Taming the Highland Beauty (Guardians of the Isles #7)

Chapter Ten

A light flared, revealing a man, lean and hard-eyed, his face etched with lines of both age and desperation. Gille’s heart faltered as she recognised him as the dark-haired man who had once sought to capture her. But his demeanour was different now, a plea in his eyes belied his hardened exterior.

Callum drew his sword and stood between her and the man. “We will not run this time. Prepare yourself to fight.”

“I dinna want tae fight ye,” he said, his voice low. “I’ve been followin’ ye in these woods fer two days.”

“Two days? That is impossible,” Gille exclaimed. “We have not been wandering through the trees for that long.” But in the man’s eyes, she saw the truth. “Nay!”

“We still have time,” Callum said, his voice softer now, but his body still tuned to possible danger. “Why have you been following us?”

“Gille, my daughter... the one ye saved when she was lost in the woods... she is failing. Ye must help her.”

Gille hesitated, her mind torn between their search and the memory of the little girl she had once returned to Dunvegan village. Callum stood protectively in front of her, suspicion etching lines around his mouth. “How can we trust what you say is true? You were willing to harm us and helped burn down the forest last time we met to get what you wanted.”

The man’s face fell, but there was understanding in his eyes. “I regret my actions. I’ll sacrifice my own life tae ye right here and now if ye’ll help my child.” The dark-haired man stepped forward, placing the tip of Callum’s sword against his chest.

Gille stepped around Callum. “There will be no need for sacrifice. If you promise we will be safe if we go with you, that will be sufficient.”

“I promise ye’ll be safe,” the man said in a ragged voice.

Callum’s body stiffened. “Gille—”

“A child’s life is at stake.”

Callum sheathed his sword and nodded. “I will be watching you very closely,” he warned the man.

“The name is Declan,” the man said. His eyes, once filled with a fierce determination, were now pools of sorrow.

Compassion replaced hesitation as Gille stepped forward. “Lead the way.”

The single flame of the lantern illuminated their way as they hurried towards the village. The forest, though still bearing the scars of the fire, seemed to respect their newfound resolve. The trees parted as if yielding to an unseen force, their skeletal branches forming a protective canopy above them.

When they finally reached the village, it was bathed in torchlight, casting long shadows over the ground as they made their way to Declan’s home. As they stopped at the door, Gille’s heart pounded in her chest.

The door creaked open, revealing the young girl who was once a bundle of boundless energy and questions, lying motionless on a makeshift bed. Her skin was pale, her breathing shallow.

Without a word, Gille knelt beside the child. Her hands hovered over the girl, a soft glow emanating from her palms. Gille closed her eyes and concentrated on pouring her life force into the child as she had with the fawn earlier that day.

Gille could feel Callum beside her. His presence was a welcome balm as her body grew heavy and weak. After what felt like hours, Gille felt a change in the child, a flicker of energy returning. The child’s breathing had deepened, her colour coming back. Hope, like a fragile flower, bloomed in Declan’s eyes. When the little girl finally opened her eyes, a weak smile graced her lips.

“Praise the saints!” Declan cried as he dropped to his knees beside his daughter. “Thank ye, Gille. Thank ye from the bottom of my heart. She’s all I’ve got in this world.”

Gille collapsed as a wave of exhaustion came over her. Callum caught her before she fully fell, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her tight against his chest. As he held her, a sense of peace washed over Gille. She had saved a life, but the greater battle was far from over. The curse still lingered, a dark shadow hanging over her own future. And they had lost two days in the process.

“Do not worry,” Callum said as though reading her thoughts. “We are close to finding the beech tree. Regain your strength and we will continue our search.”

Declan placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead then stood, moving to the hearth. He retrieved a wooden mug, and dipping a ladle into a cauldron that hung above the fire, he poured liquid into the mug then offered it to Gille. “Drink this. The bone broth will help tae revive ye.”

Callum accepted the mug and held it up to Gille’s lips. The rich broth warmed her as she took tentative sips.

Declan helped his daughter into a sitting position before he filled another mug for her to drink. “Ye are lookin’ fer a beech tree?”

