Page 35 of Highlander of Steel
Killian gave a slight nod of his head and, satisfied that she hadn’t twisted her ankle or hurt herself, he led her onward through the trees.
Golden sunshine streamed through the canopy of oaks and alders and rowans, casting lines of hazy, heavenly light on the forest floor. Dappled pools that caught the hues of Ailis’s fiery mane of hair as she walked through: streaks of honeyed amber; filaments of the richest, reddest browns; strands that were almost blonde; undertones of russet and bright locks of the most vivid copper. A whole autumn palette, echoing the woodland.
“It’s beautiful here,” she whispered as they followed a well-worn trail through the trees, merry birdsong accompanying them.
“Aye, it is,” Killian agreed, wondering when she would notice.
It happened as the crowded trees began to shun one another, the space between them growing wider. The youngest trees sprouted up on the edge of the forest—their forbears had been torn down by vicious winter winds and one too many storms battering their ancient bark and brittle trunks—having not yet learned to share the soil as well as their ancestors.
Ailis came to a dead stop. “What are ye doin’?”
“What do ye mean?” Killian replied innocently.
“Why have ye brought me here?” Her voice wavered, those beautiful green eyes wide to the whites, like a warhorse that had finally seen too much of death and destruction.
He threaded his fingers through hers, a tight grip but not a commanding one. “Me bride cannae be afraid of the sea,” he said. “The sea is as much a part of Clan MacNairn as the stones that built the castle, the oaks we just walked through, the banners we fly when we ride. As ye ken, the sound of it is ever-present in the castle, and I cannae have ye tremblin’ every time ye hear it.”
With a firm pull, he guided her across a small slip of coarse shrubland to where the earth dropped away and the wide, majestic sea spread out endlessly. A cliff that overlooked a peaceful cove, where children went crabbing in the summer, women dived for oysters and mussels, and men set out to fish in rough seas.
In the autumn, however, there was no one down there. The fishermen set sail from further down the coast in the colder months, straight off the beach.
Ailis began to panic, desperately tugging against his arm, trying to break free. “Please, me Laird!” she begged, wild-eyed and pale-faced. “Please, daenae do this!”
“I have nay choice,” he murmured, tightening his grip on her hand to hold her steady, at the very least.
He needed her to look, needed her to gaze out at the sea until it no longer had that devastating effect on her. It didn’t work on the men he knew, who had been scarred by war and couldn’t hear so much as the crack of a log in the fire or the scrape of a sword being sharpened without crumbling, but he was certain it would work on her.
“Please!” she croaked, tears glistening in her eyes. “Please, daenae throw me off the cliff! Daenae throw me in the sea, I beg ye!”
Horror struck him like an arrow through the chest. At once, his grip slackened, while his other hand came up to cradle her face. He turned to face her, gazing deeply into her eyes, a thick lump forming in his throat as she peered up at him with such terror that he nearly threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to the castle.
“Why would I do such a thing?” he asked thickly.
She blinked. “I… daenae ken. Ye just said ye couldnae have… a bride who’s afraid of the sea. Ye just said ye didnae have a choice.”
“Aye, but I didnae mean I was goin’ to get rid of ye,” he sighed. “Do ye trust me, lass?”
Ailis bit her lip, her eyes glazing over as she contemplated her answer. He tried not to be insulted that it was taking her so long, reminding himself of how they had met and the lingering shockof his proposal. She was right to be wary, even ifheknew that he meant her no harm.
At last, she gave the smallest of nods.
“Then will ye let me help ye?” he prompted.
A deep, shaky breath inflated her chest, her palm clammy against his. She opened her mouth to reply, but it seemed the fear still had too fierce a grip on her, as no sound emerged.
So she swallowed loudly and dipped her head in a second, more decisive nod.
13
“Ye… m-must… be out of y-yer mind!” Ailis stammered on the edge of the waterline, the tiny wavelets sweeping in like eager, frothing tongues to taste her curled toes.
Is he actuallymade of stone? Is that why he cannae feel anythin’?
She could not fathom how Killian could be standing up to his waist in that viciously cold water, bare-chested, as if it were the height of summer and he was bathing in a sun-warmed brook. Sure, it was pleasant to look at, seeing him wet and half-naked, but even that wasn’t enough to compel her to take a step forward.
“It’s nae so bad once ye’re in it,” he called, his arm extended toward her.
“That is a blatant lie!” she shot back, shivering as a bolder wavelet raced up and covered her entire foot before retreating.
