The Betrayal

CHAPTER Five

Kylia awoke to find herself cradled in Grant’s arms, her head pillowed on his shoulder, her hands resting against his heart. She could feel the strong, steady beat of it keeping time to her own.

Never in her life had she felt so intimately connected to another. As if their heartbeats were one. As if even their breathing moved, slow and steady, in perfect rhythm.

She looked up to find him watching her. Her cheeks bloomed with color.

“Good morrow, my lady.” Her found her embarrassment oddly appealing. It was obvious that she was neither coy nor flirtatious, but simply out of her element and scrambling to find her way.

“Good morrow.” She tried to pull away and found herself firmly bound by his arms. “How do you feel?”

“Much better than I’d expected to feel after battling the barbarians. Whatever spell you cast over me, my lady, I am grateful.”

“It was no spell. I merely called upon your body to heal itself.”

He chuckled. “I’ve often called upon my body to do things it resisted. This is the first I can recall that it actually obeyed.”

At the sound of his laughter, she experienced a strange curling sensation deep inside. Was this something men and women often felt? Or was this something that only she could feel? She’d never before been so confused, and trying with all her might not to let that confusion show.

She struggled to keep her tone light. “That’s because no one taught you the words.”

He stared into her eyes and felt the most amazing rush of heat. “I woke once and heard you chanting. But the words were unknown to me.”

“It is the lost language of our ancestors.”

“If it’s lost, how do you know it?”

“My mother and grandmother have kept it alive for my sisters and me. It will be up to us to see that it is preserved for future generations.” She pushed herself up and sat facing him. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll tend to your wounds. I should have done this last night. Alas, I fell asleep.”

“An annoying human habit.” Her hair, dark as midnight, swirled forward as she bent to him. He wondered if she had any idea what her touch was doing to him. A quick glance at her face showed the depth of her concentration. It nearly made him laugh aloud. Here he was, completely aroused, while she was oblivious to all but his wounds.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’d make a fine physician, my lady.”

She continued probing, running her fingers over the flesh of his shoulder until she saw him wince. “Sorry. My sister Allegra is much better at this than I. I can tell that wound will need some time before it’s completely healed. Can you bear the pain?”

“It’s tolerable. Besides, when you touch me like this, I forget all about the pain.”

She glanced down and saw the dangerous smile curving his lips. “Forgive me.” Her heart took a quick dip and she abruptly withdrew her hand.

“Nay, my lady.” He caught her hand in his and continued holding it while her cheeks turned as red as the coals of the fire. “I enjoy teasing you.”

She touched a hand to her cheek. It was, indeed, warm. And there was no denying the smile that matched his. “Am I also allowed to indulge in this teasing?”

“By all means.” His grin was quick and disarming. “Though I doubt you could make me blush.”

Again that quick touch of her palm to her cheek. “I shall have to ponder this awhile, my lord.” She got to her feet. “Now I must find more wood for the fire, or we’ll soon be mired in darkness.”

He watched her walk away and wondered at the lightness around his heart. He’d been wounded by barbarians, and was confined to the Forest of Darkness, a place feared by all Highlanders. And here he was feeling like a lovesick lad with nothing more pressing than a stroll with his lass on market day. But this was no country lass. Though he had no doubt that she was as human as he, there was about her an other worldliness that both troubled and tantalized him. How could she know so much about some things while knowing so little about others? She seemed not at all uncomfortable examining his body for wounds, and yet she reacted with growing passion to his simplest touch.

He had no doubt that she was an innocent. A maiden completely unfamiliar with the ways of men and women. That only made her more appealing. But though he found himself wanting her, he felt an obligation to her family to return her as he’d found her. Untouched. Unsullied by the things of his world.

It was easy enough to resolve to do the right thing. Now if only he could remind his body to cooperate.

He closed his eyes and let himself drift on a sea of contentment. Another day of rest and he would surely be strong enough to ride. In no time they would be back in his Highland fortress. And the lovely Kylia would begin the quest for the one who betrayed him.

That was why she had agreed to accompany him to his home. He must keep her mission clearly in mind.

He must have slept, for when he opened his eyes, Kylia was cooking something over the fire. The wonderful fragrance perfumed the air.

He sat up, feeling the world spin for a moment before coming slowly into focus.

At once she looked over and, seeing him awake, hurried to kneel by his side. “How do you feel, my lord?”

