Page 69 of Kilted Abduction
He cocked his head. “I dinnae understand.”
She looked at him, frustrated as she seemed to be trying to find the right words. Thora sat back in the chair and blew out a long breath.
“What I’m sayin’ is that ye and Ciara… yer relationship is filled with warmth. And love.”
Magnus’ heart skipped a beat, and he looked away as his sister’s words sunk into his mind. The truth was, he didn’t quite know what to say. Part of him was happy to hear what Thora was saying but another part of him feared it. Magnus had never let himself feel much for anybody outside of his family. He’d never had time for it. Nor the desire. But Ciara had awakened something in him… something he never knew existed before. And Magnus did not like what he did not know.
He looked at his sister. “How dae ye ken? I mean… how dae ye ken what ye’re seein’ is true and right? Nae all yer visions are right.”
“They’re nae. But when it comes tae relationships between people, I’ve never been wrong. ‘Tis a thread I see that runs between people. Connects them. Binds them together,” she said.
“And ye’ve seen that thread between us… between Ciara and me?”
“Aye,” she replied. “But if ye keep spendin’ yer time pushin’ her away, that thread will snap. Ye’ll lose each other.”
“Snap?”
“Aye. Snap,” she replied with a nod. “This ain’t just about kissin’ her tae get a look inside her head, Magnus. This is about ye bein’ happy too. We all want tae see ye happy.”
Magnus said nothing for a moment as Thora’s words echoed around in his mind. Happiness wasn’t something he’d ever stopped to think about. He’d just assumed that happiness was for other people. The mere thought of happiness was so foreign to him that it scared him. The truth was, Magnus had no idea what his life would look like if he was happy. Had been so caught up in his duty that he never thought it would be something he’d have in his life.
His life had been marked by so much sadness and tragedy, most of Magnus believed that happiness would forever elude him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Ciara stood in the center of her bedchamber looking at the bag she’d packed. She had originally thought to stay in Dunvegan until the spring, when the snow melted, and the temperatures warmed a bit. But the last few days had shown her that plan was untenable. She had spent the last few days avoiding Magnus because the connection between them had grown to the point that it felt like her heart might burst in her chest.
Worse, he had been acting strangely. Every time he went near her, Ciara’s heart had been sent racing and her insides had done somersaults. The desire to give in and kiss him had been overwhelming. It had taken every scrap of will she possessed to keep from doing what her heart and soul wanted her to do. She still tingled at the thought of it.
Thankfully though, in the past days, Ciara’s mind had finally managed to overrule her body and drown out her desires with logic. She knew if she gave in and kissed him, it would make it that much harder to leave. She knew something between themwould shift if she let it happen. Something profound. And if she let that happen and listened to what her heart wanted her to do, she would then give in to her other desire, which was to stay at Dunvegan. With Magnus.
It was why she had to leave. Now. The storm that had lashed the lands for the past few days had finally released its hold and although the snow around them was piled high and it was still freezing out there, she had no choice but to leave, to protect everyone. As the days had passed, a cold certainty had gripped Ciara that Fairfax and her father would be coming for her, and she was determined to be far from the Isle of Skye when they arrived.
By removing their pretext for being there, she would prevent them from making war upon the MacLeods. Regardless of what Magnus and the others thought, she held firm to the belief in her heart that they would be safer without her in Dunvegan than they were with her there. She feared for them and would not be the reason her father and that English monster made war on them.
Despite the conviction of her belief, leaving the castle—leaving Magnus—was proving to be harder than she had expected. She had stood there staring at her bag for a while without moving. Her reluctance showed her just how desperately she didn’t want to leave him. But it also showed her the necessity. It wasn’t going to get any easier if she allowed herself to stay and grow even closer to him. It would only get more difficult, maybe even impossible.
Ciara exhaled sharply and gave herself a small shake. This was the right decision. Her heart might be telling her otherwise, but this was the best thing she could do for everybody involved. It was how she would protect Magnus and his family. She stepped forward and started to tie her bag closed when the door to her chamber squeaked behind her as it opened. She wheeled around, eyes wide, heart thumping with fear—a fear that intensified when she saw Magnus standing in the doorway. His gaze shifted from her to the bag on her bed.
“Goin’ somewhere?” he asked.
Ciara silently cursed herself for moving so slowly and reluctantly. If she hadn’t dawdled, wresting with the decision, she could have been leagues from Dunvegan already.
“I have tae go, Magnus.”
“Ye dinnae have tae go anywhere.”
“I dae.”
“Why?”
“Because I willnae be the reason yer family is attacked,” she said. “I willnae be the reason that ye are hurt. Or worse.”
“We’ve talked about that?—”
“And ye’ve always kent me mind. Ye’ve always kent that I had planned on leavin’ before me faither and Fairfax marched on ye.”
A shadow of emotion crossed his face, and Ciara felt her heart stutter. She saw that she’d hurt him. And she hated that. Ciara never wanted to hurt Magnus.
