Highlander The Demon Lord

by Donna Fletcher

  She was as eager as he to have the blood gone, to see it done and over with. She shivered when he lifted her out of the tub, a light chill greeting her.

  He was quick to wrap a towel around her and stand her in front of the hearth as he dried her. The bairn had changed her body and he loved the more defined curves to her waist and hips, her fuller breasts, her rounder backside. He loved watching her stomach grow larger with their bairn. There would be many more bairns to follow, a given since they made love so often, and he looked forward to watching her stomach grow with each one, knowing their love had conceived another bairn.

  “You are beautiful, wife,” he said, his hand resting gently on her stomach.

  Adara smiled. “For the first time in my life, I feel beautiful.”

  Warrick lowered his head. “You have always been beautiful.”

  Adara stretched her head up, eager to meet his lips as they came down on hers, eager to taste his kiss. It was no different than when he had kissed her before and yet it was different in every way. They were no longer strangers, no longer bound by a loveless union. They kissed because they loved and that was what made the kiss so different, so special in every way.

  The kiss left Adara wanting more and she took his hand and tugged him toward the bed.

  Warrick stopped her with a tug of his own. “We wait for Cyra, to be sure you are unharmed.”

  “That is not fair,” Adara said with a pout.

  “I agree, but until the healer confirms you are well, I will not touch you intimately.” He rested his hand on her stomach. “I want to be sure you both are unharmed.”

  That he loved her enough to deny himself pleasure, stirred her heart, though it did not help the sensual stirrings in her.

  Warrick quickly fetched her nightdress. He needed to cover her up or he feared he would not follow his own dictate. Afterwards, he settled her in bed and directed the servants to clear out the tub and to bring a hot brew.

  He sat beside her on the bed as she sipped at the fragrant brew. “You were a brave warrior today, wife. You kept our bairn safe. I am proud of you.”

  Adara swelled with pride, something she had never felt in her life. “We have no more worry from them.” Adara went on to explain what Maia had told her about Sondra and the man she loved, Searle, and how he feared for Sondra. “His own father having seen how brutal your da could be with women. He planned on rescuing her, but Sondra’s da saw that that never happened.”

  Warrick assumed that was why the dying Viking warrior had referenced his da. He thought Warrick the same as his da, brutal and heartless. “The sad part is that I would have expected Sondra to do her duty as Maia had encouraged her to do. Now, though, after falling in love with you, I mourn the pain our arranged marriage cost her. I will see what can be done to make amends to Searle’s family so they know I was not part of this.”

  “That is generous of you,” Adara said.

  “It is not generous. It is a wise thing for me to do.”

  Adara poked at her husband’s arm. “Wise maybe, but definitely generous.”

  A knock sounded at the door and before Warrick could call out, Callie’s voice rang clear. “It is Callie and Cyra is with me.”

  Warrick shook his head. “I will warn our sons about having a sister.”

  “What if we have all daughters?” Adara asked with a gentle laugh.

  “Do not curse us, wife,” he snapped and Adara laughed again as he shouted for Callie to enter.

  Callie rushed in before Cyra and went straight to the bed. “Cyra was already on her way here from MacCara keep when the warriors came upon her. Espy asked her to check on you since Craven refuses to let her go anywhere, winter signs promising more snow.”

  Cyra smiled broadly as she approached the bed. “You have a lovely sister, Warrick.”

  “She is a pest,” Warrick grumbled, it growing harder to keep Callie’s identity a secret.

  “And he loves me dearly,” Callie announced as if she proclaimed it to be so.

  Cyra held back her laugh. Adara did not.

  “You should go and leave us women to tend Adara,” Callie said with a smile to her brother.

  “Where is your husband?” Warrick asked, not budging off the bed.

  “I am right here to collect my wife,” Roark said, entering the room.

  “I want to stay and see for myself that Adara is well,” Callie protested.

  “I am well, Callie. There is no need for worry. You can come visit me later and we will talk,” Adara said.

