Highland Mist Read online

  Aye, you do. Fire. Mine is wind. I can control it just as you’ll be able to control fire. Given time and training your powers will grow.

  Now she was intrigued. “Powers? I have more than one?”

  You can foresee the future. That gift is one many Druids have. Another is the gift of healing in which I have.

  “Iona never told me any of this.”

  She couldn’t. She fulfilled her destiny, Glenna. Now it’s your turn.

  “What destiny?”

  You are one of three chosen before they were born to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Time is of the essence, and you have much to learn. Come to me, Glenna.

  “I cannot. Conall has forbidden it,” she said. The wind grew weak. Moira was leaving, but Glenna had many more questions.

  Come, Glenna…

  “Don’t leave me,” she begged, but it was too late. Moira had left. And Glenna knew she had to learn more, even if it meant gaining the ire of Conall. The Druids were the ones who would tell her all she needed to know. Iona had been a Druid and she hadn’t lied to Glenna.

  * * * * *

  Moira collapsed against the oak true, her breath coming in great gulps, but a smile was on her lips.

  “Well?” asked Frang, the Druid high priest who had reared her.

  “She’ll come. The MacNeil almost beat all of her spirit out of her, but she still has some. Her curiosity will get the better of her.”

  “If she defies Conall he’s likely to lock her in a tower,” he warned, and leaned on his tall staff.

  Moira looked at the Druid elder and smiled. “He’ll try, but her powers are greater than we realized. Such strength courses through her, yet she has no idea.”

  “Then it’s good Conall took her from the MacNeil before more damage could be done.”

  Moira seethed at what the MacNeil had used Glenna for. Many innocents had perished, but she didn’t intend for that to happen again. Once Glenna learned to control her powers, the MacNeil wouldn’t be able to use her again.

  “Conall doesn’t know he’s fulfilling his destiny. He’s turned his back on his Druid blood.”

  “He’s trying,” Frang said, and ran a hand down his long white beard. “But he cannot deny what’s been given to him. With Glenna’s help he may yet come around.”

  Moira rose and stood next to the man who had reared her after her parents’ death. He had taught her everything he knew. “Do you think he’ll fight his feelings for her?”

  Frang cackled, the sound echoing around the stone circle. “He’s been fighting it since the first moment he laid eyes upon her. He may yet set her aside.”

  Moira squared her shoulders. “Then I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t put up much of a fight.”

  Chapter Nine

  The morning dawned crisp and sunny. Glenna eagerly waited until she heard Conall training with his men before she walked from her chamber. Her eyes found the guards that roamed the battlements. There was no need for them to ride the hills awaiting the MacNeil. The way the castle stood atop the cliff no one could ride toward the castle and not been seen many leagues out.

  There was no way the MacNeil could launch a surprise attack, which was why she felt safe enough to venture into the forest, though the way her heart beat so fast and loud she was sure everyone around her could hear it.

  She circled around Conall and his soldiers. The people still hadn’t accepted her yet none stopped her when she left the castle nor when she walked through the gates. She should have been elated yet part of her was miserable. Once again she was being ignored. Would there ever come a time when she meant something to someone, anyone?

  The music had woken her and continued to play as she broke her fast, until she could no longer deny the tug of the music. It pulled at her soul, urging her feet faster until she stood outside the stone circle.

  Moira stepped into her line of sight. There were so many questions Glenna wanted to ask, but they would wait. For now she was content to watch and learn as Moira held out her hand.

  Glenna walked with her until they reached a solid wall of stone. She looked to Moira and waited.

  “Do you believe in all I’ve told you?”

  Glenna nodded. “I know what Iona taught me. I know that innocent people have been harmed because—”

  “Because when you get angry or upset fires erupt,” Moira finished. “Iona was brought to teach you that you bring about fire during high emotion. I’ll teach you how to extinguish one, how to start one and how to control it.”

  “You can do that?”

  She smiled. “I’m a Druid.”

  “Is that what I am?” Iona had been right. She was finding answers, and she would find herself here.

  Moira nodded. “A very powerful one at that. Do you believe?”

  Glenna looked from Moira to the stone wall. Moira was trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t figure out what. “Aye, I believe.”

  In that instant the stone wall disappeared to show a luscious green meadow with a waterfall. It was like a dream. Everything was in bloom, and she had never seen so many different birds in all her life.

  “How,” she whispered, unable to believe her eyes.

  “It’s called a fe-fiada, an invisibility cloak. We make this invisible to anyone who doesn’t believe in us. They cannot see anything other than the stones themselves.”

  “So what if someone lied and said they believed?”

  “It doesn’t work that way. If one truly doesn’t believe then they’ll never see anything other than the stones.”

  Glenna followed her inside the circle. Something powerful and strong blossomed in her body. She was home. Her spirit was lighter, freer.

  “Welcome home, Glenna,” said a man with thick, white hair that flowed down to the middle of his back and a white beard that hung past his neck.

  He walked with a long, solid stick, but his eyes weren’t those of an old man. They were powerful in their intensity, and they bore into her soul as if they searched to see if she was worthy.

