CursedLaird (23 page)

He kissed her knuckles then turned to face his
brathairs
.
“These are two o’ mi
brathairs
, Gavin and Ian.” Each nodded when he said
their name. He released her hand and lowered his to the small of her back as he
guided her forward.

“This is the lovely Caledonia Kavanagh o’ Loch Tay,” he
stated in a regal tone as he presented her to his
brathairs
. “I owe mi
life to her. She found mi at the bottom o’ Loch Tay.” He held her hand to his
heart as he lingered, lost in those cerulean blues. She looked even more
inviting standing within the walls of Castle MacKinnon.

The clearing of a throat jarred him from the mystical hold
Caledonia’s being in his home placed upon his soul. He quickly announced his
other two newfound friends. “And with us are the O’Reilly
brathairs
,
Percy and Abel, o’ Loch Tay as well.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Caledonia replied. Her voice seemed
unusually low and weak as if she were intimidated—or overwhelmed. “Struan has
spoken fondly of both of you and of his home.”

Struan searched her face for any signs of feminine distress.
He’d heard of women fainting if they became overexerted, though he doubted
Caledonia fit that category. She’d shown him nothing less than pure, strong
will and cast-iron inner strength. Traits he found admirable in her. She
reminded him of his sister. When she didn’t meet his gaze, he knew something
bothered her.

“Hi, I’m Izzy,” an adorable woman with odd hair stated in a
friendly tone as she stepped into the hallway. It looked as if her hair had
been extremely short at one time and had bright-white tips that covered half
its length. Struan couldn’t help but stare at the anomaly. Izzy noticed his
dismayed look and quickly explained as she ran a hand through her strange hair
design. “I used to keep my hair cut very short and dyed it white, but Ian asked
me to grow it long for him and let it return to its natural shade.”

When Ian locked his hand possessively in Izzy’s, Struan was
astonished. The self-proclaimed bachelor found a woman. He was grateful
Caledonia interceded on his behalf as she replied, “It looks fine. Struan’s not
acclimated to this century yet. Please excuse him for staring.” Her gentle
elbow poke in his ribs reminded him of his manners.

“I apologize, milady.” He bowed respectfully then looked at
Ian. “I did not mean to impose ill upon your woman, Ian,” he stated sincerely
and hoped they forgave him. If he wanted to stay home, he knew better than to
insult one o’ his
brathair
’s ladies. But he truly hadn’t meant to, it
just happened. Her hair was the oddest in nature he had ever seen.

“Apology accepted, Struan,” Ian announced with a slanted
smile on his lips. He leaned toward Struan and whispered, “There’s much to be
said o’ a woman with odd hair, mi
brathair
. She has a fiery spirit
unlike any I have ever known, nor will I be able to tame her completely.”

Izzy playfully nudged Ian. “We’ve had this discussion many
times. I’m not an object to be tamed nor owned.”

“Aye, mi
dona leannan
.” Ian kissed the top of her
head as he laid his arm across her shoulders. “That we have.”

Struan was dumbfounded by Ian’s display toward this woman.
It wasn’t his nature. Ian had his heart broken and vowed never to settle upon
one woman again. And if he heard Ian right, he called this woman named Izzy,
his
dona leannan
, his naughty lover. A hand upon his shoulder brought
his attention to his
brathair
, Gavin.

“I would not have believed it either, mi
brathair
,”
Gavin stated. “Izzy has her hands full.”

“As do I.”

The sound of another woman’s voice came from the doorway of
the room off the hallway where they had been gathered prior to Struan’s
entrance. Gavin moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. His face
filled with love as he looked upon the woman then returned his attention to
Struan.

“Struan, this is Ericka, mi wife.”

Instantly, Struan knelt at her feet. Head bowed, he stated,
“I pledge mi life to the safety o’ mi
brathair
’s wife and the new lady
o’ Castle MacKinnon.”

Ericka gathered his head in her hands and urged him to his
feet. “Struan, it’s not like that in this era. We
all
live here as a
family. No one rules the other. Each of us is free to make our own decisions
and come and go as we please. But we work together for a common goal. To find
and free every missing MacKinnon brother.”