  “If Cyra gives permission,” Warrick added.

  “Of course,” Callie said, “I will abide by anything Cyra says.”

  “Yet you have a difficult time following my orders,” Warrick said.

  “You are my brother,” Callie said as if that in itself explained it.

  “And your husband?” Warrick asked. “How do you not obey him?”

  “I obey Roark,” she said, turning a smile on her husband. “Sometimes. A few times. Every now and then.”

  “Like now,” Roark said not able to keep a grin from his face. “Come, wife, we take our leave.”

  Callie looked to Adara. “I am glad you are well. I will see you later, hopefully. She hurried to her husband’s side and out the door the couple went.

  “Callie is a delightful pest,” Cyra said, the soft laugh she had tried to stifle slipping out.

  “Someone who agrees with me,” Warrick said and stood. “I am grateful you came to tend my wife.” He stepped aside, but he had no intentions of leaving the room.

  “How have things been going with the bairn?” Cyra asked as she sat on the spot Warrick had vacated.

  Warrick grew impatient after a while, Cyra seeming to ramble on about things that had nothing to do with what Adara had suffered. He was about to interrupt when her questions began to change. Warrick realized after a few more questions what the healer was doing. She was establishing a pattern to see if anything had interrupted it.

  When she finally finished, having spent time examining Adara’s leg thoroughly, Cyra said, “I will prepare a comfrey poultice for the bruise. It will help heal it and a comfrey soak will do your hand well.”

  “What is wrong with her hand?” Warrick demanded and saw that her right hand was tucked beneath the blanket.

  Cyra stepped aside as he stepped forward.

  He held his hand out to her. “Let me see it.”

  Adara could not very well refuse him, though she wished she could, since she knew it would hinder a chance for them to be intimate tonight. She slipped her hand from beneath the blanket.

  Warrick cringed when he so how it had swelled. “Does it pain you?”

  “It most certainly does,” Cyra answered for her. “Espy asked me to see that Adara’s hand continued to heal nicely. Today’s altercation changed that.”

  “I did not notice it,” Warrick said.

  “The swelling started when she finally rested. The comfrey soak will help as will limited use of her hand until the swelling goes down and even for a while afterwards.”

  “I will see that she does,” Warrick said, sending his wife a stern look and she returned a smile. “You will stay a few days to make sure she does well, Cyra?”

  It may have been a request, but it was clear it was more of a demand.

  “I have little choice with the snow that has started falling heavily,” Cyra said, “though I do not mind. I was hoping to see if anyone else needed tending here.”

  “I am grateful for whatever healing you can provide for my clan,” Warrick said.

  “I will go see to having the poultice prepared while I partake of a hot brew. These old bones do not favor the cold.”

  “Thank you, Cyra,” Adara said. “I am glad you are here.”

  “All is well, Adara. There is no cause for worry.” Cyra closed the door behind her as she left the room.

  Adara hurried to explain when Warrick sat on the edge of the bed. “I did not want you to worry or delay making lov

e to me. That is why I said nothing about my hand.”

  He brushed the strands of her blonde hair away from her cheek, pleased that it now fell past her shoulders. He loved to run his fingers through the soft strands and watch the natural waves fall gracefully around her face. He also loved when she pinned it up and strands would fall free to tickle her cheeks or neck.

  God, but he loved his wife.

  “The future stretches in front us with endless days and nights to make love. As for worry, from this day on no worry shall be heaped on one and not the other. We share our worries.”

  She frowned. “That does not seem fair since mine is always greater than yours.”

  “And yours will be less when you share it with me.”

  He always sounded so assured and that always comforted Adara.

  “If you say so, husband,” she conceded.

  “I say so, wife,” he said and kissed her cheek. “Now tell me is there any worry you want to share with me?”

  Adara could think of only one thing, but she had given her word she would not speak of it again to him. So how did she share her worry?

