Read Online Highland Magic by K. E. Saxon - Free Book Online

unmistakable sound of
male footsteps began to reverberate inside the cavern.
    Callum! Her mind reeled. He couldn’t
wait until the morrow to return here? Nay, that would be asking too
much of the gods of fortune, she supposed. And there was no doubt
in her mind ‘twould be his too-handsome face she’d see in another
minute.
    With the fleet speed of a falcon on its prey,
she retrieved her ‘faery’ attire and almost literally jumped into
them. She blew out the candles and stood, waiting, in the darkest
corner of the cave. The sound of harsh breathing filled the
midnight depths of the cavern chamber, but it took a second for her
to realize ‘twas coming from her own throat. Closing her eyes—and
her mouth—she willed herself to take in several slow, deep, quiet , breaths, tho’ her heart actually ached as it pounded
against her ribs, and the urge to fill her lungs with more haste
was almost too irresistible to ignore.
    * * *
    Callum’s steps grew quicker the nearer he got
to the sea cave’s front chamber. Now that he was so close to his
goal, he began to wonder how exactly to go about this ‘unveiling’
of the lovely, tho’ ever sharp-tongued, wee mite of a lass known as
Branwenn. He had no desire to run her to ground—a thing he was sure
to be forced to do should he boldly reveal that he knew her true
identity. So he must tread lightly, give the impression that he
believed her to be the fey creature she pretended to be.
    But, what on earth was she doing so far from
Cambria? She was supposed to be nearly wed by now to some relation
of one of the Norman march lords. ‘Twas evident that she had fled
her coming nuptials, that she was in hiding, but why? Hell, his
cousins had already endured a siege of the Maclean fortress by
Prince Llywelyn in order that he might force her to acknowledge the
contract he’d made with the Norman lord. And ‘twas a siege that
maimed, and nearly killed, her foster brother, Bao. Surely, she
would not have forsaken her promise to fulfill the contract when
she knew ‘twould only bring more Cambrian—and mayhap this time,
Norman—armies to her foster brothers’ land. And, no doubt, her
being here would be a bad omen for this fortress as well. So he
must not dally in sending word to his cousin that Branwenn was back
in the Highlands. They must begin to plan immediately for
reprisal.
    But first, he must get her back to the
keep....
    * * *
    When Callum at last entered her cave chamber,
Branwenn stopped breathing and stood poker-straight, hoping he’d
not see her in the dark corner, as the light of his taper would not
travel much further past the place he now stood.
    But, ‘twas not to be, for the man must have
the eyesight of a cat.
    “Ah, ‘tis fey Mai , my rescuing sea
faery,” he said, striding with clear purpose toward her hiding
place. “I hoped I’d find you here, for you’ve something of mine I
wish mightily to retrieve.”
    “Oh? And what might that be?” she
asked cheekily, lifting her chin a bit.
    “Why, the key to the locks, of course.”
    “‘Tis payment for services rendered, sir. Do
not you know that?”
    Callum guffawed and set the candlestick
holding the lit taper on the ground beside him. “That be a good
one. And—I think not. Hand it over, please.”
    “Nay.”
    “Pardon?”
    Branwenn cupped the sides of her mouth with
her hands. “ I said, Nay! ”
    Callum, his arms akimbo now, stumped another
step toward her. “Give me that...”—’twas clear he wanted to use a
vulgar word, but managed to restrain himself—“ key! ”
    Branwenn mimicked his stance and boldly met
the big brute toe-to-toe. She had to cock her head back so far to
see his countenance, her neck cracked. “ Nay! ‘Tis mine.” She
had no idea why she felt the need to provoke him so, but, ‘tis
truth, the man had provoked her first with the arrogant way he’d
called her ‘fey Mai’ . And she was still a bit chafed by his
initial scoffing remark this day past about the lovely