Epilogue

EPILOGUE

T wo weeks later…

“How are ye, me laird?” Kai said as he sat down in the chair opposite Laird Finley MacKinnon. The older man had not stopped fidgeting and stretching since Kai had returned to the castle.

After the battle, Domhnall and Laird Finley had made it plain that they should each return to their own clans for a few days as the matter of what had happened between them was reported to the king. A new clan leader had been chosen for Clan Grant, a man of a much softer manner, who had been horrified to hear about how his cousin had acted.

Now that calm had come after the storm, Kai had pestered Domhnall every day for his permission to visit Ava. After two weeks, Domhnall had sent him off, saying he couldn’t stand to listen to Kai’s pleading anymore.

Now Kai had arrived and had been greeted by Laird Finley. He had looked for Ava every few minutes since entering the castle, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Me old bones suffer,” Laird Finley said with a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair. “I am nae the young warrior I once was. Along with me insistence of nae wanting tae admit I cannae always be the one tae protect me daughters, I am also a stubborn fool who doesnae want tae admit his own weaknesses.”

“Ye did protect them. Ye fought Laird Grant and killed him.”

“I would have died had ye nae thrown me that sword at the right time.” Laird Finley spoke with heavy sincerity, gazing him in the eye. “Ye and I both ken it.”

Kai couldn’t admit such a thing aloud. He just stayed silent, watching as Laird Finley adjusted his old bones again.

“All this riding and fighting has taken its toll on me old body.” He winced. “But I shall recover. How is yer wound?” He pointed at the scar now formed across the side of Kai’s temple.

Over the previous two weeks, Enya had come to visit for a short while. Her healing gifts that they told no one about had accelerated his recovery greatly. Even the scar on his back, where he had been stabbed in the forest, was now fully healed.

“I am doing much better, thank ye,” Kai assured him. “I wished tae say something tae ye. Tae make ye an assurance, me laird.”

Laird Finley widened his eyes, clearly curious enough to encourage Kai to go on.

“I ken I dinnae have the money Laird Grant has. I cannae offer yer family the same security, but I dae come from a good and honorable family. Domhnall’s lairdship is safe and secure. There may have already been an alliance between us, but… if ye were tae give me yer blessing tae marry Ava…” He hesitated, trying to read Laird Finley’s emotions without contact but his talent failed him. That or Laird Finley was very good at masking what he thought and felt. “The alliance would be stronger. I would dae anything I could tae serve yer family, tae protect Ava and Lyla.”

Laird Finley sat taller, lifting his chin a little. Sensing some reluctance, Kai went on.

“I can offer what I have, ye are more than welcome tae take me money tae aid yer clan…” He trailed off as Laird Finley raised a hand, gently pleading for silence. “Domhnall also agreed tae give more than conventional tae fer the marriage of a third son in line.”

“Ye would give anything ye could tae marry her, wouldnae ye?”

“I would.”

“Then that is all I need. Love. Devotion. Give it tae her, and I’ll ken I have made the right decision tae give ye me blessing.” Laird Finley stood from his chair and extended his hand toward Kai. “Ye have it, Kai.”

Kai jumped to his feet as quickly as he could, grasping Finley’s hand and shaking it firmly.

“Thank ye, me laird. Thank ye so much.”

“Think nothing of it, ye have proven ye more than deserve it. And nay more calling me, me laird. I am tae be yer father-in-law, if she says ‘aye’ tae ye of course.” He chuckled softly. “I dinnae doubt her answer very much. Every morning at breakfast the first thing out of her mouth has been a demand tae ken when she can see ye.” He released Kai’s hand and gestured to the door. “Ye will find her in the practice room. According tae Lyla, she has been practicing from dawn tae dusk. Something about working out some frustrations by stabbing a hay bale repeatedly.” He shook his head, laughing once again.

“Thank ye.” Kai smiled and turned, ready to run from the room to find Ava.

It had been too long since he had seen her. He was not sure he’d be able to control his passion when he did, the relief that they were still alive and the outpouring of love now that nothing need separate them.

“Oh, and Kai?” Laird Finley’s voice called him back, hesitating in the doorway.

“Aye?” Kai said, spinning back to face him.

“Let us have the wedding soon, aye?” Finley said with care. “There are enough rumors about what happened in Laird Grant’s church and castle that day. I wish tae protect Ava from any dark scandals.”

“Aye. Let us have the wedding as soon as possible.”

“Good, now go tae her. Before she tears about the sparring room with that blade of hers.”

Kai laughed and turned, running down the corridor. He moved so fast that more than once did he nearly collide with a guard or a maid, shouting his apologies as he ran on.

“Marry me?”

Ava dropped the sword she had been sparring with. It clattered onto the floor as she spun around at the voice she knew so well.

Kai stood in the doorway, leaning upon it, a look of pure happiness on his face.

He’s here.

She hadn’t seen him for two weeks. Every day she had dreamt of seeing him, but her father had insisted on patience, that they had to wait for the dust to settle after all that had happened in Laird Grant’s clan.

