Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“ I trust these quarters will suffice,” Magnus said.

He watched as she walked around the room, inspecting every corner of it. She walked to the windows and pushed the shudders open and frowned.

“’Tis a very long way down,” he said with a chuckle.

“Did ye have tae put me on the very top floor? I gave ye me word,” she complained.

He shrugged. “’Tis nae that I dinnae trust ye. I just learned tae never?—”

“Underestimate me. Aye. I’ve heard it before.”

“Ye wanted yer own chambers. This is it,” he replied. “If ‘tis nae suitable, I can move ye back intae me bedchamber?—”

“’Tis fine,” she said.

“I tell ye, it will be nice tae have me own bed back,” Magnus said, then chuckled to himself. “And tae nae have tae listen tae ye snore all night.”

Her mouth fell open. “I dinnae snore.”

“Aye. Ye dae. Like an angry beast.”

Laughter burst from Ciara’s mouth as her cheeks reddened. “Ye’re awful.”

“Aye. Sometimes,” he said.

The door to the chamber opened with a loud creak and a group of chambermaids bustled in carrying buckets filled with warm water. Ciara looked at it with a glimmer of relief on her face. He watched as one of the maids set a small table beside the tub that was lined with soaps, sponges, and various oils.

“Speakin’ of beasts,” Magus said with a sly grin on his face. “Ye kind of smell like one, so be generous with the soap, eh?”

Ciara laughed so hard, she snorted then slapped him on the arm. “Ye are the only beast in this chamber right now.”

One of the chambermaids approached Magnus with a tray bearing two cups. He took the one to the left and handed it to Ciara.

“What is this then?” she asked.

“’Tis an infusion tae help ye relax. I had them prepare them fer us.” His face softened. “’Tis been a tryin’ day and I could use one as well.”

Ciara smiled and took a sip. “It tastes pleasant.”

As the chambermaids finished filling her tub, Ciara drank the infusion he’d give her, and while he sipped his, Magnus felt a lance of guilt pierce his heart. Taking the cups, he handed them to the chambermaid who gave a slight curtsy then departed.

“All right then. I suppose I’ll give ye some privacy tae bathe and get some rest,” he said. “But me guards will be?—”

“Right outside the door. Aye. I’ve got it.”

“Rest well,” Magnus said.

His eyes lingered on hers for just a moment as his belly lurched and his heart raced. In that moment, he wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms and kiss her. It was a powerful desire that threatened to consume him. Before he gave into it, Magnus forced himself to turn and walk out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

“Is all well, Maister Magnus?” asked the guard to his right.

Magnus nodded. “Aye. Everythin’ is fine.”

He strode down the corridor, each heavy thump of his boot step echoing off the stone walls around him driving the spike of guilt deeper into his heart.

“Are ye sure we need tae dae this?” Magnus asked.

Enya pushed her light brown braid back over shoulder and offered Magnus a look of sympathy. Of all his siblings, Enya was the most compassionate. She had a cutting wit like all the MacLeod children, but beyond that, she was kind. She was caring and empathetic in ways the others weren’t. Not that Magnus’ siblings were unfeeling, but Enya’s gift had made her more responsive to her own emotions as well as those of others.

“I’m sorry, braither,” she said. “But we need tae ken.”

“This just daesnae feel right.”

“’Tis the only way we can learn what we need tae without telling her about us… and our gifts. And I agree with Domhnall that we cannae dae that.”

He shook his head. “This just feels wrong.”

“Wrong perhaps. But necessary.”

Magnus frowned and Enya put her small, delicate hand over his, offering him a gentle smile. “Ye care about this lass.”

“I didnae say that.”

“Ye dinnae need tae. Ye’ve never been able tae hide anything from me, braither.”

Her voice was soft, her smile gentle, and her eyes knowing. Magnus didn’t know what he felt for Ciara. It was complicated. She clouded his mind and bound his heart in ways nobody ever had before. If that was what Enya meant about caring for her, he supposed she was right. But the complicated knot of emotion in his chest confounded him. Magnus was a man who prided himself on his fearlessness and the feelings that raged inside his breast terrified him.

“’Tis good tae let yerself care fer somebody,” Enya said softly. “I’ve long said ye need tae open that door in yer heart and make room fer somebody. Ye deserve somebody who will offer ye the kind of love ye deserve.”

“I’m nae so sure Ciara is that one.”

Enya shrugged. “I’m nae so sure she’s nae.”

“If she’s workin’ fer Fairfax, I’d say ‘tis unlikely.”

