Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

T he young woman was trouble. She was slippery and clever. She was a lot to handle, and Magnus knew he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off her, for even a second, or she might manage to wiggle away again. And with the storm bearing down on them, Magnus knew they didn’t have time to keep playing those games. She limped along on the trail ahead of him, clearly in some discomfort but unwilling to give him the satisfaction of showing it. The girl was tough, he had to give her that.

“Are ye all right?” he asked.

“What dae ye care, then?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m nae a monster.”

“Nay? Ye could have fooled me,” she replied, holding her bound hands up as evidence.

“If ye’d behave, I might nae have tae keep ye bound.”

“Ye’re abductin’ me and ye expect me tae be nice?”

“I dinnae expect anythin’,” he replied. “But I’m nae tryin’ tae hurt ye. I need ye tae believe that. I dinnae want tae hurt ye.”

“If ye didnae want tae hurt me, ye’d let me go.”

“I’m afraid I cannae dae that.”

“Then we dinnae have nothin’ else tae talk about.”

Magnus blew out an exasperated breath then fell silent. If that was how she wanted it to be, that’ was how it was going to be. It was unfortunate. He found her to be intriguing and wouldn’t have minded hearing her story. More than anything, he wanted to hear how the English had seduced her into turning on her own people. He was curious about what they had promised her. Magnus couldn’t conceive of the idea of turning on his people and wanted to understand what it took for somebody to turn their back on their clan like that.

However, despite it being difficult for Magnus to admit even to himself, his interest in Ciara went well beyond just picking her brain to find out what had made her turn traitor. There was something about her that intrigued him on a deeper, more primal level. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, although she was. It wasn’t her intelligence or wit. And despite her surliness toward him and the constant barrage of acerbic remarks, Magnus sensed something deep down inside of her that resonated with him. He couldn’t put his finger on it exactly, but in her, he sensed a kindred spirit of sorts. Why he got that feeling about her was a mystery.

It was a question he’d asked himself many times over already and had yet to come up with a satisfactory answer. But he felt it and didn’t like unanswered questions. Magnus always sought to understand himself. To have clarity of thought and firm control over his emotions. In the short time he had known this woman though, she had challenged all of that. He was confused and didn’t understand his thinking toward her, nor could he manage his emotions. It was frustrating and yet, at the same time, it was somewhat exciting.

Rarely in his life did he not have the answers to the questions that fired through his mind. It was one of the things that had made him such a good strategist and valued advisor to his older brother. And where the control of his own mind and emotions left off, his gift picked up. Being able to get into somebody’s head and listen in on what they were thinking was incredibly helpful in a host of different ways.

And yet, when it came to this woman, not only did he not have control, he couldn’t get into her mind. He couldn’t hear her thoughts. It left him flabbergasted. It was a challenge he’d never faced before, and Magnus was a man who enjoyed challenges. She was a mystery to him. An enigma. And something about that was exhilarating to him. He was sure Domhnall would say he wasn’t right in the head—something his older brother liked to say—but Magnus could no more change how he was than he could change the direction the sun rose in every morning.

“How long are we goin’ tae have tae walk?” she asked, breaking the silence between them.

“Until we get tae where we’re goin’.”

“And how far away might that be then?”

“I thought we had nothin’ tae talk about?”

“Would it dae ye any harm tae tell me where we’re goin’ and what this is all about?”

“Would it dae ye any harm tae tell me what clan ye belong tae?”

She sighed, exasperated. “Dae ye always answer questions with a bleedin’ question?”

“Dae ye think I dae?”

Ciara threw her head back and let out a howl of frustrated outrage, making Magnus laugh. She glowered at him over her shoulder, a snarl upon her lips.

“So, this is funny then, eh?” she growled.

“Aye. A wee bit, yeah.”

“I see nothin’ funny about it.”

“Then ye’re nae lookin’ hard enough.”

She stopped on the path and spun around, sneering at Magnus with the light of her fury making her eyes practically glow. A lock of her golden hair spilled down over her face and no amount of trying to shake it away helped so Ciara raised her bound hands and awkwardly brushed it back, which only seemed to enrage her further.

“If I had me hands free, I’d beat ye tae death in a fair fight.”

“Doesnae give me much incentive tae fight fair then, does it?”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to deliver another barrage of verbal abuse, but before she was able to speak, a hard crash of thunder split the sky overhead, making them both flinch. Magnus looked up and frowned. The clouds he could see through the thick canopy of tree boughs above them were black and foreboding. They were out of time.

“We need tae go,” he said. “Now.”

For the first time since he’d met her, Ciara seemed to be at a loss for words. She looked concerned and seemed to understand the gravity of the situation they were facing—the storm they’d been trying to stay ahead of had caught up with them.

“Well, this is a fine mess ye’ve gotten us intae,” she finally snapped.