When she hugged him, Struan looked to Gavin. His hearty
laugh eased a smidgeon of the confusion that rattled Struan’s thoughts. He
breathed in deep and accepted the sisterly love that Ericka offered. He glanced
from one to the other. One
brathair
married. The other in love and
probably headed down that same path. Struan couldn’t help but reach for
Caledonia the moment Ericka released him.

Was
he
headed down the road to matrimony? He tried to
shrug off that thought. Now was not the time for such fancy. There were
brathairs
to be found. But the thought lingered and took root. Gavin and Ian found
gaol
,
love. Why not him? Struan met Caledonia’s gaze and read uncertainty. Something
truly bothered his
fiadh-chat
and it didn’t sit well that he would have
to wait to find out what.

“Come,” Ericka said as she turned toward the room she came
out of. “Let’s sit and hear the tale of how you were freed.”

As the others followed, Struan waited while holding
Caledonia’s hand, keeping her at his side. He tucked his finger under her chin
and gently lifted. When she didn’t meet his gaze, he knew his fears were right.
“What is it that has ye worried, mi
fiadh-chat
?”

“Nothing.” Her feigned smile didn’t fool him.

Caledonia didn’t give him a chance to ask anything else. She
was still mentally kicking herself in the ass for not thinking past the task of
bringing him home. She tugged from his grip and entered the room behind the
others. This night had taken a turn toward a world of uncertainty for her. But
what did she think would happen?

That was just it. She hadn’t thought. No. She’d simply acted
on impulse, which normally wasn’t like her. He’d never promised her more than
pure pleasure, which he’d accomplished. Struan gave her the best sexual
experiences of her lifetime. Was that what she would miss? She cut a glance his
way and knew that wasn’t the reason her heart hurt. She’d miss the man.

Her insides swirled and gurgled with a combination of
excitement for Struan because he was home and selfish regret because he was
home. She hated herself for the latter. She held no claim to him. What they’d
shared was sex and nothing more. She tried desperately to convince herself as
she forced her legs to carry her into the room. Wasn’t the real concern in
helping Struan escape the curse completely? And she’d vowed to help him in any
way possible. For some stupid reason, her heart had gotten involved and twisted
her line of thought.

Come morning, while he rested in stone, she, Percy and Abel
would return to their home at Loch Tay. She could research curses from there.
But would she ever see him again? Her heart turned to lead and sank in her
chest, struggling to maintain a steady beat. It disturbed her to think she’d
miss him as much as her heart hinted. How had this happened? How had she fallen
for Struan in such a short time?

Determined to help him the best way possible, she pushed her
personal desires aside and made the conscious decision to keep her hands to
herself and let Struan decide his fate. Struan belonged at Castle MacKinnon
with his family. He needed time to adjust to his new life.
A life quite
possibly without her in it.
That selfish thought made her stomach curl into
a pit of mixed emotions. Struan’s life was his to live. Not hers to guide, even
though she found him and set him free. Nor was he a possession to own like an
artifact she’d retrieved from the watery underworld.

But he wasn’t truly free, now was he? His image in stone
speared her brain and tore at her soul. No, he lived half a life. There had to
be some way she could help him and save her heart from the possibility of
losing him in the process. His friendship would be better than nothing.
Caledonia plastered a smile to her face and took the seat on the couch offered
to her by Ericka.

Glancing from person to person, she saw so many similarities
between the brothers that she could have guessed they were Struan’s siblings
without being told. Gavin stood taller than Ian, but Ian had broader shoulders
and seemed to be overall heavier in muscle. From the fit of the jeans Ian wore,
his thighs were massive. Caledonia shot her gaze upward to study their faces.
Gavin’s eyes were a dark shade of green. Ian’s were blue. Both kept their long,
dark hair in ponytails, which hung to about mid-back.

The two women in the room were as different as night and
day. Ericka wore thin-framed reading glasses perched on top of her head. Her
shoulder-length auburn hair was pulled away from her face and held by a silver
clip at the base of her neck. Izzy’s hair was in mid-transition and all over
the place, but still looked stylish on the tomboyish woman. Where Ericka seemed
more demure and refined, she got the impression Izzy was outgoing and a bit
more flamboyant, if she read Izzy right. Green eyes were the only trait the two
had in common. Except for the hair. Caledonia guessed that when Izzy’s returned
to its natural color, it would probably be a shade of red.

