Highlander's Bride: Medieval Romance (The Fae Book 1)

by Joanne Wadsworth

  He pulled his boots on and strapped his sword in place. Time to find his wife. Mayhap she’d gone to check on Gordon, the healer in her too strong to halt. If she had, he’d toss her over his shoulder and march her straight back to their bed. She’d soon learn how deep his need for her ran, her continued protection as well.

  “Ronan?” A knock rattled the door. “’Tis Duncan.”

  “Come in.”

  Duncan marched inside, his fists clenched as he searched the chamber. “Where’s Kyla?”

  “I awoke and found her missing, expect she’s gone to check on Gordon. I was on my way there now. I’ve spoken handfast vows with Kyla, must ride out soon to see her parents and procure a priest.”

  “One of my guardsmen was attacked within the underground tunnels leading to the dungeons, right at the point where the passageway divides into three. One of the tunnels leads back here to the keep, while the other passageways veer in differing directions, one toward the hills and the other through the forest to the loch’s edge. The guard, when he awoke after being hit over the head, reported ’twas Jeremiah who attacked him and he was headed directly toward the keep.”

  “Jeremiah’s aware of the tunnels?” His heart heaved within his chest.

  “Aye, but I lengthened the tunnels this past fortnight and changed their positions, ensured each exit point was well covered. Jeremiah must have stumbled upon one of the new entrances by chance. Gordon has also returned to light duties and I have no’ seen Kyla, either in her healer’s chamber or the great hall. I’ve men on guard all over this keep, although Jeremiah is a snake, can get in and out of the tightest spots. We must find her, now.”

  “Ronan! Duncan!” Hamish rushed into the room, his breath coming hard. “Jeremiah has Kyla and he’s sailing to Rhue Castle. He sedated her and she remains out to it. I saw all within a vision.”

  “Damn it.” His enemy had stolen his wife right out from under his eyes. “I’ll slaughter him. We’ve spoken handfast vows and there is none who can now dispute we are wed.”

  “Jeremiah will find a way to dispute whatever he wishes.” Duncan growled low under his breath. “Rhue is a highly fortified stronghold that sits in a prime position right on the rocky headland of Loch Broom. There is only one way in, and that’s through the main gate.”

  “I’ll never allow Jeremiah to take my wife from me.” He nabbed his satchel and sprinted out the door. Duncan and Hamish chased him downstairs and into the inner courtyard. Duncan bellowed to his men to ready the galley and they raced out under the arched gate, bolted down the sea-gate stairs where the waves crashed in hard against the stone landing. Warriors swarmed onto the vessel, stowed their weapons and nabbed their oars. Hell, he should never have fallen asleep without first ensuring his wife understood all the possible threats.

  “Listen to me well!” Duncan hollered as he gripped his shoulder. “Ronan is Niall’s son and like his father, holds the fae battle skill. He is now also my brother, wed to Kyla. We sail for Rhue Castle to retrieve her from Jeremiah.”

  The men roared and pumped their fists into the air.

  Their agreement to aid him almost brought him to his knees. None here despised him because of his fae blood. To the men, he shouted, “No one imprisons my wife against her will. We’ll find her then free her. She is both a Matheson and a MacKenzie, loyal to each and every man afore me.”

  “All to oars,” Duncan ordered as he gripped the sail’s ropes and tossed him one.

  Together, they heaved the sail up.

  Chapter 6

  A screeching cacophony assailed Kyla’s ears and she blinked her eyes open as seagulls squawked somewhere overhead. Her head pounded as if horses stampeded within and when she touched the back of her head, she grimaced. Such a terribly large lump had swelled forth.

  All around her warriors sat on bench seats with oars in hand, stern-faced and wearing the MacKenzie plaid. Swaying, she sat up within the hull, the vessel surging forward over white-capped waves and making her belly roll.

  Breathing deep of the crisp sea air, she squinted toward the land up ahead and tried to make some sense out of it all. A rag lay tucked in the bodice of her burgundy gown, half flapping out and reeking of belladonna. Ugh. No wonder everything still spun. She tore the rag out and it flew over the side and got swallowed up by the churning seas.