Gille nodded. “One with a hollowed-out trunk.”

“I know a few of those in the forest. I might be able tae help ye find the one ye’re looking for. ’Tis the least I can do fer saving my daughter.”

Callum eyed Declan warily. “How did you go from wanting to possess Gille for her magic, to burning down the forest, and now wanting to help her?”

Declan’s face filled with regret. “I was a fool, thinking only of the moment. The laird, yer brother, helped us all see the error of our ways. When we didn’t get what we wanted, we turned tae the British soldiers. Our blind ambition may have caused more problems fer ourselves and all Scottish people.”

A heavy silence hung between them, until Declan’s eyes filled with a newfound resolve. “I have made a grave mistake,” he confessed, his voice barely a whisper. “But I vow, from this moment forward, tae rectify my wrongs.”

Callum, his face etched with scepticism, regarded Declan warily. “Your words are hollow, Declan. Actions speak louder than words.”

Gille set down her empty mug and shifted her gaze between the two men. “Perhaps we can find a way to move forward together,” she suggested, her voice stronger now. She tried to stand, but her legs were not quite ready to support her yet.

Declan’s gaze met Callum’s. “Stay here tonight, rest; then at daybreak, I’ll guide ye tae the trees.”

Gille searched Callum’s face for a sign of acceptance, and when she saw what she needed to see, she nodded. “Thank you, Declan, for your hospitality.”

The man motioned to a doorway off the front room. “The two of ye take my bed fer tonight. I wish tae remain here with my daughter.”

“That is not necessary—” Gille’s objection died in her throat as Callum lifted her into his arms.

“Thank you,” he said to Declan as he carried her from the chamber and set her gently upon the straw-filled mattress. He deftly unfastened her cloak and removed it from her shoulders, setting it at the base of the bed before backing away. “You need to rest.”

She caught his hand, stalling his movements. “Where will you sleep?” she asked, looking about the hazy chamber for another resting place.

“I doubt I will be able to sleep, so I will stand guard,” he said, his voice tight.

“I believe Declan is earnest in his desire to help, so there is no need for a guard. Besides, you need to rest as well.” She scooted over, making a space for him beside her. “We can share.”

“That would not be wise.” His gaze moved from her feet upward. Raw hunger burned in his eyes.

A shiver tingled through her as she met his gaze. He smelled of sandalwood and musk. The seductive mix made her bold, clouding thoughts of anything but him. “I have been a prisoner in Fairyland and the forest most of my life. I have seen little and experienced less. If I only have three more days on this earth, then I do not want to spend them doing only what is safe, or wise.”

His pulse beat wildly at his temple. She tugged him closer and just when she thought he would object, he relaxed. “Keiran, Aria, and Graeme told me a little about Fairyland and what Oberon did to them. I cannot imagine the horrors you have suffered at that fairy’s hands.”

“I do not wish to dwell on the past. The here and now is all that is available. I choose to focus on these precious moments, and I would ask that you kiss me again.”

He angled his head and lowered his mouth until she could feel his breath on her lips. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she pressed upwards, taking what she so desperately wanted... to feel something other than fear. There had been enough fear in her life. It was time for something more.

*

Callum’s emotions warred inside him as he tasted Gille’s sweet innocence, as he wrapped himself in her touch. It had been far too long since he’d last kissed a woman. Far too long since he’d been unsettled by anything. And Gille unsettled him in every way.

From the moment they had first met in the forest, he had been assailed by unfamiliar emotions and feelings, half of which he could neither name nor identify. She did something to him he could not comprehend. Part of him wanted to hold her, to kiss her, and the other part wanted to run as far and as fast away from her as he could.

He broke the kiss and stared down into her face. Her gentle green eyes searched his, but it was the concern there that touched him deep in his heart. Callum reached out to lay his hand against the flush of her cheek. The softness of her skin never failed to amaze or warm him. Magic ran through her blood. She had been born to the fae, a race he used to tell himself he despised for all they had done to his family. But since he had come to know her, he could see she was no different than any of the MacLeods. Fae blood also ran through them.