Struan lagged behind and it wasn’t until he walked in
holding a bunch of battered flowers that they remembered the crash.

“I tripped when I came in and broke a vase,” he muttered
sheepishly. “Where would ye like these?”

“That’s my fault,” Izzy said. “In my rush to go to the
bathroom, I dropped my bag there when we got home. I meant to move it to the
pile with the others by the stairs, but didn’t get the chance to before you
arrived. I’ll take those.” Izzy reached for the flowers. “And I’ll clean up the
mess so don’t you worry about it. Come sit down for now. It will keep. We want
to hear the tale of how you were rescued.” Izzy’s eyes widened as she spun to
face Caledonia. “And how you knew the anti-curse? Where’d you get it? It’s not
exactly common knowledge.”

“I can explain.” The hauntingly lyrical brogue of Akira
whispered around the room as she slowly appeared.

“Akira,” Struan gasped. “Ye are spirit just as Mary
claimed.”

“Aye,” Akira replied, floating to a stop in front of him. “I
taught Mary the anti-curse and in turn she taught it to Caledonia.”

“Why did ye not come to mi as Mary did?”

“The angels granted mi the right to protect mi
brathairs
until their release from the curse. Mi spirit is confined to the grounds o’
Castle MacKinnon. Only once have I been removed from mi home and that was
through the use o’ black magic.” She shot a smile to Gavin and Ericka. “If not
for the love o’ Gavin and Ericka, I would still be trapped within a magical
cell by a descendent o’ Hume MacGillivray.”

“A MacGillivray.” The words seethed angrily from Struan’s
lips and pure hatred shown in his eyes. Caledonia knew that name belonged to
the man who placed the curse on the MacKinnons.

“Aye,” Gavin stated, settling on the arm of the couch beside
Ericka. “We have a living enemy. He seeks our
brathairs
and the book o’
black magic that Hume used on us.”

“We’ve got to rid this world o’ him,” Struan growled. Waves
of anger washed over Caledonia and his pain seemed to be her pain. She
swallowed hard and sat on her hands to prevent reaching out to him.

Ian moved beside Struan and laid a comforting hand on his
shoulder. “We have tried, mi
brathair
. MacGillivray controls a form o’
black magic o’ his own. It is how he has escaped us.”

Struan sat on the arm of the couch next to her. His body
heat warmed her to her toes and she had difficulty suppressing the urge to
reach for him. She didn’t like the anger that flowed from him. She wanted to
ease his pain, to touch him, but resisted.

“If you can’t leave here, how did you contact Mary?” Caledonia
asked, trying to redirect the conversation from this MacGillivray in hopes
Struan’s anger would dissipate.

“She came to mi.” Akira motioned to Struan. “We have a
common bond. That thread led her to mi and in turn she found you. The woman who
would free Struan from his prison.”

“He’s not exactly free.” Caledonia met Struan’s gaze. The
sadness in those deep-sea blues chipped at the wall she tried desperately to
build around her heart. Why was he sad? He was home. That’s what he wanted. “He
turns to stone with the rise of the sun.”

Caledonia dragged her gaze from Struan to Akira. The knowing
arch in Akira’s brow and the slim smile teased Caledonia’s curiosity, but it
was the specter’s words that confused her most.

“Oh, I’m sure that will change.” She seemed to pause
dramatically as she shot a look from Ericka to Izzy that ignited Caledonia’s
suspicion. “In time.”

“Do you know how to break the curse?” Caledonia couldn’t
hide the sudden anticipation in her voice. Was there really a cure? If so, why
didn’t they share it?

Ericka took Caledonia’s hand in hers. “There is a way to
break the curse, but it isn’t something we can do. It’s something that can only
be experienced for the spell to break completely.”

“What is the answer to mi remedy?” Struan demanded.

Gavin smiled then stated, “The answer lies within ye. Not
one o’ us can tell ye the path to follow. It’s one ye must choose for
yourself.”

“Trust us,” Ian interjected. “Sleep on it and I bet the
light o’ truth shall lead ye to freedom.” He nodded slightly toward Caledonia,
which confused the hell out of her.

Why were they speaking in riddles? Why didn’t they come
right out and say what needed to be done? Anger slithered up her spine but
before she reacted, Struan took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. The
sadness no longer lingered in his eyes.