Highland Destiny

by Hunsaker, Laura

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  Her eyes snapped and flashed with her anger, but she reined it in, and rather than telling him where he could go, she calmly and coldly told him, "That is my business." She swung her horse toward the trees again, and once again Liam's voice cut across her thoughts.

  "Wait, that's not what I meant."

  Mackenzie didn't bother to hide her irritation. "Then what did you mean, Liam? You've already made your opinion of me clear more than once, this is no different."

  "Did you...are you..." he was struggling for words. Under different circumstances, Mackenzie might have found it endearing. "Are you really everything my brother believes you to be?" He looked uncomfortable in asking, as if he was admitting some great embarrassment.

  She thawed a little. "Yes. And even if you never trust me or believe anything that I've said, believe that I love your brother with everything I am. Everything I am doing now, Liam, is for Connor. Remember that. And keep him away as long as possible." She turned before he could stop her again, and without a backward glance, urged her horse forward.

  Once she had ridden down the gently sloping hill, the trees encroached on her as if their branches were outstretched hands coming for Mackenzie. She was frightened of riding alone, and once she was in the thickest part of the woods where daylight barely filtered through the canopy, she was frightened of the dark. For someone who had grown up in the sparse desert of Las Vegas, the dark, cool green forest was intimidating. Knowing that it was snowing only scared her more; she didn't like the idea of snow unless she had a hot 335

  chocolate and was sitting by a fire. The fact that she was in a strange forest with snow falling added to the isolation.

  With only the soft snuffling of the horse, and her thoughts for company, Mackenzie thought over her last night with Connor. It had of course been wonderful, and awful. Seeing his disappointed face when she'd lied and told him she wasn't pregnant was heart wrenching. All she'd wanted to do was to make love all night long, but she'd had to fake a period so he wouldn't catch on. Luckily, like most guys, he hadn't wanted any details, so she was able to just smile when he mentioned trying for a "wee bairn" after her flux. If it broke her heart to lie to him, then leaving him would rip it out, stomp on it, crush it, and pulverize her tender heart.

  She'd been riding for almost a whole day now, and she ought to be able to see the castle soon enough, providing that Liam hadn't given her wrong directions on purpose, letting her wander around the woods until she starved, or froze, or was eaten by wolves.

  Soon she was able to see a dim light coming from ahead.

  Once the trees broke, and she was able to clearly see the land in front of her, she gasped. Apparently, the snow had fallen much thicker and faster than she'd imagined; the trees must have sheltered her from the brunt of the snowfall. There was easily six inches of fresh powder covering the normally soft green ground. And it was still falling. Mackenzie pulled her wool cloak closer around herself and pressed on.

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  Chapter Thirty Two

  Connor glared at his brother. "What do you mean she slipped away?" he demanded. They were downstairs in his private solar, where Connor preferred to conduct most of his business.

  "I'm not sure, Connor, she just was behind me one minute and the next she wasn't. I'm sorry."

  "You're sorry?" The words made little sense to Connor. He should have gone with them, but the chance for them to reconcile the competitive streak was too tempting. His anger at Liam for not keeping a closer eye on her was tempered only by his fear for Mackenzie. "She's not familiar with our lands, she must be lost, and so scared." Connor's gut clenched with the idea of Mackenzie alone and afraid in the cold. He glanced out the window at the rapidly falling snow.

  The snows had come late this season, and it looked as if nature was trying to make up for it.

  He was on his feet in an instant. Liam's hand stopped him as he headed for the door.

  "Ye canna go out in that," Liam indicated the increasing snow.

  "If she is out there, how do ye think she will fare? We may be accustomed to this, but she isn't." Connor's voice took on a strained quality. "She'll be dead before sunrise." His voice broke slightly on the word dead.

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  Liam tried to soothe Connor, "She probably just rode ahead to see the loch. You ken how she liked to look at the loch and the neighboring isles."