  Directly ahead, a castle sat high on the rocky headland at the entrance to a loch and a range of mountains rose in the distance behind it, sheep dotting the craggy hills. A horn blasted across the bay and at the castle’s sea-gate, two burly warriors strode along a stone landing and bounded into the waist-deep water.

  “Lower the sail!” A man’s bellow came from behind her and she cranked her head around. Jeremiah stood at the stern, an ominous cast of dark clouds gusting behind him and his fiery red hair whipping about his shoulders.

  Oh hell. How on earth had she come to be with Jeremiah?

  Clarity hit hard and fast and images swirled through her mind. Jeremiah had shoved her into the wall then thrust a cloth over her mouth.

  She snarled under her breath. Jeremiah would pay dearly for doing such a thing, for taking her from Carron Castle against her will, and from right under a heavily fortified garrison of her brothers’ men.

  Pushing to her feet, she wobbled and grasped the center mast to steady herself. Seawater sloshed within the hull and she slapped her wet skirts. The bow rose sharply up and she almost toppled over as they crested a large swell and cruised in toward the sea-gate. The awaiting warriors seized both sides of Jeremiah’s birlinn and brought them in closer to the stony landing. Waves crashed into the rocks alongside the bay and spray misted over her. She shivered from the cold, yet the fierce heat of anger roared through her.

  “’Tis about time you awoke, lass.” Jeremiah strode down the aisle toward her. “A whole day has passed since we left Carron and I thought you intended to remain asleep the entire time. Welcome to Rhue.”

  “Welcome?” She wanted to spit on him, to rant and rave. “How dare you steal me away from my home and then state words of welcome. You have no right to take me wherever you please.”

  “I have every right. Our chief has decreed you’ll wed me.” He planted his booted feet wide. “’Tis of course a shame you remain unskilled, but your fae blood is strong and that is all that matters.”

  “Duncan is going to kill you. Coll too the moment he discovers what you’ve done.”

  “Neither of them have a choice in the matter. Our father has spoken.” Jeremiah hoisted her up, swung her onto the landing and bounded in beside her. Smirking, he crossed his thick arms as his men marched up the raggedy stone stairs ahead of them and streamed under the arched main gate.

  This was the last place she wished to be, or left alone with him. “I hate you.”

  “Aye, we’ve never seen eye to eye, but that will change. As your husband, I’ll expect your complete obedience once we’ve spoken vows. Certainly should you give yourself to me willingly, then things will go so much easier for you. Choose to be unwilling, and I’ll force you to my hand regardless.” He gripped her shoulders and turned her toward the castle then slapped her bottom. “Move ahead.”

  She gasped and stumbled along the walkway. “Cease manhandling me.”

  “I enjoy a feisty tumble, and I intend for you to be one.”

  “I truly, truly hate you.” Over her shoulder, she shot him a dirty look as she stomped up the trail after his men toward the two-story gatehouse where several guardsmen stood on duty.

  “There is a clergyman right here at this keep. Brother John will oversee our vows and following our marriage, you’ll give me plenty of sons who we’ll raise right here at Rhue. Am I understood?”

  “I will never speak vows with you, not when—” Images hazed her mind and she allowed her skill to rise. Her ability soared free and she flew directly toward her chosen one, the pathway to Ronan’s mind one she’d never release. She found him, dived deep within his mind and clung to his roiling thoug
hts. “I’m here, Ronan.”

  “Duncan and I are coming. I have no’ been able to reach you. What did Jeremiah do to you?” Fear and anger pummeled through him as he stood in a pair of black leather pants, a billowy blue tunic plastered to his chest and one hand braced against the mast of Duncan’s war galley. The square white sail was pulled taut as the vessel cruised alongside Scotland’s rugged western coastline. The galley rocked and dipped, the waves slapping against the hull while overhead heavy gray clouds bubbled and brewed, a storm that loomed all around her as well. He was close, very close, on a seaward path heading directly toward her.

  “Jeremiah sedated me and I’ve only just awoken. How did you learn where I am?”

  “Hamish had a vision. He saw Jeremiah setting sail for Rhue, with you onboard.”

  “Jeremiah has made his intentions clear. There’s a clergyman here at this keep and he intends for us to wed, for me to give him plenty of sons. I cannae tell him about you afore you’ve had the chance to send word to my parents. I willnae have their lives placed in danger.”