  “This is Frang,” Moira said. “He’s the Druid high priest.”

  “Hello,” Glenna said, and was relieved when he smiled at her, showing a mouth full of white teeth. He might present the world with the old-man guise, but she soon realized he was anything but ancient.

  Frang walked to her and held out his hand. Glenna looked down and saw a dagger. A ruby the size of her palm was nestled into the hilt and beautiful scrollwork etched into the blade.

  “This was to be presented to you at the time of your birth,” he said, and handed it to her.

  Glenna grasped the dagger, amazed at its weight, though it felt good in her hands, as if it belonged there. “Why wouldn’t the MacNeil let me have it?”

  “Because he isn’t your father.”

  Her eyes jerked to his. “You lie,” she said, not believing her ears. It couldn’t finally come true after years of wishing. It was too cruel.

  “I do not lie,” he said, his blue eyes soft and kind. But there was great sadness there as well. “I know this is hard for you, but it’s the truth. MacNeil took you from your parents.”

  Glenna saw the truth shining in his eyes and her knees buckled. Moira caught her and wrapped an arm around her for support.

  A lump formed in the pit of her stomach. “And who is my father?”

  “A great laird named Duncan Sinclair. He was well known throughout the Highlands, and his death was mourned deeply.”

  “He’s dead?” Nay, her mind screamed. He cannot be dead after I’ve just found out about him. “My mother?”

  “Catriona. A fairer woman I’ve never met. She had more grace in her little finger than any queen.”

  Glenna couldn’t believe her ears. There were so many things she wanted to know about her parents. Her stomach churned in dread for fear of the answer, but she took a deep breath, and asked, “Where is my mother?”

  Frang and Moira shared a look before he said, “She’s dead as well. They died together.”
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  “I need to know how.”

  “Come,” Moira urged. “No more questions.”

  Glenna jerked her arm from Moira’s hand. “Nay. For too long I’ve lived with lies. Tell me.”

  Moira closed her eyes and turned away. Frang smiled despondently. “Aye, you deserve to know. MacNeil killed them two days after you were born.”

  A knife plunged in Glenna’s heart as she let his words soak in. Nay. It couldn’t be true. But she knew it was. “Why?”

  “Your parents were Druids. MacNeil feared them.”

  “Yet he raised me. I don’t understand.”

  “He wanted to use you.”

  “And he did,” she said forlornly, thinking of the Mackenzies.

  “Don’t,” Frang said, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let distressing memories weigh down your heart. You were not to blame for the Mackenzies.”

  But she couldn’t believe his words because it had been her who enflamed the entire clan.

  Moira placed her arms around her. “This has been a lot for you today. Now you must turn your mind to learning the Druid ways. We have little time for you to prepare.”

  Glenna looked from Frang to Moira. “Prepare for what?”

  “The prophecy is soon to come to pass. You have much to learn before then if you are to succeed.”

  But Glenna wasn’t able to think past one single thought—her life had been a total lie, and she would exact her revenge against MacNeil for what he had done.

  * * * * *

  Conall wiped the sweat from his brow. He had trained harder and longer than usual this morning, and it still hadn’t taken a certain dark-headed temptress from his thoughts.

  Her body, wet and warm was still vivid in his memory from their swim in the loch. Her full lips still begged for his kiss, and his body demanded to sink into her until they were one.

  He desperately needed a woman, but not just any woman.

  His sword raised in time to stop Angus’ downward thrust. With a step and a pivot Conall relieved him of his weapon. The big man stared dumbfounded at his weapon thirty paces away.

  “Och, Conall. After all these years, how are ye still able to manage that one on me even with yer mind elsewhere?”

  Conall laughed. “You weren’t expecting it.”

  Apprehension tickled his skin. He looked to Glenna’s window. She wasn’t in the castle. He didn’t ask how he knew, he just knew.

  “Finish the training, Angus,” he called as he ran out of the gates to the forest and the circle of stones.

  As much as he hoped Glenna wasn’t with Moira, he knew it was futile. It had only been a matter of time until Moira reached her, and if he would have kept a closer eye on Glenna he might have kept her away a bit longer. He had been a fool to think he could keep Glenna and the Druids separated.

  He slowed his steps and crept close to the stone circle. He had only been inside once, when he was a small child, but it had lived with him forever.

  The Druids walked in pairs while the Druid warriors, Druids who defended other Druids who didn’t have powers, stood guard. Conall snorted. He hadn’t even ranked a Druid warrior.

  “It’s glad I am to see you again, Conall. It’s been a very long time.”

  Conall whirled around to find Frang standing behind him. He lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. “Must you always do that?”

  “As long as you sneak up on my people,” Frang said with a wide smile. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Conall straightened and flexed his hands. “Why?”

  “I knew you would come for Glenna, but you must let her train.”

  It was on the tip of Conall’s tongue to tell Frang why he didn’t want Glenna with the Druids, but he changed his mind.

  Frang sat on a nearby rock. “Oaths are funny things.”

  “How so?” Conall asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for the high priest to share whatever wisdom he thought Conall needed.

