The Magic of Highland Dragons (28 page)

“Jesu!” He pressed his fists tightly into the ground, fighting for breath. “Holy God!”

He wanted to let her go on forever, he really did, but after only a couple of minutes he could take no more. He was gasping for air, his heart pounding right out of his chest. In one swift motion he had her flat on her back with her skirts up around her waist, thrusting into her, then coming so hard that he shook with it.

After, they lay together, wrapped in each other’s arms, but it was some time before his breathing returned to normal.

Faith ran her fingers gently over the hard contours of his chest. She found she could not keep her hands from touching him whenever he was near. His body was so very different from her own. So hard, all sharp contours to her soft curves. She traced the bands of ink that encircled his arm. The markings were beautiful; carefully rendered. The double dragon symbol she knew, but the other, an intricate design of interwoven circles and swirls, she had never seen before anywhere else.

“What does this one mean?” she asked, drawing her finger along the tattoo.

“The Dragons, ye ken, are the symbol of Creagmor. The other marks me as Chief to the clan of Mac Coinnach.” He gazed at her for a moment. “I think I shall put my symbol on ye in ink, Faith. To mark ye as mine, so that nay other man will ever have ye.”

She raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure that he wasn’t joking. He just might be the kind of man who would take it upon himself to brand his wife to mark her as his. She changed the subject. “Now tell me about
your
world. Tell me about your magic. It’s still so strange to me. Where I grew up, magic was only in stories. No one actually believed it was real. Or if they did, they were considered to be crazy by most people.”

“Most old stories hold a grain of truth, dinna they? Especially verra old stories. It’s always been this way, in my family. We have always had such abilities, and the responsibility that comes with them. And a big responsibility it is, because power is always a verra dangerous thing in the wrong hands, and sometimes even in the right ones. The Mac Coinnach clan has long been dedicated to fighting against those who misuse the gifts of the Earth, and who use those gifts to bring about evil and darkness, or to hurt others.” He paused, bringing her hand to his mouth and pressing her knuckles to his lips before continuing.

“Always there must be a balance between dark and light, exact, perfect, constant. Day turns to night, but always back to day again. Winter comes, cold and dark, but always spring prevails. Even the stars above burn out eventually, but give their elements to all other things, and light is reborn. The magic we use is in the natural energies of the earth, in the ability to concentrate and direct them. Nay more. The energy that flows through the earth, that makes the wind blow and the plants grow and the verra tides move, it flows through each of us just the same. We can pull it to us just as ye can gather water in the palm of yer hand. We can wield it just as ye can throw a rock into a pool and make the water fly into the air, and the ripples reach the shore far on the other side. It is all one and the same.”

As she listened to his explanation, for the first time Faith understood. Not just about magic, but how important the balance of the earth was to all life. It was all so clear in her mind, as if Bren’s mind had touched hers, leaving his very thoughts behind for her to see. Perhaps it had.

“And the standing stones?”

“Ah, the stones. Every clan that has talents such as our also have their own sacred stones. They are set in a circle, and a circle by its verra nature encompasses, pulls into itself. The stones of the circle were formed long, long ago, when the earth was verra young, when the forces of creation were at their prime. Each stone selected for the circle still lies in the exact direction in which it was formed. Each was moved carefully along a straight line to take its place in the circle. And so the energy of the earth is gathered and centered here, for our use.”

Faith let out a breath. “It sounds so perfectly simple.”

“It is. Perfect. And simple.”

He paused, not wanting to ruin such a beautiful afternoon with less pleasant things. But this could not wait any longer. The worry of it was the greatest weight on his shoulder, above all else. He looked at her with deep concern in his eyes.

“I have to get the ring back, Faith. We are no’ safe as long as it’s in Mored’s hands, as we must assume it is. I’ve already sent a scouting party out, and if they return with news of where he is or even where he may be, I’ll be leaving to find it.”

She nodded in understanding. She didn’t want anything at all to threaten the happiness they had so newly found together. Not an argument, and certainly not the perfidy of an evil man. But she didn’t want him going either, at least not while she had to stay home and worry about whether or not he would be killed.

“I’ll come with you”, she said firmly.

Bren’s eyes immediately sparked anger. “Like hell ye will! Ye will stay home and wait for me woman, even if I have to lock ye in our chamber until I return!”

She crossed her arms and glared at him, trying to match his fierce scowl, but he only laughed at her attempt and pushed her back onto the grass for a deep, soul-searing kiss. They did not return to the castle till dinner time that day, but it didn’t matter. Her father had left the morning after the wedding. He had important business to tend to, but promised to return for a longer visit in a few weeks. Faith thought maybe he had just wanted to ensure the couple had some time alone to get to know one another. She was looking forward to getting to know all of the small things about the man who was now her husband, and she also felt the need to make a place for herself not only in his life, but at Creagmor. She would need a purpose, a job to do, and that was perhaps her only worry about her new life here. She had a quick and curious mind that would need to be occupied with things more than looking pretty for her husband. But right now… right now Bren was touching her, and she was slipping back into the world where it was only the two of them.

Chapter 15
҈

Faith now found herself in a position she never could have imagined she’d be in: Lady of Creagmor. She knew there were certain duties that came with the role, but she had little concept of what they were, except for vague ideas she had picked up while reading history books. And so, while Bren was out training with the other men, she arranged to meet with Colm. The castle steward would surely know what her new duties were. She liked to be busy, and there was certainly plenty to be done in a castle of this size.

She sat down with Colm in a corner of the great hall. Despite her new found confidence, she was a bit nervous. “Thank you for speaking with me, I know how busy you are.”