  “We’ll be there in a matter of hours.”

  “This is all such a mess. Jeremiah has declared war against my brothers.”

  “Aye, he has, and me along with them. It’s also a war I’ll never allow him to win. Look ahead, love, show me everything as you enter Rhue. I need to know every detail.”

  “Of course.” She walked under the main arch, halted in the inner courtyard and slowly turned around, giving him the layout and position of the guards. “The curtain walls are the thickest I’ve ever seen and the tower house sits right alongside the wall overlooking the ocean. There is naught but sheer rock everywhere.”

  “Duncan and I will find a way to retrieve you, even if we must tear the walls down to do so.”

  “Secure the keep!” Jeremiah called to his guardsman at the gatehouse. “No one enters, no’ a soul. Raise the alert should you see any vessels out at sea. I need to be informed immediately should we have any unwanted visitors, my brothers included amongst them.”

  “Aye, my laird.” The guardsman lowered the portcullis within the stone-arched entrance, its clunky chains clanging and the thundering rumble echoing with finality all around her.

  Dread filled her, the cold invading her limbs. Nay, she needed to remain strong, to not show any fear, because Jeremiah would certainly take every advantage of her the moment she did. Ronan was with her, taking each step she did. Across the gravelly inner yard, she walked while the skies above continued to blacken. A warrior lit the torches mounted against the stone walls and the light flickered eerily up toward the battlements. “Night is about to fall.”

  “Duncan and I will use the darkness to our advantage.”

  “Please, dinnae get hurt.” If her mate came to any harm because of her, she’d never forgive herself.

  “I’ll take every care, but I will get you out of there, however I can.”

  She stepped through the main doors of the keep and a boisterous buzz of voices echoed toward her. With one deep, fortifying breath, she walked through the foyer and entered the great hall.

  The vaulted room held a crown of high wooden beamed rafters, the walls covered with well-crafted tapestries and herbal wreaths. Rushes lay strewn across the floors and the fresh scent of lavender wafted all around. Trestle tables groaned under the weight of the feast laid out for the returning men. Platters of cooked meat, roasted vegetables, and an assortment of pastries and other sweet dishes made her belly rumble with hunger.

  Warriors eased onto the wooden benches and serving maids carrying trays holding steaming bowls of seafood stew, weaved around them. There had to be a good eighty warriors in this hall alone, not to mention the score or so on duty outside. “Jeremiah has around a hundred men.”

  “Even that number will never keep me from you.”

  “Come and meet Fiona.” Jeremiah urged her toward the dais where a lass sat at the high table. “Although if I remember rightly, you two already know each other from my father’s keep.”

  Tall and lithe, Fiona held a pale complexion and stunning red locks that tumbled down to her waist, a mass of bright curls she’d never forget. Goodness. It had been a year since she’d last seen her. “Ronan, do you remember when I spoke to you about Fiona? She holds a touch of fae blood and a weakened skill. She wed a man several years her senior then left for Rhue. She’s the one I first created a merged link of the mind with.”

  “I see her too.”

  Fiona’s corseted forest-green velvet gown hugged her slim waist, the rich cream and gold silk ribbons lacing the front an entwining of vibrant colors. “I need to warn her about all that’s happened and why I’m here. I can garner her aid, find out if she knows of a way out of here, but I cannae forge a connection with her without first releasing this link with you.”

  “Then cut it.” He growled the words, those clearly the last he wished to utter. “Be safe, my love.”

  “I shall.” She pulled back from Ronan’s mind, dropped their connection then bridged the gap between her and Fiona and delved into her friend’s mind, the link one of deep familiarity. “Fiona, ’tis I, Kyla. Glad I am to see you, but I am no’ here of my own freewill. Dinnae give my actions away, that I speak to you right now.”

  “Kyla?” Fiona’s wide-eyed gaze landed on her, shock pounding through, although she quickly hid her surprise. “What are you doing here, and with Jeremiah no less?”

  “I shall tell you everything soon, the moment we’re alone.”

  “Fiona.” Jeremiah waved out to her friend and motioned for her to join them near the base of the stairwell where a warrior in heavy chainmail stood on guard.

