Page 46 of Desiring the Highland Laird (Highland Destiny #1)

E vie sat at the long table in the great hall, exhaustion pounding through her. Every bone in her ached as she leaned back in the chair, her eyes heavy. Dougal finished wrapping the bandage around her cut hand and tied it off.

“There ye are, lass.”

“Thank you. How’s Callum?” she asked.

Callum was taken to their bedchamber as soon as they had staggered into the keep. She sent Dougal to him first to dress his wounds, knowing the cut on her hand was shallow and could wait.

“He’s a bit of a grump,” Dougal said with a grin. “He’ll be fine, though.”

Malcolm and Jamie returned, mostly unscathed. Malcolm sustained a slash through his upper arm from MacDonald’s great axe. Other than that, he was fine. Dougal went to see to them, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the blazing fire in the hearth.

She had never seen so many dead men and horses littering the field.

It was a horrifying sight and one she would never forget.

The smell of death permeated the air. When MacDonald and his men had ridden away, she had clung to Callum.

Another thing she would never forget was the hate blazing in the man’s eyes as he left, defeated.

She and Callum both knew it was not the end.

Finally, she pushed up from the table. Her steps were slow and laborious as she headed to the bedchamber she shared with Callum.

She needed to check in on him. She pushed the door open to see him sitting up in bed, his head back against the headboard, and a bandage wrapped around his upper torso and over his shoulder.

He lifted his head when he heard the door. His face lit with joy when he saw her.

She sat on the bed, reaching for his hand. He held hers, his thumb brushing over the bandage. They hadn’t spoken much since they left the battlefield. She sensed he was angry with her for not returning home. But now she was ready to face his wrath.

“Callum, I—”

“Ye dinnae leave,” he interrupted.

She kept her gaze fixed on their joined hands. Blood was still crusted under his fingernails. Her hand throbbed from the cut, but at least it had stopped bleeding.

“I couldn’t.” She refused to meet his eyes. She didn’t want to see the disappointment burning there.

Silence stretched between them. The only sound was that of the crackling fire in the hearth.

Finally, he said, “How did you ken to use the stone that way?”

She thought of the keystone, still stained with her blood, in her pocket. Since the final blow she had handed MacDonald, it had remained dormant.

“Moira told me.”

She braved a look and met his fierce blue gaze that was full of confusion, concern, love, and a touch of anger. She loved his expressive eyes.

“The goddess?”

She nodded. “She came to me on the beach. She told me if I left, it would reset Time and my memories would be erased. She told me you would die in that battle.”

Upon hearing her words, all the fight went out of him. He leaned heavily against the pillows at his back.

“I didn’t want to forget you, Callum.” Her voice was a roughened whisper. “And I couldn’t let you die.”

With his free hand, he reached for her and brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. She caught his hand, held it there against her face.

“I understand why ye did it, lass, but—”

“I had to save you.”

He looked thoughtful as he gazed at her and she saw he had more questions. “Tell me something, then. When I saw ye standing there with yer hair flying, it was as though everyone and everything slowed around us.”

She was nodding before he finished. “Yes, you’re right.”

“And…ye did that?” He lifted one brow as if he wasn’t sure he believed it.

“I did. Moira is the Goddess of the Present,” she said. “When she and her two sisters shattered the stone during the night of the Shattering, they put their power within each piece. Her power was the ability to slow down time.”

“But that’s not all, is it? I had…visions.” He sounded as though he were embarrassed by that. “And I heard ye speak in my mind.”

“With the power of the stone, I showed you the possible outcomes of your choices. I was able to speak to you in your mind when I did. I don’t know how, though. That was unclear to me. And I can no longer do that.”

He looked so relieved, she stifled a laugh. She added, “I did what I had to do to make sure you survived.”

He glanced down at her bandaged hand, his thumb still tracing over the linen. “And what was that?”

“She said, ‘Two bloodlines become one.’ She took my hand and sliced my palm with the tip of a dagger with a pearl handle. Then she told me to keep the keystone in my hand and never release it. As soon as I did, it started to hum and glow that brilliant light. She told me to use it and the power within me. I had no idea I was capable of…” She paused, searching for the words.

“Ye saved us. Me.” He sounded in awe as he said it.

“I had to.” She leaned toward him then, her lips a breath away from him. “You’re my love.”

“Och, lass. I cannae be angry with ye. Mo chridhe. ”

She had never heard him speak Gaelic before. The way the words rolled off his tongue sent a tingling sensation through her. It was a beautiful language.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

He took her face in his hands, leaned forward, and gently tipped her head back, preparing to kiss her. “It means my heart . For ye are and will always be.”

THE END