  "And what? That makes it alright that she is missing in a snowstorm?! Liam, I am surprised at your callousness. This isn't like you. There is a woman out there, in the snow, lost and alone, and you want me to wait idly by until she comes prancing home? What is in your mind?"

  "Aye, of course, Connor, you're right. Let's get the men and I'll show you where we were when I noticed she was missing."

  While they were on their way to the stables, Connor felt something was wrong. Liam's explanation was lacking, and his behavior was unlike his normal self. Why would he lie about Mackenzie's disappearance? It made no sense.

  Something was niggling in the back of his head, but he couldn't figure it out. Connor mounted his destrier, and glanced automatically toward the stall where Mackenzie's horse should have been. Snow White, she'd named her, for the fairy tale character. The princess who had a wicked queen after her, who tricked her into eating a poisoned apple, and then fell into a deep sleep...the Campbell! He didn't understand why the story made him connect the two, but it did.

  "She's gone to him," he breathed.

  Connor had barely voiced the words, but he watched as Liam's back stiffened in response. Liam was in on it! "And you kenned it!" Connor accused Liam.

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  Liam slowly turned toward his brother, and paused, allowing a loaded silence to hang between them before confirming it.

  "Aye."

  Connor's anger made him see red. "Did you think that I wouldn't figure it out?" He was almost yelling now, and had to work to modulate his voice. "Why Liam? You ken I'm in love with her. She's my wife, and whether you understand what that means or not, she's your sister now. How could ye do this?"

  "It was what she wanted." Liam was interrupted by Connor.

  "And that makes it alright? You know better, Liam. So she tricked you into helping her? Why wouldn't ye come to me?

  Why would you do this? Why?"

  "She's no' good for you Connor. Can't you see the hold she's got on you? It's unnatural. And if she's in league with the Campbell, all that will happen is that our clan will fall. For the good of the clan, Connor, you ken that. We were raised to put the clan first. Ever since you abducted that woman," he sneered the word, "you've gone soft. She has you believin'

  her lies."

  "She has a name. It is Mackenzie. And I have done nothing wrong. What happened to you Liam?" Connor sadly shook his head back and forth. "You are my brother. You are supposed to support me no matter what, or who, my choice is."

  Connor saw the pain in his brother's eyes, but all Liam said was, "We can't go after her. She should be at the Campbell's keep by now. We can't go now."

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  Connor had to take several deep breaths before he could speak again. The thought of Mackenzie in the hands of that vile, disgusting snake had his heart racing. She was so soft, and warm, and spirited. What would happen to her? Lord Campbell would delight in breaking her. When he spoke again, it was very soft.

  "He's going to kill her, Liam. And you just hand-delivered her to his door."

  "You don't know that is what he has planned for her.

  That's what she wants you to believe. And you have believed everything she has told you. All the lies..." Connor cut him off again.

  "She hasn't lied to me Liam."

  "Are you so certain? She lied when she told you that she wasn't with child."

  Connor sucked in a sharp gasp. "What?"

  "She is pregnant, Connor, and she has gone off to our enemy with your child in her belly. That is an unforgivable lie.

  What will
the Campbell do with a MacRae babe?"

  "You're lying!" But Connor could see that he wasn't.

  "We need to form a plan of attack, but not for rescue. We need to kill the Campbell. Now I say we continue with our original plan. We shall get the MacDonalds and the MacLeods to help, and storm the Campbell's keep. He won't be able to withstand such a force."

  "You have this all worked out I see." Connor sounded calm, but inside he was fuming.

  Liam shrugged.

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  Connor was livid that his brother had gone to such lengths to help Mackenzie escape and now he wanted to leave her to the Campbell's clutches. "And what of the dark forces with which he has tampered?"

  "We will deal with that if it arises."

  "So, you are willing to let my wife, my pregnant wife, die at the hands of our enemy, while we wait for help to arrive?"

  Connor knew he sounded incredulous, but didn't care. This was an asinine plan, and Liam was better than this.