“It is my pleasure my Lady. How can I be of service to ye?”

“Well, I’m afraid my upbringing was… rather different, and I wasn’t taught… the sort of things most ladies would have been taught. I’m not entirely sure what my role here is. I mean, what does the lady of the castle do, exactly?”

Colm looked a bit taken aback by her question, but to his credit, he smiled warmly at her and answered as if she had only inquired about the weather.

“The lady of Creagmor has many roles, the first of which is to see to the laird, of course, but she also sees to the well being of all of Creagmor’s people, especially the elders and the children.”

Faith relaxed a little. She could do that.

“And”, Colm went on, “she sees to the stocking of the larders, and the planning of the meals, especially when there are guests at the castle.”

That sounded a bit more daunting, but, Faith admitted to herself, could be quite enjoyable. She liked a challenge.

“And, when there are verra important guests, the lady usually personally sees to their needs, including helping to bathe the men and providing any necessary finery and personal items for the women.”

Faith tried to imagine herself washing the castle’s male guests, and nearly laughed out loud at the image. Would she be expected to wash
down there
, and if so did one carry on pleasant conversation the whole while? That one would take some getting used to.

“And”, Colm continued, because he was nothing if not thorough, “if the lady so pleases, she sees to the care and tending of the gardens, with the help of her staff, of course.” He cleared his throat, a deep red blush creeping up from the collar of his shirt. “Her most important duty, after tending the laird himself, of course, would be to bear the laird’s children, and see to their care.”

Faith nodded as he finished his list of her new duties. Her heart had started at the mention of children, and then proceeded to thud loudly in her ears. She had been so enthralled and overwhelmed by Bren himself that any thoughts of a baby had been relegated to the very back of her mind. Even when he had told her that he wanted lots of children, her mind had interpreted that to mean eventually. But they certainly hadn’t used any form of birth control, and he wasn’t the kind of man who was likely to agree to such a thing, anyway. If she became pregnant… well, that would be…
amazing
. To think of having Bren’s child, a part of him… a part of both of them, it made her all warm inside. But Colm was still sitting there, waiting patiently for her to either ask another question or dismiss him, and she was holding him up from whatever he had to do.

“Who does all of these things now?”

“Well, I do, I suppose. Except for bathing the male guests”, he said with a smile. “And… um… and the other, of course.”

Faith laughed. “I hope I can lighten your work load, somewhat. Whom do I talk to about planning the meals? I think I’ll start there for today. I have so much to learn.”

At first she was very worried about stepping on the toes of the people who had been running the castle for so long, but Colm and Berta, at least, were more than happy to have their work-load lightened.

Berta only laughed at her when Faith asked if she would mind her taking over some of the planning.

“Of course I dinna mind! I’ve been waiting for years for that lad to take a wife, we all worried over him, encouraged him to wed in any way we could, but now I ken he was verra wise; he was waiting for the right woman.” She winked at Faith. “I happen to ken, lass, that the laird is nay over-fond of venison. Ye may want to serve something else, for a while. For a good long while.”

Excited to get started, Faith ran to the larders, taking a quick inventory of what was there, ideas filling her head, wondering what other foods might be available here, what dishes she could make. Though she imagined it would take some time to have things running smoothly, by dinner that evening, she had come up with salmon with dill sauce and roasted asparagus, along with the usual bread and ale. She took her place beside Bren for the meal, and he leaned over and kissed her cheek when he noticed the fresh flowers she had picked herself and put on the table. He was home at last, and there was one reason for that.

“Good evening, wife. How was yer first day of running the keep?”

She smiled at him. “It went well, I think. Except that you need to do away with that ridiculous rule that none of the men besides Colm and your brothers can look at or speak to me. It makes it very difficult to get things done.”

He frowned. “I dinna ken. I find that when it comes to ye I am a verra jealous man. I dinna want other men looking at ye with desire in their eyes, or at all for that matter. I willna stand for it.”

She looked at him patiently, but with a glimmer in her eye. “You need to change the rule. I need to be able to speak with the men of the castle. If one should try something… inappropriate, then you can kill him. Not before.”

He scowled. “I will think on it.”

She scowled back at him. “Bren… that rule makes it impossible for me to do the things I need to do if I’m to fit in here and be happy.”

“Of course ye fit in here, ye are my wife!”

Faith crossed her arms and pressed her lips together, continuing to look at him as if though waiting for him to change his mind.

He sighed. “All right, I’ll change the rule, but I willna like it one bit.”

She smiled, then leaned over to give him a kiss. “And how was your day… husband?”

He leaned in closer to speak near her ear. “In truth I could think of nothing else all day but having ye naked in my bed. Eian nearly ran me through with his sword twice as a result. Ye are a verra dangerous woman, Faith. I think ye will be the death of me.”

She gave him a wry smile and pinched his thigh under the table. “I don’t think you can actually die from too much sex.”

“Ow! Did I no’ say ye are dangerous?”

The maids served the food then, and Bren gave her a grin that lit up his whole face.

“It’s no’ venison!”

She had arranged to have strawberry pie for dessert, but Bren had taken her away to their chamber before it was even served. He closed the door and pressed her up against it, gently nibbling and biting the length of her neck, making her shiver all over. Then he took her mouth, still holding her helpless against the door, and kissed her until her knees were weak and her arms came up to pull him even closer. He rucked up her skirts, and his kilt, then forcefully pushed himself into her with a deep groan of pleasure. Her legs came up automatically to wrap around his waist and take him deeper. He thrust into her again and again, but it was only moments before he shuddered and collapsed against her.