  “Tell me what it is,” Warrick urged, seeing that something kept her from voicing her concern.

  “You told me never to speak of it again, but I worry—how can I not—when your mission is now tied with the sanction of our marriage?”

  His brow narrowed and his jaw grew taut. “It would make matters worse if I shared that with you, but there is no need for worry. It will be done soon.”

  A knock sounded at the door and Roark called out, “A matter needing your attention.”

  Adara looked to her husband, unable to keep the worry out of her eyes.

  “No worries,” Warrick commanded and gave her a hasty kiss. “Rest. I will return soon.”

  Adara lay there after he left, thinking on all that had happened. Was all good? Was there no reason to worry? Was her marriage secure?

  Her thoughts were too jumbled to let her rest. She got out of bed and went to the window to look out on the cold, dreary day that seemed much like her thoughts. All was quiet, snow falling, the land a pristine white. All was well and she should not let worry trouble her.

  Maia was gone. No one was out to kill her or Warrick. They were safe.

  Her eyes caught movement at the edge of the woods. Someone was there.

  Warrick suddenly came into view heading toward the woods and a short, cloak-draped figure darted out from beyond the trees and rushed toward her husband. The two talked and once again she watched as she did that night months ago as Warrick dropped a purse in the man’s hand.

  What secrets did they keep? What did the man search for?

  Until she knew, her worries would not cease.

  Chapter 30

  The Great Hall was empty, no one about, the only sound the crackle of the roaring fire as Adara slipped on her cloak ready to take an early morning walk, the bairn restless since she woke. All had quieted in the month since Maia had attacked her and she was pleased that her leg healed quickly along with her hand. It pained her now and then, but mostly it had healed well.

  She had another reason for a walk this early. She had woken to an empty bed and that was a rare occurrence. She wondered what had taken her husband from their bed and hoped her walk would uncover his whereabouts.

  The cold stung her cheeks when she stepped outside and a light snow fell on her. There had been no heavy snow since a month ago, only a light spattering now and again, which allowed Adara the pleasure of her morning walks.

  She had barely taken a few steps when powerful arms coiled around her waist, startling her, and she was turned around to settle in her husband’s arms.

  “What are you doing walking alone so early on this cold morning?” Warrick asked, keeping her close against him.

  “The bairn was restless. I thought a walk would calm him and since my husband deserted our bed I had no choice but to seek a walk on my own.”

  “Out of necessity, never willingly do I leave you alone in our bed,” Warrick said and kissed her cheek.

  Adara turned her head along with her husband, hearing anxious footfalls. Roark rushed toward them and if his hurried footfalls did not alert to a problem, his expression did. There was worry in his blue eyes.

  “A body has been found near the edge of the woods, not far from the kitchen garden,” Roark said. “You need to see it.”

  Warrick nodded. “After I return Adara safely to the keep.”

  Adara latched onto her husband’s arm. “I am going with you and please do not argue with me on this. The bairn needs the walk and I want to see for myself who it is. Besides, it is not far.” She tugged at her husband’s arm as she stepped forward as though the decision had been made.

  Warrick followed along with her, not bothering to argue. He preferred her with him anyway. He kept a firm hand on his wife, the light snow having turned to ice in some places., and he did not want her to suffer any fall especially with the birth so close.

  The body lay just beyond the kitchen garden, a disturbing thought to Warrick. How had someone gotten that close without being spotted? His troubling thoughts turned to anger when he came upon the body.

  “The man you met with in the woods,” Adara whispered, staring at the short man, lying on his back, a deep gash in his temple.

  Warrick stared at the dead man, Ronald. He had done business with the little man on various occasions, not that he liked him nor did he trust him, but he was a necessary evil. He had certain connections that he had acquired through years of dirty dealings. When Warrick’s own attempts to find the man King James searched for had hit a stone wall, he had had no choice but to seek Ronald’s help. At their last meeting, he had told Warrick that he was close to discovering the person’s identity. Had Ronald succeeded and had he been followed here and murdered before he could give Warrick the information? Warrick had no way of knowing and no way of finding out what Ronald had come to tell him… unless he caught the person who murdered him.