  "I have already spoken with the MacLeods, and they will help. The MacDonalds have said any enemy of the Campbell's is their ally. It is done. We should wait a day or two and then amass our men. It will be simple."

  "I am ashamed of ye, brother." His words found their mark and Liam stiffened.

  "While you might be happy to rush in after your woman, I prefer to wait for reinforcements. My plan is sound, Connor, and no matter how angry you are, you must see that. And if you refuse to see my way, then think about it like this; if she is who you say she is, mayhap it is a good thing to have her there. She can do what she was brought here to do. And if those magicians were telling the truth, then they will protect her." He sounded so smug. It rankled to hear his brother speak so dismissively of the woman he loved.

  "If she dies, Liam, I'll never forgive you." Connor's eyes burned with the sincerity of his words.

  He turned and stalked out of the stable. Ignoring the blinding snow, he strode to the castle and threw open the door. Once in his room, he grabbed the whisky from the 341

  table, and throwing the stopper across the room, ignored the shattering crystal as he gulped down the fiery liquid. Connor dragged his hand over his face. How could his own brother do this to him? And Mackenzie. How could she run off to his enemy? He remembered an earlier conversation with her where she'd asked for his help to get her to the Campbell. At his ire, she'd quickly dropped the subject, but obviously had not stopped thinking about it. He should have taken her more seriously. Connor had been pacing, and paused to set the whisky down. That was when he saw it.

  Mackenzie's ring. The ring he'd placed on her finger the day they'd been married was sitting on a piece of paper, glinting in the firelight. Gently he picked up her ring, and placed it on his smallest finger. He opened the note she'd left him and with each word, his grip tightened until he'd crushed the parchment. Crumpling it into a ball, he tossed it across the room too. She couldn't even take the ring? What game was she playing at? Her logic was beyond him. Usually he understood her motivations, but this? Leaving someone who loved her for someone who only wanted to kill her? What was in her head?

  His anger at Mackenzie slowly cooled and it was all he could do to not rush out and snatch her up. But he had to think, he had to plan. His stomach was tense with worry for her. The idea of the Campbell, his most hated enemy hurting her, touching her, with his hands on her body...Connor saw red.

  He couldn't let Mackenzie sacrifice herself, that much was evident. But he didn't think he could wait until his brother's 342

  plan came to fruition. But what could he do? He still had his man inside the Campbell's stables, perhaps he could sneak in and steal Mackenzie back before his brother attacked. His fear that Mackenzie would be killed in the ensuing battle was almost as sharp as his fear of what the Campbell would do to her.

  There had to be something he could do. Connor slammed his fist down on the dresser so hard that the glasses and the whisky decanter rattled. He stared morosely down at his hand splayed on the dresser. Her camera and the music device were sitting there as well. He glared at them a while longer as a plan began to form. Staring at the items on the dresser and seeing nothing, he began to plot.

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  Chapter Thirty Three

  Mackenzie had been closed in her room for several days when the wizards finally showed up. The only contact she'd had with anyone had been a servant who never spoke and who barely met her eyes.

  When she had first arrived at Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, it had been interesting, to say the least. She had been stopped as she approached the main entrance, which had, no joke, a moat! When the guards had heard her call out her name "Isabella Stewart," they had immediately called for their master, and the Campbell himself had greeted her. He sounded cordial enough, but she knew better. Behind that carefully cultivated facade, lay the black heart of a man going mad in his thirst for power.

  When she finally met him in the flesh, and she saw his cold face, lit up with excitement that his wayward bride had finally arrived, there was no doubt left in her mind that he was the man of her dreams, so to speak. Ripped from her nightmares, she balked at the thought of willingly entering his castle.

  Mackenzie squared her shoulders and urged Snow White forward.

  The Campbell had been the picture of hospitality, until he escorted her to her chambers. Upon entering her room, he had rounded on her and his face had lost any traces of its former friendliness. Here was the face of her nightmares; cold, empty. What had she gotten herself into? His words chilled her.

