forcefully as he
glanced at her over his shoulder. “Look.”

She followed his finger and found the moon
shining its light upon two great standing stones.

“The gateway,” she whispered and barely felt
Lugus’ hands as he pulled her off the black.

“It’s almost dawn. We should get you through
the gateway now before Marcus and his army appears. Not to mention
the Draconian that is aiding Marcus.”

Ahryn stared at the stones, unable to believe
that she had finally reached them. And it was all because of Lugus.
Without him she would still be at Marcus’ castle being readied for
a marriage she didn’t want.

“We must hurry,” Lugus said.

The urgency in his voice got her moving. She
lifted her skirts and came to stand beside him on the hill
overlooking the gateway.

“Is that a cottage?” she asked.

Lugus followed her gaze and cursed. “It is.
The less people that see what is about to take place the
better.”

He grabbed her hand and was about to start
down the hill when she stopped him.

“Wait,” she said and looked into the blue
eyes. “Let us watch the sunrise together. One last time.”

His face softened, and he gave her a slight
nod. She turned to face the glowing red ball that slowly broke the
horizon. Great beams of light pushed away the last remaining
remnants of night. She had known how much he loved to watch the sun
rise, and though she didn’t know the reason, she wanted to share
another one with him. Something that was theirs.

“Are you ready to return home?” he asked.

She nodded, and they started down the hill
when the ground began to rumble. Ahryn glanced at Lugus to see his
gaze focused somewhere in the distance.

“What is it?”

“Run,” he said and withdrew his sword.

She glanced at the gateway then back at him.
“Lugus?”

“Bloody run, Ahryn,” he shouted. “Marcus has
arrived. Get to the gateway now.”

Fear snaked through her to settle in the pit
of her stomach. “You cannot fight them alone.”

He took her by the arm and turned her to him.
“Ahryn, we talked about this. You must get to the gateway. Run as
fast as you can and never look back.”

“Nay,” she said and pulled his head down to
kiss him.

Lugus allowed himself to get lost in the kiss
for a heartbeat before he pulled back. He saw the fear in her
mystical blue eyes and wished he could erase it, but he couldn’t.
All he could do was sacrifice himself to make sure she made it into
the Fae realm.

The odd thing was that all these years he
wished for death when now he wished for life. He ran his finger
down her soft cheek. “Run.”

“I cannot leave you.”

“If I mean anything to you at all, you will
give me your vow that you will run to the gateway and never look
back.”

She hesitated, and he worried that she might
try and dissuade him, but she finally gave him a little nod and
turned to the gateway.

“I will hold them off as long as I can. Don’t
tarry,” he warned as he tightened his grip on the pommel of his
sword and spotted Marcus and his army riding hard and fast.

Lugus gave her a little push down the hill.
She lifted her skirts in her hands to allow her legs to lengthen as
he made sure to keep even with her. When they reached the bottom
Lugus moved in front of her and guided her toward the stones.

They reached the stones the same time Marcus’
army came within range to fire their arrows. Lugus used his sword
to knock away the arrows aimed at him as he waited to hear the
sound of the gateway opening and Ahryn stepping through.

But there was nothing.

“Lugus,” she cried.

There was a hysterical note in her voice that
alerted him something was terribly wrong. He turned to find her
standing between the stones, yet nothing had happened. The gateway
wouldn’t open for her.

He stood incredulous as his eyes locked with
hers. He couldn’t understand why the gateway hadn’t opened for her.
Then he saw her bracelet.

Her gaze followed his, and she closed her
eyes and sank to the ground. Lugus hurried to her to shield her
body as more arrows littered the ground around them. If she
couldn’t get through the gateway then he had to get her to safety
before one of the arrows found her as its mark.

“Ahryn,” he called as he rushed to her.

Just as soon as he stepped between the
stones, lightening flashed around him and the bright light of the
gateway opening blinded him.

