Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

T he day dawned clear but cold. The storm had blown itself out during the night. Magnus’ eyes fluttered open and he slowly came to consciousness after a long and fitful night of sleep to find his body entangled with Ciara’s. He had no recollection of anything that had happened but somehow, although both were still fully clothed, they embraced the way lovers might. He had just a moment to reflect on the fact that her body was warm and soft, and he didn’t hate the feeling of her in his arms when her eyes opened wide, alarm painting her features.

“What in the bloody hell are ye doin’?” she shrieked.

Before Magnus could answer though, Ciara thrust her leg upward, her knee connecting with his groin. He felt his eyes widen as his body exploded with pain. He shambled to his feet and staggered across the room, his eyes on his injured parts, fighting off the waves of nausea that followed the initial shock of pain.

“Think ye can ply me with whisky then take advantage of me like some common barmaid, dae ye?” Ciara shouted.

One hand still on his groin, he raised the other and shook his head. “’Tis nae what happened.”

His voice was a hoarse croak, and he had to swallow down the vomit that rose in his throat as she advanced on him. Ciara’s face was twisted with outrage and indignation, her eyes narrowed to slits and her lips curled back over her teeth.

“You’re a scoundrel. A foul beast. A?—”

“I didnae touch ye,” he gasped.

“Ye certainly looked comfortable enough with yer foul hands on me!”

“I woke up like that,” he protested. “Same as ye!”

Ciara reached back to deliver a stinging hit to his face, but Magnus caught her hands before they connected and still holding onto her, swept her feet out from beneath her. She landed on her back with a grunt and he straddled her, pinning her to the hard packed earthen floor beneath her. Ciara struggled to break his grasp and snarled.

“Let me up!” she shrieked.

“Nae until ye calm down.”

“Calm down?” she snapped incredulously. “Ye take advantage of me and ye expect me tae calm down? Ye’re worse than a beast. Ye’re a?—”

“I dinnae touch ye! I swear tae ye, I dinnae touch ye!”

Ciara continued to struggle, her face still twisted with rage. He had to admit, it had been shocking to wake up wound around her body that way, but he was certain nothing untoward had happened. He’d had just a cup of whisky.

“Get off me,” Ciara grunted as she squirmed.

Still grimacing in a fair bit of pain, Magnus got to his feet and stepped back, helping Ciara to stand as well. He held his hands up, palms facing her.

“I dinnae touch ye, Ciara. I give ye me word on that. Ye’ve still got yer bleedin’ breeches on, fer God’s sake. Dinnae ye think if I’d taken advantage of ye that I’d have put yer breeches back on ye? Or that ye wouldnae have woken up while I was doin’ it? We didnae drink that much last night. Whatever ye think happened last night didnae happen,” he said.

She stared at him for a long moment but said nothing as she looked down at herself. The emotion slowly drained from her face, and she appeared to be thinking about what he’d said. Her features eventually softened. Slightly.

“Fine,” she said. “So, ye didnae take advantage of me.”

“Nay. I didnae,” he said and winced. “Dinnae ye think ye owe me an apology fer kicking me?”

She smirked. “Nay. I dinnae.”

Magnus blew out a breath of frustration and took another moment to let the pain in his groin subside. Once he felt like he could move again, he walked to the door and opened it, looking at the landscape outside. Snow covered everything and it was frigid, but the sun shone through the patchy gray clouds in the sky above.

“We need tae go before another storm moves in,” he said.

Ciara seemed to deflate and lowered her gaze. After speaking with her last night, Magnus was having serious doubts about whether she was truly the spy they were looking for or not. He had to admit that she had made a fair point about it not making sense for her to draw the sort of attention to herself that winning the archery contest had if she had been a spy. Magnus knew that spies thrived in the shadows and in ensuring nobody knew who they were.

Then there was her story about running from a marriage she did not want to be forced into. Magnus knew well that political alliances were often sealed through marriage. He hated the idea that a Scottish laird would betray his own clan by marrying into English lineage, but he knew it happened all too often. It never failed to enrage him. In Magnus’ opinion, Scots who sold out other Scots were among the lowest forms of life in the world.

But he also knew that Ciara was a clever girl. Smart. Strategic. He knew that her story, although entirely feasible, could also be nothing more than a fiction. A tale designed to garner his sympathy and get him to lower his guard around her. It was the sort of thing a clever spy might come up with should she ever be captured. And because he couldn’t get into her mind, he had no idea which version of the scenario was true. It was why he needed to get her back to Dunvegan… to get to the truth of it.

“Come,” he said. “Gather yer things. We need tae go.”

He helped Ciara put on her cloak and fastened it tight around her, Magnus gathered the furs, put them back where they belonged, then banked the fire. Once he had cleaned up the lodge, he unbound Ciara’s feet, making sure the other bonds were good and tight. That done, he slung his pack and settled the weight of it on his shoulders.

“Still dinnae trust me, eh?” she asked.

“It still hurts where ye kicked me. I’m nae up tae another chase through the woods just yet,” he replied gruffly.