  “People can make too many oaths. When they do they put their honor at stake, or at least they think they do.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what you want to say and quit talking in riddles?”

  Frang cocked his white head to the side and grinned. “But I am, Conall. You just aren’t listening.”

  Glenna’s voice reached him, and he turned to see her standing beside Moira. She looked more relaxed than he had ever seen her, and it pained him to know he was going to try to keep her from them.

  It’s only for a wee bit. Then she can spend eternity with them if she wishes.

  “It doesn’t do to lie to yourself.”

  Conall turned to give Frang a piece of his mind only to find he was no longer there. “I hate when you do that.”

  Frang’s laughter echoed around the forest. He waited while Glenna trained with Moira until they walked from the circle. With a quickness that had saved his life several times, he ducked behind a tree and watched while they said their goodbyes. His feet barely touched the ground as he followed Glenna until she was safely inside the castle walls.

  He yearned to interrogate her but knew he couldn’t allow himself to get close. He might throttle her for not obeying him and then not gain any answers.

  Still, he had to admire her gumption. The MacNeil liked women meek and timid, but Glenna had shown him she had fire since she had been here. And it was something she would need if she were to be Highlander’s wife.

  Wife? Now where did that come from?

  He thought of finding Glenna naked and sprawled atop the covers, waiting for him while the drapes hanging on the bed gave him tantalizing glimpses of her body. Just that simple image caused his desire to flare. Painfully.

  A swim in the loch was just what he needed to cool his rock-hard cock. He nearly ran to the loch, ignoring Angus’ calls as he did. He quickly shed his kilt and dove into the chilly water. But it didn’t help.

  The water swirling around him only reminded him of her silky legs and how well they would fit around his waist as he filled her. She would be tight and hot, but she would have as much passion for loving as she did for living. He would just have to coax it out of her.

  He had to take his mind off Glenna and her tantalizing lips. He dove under and stayed until he thought his lungs would burst. His head cleared the water and he sucked in a deep breath. Then heard the splash.

  * * * * *

  Glenna couldn’t resist the temptation of the loch. It had beckoned once she had left Moira, and after informing Angus where she was headed, her feet moved swift and sure. She still didn’t know how to swim, but at least this time she could remove all her clothes and enjoy the delectable feel of the cool water against her skin.

  She ventured out until the water was to her waist before she stopped and crouched down. She leaned her head back to gaze at the clouds racing across the sky as she wondered at Angus’ smile when she had told him of her destination.

  It must have been a ripple in the water that alerted her. She wasn’t alone. She turned and saw a naked backend as someone went under the water. For several heartbeats she sat and waited when her mind screamed for her to run.

  When she had finally convinced herself to leave, a man burst from the water. Conall. Her breath wedged in her throat as she caught sight of his body. It was then she became aware of his lack of clothes.

  Water dripped from his unbound hair that hung past his shoulders and ran down his chest. Muscles flexed in his chest as he raised his arms to wipe the water from his face. One droplet of water held her attention as it wound its way through his black chest hair to his hard stomach and trim waist to disappear into the loch.

  She should have felt ashamed for her disappointment at not being able to see the rest of him, but no such emotion flowed in her. He was quite handsome with a body most women would die to run their hands down, and she had to admit she was one of them.

  She was so caught up in the glory of his body that she lost her balance and fell backward. Water splashed around
her face and she looked up to find him making his way toward her. Without thinking she gasped and stood. He stopped in mid-stride. His eyes left her face to drift hungrily over her body.

  Her breasts tightened and an ache began between her legs. The urge to have his hands on her heated her body. A low growl, one that could only come from a man burning with desire, resonated from Conall. She looked down and groaned before quickly covering her breasts and sinking into the water.

  How could she have forgotten she was naked? Because you were held captive by the hunger in his eyes. Just to make sure she hadn’t imagined that hunger, she chanced a look. Instead of desire, anger radiated from his molten depths.

  Fear gripped its steely manacles around her stomach. She hastily backed into deeper water until she was on the tips of her toes with her chin barely above water. He reached her in a blink and wrapped his big hands around her arms. She barely had time to gasp as he dragged her into deeper water. He held her away from him, his jaws clamped tightly together while he glared at her.

  “Conall,” she said, but his look hardened even more.

  “What were you doing away from the castle?”

  “I told Angus I was coming here.”

  “I know where you’ve been.” His eyes glistened with the sun’s reflection off the water.

  How did he know she had been to see Moira? It seemed she couldn’t keep anything from this man. “If you know, why are you asking?”

  “I told you I didn’t want you near Moira.”

  She had to make him understand. “I have no control over it. I’m drawn there by an unknown force, something I can’t ignore just as I can’t ignore the breath that fills my lungs.”

  “You didn’t try very hard.”

  “Please,” she beseeched. “I’ve learned so much today. I feel as though I’ve found part of myself that’s been missing. Don’t take that from me.”

  “I cannot let you go back.”

  “Aye, you can.”

  He sighed and she didn’t like the sadness that entered his eyes. “There are reasons. If you value your freedom, don’t return to them.”