If Lugus had been confused before, it was
nothing to what he felt now. He was no longer Fae, yet he had
managed to open the gateway. There wasn’t time to linger on the
hows, not when Ahryn was in danger.

“Step through,” he urged her as he pulled her
to her feet.

“Thank you.”

He wiped away a tear and pushed her through
the gateway. He caught just a glimpse of his home realm before he
turned back to Marcus and his army that now surrounded them.

Lugus lifted his sword and met a charging
soldier. Using his dagger, Lugus cut the soldier’s thigh as he
raced by on his mount. The soldier reined his horse around and
charged again, and this time Lugus managed to drag him off his
horse.

He had seen and committed enough killings to
last five Fae lifetimes, so it was not his intention to kill
Marcus’ soldier. But then the man jumped to his feet and aimed a
dagger at Lugus’ heart, it was by instinct alone that Lugus lifted
his sword and killed the soldier before his dagger found its way to
Lugus’ heart.

Lugus pushed the soldier off his sword and
raised his gaze to Marcus.

“I won’t allow you to live,” Marcus
shouted.

“Doesn’t matter now that Ahryn is safe in the
Fae realm.”

Next to Marcus was the man Lugus had seen
before. Long blue black hair and copper eyes. A Draconian. Lugus
would have to kill him. Somehow he had managed to keep himself
hidden from the Fae, which allowed him to walk on Earth
undetected.

“You have no idea what you’ve done.” Marcus
lifted his hand and arrows began to fly around Lugus.

Movement on the hill above him caught Lugus’
eye, and he spotted a man and woman staring down at them. It must
have been the long blonde hair blowing in the breeze that made
Lugus realize that it was Moira and Dartayous watching them. A very
pregnant Moira.

It was like a boulder had been shoved into
his gut. An arrow buzzed by his head leaving a gash on his neck,
but he ignored the pain. He ducked past another arrow and began to
walk toward the Draconian when suddenly the Draconian looked over
Lugus’ shoulder and his face went pale.

Lugus turned to see Ahryn crumpled on the
ground with an arrow in her shoulder. The gateway began to close,
and he knew he couldn’t leave her to die. He would have to take his
chances with Theron.

He sheathed his sword and jumped through the
gateway and knelt beside Ahryn. Just as the gateway closed he saw
the Draconian again, this time with a smile on his face.

Lugus no longer cared about the Draconian.
All that mattered was Ahryn and getting her safely to someone that
could remove the arrow so she could heal herself.

~ ~ ~

Rufina’s nervousness didn’t disappear as one
day turned into the next. The magnificent ball Theron had ordered
would take place that night, but all she wanted to do was stay in
her chamber.

“You look stunning, my love,” Theron said as
he walked up behind her and leaned down to kiss her neck.

She gazed at her husband in the mirror and
smiled. She had never seen him so excited since he learned of the
news of their babe. He was going to make an excellent father to
their children.

“They are waiting,” he said and took her
hand.

Rufina took one last look at herself in the
mirror. An elegant gown of silver graced her body and her hair had
been left down to flow freely about her except for a small section
that was held back away from her face by her crown.

She allowed Theron to lead her out of their
chamber and down the hall to the throne room where they would
receive gifts from emissaries from other realms. It was the first
time in nearly a millennia that Theron had opened the Fae realm to
allow the emissaries entry.

The throne room was crushed with people as
she and Theron made their way to their thrones. She glanced at her
husband and found his face beaming with pride. He gave her hand a
squeeze as he led her to her throne. It wasn’t until she had taken
her seat that he sat.

Rufina looked to her right and found Aimery,
the Fae commander and trusted friend, standing near Theron. She
gave Aimery a little nod for she had told him of her fears, fears
that could very well be attributed to her pregnancy, but she wanted
to be sure just in case.

Each emissary was introduced as they made
their way to the steps before Rufina and Theron, and after an
elaborate bow they would present their gifts.