Highlander's Charm (Highlander Heat #3)

“A desperate wish to find you returned me to the past too.” She gripped the charm in her pocket and it heated and calmed her racing heartbeat. “Calum has one of these charms as well, gifted to him by a fortuneteller. In your note you said it was a MacIan heirloom from the 1500s.”


“I’ll explain everything. I told Margaret the bare minimum, and only what she needed to know for me to ensure her trust. After I flew into Edinburgh from Sydney, the strangest sensations began to batter me. I felt driven to visit the markets, to have a reading done. When I walked into the fortuneteller’s stall, she looked at me as if she’d been awaiting my arrival. She said she’d been here in the woods the night of your birth and felt the disruption in time. She’d traveled from the past the moment she was certain I’d returned to Scotland’s soil. Her magic is far greater than anything I’ve ever seen, and the wish I’d made was nothing compared to what she’d done. She gave me your coin and told me to send it to you with the instruction to never let it go. She said she’d also traveled through time to see Calum and given him his charm. Both coins were linked, through time and their true holders’ souls.”

“I’ve felt the depth of my bond with Calum.” She squeezed Nanna’s hand. “Carry on.”

“She said it was time for your return, and that the past must be set to rights. She told me to make a wish, but not to tamper with what she’d set in motion. Your wish had to be spoken from deep within you when your desperation was at its greatest. I couldn’t tell you of her foretelling. That night I returned to my room, I made a wish, just as I’d done that first time.”

“That’s how you arrived at Duart?”

“Yes, but I didn’t understand why I’d arrived at the MacLean stronghold until after I met Calum. He was the grounding link between us and our travel, except I couldn’t tell him of what had occurred either, or stay, not when I was a MacIan. I was so worried I would be found out. Confiding in Margaret gave me the means to ensure you’d know where I’d gone to. She aided me in leaving, as she promised she’d aid you.”

“She did. What happened after you arrived here?”

“There were many clan members who recognized me from the time before I disappeared. They welcomed me home, but were beyond curious about where I’d been. Twenty-one years without any word is a very long time, but I kept it simple, explaining I’d traveled to the village of Sydney where my Cunningham kin resided, and that in all these years I’d not been able to return. Being the laird’s mother, none have gainsaid my decision to speak to John first.”

“I can’t believe I have a father.”

“Believe it.” She sat on the chair beside her. “Except there is still much to be done. Your future must be fully realigned before all can be set right. You and Calum will aid each other. He is the one you’re bound to.”

“You mean it’s not set right by my arrival here?”

“No. You’re still soul bound to Calum, and if you look deep within your heart, you know he will come for you.”

“Since the first time we met, we’ve had visions. We handfasted last night, Nanna.”

“The two of you are wed?” She patted her chest. “I expected it, but that was fast.”

“I couldn’t deny him, and I wanted to be bound to him in the same way. Except we argued this morning. I told him who I truly was, and he was furious. He told me I’d deceived him. That was when I made another desperate wish to find you.” She clasped her charm against her heart, needing its solid presence to calm her. An image of Calum crystalized in her mind and the ferocity of his grief pummeled her. Searching, he dove deep within the murky waters of the bay.

“Relax. You’re here now. You’ve returned to Mingary and me.” Nanna wrapped an arm around her shoulders, enveloping her in her wonderful lavender scent. “The one thing I’ve learnt in all these years is anything’s possible. One simply has to look inside their heart for direction.”

“I miss him, even though I wished to leave him and find you. He’s loyal and honorable. Except he never wished to wed one of his enemy.”

“Is that what your heart tells you?”

“Nanna, I’m not only a MacIan, but his arch enemy’s daughter.”

“Yes, but not all is lost.” Nanna tucked a length of her drying hair behind her ear. “I’ll aid you as I can, but for now we must await your father’s return. Even I’ve not seen him, and I long for it.”

“You said below-stairs he was about the king’s business in Edinburgh.”

“Yes, and he should have returned by now, but recently we received word of Donald and Angus MacDonald’s capture. The king called John as a witness to the feud, and he can’t leave until he’s permitted to.”

“Can we travel to him?”

“A strong escort would be needed, and that’s not possible while Ian needs his warriors here to defend Mingary. We have to remain.”