“Much refreshed. But I beg your forgiveness, my lady. I’ve left you alone to do all the things I should be seeing to.”

She shook her head, sending midnight curls dancing. “You needed to rest. Besides, I’ve enjoyed testing my skill. While visiting the stream, the fish fairly jumped into my net.”

“Your net?” He looked around. “What did you use?”

Again that quick rush of color to her cheeks before she looked down, avoiding his eyes. “I used my petticoat.”

“Your…” He burst into laughter, which only had her blush deepening.

She got to her feet and started away.

Grant sat up, thinking to follow, only to discover that beneath the cloak he was naked. “Where is my plaid?”

“I’ll fetch it.” She hurried away and removed it from a low-hanging branch. As she approached she explained, “It was soaked with your blood. I had to scrub it with sand several times before I managed to get it clean.”

“That was kind of you.” He accepted it from her hands and began winding it around his waist, before standing to toss the end over his shoulder. When he saw her watching he couldn’t resist adding, “Perhaps next time you’ll allow me to undress you and wash your garments, my lady.”

For a moment she seemed startled. Then she spotted the gleam of laughter in his eyes. “Is this more of your teasing, my lord?”

He swallowed back the chuckle that threatened. “Aye, my lady. Forgive me. But I dearly love teasing you.”

“So it would seem.” She removed a stick from the fire on which had been threaded chunks of fish that were perfectly browned. “I believe you should eat something. Otherwise you’ll not have the strength to tease me further.”

“That would be most unfortunate, my lady. For I’ve begun to dearly love the color that comes to your cheeks. It’s most becoming.”

She helped herself to a second stick threaded with fish, settling herself in the grass beside the fire. Moments later Grant dropped down next to her. “I wonder why my people have always feared the Forest of Darkness. It seems not at all the inhospitable place I’ve always heard about.”

“That’s because we have a fire.” Seeing his arched brow, she explained, “The fire keeps the creatures at bay. Because they belong to the night, they fear its light. If the fire should go out, we would be at their mercy, for then we would be in their element. They can see in the darkness.”

“What sort of creatures are they?” Grant found himself glancing around uneasily at the darkness just beyond the ring of light.

“I know not, for none have faced their wrath and lived to tell of it. But it’s whispered that they’re cruel, dangerous beasts who thrive on the blood of their prey.”

He studied the meager supply of sticks and branches that Kylia had hauled from the surrounding brush. “As soon as I’ve eaten, I’ll gather more wood.”

She nodded. “But remember to stay within the circle of firelight. You mustn’t risk leaving its protection.”

In the distance they heard a scream that might have been animal or human. The sound of it scraped over their nerves.

Grant felt a chill race along his spine and wondered at it. Like all warriors, he’d known fear a time or two on the field of battle. But at least there he knew something about his opponents, for even barbarians from far-flung regions fought with sword and knife and arrow. Beasts that inhabited the Forest of Darkness would be a dangerous foe unlike anything he’d ever encountered. He had no desire to test his skill against such adversaries.

“Step back, my lady.”

Grant used the blade of his sword to hack at the gnarled branches of a tree. Sweat beaded his forehead as he and Kylia dragged the limbs across the campsite.

“Until now I hadn’t realized how small was the circle of light cast by the fire. No wonder you were able to find so little wood.”

“Aye.” She wiped her hands down her skirt. “I’ve nearly swept the ground clean to keep the fire going.”

“This should give us some time.” He tossed the branches on the fire and watched as the flames leaped high in the air, before dropping weakly to the ground.

At once Kylia was beside him. “What is it, my lord?”

“I’d hoped to take leave of this place.” He shook his head to clear it. The weakness caught him by surprise. “But here I am, feeling as helpless as a bairn.”

She gave him a gentle smile. “You were, whether you care to admit it or not, gravely wounded. It will take time to regain your strength.”

“Time.” He spat the word. “We haven’t the time to waste here in this place. I’m needed in my fortress.”

“Rest now.” Kylia shook the grass from her traveling cloak and draped it around him. “Soon enough we’ll be gone from here.”

Within minutes Grant was fast asleep.

As Kylia drew near the fire for warmth, she heard the rustling sounds just beyond the circle of light, and knew the forest creatures were watching. She glanced at the pile of firewood and shivered. Here in the Forest of Darkness there was neither day nor night. Only eternal darkness.

How soon, she wondered, before the firewood was gone?

Then would they have to face the mythical beasts that no man had ever lived to describe.