“Me? How is this me fault?”

She held her bound hands up and glared at him like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. “If ye’d nae kidnapped me, we wouldnae be here right now, about to freeze tae death.”

Magnus frowned. “If ye’d just come along like I’d asked instead of runnin’ all about like a fool, we’d have had a better head start on that storm.”

“Are ye really goin’ tae blame me fer us bein’ here right now? Are ye really?”

“If I hadnae had tae chase you across half the Highlands?—”

“Ye kidnapped me! What did ye expect? Fer me tae just let ye take me?”

Magnus opened his mouth to respond then realized how ridiculous anything he was thinking about saying sounded. He had abducted her, of course, she was going to fight. For him to think otherwise was just plain foolish. Or perhaps the height of arrogance. Magnus gave himself a small shake. There would be plenty of time to think it over later. Right now, they had to shelter with that storm bearing down on them.

“So, what’s yer plan?” Ciara mocked.

A gust of wind whistled through the trees, so cold and biting, Magnus sucked in a breath. He kept his shivering under control but knew that was just a preview of what was to come. It was about to get very cold, very fast.

“Well?” she snapped, her breath a steamy plume.

She was trying to hide it, but Magnus could see she was shivering. Despite her thick cloak, she looked like she was already freezing. And it was only going to get worse.

“Hush, woman. Bleedin’ hell, ye chirp on more than a steamin’ magpie,” Magnus snapped.

She recoiled like he’d just slapped her, but it accomplished his goal. She fell silent.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

“And where are we goin’?”

“I know a small lodge me family uses tae hunt that’s nae far from here.”

“Wonderful. I can hardly wait,” she said.

“Or I could leave ye out here tae freeze tae death.”

She gave him a smirk. “I have a feelin’ yer older braither would be upset if ye left me out here tae freeze tae death.”

Magnus glowered at her and made no effort to hide his surprise at her having overheard his conversation with Kai. She was right. Domhnall would skin him alive if he didn’t get back to Dunvegan with the spy in tow. Especially after sending Kai ahead to tell him they had her. As intriguing as he found her, he also found her irritating. Most of all when she was being smug.

“Let’s go,” Magnus grunted.

Moving as quickly as they could, Magnus led her down the trail, branching off of it at one point and traipsing through the woods. Every moment they were out there, the air about them was growing colder and when they rounded a bend near the river, Magnus saw the first fat snow flurries beginning to fall. The storm he’d been fearing finally caught up with them.

“’Tis snowin’,” she said.

“I’ve got eyes.”

“’Tis gettin’ colder too.”

“That happens when it starts to snow.”

She frowned and gave him a distinctly unladylike gesture that made him laugh. Magnus followed the river trail and let out a small breath of relief as they rounded another bend, and he spotted the familiar lodge up ahead.

“That’s yer family’s huntin’ lodge?” she asked.

“Aye. What of it?”

She shrugged. “Given that ye come from a family of nobles, I suppose I expected it tae be a little… grander.”

“I never said me family was noble.”

“Nay? Because ye carry yerself like a stuck up, entitled nobleman.”

Magnus glowered at her and said nothing, knowing she was trying to get under his skin. Unfortunately, for him, she was succeeding. He led her to the lodge, a small building made mostly of stone, mud, and wood. They journeyed out to make repairs and improvements to it most every year, the structure had stood for generations. It was solid, sturdy, and the perfect place for them to ride out the storm.

He pushed the door open and ushered his prisoner inside. The floor was hard-packed earth and it had two windows—one on the wall to the left of the door and one to the right. Those had been covered with pieces of wood, usually taken down when the weather grew warmer. A large stone hearth dominated the wall across from the door, and there was a stack of furs in a box beside it.

Ciara walked in and looked around, a look of distaste on her face. She walked over to the single table that sat against the wall and sat down in the rough-hewn chair his father had made. It seemed clear she believed she was too good for the place. She turned to him and pursed her lips.

“Why are ye starin’ at me?” she asked.

“Because ye’re lookin’ at the place the way a spoiled, pampered noblewoman would,” he replied, relishing the chance to throw her words back in her face.

Thunder rumbled overhead and the snow flurries outside got thicker. The ground around the small lodge was already growing white and the air was growing ever more frigid. It was going to be a long and difficult night.

“Ye just stay put,” he said.

“Where are ye goin’?”

“Nae far. Just goin’ tae collect some wood tae get a fire goin’. If I dinnae, we’ll freeze tae death in here,” he said. “And just so ye ken, if ye’re so desperate tae escape that ye go out into that storm that’s on us, so be it. I ain’t goin’ tae come lookin’ fer ye and I’ll let ye freeze tae death and deal with me braither when I get back.”

She stared at him for a long moment and seemed to hear the ring of sincerity in his words because she lowered her head and seemed to shrink back into the chair without another word.

“Good lass.”