Kiaran (Immortal Highlander, Clan Mag Raith Book 5): A Scottish Time Travel Romance by Hazel Hunter

Author:Hazel Hunter [Hunter, Hazel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-02T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

AFTER BUILDING UP the fire Domnall gathered the clan in front of the great hall’s central hearth to tell them of the secret he had kept for so long. As he spoke Mael produced a bottle of whiskey, which he passed around to the others. Everyone drank, even Rosealise.

Retelling the events that had led to him murdering his own sire proved somewhat easier than he’d expected, although the shame of what he’d done still weighed on him.

“I cannae tell you why Nectan attacked me in my sleep,” Domnall admitted once he’d finished his tale. “Mayhap he reckoned I’d try to thwart his bargain and save my brothers from such a fate. Had I ken what he’d planned, I’d never have left the settlement.”

“He likely feared you’d challenge his rule over the decision,” Mael said slowly. “As his heir ’twas your right.”

“We’ll never ken,” Domnall told them, and then looked at Kiaran. “Like you I didnae plan to return from the hunt. For killing my sire I’d be put to the blade, and I wished to live. I meant to ride off in the night while the rest of you slept. ’Twas for that I reckoned the Gods damned us.”

“Mayhap if we’d no’ gone into the fortress, we’d have shared that journey,” the falconer said dully.

“I’d like to point out that defending yourself against someone who is trying to kill you in your sleep can’t be grounds for damnation,” Jenna pointed out. “Nor is thinking about running away from a terrible situation.”

“I wouldnae have been sleeping that night,” Edane said, his mouth tight as he rubbed a hand over his chest. “My heart, ’twas failing, and I didnae have the strength to hunt anymore. I didnae wish to become the tribe’s next shaman. ’Twas why I brought a potion to end my life. I drank the full vial just before we sought refuge in the old fortress.”

Nellie rubbed her shoulder against his. “Glad that didn’t work, Mister.”

Broden stared at him. “I remember. You collapsed, and then–” He stopped and swore as he rubbed his brow. “Fack, but willnae I ever recollect that time without a dagger to the brain?”

Mariena kissed his temple. “There. I make it better, no?” She then drew back and frowned. “It does not transfer to me, the pain you feel. So, it is not from a wound.”

“Spell-lash,” Edane told her. “’Tisnae as true pain.”

Rosealise gently prodded Mael, who took a gulp from his goblet before he said, “I meant to kill my brute of a sire after we returned. I schemed to make it seem a drunken mishap while out hunting grice with him.”

“’Twas why you kept setting traps near the cliffs?” Kiaran asked.

“Aye. I meant to shove him over the edge.” The big man sighed. “I’d been plotting his end for weeks after he beat my sisters and máthair so badly he broke their bones.”

“I know something about brutal parents,” Rosealise said, and twined her fingers through his. “Had I been given the chance, I think I might have done the same to my last employer for sacrificing her daughter to her vanity.

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