She was sure she had misheard him. Surely the first words he had uttered to her in two weeks could only be the stuff of her dreams. They could not be real.

“What did ye say?” she whispered in disbelief, struggling to make her tongue work.

“Marry me, Ava?”

“Ye mean… me faither… he…” She could barely form words as she raced toward Kai, her body shaking. Even after all that had happened, she had been terrified that her father would rescind his blessing. Kai only had little money and Finley was desperate for more. “He has given his blessing?”

“Aye, he has.” Kai raised a hand and cupped Ava’s cheek, brushing the loose tendrils of her hair back behind her ear. “All that remains now is yer answer, Ava. Will ye marry me?”

She smiled gleefully.

This feeling was something she had never expected to feel. The sheer happiness and joy, the knowledge that she would now be forever connected to a man she loved so much.

“Dinnae keep me in suspense,” he reprimanded her playfully, moving toward her for a kiss.

“Aye, I will marry ye, Kai.”

“Thank God fer that.” He kissed her, their tongues danced together.

“Nae here,” she pleaded, pulling back a little. “Let us go elsewhere.”

“Somewhere that we can celebrate, just the two of us?” he whispered mischievously, his smile growing once again.

“Aye.”

“Then come with me.”

He took her hand and pulled her out of the room. They tiptoed through the castle, more than once having to hide behind pillars of stone to mask themselves from guards who were patrolling. At one point, they even saw her father and Lyla walking together, but they hid themselves too well to be seen.

The moment they reached Ava’s chamber, they bustled inside, Kai kicking the door shut. They ended up plastered against her door, both pulling at one another’s clothes with such intensity that Ava was fairly certain she heard material rip.

The skirt of her chemise was definitely torn as he swept it aside over her head, revealing her bare body to him. His own trews made an ominous tearing sound as he kicked them away with his boots.

They hadn’t yet moved from the door. Ava gestured to the bed, but Kai blocked her path playfully, leaning against the door with his hands on either side of her.

“I dinnae think we should leave this room until we have made love on every surface. Made it our own.”

A thrill passed through her, the wetness undeniable between her legs as he moved his knee between her thighs and raised it high and something he seemed to love from the way he groaned.

“Which surface first?” she asked, chewing her lip in an attempt to stop moaning aloud.

“First, the door.”

This time, there was no preparation, no fingers reaching between her legs to stretch her. He took hold of one of her knees and raised it high, opening her body to him, then his length nudged her entrance. Thrilled at the feeling, she gripped his shoulders for support as he slipped inside of her. Pinned by him against the door, she marveled at the feeling of his length, groaning his name as he set up a tortuously slow rhythm.

He soon began to sweat, the beads traveling down his chest in an intoxicating way that had her staring at him. The way he looked at her too, full of hunger and love brought her to the edge more than once. She was certain she was about to tip over the edge on that door when he slowed his pace to something that was nearly nonexistent.

“Kai!” she complained in frustration. “Dinnae tease me now.”

“We have our whole lives tae tease and please each other now, love.”

She giggled with delight, both at his words and his nickname for her.

His body withdrew from hers and he dragged her forward as she complained again at the loss of his touch. He moved them around the room, finding a table and urging her to place her hands upon it, entering her from behind. Ava leaned down over it, tantalized by the feeling of him so deep.

He was not so slow this time, but moved fast, gripping her hips, her back, her rear, even reaching around to her breasts. He seemed to want to touch her as much as possible as he drove her increasingly toward her edge.

It struck her so fast she was barely prepared for it, her body tightening all of a sudden. Clearly, it was her own body’s end that caused his too. He rocked into her fast, their moans filling the air as they climaxed together. He didn’t leave her, but leaned over her, the two of them a sweaty mess on the table as she reached back toward him, her hand finding his own.

That simple touch was a sweetness in the midst of all the passion.

“I love ye,” he whispered, kissing his way across her shoulder. “I love ye so much, wife tae be.”

She giggled. Soon enough, she and Kai would be husband and wife.

The seer didnae see this happening.

Then she stiffened, remembering that night with the seer. What the seer had said about Ava having to make a choice had been right after all. In the end, Ava had chosen her heart. She had chosen happiness over a life of misery.

Maybe there would be difficulty ahead as they fought to keep Lyla safe, but at least Ava knew now that whatever life threw at her, she would have Kai beside her, waiting to face the battle with her.

“Well, it wasnae quite every surface,” she teased him as his body left hers. “But it was a good start.”

“Ha! Did ye think I was done yet?” He lifted her from the table and into his arms. Laughing at his show of strength, she kissed her way up his neck as he carried her to the bed. “Give me a few minutes tae rest, love, then I’m planning tae take ye on this bed. The rug… maybe in that chair too…”

Thrilled at his words, Ava was pressed between him and the bed. Not only did she moan as his fingers reached for her center again, but she told him once again that she loved him t. The way he smiled at her made her realized that even if it had taken them some time to reach that moment, she would not have changed their journey, for now she and Kai had a future together laid out before them.

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