“Dae ye believe she’s our spy?” Enya asked.

“Arenae ye?”

“I’m nae. The more I spend time with her, the more I like her and the more I believe she’s what she says she is—a lass runnin’ from a life she doesnae want.”

“Domhnall doesnae?—”

“Domhnall doesnae ken what tae think yet, he’s simply bein’ extra cautious. With the English lurkin’ about and tryin’ tae destroy us, ye cannae blame him,” she said. “But once this is all cleared up, I’m sure he’ll see what we see in Ciara.”

Enya’s belief that Ciara wasn’t the spy was news to Magnus. Her support was surprising and it mirrored what he’d come to believe. He’d spoken up in defense of Ciara, but Thora and Domhnall still had reservations about her. And those lingering suspicions were why Domhnall had ordered Magnus and Enya to carry out this plan. It was why they stood outside Ciara’s door with Magnus vacillating about the morality of what they were about to do. Intellectually, he understood it. But some small voice inside of him was screaming that what they were going to do was wrong and a violation of Ciara’s trust.

It had been Thora who’d first floated the theory that Ciara had been sent to them precisely because she had some innate ability to resist their gifts. Magnus had not found any sort of charm, which had led them to believe her resistance was somehow natural. She reasoned that just as they had gifts, others surely must as well, and perhaps Ciara’s was that ability to rebuff them when they tried to use theirs on her. She thought perhaps Fairfax knew of this possible gift and had sent Ciara into Dunvegan to use it to undermine them from within.

It wasn’t a bad or outlandish theory. Magnus understood why Thora had proposed and then defended it. It made sense and from a strategic point of view, it was solid thinking. Magnus thought if he’d learned of somebody who could thwart the gifts they all had and use that to undermine an enemy, he would have ordered the same thing. But Thora was assuming Fairfax knew of the gifts the MacLeod children had, which was a stretch. It was a closely guarded family secret. However, it was possible. It was not the first time someone had noticed them. Which was why Domhnall had ordered he and Enya do this.

“Are ye ready?” Enya asked.

“Let’s get this over with.”

Ciara lay on her back beneath the covers on the bed. Her hands were folded over her chest on top of the covers, and she was snoring.

“Ciara,” Magnus said loudly and snapped his fingers. “Are ye awake, lass?”

The only response was a louder snore. The draught he’d given her earlier had obviously done its work.

Enya turned to him with a grin on her face. “Ye werenae kiddin’ about the snoring.”

“I told ye.”

Giggling softly, Enya made her way over to the side of the bed and motioned for Magnus to join her. With a sigh of discontent, he walked over and stood beside his sister. She turned and looked at him for a long moment, her expression growing more impatient by the second.

“Well?” she demanded. “Get on with it then.”

Magnus shook his head. “Enya?—”

“Magnus, Domhnall ordered us tae dae that,” she said. “Are ye goin’ back to tell our laird ye disobeyed him?”

“This just feels wrong.”

“’Tis nae like we’re goin’ tae hurt her.”

“’Tis exactly what we’re doin’.”

“But nae really,” she demanded. “And if ye dinnae dae it, Domhnall will make somebody else dae it. Somebody who may nae be as gentle as ye.”

“Enya—”

“Just dae it and let’s get this over with, eh?” she snapped impatiently.

“Fine.”

Magnus took a step towards her and checked her neck, arms and the rest of her, with the help of his sister, to make sure she was not wearing some sort of charm. Then he removed his dagger from its sheath on his belt. Gently taking one of Ciara’s hands in his, he drew the edge of it along her upturned palm. The shallow cut in her skin immediately welled with blood and he turned to Enya.

“Hurry up then,” he said.

Enya took Ciara’s hand from him and held it. She held her other hand over Ciara’s upturned palm and closed her eyes, her face a mask of concentration. The air stood still as it did every time Enya was healing someone using her gift. Magnus watched as the furrow in Ciara’s palm began to close. Watching his sister’s gift at work never failed to surprise him. This time though, it came with a breath of relief as Ciara’s wound was healed before his very eyes.

Her work done, Enya set Ciara’s hand back on her chest and turned to him. “Well, I guess she’s nae immune tae all our gifts. She isnae immune tae gifts of the body. Only tae gifts of the mind like yers and Kai’s.”

“What does it mean?”

She shrugged her shoulders and met his eyes. “I’ve got nae bleedin’ idea, braither.”

Magnus frowned. “That makes two of us then,” he muttered. “Bleedin’ hell.”