Page 45 of To Win a Highlander’s Heart

“I came back to warn you of danger.”

“Warn us of danger? You should have done as much when you allowed the English inside these walls. We were in danger then. Men suffered and died because of your actions.” Alastair felt his pulse throb in his jaw. Why had she come back, and alone? Surely she didn’t think she could defend herself with one bow against his one hundred men armed and ready for battle?

Her pale cheeks stained pink. “I am truly sorry for that. I was curious to see what the warrior woman you took in would do against those men. I was watching her. If I hadn’t thought she and your men could overcome those thirty soldiers, I never would have done it.”

“What if you’d been wrong? What if they’d captured my wife and others?” Alastair asked, his voice hard.

“Then I would have freed them,” she said with conviction.

Tormod crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at her. “How can we be certain what you say is true?”

Behind them, a grey mist that had nothing to do with the morning dew rippled across the courtyard until that mist coalesced into the shape of a woman: their mother. My sons. You should open the gates and allow her to come in. I sense something has changed within her heart and that she belongs with us now.

“Not until we know more,” Tormod said with a frown. “Do you know this woman, Mother?”

She has been to the castle before. Once recently, and once as a child.

Alastair turned back to the woman separated from him by iron bars. “Before I open this gate, tell me who you are and why you are here.”

A flash of pride entered her eyes. “I am Aria MacLeod.”

Alastair felt the lines between his brows deepen as he inhaled. His mother had been right about her being kin. “A MacLeod who would harm her own people?” His words ground out with disbelief.

“If you open the gates, I will explain all,” Aria said.

For the first time, Alastair saw vulnerability in her wide blue eyes. If she was who she said, it must have taken great courage to return to the gates this morning. “Are you prepared to surrender your weapon?”

She shifted her bow so that it fit through the bars, extending it towards him. “Take it now. I mean you no harm.”

“Open the gate.” Alastair’s voice boomed in the silence that surrounded them. The portcullis opened more slowly than Alastair wanted it to once again, as his impatience flared. The sound of grinding chains and creaking wood filled the morning air. He clenched his fists at his sides as he waited.

When finally the barrier lifted, the woman stepped forward, and handed him her quiver. “My weapons are yours until you see fit to return them.”

“Aria MacLeod.” Alastair greeted her with a nod as he repeated her name. “And your sire was?” He knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from her lips.

The woman’s chin tilted up. “Iain Cair was my father.” Her voice was tight, as though it was difficult for her to speak the truth after so long. “After Iain and my mother were married and had a son together, my mother was forced to go back to Fairyland by the fairy king. What she did not know at the time of her return was that she had conceived another child, a daughter. I was born in Fairyland and surrounded by many who loved and cared for me. But something about me was not like the others who lived there. Something was missing inside me.” She shook her head. “It is hard to explain.”

“Tormod, Orrick, and I understand that feeling. We have lived with it most of our lives,” Alastair said, sympathising with her suffering. “Our father was not a kind or gentle man. We all left Dunvegan for years, trying to find ourselves.” Alastair released a soft chuckle at the sudden realisation his words brought. “Yet we all had to return to Dunvegan to find ourselves. And, now here you are, hoping for the same.”

“That is a lovely story,” Tormod interrupted. “You expect us to believe that you are part MacLeod, and part fairy? And that you came here to find yourself, but instead of helping your kin, you nearly destroyed them?”

Aria’s features darkened. “The fairy part of me is strong. That’s all I’ve known for years. It is full of mischief and mayhem. Over time, and with much discipline, I will be able to keep it in check. I am so sorry for what I did, and when I witnessed what happened after I let the English past your gates, I tried to help. Five of the men who died that day did so because of my arrows.”

Alastair considered the truth of her words. There had been unusual arrows deep in the chests of some of the men they had sent on to their reward. “Why come to us today speaking of danger?”

There is danger. I sensed it as well. The English are not through with the MacLeods just yet, I fear. Their mother floated in a tight circle as if her pent-up energy demanded she move.

Tormod shook his head. “I heard that Izzy forced a promise out of the lieutenant to leave the MacLeods in peace.”

“Lieutenant Collins is not to be trusted. He will do only what is best for him and his advancement in the military hierarchy to which he belongs.” Aria’s gaze slid between the two brothers. “I saw him heading towards Scorrybreac Castle. The look in his eyes was that of revenge.”

“Did Izzy go back there? Is Orrick with her?” Alastair asked, his gaze penetrating.

“Nay. There were only Englishmen.”

“Then Orrick must still be searching for Izzy,” Tormod said.

“Or following Izzy back to Scorrybreac,” Alastair suggested.