Highlander's Kiss (Clan Matheson #1)

Two lively children squealed from under an apple tree at the side of the inn and with baskets in hand, tore barefoot into the stables where the lad tending the horses too had sought shelter from the rain.

Julia grasped her skirts and darted around a lanky brown-haired dog in the center of the yard and ducked in through the front door, Tavish one step behind her. She brushed the rain from his gray jacket and handed it back to him. “I’ll warm up quickly now I’m inside. This search is becoming quite the adventure.”

“Adventure or not, just don’t forget whose land we’re on.” His golden gaze blazed as he leaned in and nipped her ear. “I won’t lose you again.”

“How can I help ye fine folks?” The innkeeper, a crinkly-eyed man wearing breeches and a loose plaid tossed over one shoulder, ambled over from the bar toward them. “The wife has beef stew cooking and fresh bread warm from the oven. There are travelers aplenty here today.”

“Beef stew and fresh bread would be most appreciated.” Kirk tucked Cherub under his shoulder, her head tipped down within her hood and her cloak fully protecting her identity. Cherub always took great care with whom she allowed to see her. Her glimmering skin was a physical attribute held only by the eldest child born within the ancient royal line of the fae and since Cherub was the king’s firstborn and she’d yet to conceive a child, she was also the last to hold the unique skin trait. It certainly made her easily identifiable.

“Then find yourselves somewhere to sit. I’ll have the barmaid see to ye all.” The innkeeper plodded off through the side door into the kitchens.

“I’d love a moment to freshen up.” Cherub peeked at her from under her hood. “What of you, Julia?”

“Aye, I’ve a great need to freshen up.” Her windblown hair must look a fright and she wouldn’t mind washing the blood from her hair. With the blood out of Tavish’s sight, mayhap her new injury would also be out of his mind. A side stairwell led upward to the top floor of the inn and a young maid of perhaps ten and four swept the floors near the bottom step. She squeezed Tavish’s hand. “Cherub and I will be back soon.”

“Keep your mind open to mine.”

“I shall.” She crossed to the lass with Cherub at her side. “Excuse me, we’ve a need to freshen up. Is there a chamber available where we could?”

“Aye, my ladies, right here on the lower floor. Come with me.” She set her broom in the corner, tucked one errant brown lock under her white frilly cap and led the way along the lower corridor. At the end of the hallway, the lass opened the paneled door and motioned them inside. “This is Mama and Papa’s best chamber and has a view right across the loch as well as a side door and a private garden. ’Tis all yours for as long as ye need it.”

“You have our most heartfelt thanks.” She smiled at the lass and walked inside. A large bed covered in a patchwork quilt of bright blues and greens stood against one wall and a posy of wildflowers sat in fluted holder on the bedside table next to it. The window faced the loch, offering a perfect view of the sea entrance and the MacKenzie’s stronghold sitting on the jutting point only a short distance away. She opened the door to the outside garden and gasped. Lavender bushes and scattered wildflowers surrounded a pathway leading down to the loch. “I would dearly love to stay here for a day or two, to enjoy the countryside, that’s if this inn were no’ on MacKenzie land.”

“This is a lovely spot, although a sure shame to be located right here.” Cherub joined her underneath the covered doorway and motioned toward the castle where guardsmen patrolled the barbican. “Do you sense any hum?” Cherub kept her tone low so as not to be overheard by the maid as she lit the fire across the other side of the chamber.

Eyes closed, she focused on the castle and her parents possibly imprisoned within. Once she heard the gentle hum of their aura then she’d know for certain that they lived. She touched her chest, right over her rapidly beating heart, but not a trace of a hum resonated toward her. “There’s naught.” She opened her eyes and blinked the hot burn of tears away. “I need to get closer, Cherub. I’m still too far away.”

“I’ll take you straight into the castle myself, the moment I’ve restored my strength.” Cherub had expended such a great deal. “Soon, very soon.”

Julia faced the castle once more. Several warriors heaved slabs of stone from the rear of a cart and handed them to a stonemason and his team who disappeared around the other side of the keep. Another cart rumbled past the inn and down the bumpy trail toward the castle, the rear stacked with the same stone blocks. “They are at work on constructing the outbuildings.”

“Aye, I’d say ’tis a relatively new keep.”

“Is there aught more you need, my ladies?” The maid rose from the blazing fire and dusted her hands against her aproned skirts.

“Nay, thank you for your aid. We’ll be fine now.” Julia smiled at the lass.