  Fiona rose from the high table and walked across to them, nodded at Jeremiah. “Welcome home, my laird. I pray you had a safe and swift journey.”

  “I did.” He gestured toward Kyla. “I’ve brought Mistress Kyla with me. ’Twould have been a while since you’ve seen her?”

  “Aye, a year now, since the day I left our chief’s keep.” Fiona smiled at her. “Welcome to Rhue.”

  “Take Kyla to the chamber that connects to mine,” Jeremiah continued. “She is now my betrothed and I’m sure she’d like to bathe and eat afore we speak our vows later this evening.”

  “Of course.” Fiona dipped her head then snuck a look at her. “You have a lot of explaining to do, my friend.”

  To the guard, Jeremiah issued, “You’re to remain on duty directly outside my betrothed’s chamber and she isnae to leave it, no’ one step beyond her door. I shall collect her soon. Am I understood?”

  “Aye, my laird.” The guard, his dark blue eyes appearing almost midnight-black behind the slits of his nasal helm, towered over her.

  “Come with me.” Fiona motioned for her to follow her upstairs and the guard clomped in behind them in his heavy chainmail. Fiona slowed on the first landing as a maid walked downstairs toward them. “Meg, I need a bath prepared for the laird’s betrothed, within the blue chamber that connects to his. Bring a tray too, and be as quick as you can about it.”

  “Aye, mistress.” The girl dashed back upstairs.

  “This way.” Fiona guided her the rest of the way to the third floor then down a passageway lit by the odd flickering candle in a wall sconce.

  They slowed as up ahead, Meg ushered two lanky lads who heaved a wooden tub between them into a chamber. At the doorway, they waited as the lads set the tub down then shuffled out and raced downstairs, their shirttails fluttering loose over their breeches.

  Fiona walked inside and she followed her. Shivering, she rubbed her chilled arms. A large bed with a vivid blue velvet canopy took pride of place against the far wall with a carved wooden trunk sitting at the end.

  Meg knelt at the hearth and tore bark from a log, lit the fire and coaxed the sparks into a welcoming blaze of heat. She added a block of peat and as it crackled and caught alight, she rose to her feet, dusted her hands against her aproned skirts and nodded at Fiona. “Is there aught more ye need, m
istress?”

  “It appears our laird’s betrothed has arrived without her belongings so I’ll need you to fetch some gowns from my ambry for her, slippers and a nightgown too.”

  “Of course.” The maid breezed through the door and closed it behind her, the guard standing tall and strong in his position across the darkened passageway.

  “Thank heavens we’re finally alone.” Fiona grasped her hands, tugged her toward the bed and plopped down. “Now, tell me all.”

  “’Tis so good to see you, although I’d rather that had never been here.” She sat, took a steadying breath. “Obviously I’ve no wish to wed Jeremiah. He snuck into Carron Castle then stole me away, cited his father’s permission as acceptance in doing so, although Duncan sails to these shores as we speak, my chosen one with him.”

  “You’re mated?” Fiona clasped a hand to her mouth. “Are you certain?”

  “Aye, and ’twas a shock to discover a bond had formed between us. His name is Ronan Matheson and he’s a warrior from the fae village. Afore Jeremiah abducted me, Ronan and I spoke handfast vows and since my arrival, he and I have spoken along our merged link. He’ll be here soon, intends to find a way inside to free me.”

  “Jeremiah still has no knowledge of your mind-walker skill?”

  “Nay, although Colin told him the truth about my fae heritage, that he’d abducted me as a child from the village.”

  “Jeremiah has always hungered to have fae blood running within his line, has become fixated on it even more of late.” Fiona leaned closer. “I’m aware of Coll’s mission, that he travels the length and breadth of MacKenzie land in search of more warriors who’ll give him his loyalty. Coll sought Jeremiah’s hospitality two months past and stayed with us. Coll and I spoke, privately of course, and he told me of Muirin and Hamish, that they now reside at Ardan House. I’ll never forget that first night you and I met, when you arrived at the chief’s keep with your mama and I snuck into the solar and hid under the table. I’d already sensed something special about Coll and Duncan through my ability, and when I learnt of their fae blood that night, all made so much more sense.”