She watched him so intently that it made his throat tight. There was so much emotion in those green eyes of hers: the same desire that coursed through him reflected there. But he was, first and foremost, a gentleman. His mother and Lottie had both made certain of that. And he would not take advantage of Gille in this time of vulnerability. He sat back, then stood. “You said you were a prisoner in Fairyland.”

Disappointment flared in her eyes, so much so that he almost moved back to the bed. It took great strength to turn away and move to the opposite wall, putting some distance between them. “Was there ever a time you were free?” He shook his head, trying to clear his senses of the taste of her, the feel of her warm and willing in his arms.

“When I was young and not yet noticed by the fairy king, I used to run and play like the other fae children. That carefree life did not last long, however. As soon as Pearl tried to steal Aria into the human realm for the first time, Oberon took notice of us all and we were forced to hide in the shadows.”

“That sounds terribly lonely.”

She shrugged.

“I know a thing or two about loneliness.” Callum’s memories of being alone were still there, just below the surface. That emptiness inside, when stirred, had bordered on panic.

A frown touched her lips. “How could you be lonely in a castle full of people?”

“There were not others at the castle. Alastair, Tormod, and Orrick all fled after our mother’s death, taking many of our warriors with them and leaving Rowena and me alone with a madman for more years than I care to remember.”

“Your father?”

“When he died, it was almost a relief. Then only Mrs Morgan, our chatelaine, Mrs Honey, our cook, Thomas Becks, our steward, and Lottie, our healer, remained with my sister and me.”

“What about the Grey Lady?”

Callum felt the corner of his mouth quirk upwards. “She was in the castle all those years Rowena and I were growing up, but we had no idea since our mother was locked in the Fairy Tower along with Gwendolyn and her siblings.”

Gille gasped. “Truly?”

He nodded. “So, you see we both suffered a kind of imprisonment, though I am certain your situation was far worse.”

“Then you must know how desperate I am to break my curse and finally live my life bathed in sunlight and surrounded by people who care about me.”

“Tomorrow we will find that pelt.” Callum clenched his fist at his side, fighting a sudden feeling of helplessness. In adulthood, it had become his custom to shape events in the way he wished them to go, not hope and pray that everything would work out as he wished. “I cannot believe we were lost in the woods for two days.”

She sobered. “Oberon will do everything in his power to keep us from succeeding.”

“Then we must do everything in our power to see that he does not.”

“Agreed.” Her voice held a hopeful tone once more. “When we find the beech tree and Lottie’s sealskin, then we will need to confront the selkies. We must apologise for past offenses against them and convince them to help us remember the song we need to break my curse.”

Callum hesitated a moment. “Would it not be better if we kept the pelt as leverage until they give us the song we need? Why surrender our only advantage against the selkies?”

“Nay.” Gille shook her head. “That will only make matters worse. The MacLeods and the selkies have a long history of animosity. Or do you not remember the last time we encountered the seals and their great desire to drag you beneath the waves?”

“I noted no acrimony.”

Her eyes went wide. “Now you are just being foolish. They wanted to hurt you, Callum.”

“Lottie will help them understand we mean no harm,” he assured her.

Once again, she shook her head. “The darker seals are ready to forgive, but not the lighter ones,” Gille whispered. “I have been the one in danger before, but now the threat is to you.”

He straightened. “I am willing to take that risk, Gille,” he said, his voice firm.

“I am not.”

His lips tightened. “We are getting ahead of ourselves. First, we must find the pelt. Then we will deal with the rest.” He lay on the floor in front of the entrance to the chamber and arranged his tartan around him like a blanket. “Right now, we need to sleep.”

Gille took a deep breath and released it harshly, making her frustration with him obvious. He did not care. The selkies were not the only threat they would have to face soon. Oberon had made it clear he was watching them, determined to keep Gille trapped in his curse. For Gille to have any kind of future, they would not only need help from the selkies, but they also had to find a way to defeat Oberon once and for all.

Instead of relaxation, a wave of dread washed over Callum. The task seemed insurmountable. Could he and Gille possibly succeed where others had failed?