“Good,” she snapped. “I’m glad it hurts.”

“Let’s move.”

Trudging through the high drifts of snow made the going a little slow, but they made steady progress. All the while, Magnus kept one eye on the sky, watching the dark clouds that swirled and floated above them. They had a long way to go and if another storm rolled through, catching them, they were done for. He knew of other lodges they could shelter in, but they would need to cover some serious ground if they were going to reach them.

They came down a small hill and stopped on the banks of a river Magnus knew well. It was swollen from the abundant rain that had fallen in the previous months and moving faster than the last time he had been there. Crossing it was normally easy. Now though, getting from one side to the other was going to be difficult.

“So? What’s yer plan now?” Ciara scoffed.

Magnus glared at her as he studied the river and picked out a spot that seemed to be shallower than other parts.

“We’re goin’ tae cross it,” he said.

“Ye’re mad if ye think we can cross that. We’ll be swept away fer sure.”

“Just dae what I say and step where I tell ye tae step and ye’ll be fine.”

“I’m nae goin’ in that water,” she protested. “If we’re nae swept away, we’ll freeze tae death.”

“We’ll be fine.”

“Ye keep sayin’ that but I dinnae believe since I’ve never been in more danger than with ye.”

He snorted. “Ye’re the one who fell intae that pit on yer own. I didnae push ye.”

She pursed her lips and fell silent. Knowing the water was moving swiftly and the stones at the bottom of the river were likely to be slick, he untied Ciara’s hands. Her eyes instantly lit up and Magnus knew she was already thinking about escaping. He chuckled grimly then took hold of her arm.

“Ow,” she complained. “That hurts. Let go of me arm.”

“Nae likely. Let’s go.”

Magnus waded out into the water, biting back the gasp that bubbled up in his throat as the ice-cold water hit his legs. Still gripping Ciara’s arms, he pushed out further. At first, the water swirled around his calves, swift moving, but not powerfully so. By the time they reached the middle of the river though, the water was at his waist—higher on the smaller woman—and the cold was so biting, it had stolen his breath. For the first time, he thought he had perhaps made a mistake.

Ciara let out a scream and he felt her slip on the stones underfoot. As the current began to take her, Magnus tightened his grip on the woman’s arm then pulled her to him. With her arms clasped around the back of his neck, she clung to him fiercely. Their faces hovered mere inches apart from one another and Magnus felt his heart begin to race as he stared into her emerald-colored eyes.

For the first time since entering the frigid water, the cold did not bother Magnus. He barely noticed it. With their bodies pressed so tightly together, his every sense was consumed by Ciara. His body tingled and his heart beat so hard in his chest he was sure she could feel it and the lump in his throat was making it difficult to breathe. Her gaze remained fixed on his and the emotions scrolling across her face made Magnus think she was feeling the same way. In that moment, he would have given anything to be able to hear her thoughts.

Ciara cleared her throat and finally looked away. “Ye should probably get us out of the river.”

The moment between them broken, Magnus gave himself a small shake then nodded. “Aye. Right. Of course.”

With her still clinging to him tightly, Magnus waded through the river, finally setting her down on her feet when they reached the other side. Before she could do anything though, he gave her an almost apologetic look as he bound her hands tightly again.

“Is this necessary?” she asked.

“Ye’ve made it necessary,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”

She sighed as he led her onto the path that cut through the forest. He found a small clearing he knew well and sat her down. The clearing was sheltered from the cold drafts that swept through the trees by high piles of rock on three sides. Magnus quickly built a small fire, and she eagerly moved closer to it, holding her hands out to warm them. He sat down beside her and pulled some food from his pack, then doled it out. It wasn’t much, but it would sustain them for a little while.

They sat side by side, eating and taking turns sipping from the wine skin he’d produced. Sitting so close, their shoulders were touching, Magnus couldn’t help but recall the feeling of having her hold on to him so tightly. It stirred feelings deep inside of him he didn’t know what to do with. And when he snuck a peek at Ciara, he found her staring into the flames looking as if she was feeling the same thing he was.

As if feeling his gaze, she turned to him. The small flickering fire made her skin glow as she warmed, and made her eyes sparkle. He tried to reach out again, tried to get into her head so he could hear her thoughts. Once again though, he was met with a wall of silence. He didn’t know how she was able to block him from being able to use his gifts, but there was little doubt she could.

“Thank ye,” she said quietly. “Fer saving me from being swept downriver.”

His lips compressed in a tight line. “Aye. Ye’re welcome. I’m… I’m sorry it was so close,” he said then added softly. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

Her gaze lingered on him for a long moment. Her cheeks flushed and she looked as if she was remembering the feeling of clinging to him in the river, although perhaps that was just because he couldn’t shake the memory of her body pressed so tightly against his.

“Aye. So am I,” she said simply.

Magnus thought there was more she wanted to say but swallowed down the rest of her words. And because his gift was useless around her, there was no way he would ever know what those words were.