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  "Forgive the locks, my dear," he indicated the intricate locks on the door—all locked from the outside. "They are necessary to ensure your safety."

  "My safety?" Mackenzie asked with wide, innocent eyes.

  She knew it was to keep her from escaping.

  "Yes, my dear, we can't have your husband coming after you, now can we."

  "My husband?" she was genuinely startled. He hadn't mentioned Connor other than to say how disappointed he must be to find Mackenzie missing. Disappointed was not the word.

  "Now you didn't think that little detail would escape my attention, did you?" He spoke condescendingly, Mackenzie almost expected him to pat her on the head. He was polite, but there was nothing in his eyes. Just cold, barren, ice blue emptiness.

  Mackenzie pretended to shudder. She had a role to play.

  "That barbarian is not my husband. It was so scary. My father will be happy to hear that I have arrived safely."

  Hopefully he would believe her to be no more than a simple girl who wanted to please her father.

  The smile he smiled as she denounced Connor made her hair stand on end. He reminded her of a snake about to devour its prey.

  "Your father has paid handsomely for this match,"

  Mackenzie wondered who had really paid him, "he will be pleased indeed. I am the most powerful man in the Highlands, and after we are married, and I have killed the 345

  MacRae for insulting me, I will be the most powerful man in the country. Your father should be happy I chose you."

  She hid her pain at the thought of Connor's death, and instead asked if she could have some books to help pass the time, and perhaps a tour of the castle.

  "I shall have one of my servants bring you something to read, but a tour, I think not. I can't have you wandering about unattended. I also cannot discount the fact that you may be here under false pretenses. What if you were to run back to the MacRae and let him know everything you have found out?" He clucked his tongue. "Oh, no, that wouldn't do at all. Now, please, behave yourself and I shall see you in a few days for the feast in our honor. Then we shall be married the following day."

  He turned on his heel and left, locking all of the locks in place from the outside. Mackenzie didn't bother trying to open the door, she was here, where she needed to be. No matter how scary or unnerving that was, she was here.

  So for the next f
ew days, Mackenzie had nothing more than books and staring out the window to pass the time. It reminded her of when Connor had locked her away. What was it about men of this era locking women in towers? Maybe this is where all the fairy tales came from. Too bad she didn't have hair like Repunzel, or a fairy godmother like Cinderella.

  Ironically, though she had two wizards on her side, however they weren't able to send her home yet, so it wasn't the same as a fairy tale.

  When the wizards showed up in her room, it was through some form of teleportation, because one second she was 346

  alone, and the next they were standing in the middle of her room. Her gasp was audible.

  "We apologize for the unannounced entrance, my Lady, but Lord Campbell has banned anyone from entering your room. He alone holds the keys."

  "No, that's fine. I'm curious to see what you have found out." No need to tell them that she knew they couldn't save her. No one could. She was on her own.

  "Much, my Lady." Gregor's eyes were lit up with the barely contained excitement. "We have discovered what we need to defeat him; but we need your blood."

  Mackenzie's eyes popped out. "Excuse me?!"

  It was Morvern who spoke, trying to reassure Mackenzie,

  "What my hasty son means, my Lady, is that if we could but have a few drops of your blood, the blood of the first female born to the Stewart line for 200 years, we would be able to charm a weapon for you, to protect you." Morvern laid his cold, paper-thin hands on her still flat belly, "and your wee bairn."

  Mackenzie gasped again. "What?" she choked out. It felt as if her airways had been constricted.

  "We know that you carry the child of the MacRae. Your child has a powerful parentage and his destiny is to unite the clans of the highlands."

  "His?"

  Morvern smiled. His crinkly skin creased with the effort.

  "Yes, 'he.' Your child will be a lad."

  "Father, enough. We must act quickly."

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  "Yes, yes." He waved his hand dismissively in Gregor's direction. "My son is anxious lest Lord Campbell find us here.