  What disturbed Warrick even more was that the person who killed Ronald had followed him here, which meant the culprit was aware that someone here was searching for the information.

  “This does not bode well,” Roark said.

  Warrick nodded as he turned toward Roark and saw that his wife had turned deathly pale, staring down at the dead man. He slipped his arm around her. “You should not be looking upon this.”

  His words snapped her out of her fearful thoughts. “He is the man who helps you with your mission for the King. Any information he had died with him. King James will not sanction our marriage.”

  Warrick ran his warm finger along her chilled pale cheek, wanting desperately to have color return to it. “You are my wife and no one will take you from me. You have my word on that.”

  “The King might not take me from you, but with our marriage not sanctioned, it means our child will be considered a bastard and no heir to your land and holdings. I know what it feels like to have nothing, be considered nothing. I do not want that for our child.”

  “That is not going to happen. I will find the man who killed him and find out what he knew.” He shook his head when she went to speak. “He is not dead long, which means the person cannot be far.” He turned to Roark. “You have sent men?”

  “They scour the area. He will be found,” Roark assured him.

  Warrick was relieved to see that a bit of color had returned to his wife’s face when he turned to her. “I will see you safely to the keep where you will get warm, rest, and not worry.”

  Adara found anger suddenly replacing her fear. She had obeyed her husband and not questioned him about the meetings in the woods with the short man. Even when the King had threatened their marriage, she had not asked her husband about the mission. But now with the man dead and her child’s future at stake, she could hold her tongue no more.

  “You told me we would share our worries. This truly worries me,” she said and surprised him by taking a step away from him. “You have kept me ignorant of this mission of yours for King James. I will know what goes on here.”

  “You make a demand of me, wife?” Warrick snapped and saw the sting of heat hit her cheeks though it was not because she was repentant, it was anger he watched flare in her eyes.

  “Aye, I do,” she returned to his side, placing her hand on his arm. “Being kept in the dark about this makes me worry all the more. Please, Warrick, I may be able to help, and I give you my word I will tell no one.”

  Warrick kept a silent tongue for a moment, then once again turned to Roark. “Have the body moved to one of the empty sheds. I will view it shortly and let me know as soon as you catch the culprit.” His words left no room for failure. The culprit was to be caught. He turned to his wife, taking firm hold of her hand. “Come, we talk in my solar.”

  They were both silent on their return walk to the keep. Once in Warrick’s solar nothing was discussed until the servants brought hot brews and Adara was snug in a chair near the fire with a warm wool blanket tucked around her.

  Warrick stood at the edge of the hearth and spoke as soon as the door closed behind the servants. “I cannot impress on you enough the importance of no one knowing what I am about to tell you.”

  “I have given my word. I will say nothing,” she assured him.

  He continued, “The throne has gone through many kings through the years, some worthy, some not. Some true descendants, others not. There has been a claim in the last few years that a true descendant of the first King of Scotland, Kenneth Alpin, had been found and is rightful heir to the throne. King James was warned about him and supposedly was shown proof that he existed. My mission is to find that heir. I searched and hit a point where I could find out no more. The man murdered, Ronald The Wise as he called himself, since he could find things out few could, claimed to have knowledge of this heir. Ronald was a sly one, always alert, always listening and gathering information that could possibly someday, somehow prove beneficial to him. He would store the information away for later use. When he caught wind of an apparent true heir, he paid heed to the news and kept storing whatever he discovered. When you heard us in the woods that day, Ronald told me he was close to discovering the identity and whereabouts of the so-called true king. I can only assume that was the news he was bringing me and was killed for it. When my men find the person who killed Ronald, I will have the answers. I will find the person and complete my mission. It will be done and our marriage sanctioned.”

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