Lachlan leaned to the side and propped himself on a forearm. “There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. No matter how many times I go into battle, my stomach feels as if I have bees buzzing around. Then the fighting starts, and I forget about it.”
“I have a healthy dose of respect for witches. I know how powerful they can be, especially Sybbyl. Do I fear them? No. Nor do I fear death.”
“Just the Gira, then.”
Synne nodded once, hating to admit it.
“No one has such a fear without it being warranted.”
“What are you saying?” she demanded with a frown.
He tossed a pebble into the fire. “Only that there’s a reason you’re afraid of the Gira. Was it the stories someone told you?”
“We were taught with facts.”
Synne didn’t care that her words were laced with anger. She shifted and turned the rabbits to cook on the other side before she settled back against the tree.
“What did the trees tell you about me?” Lachlan asked.
Her gaze slid to him to find him looking into the fire. The red-orange glow danced on his face as he seemed enthralled by the flames. She loved looking into fire, as well. It was mesmerizing, just as listening to a river or a roaring waterfall soothed her.
“They told me that someone was near,” she finally answered. “There was no dire warning attached, so I didn’t get the sense that they thought you’d do me harm.”
“My duty is to protect the lands of my clan. I’m in the forest to patrol it and look for enemies. Had you been an enemy, I would’ve struck you down,” he stated without preamble.
She understood the ways of a warrior. While other women might have been appalled by such talk, she knew it put Lachlan and her on equal ground. “And had you been a witch with the Coven, I would’ve struck you down.”
They shared a smile.
Silence fell between them as the fire crackled. The quiet of a forest might unnerve some, but Synne had always enjoyed it. Then again, the trees had been able to warn her if danger approached. Others didn’t have such a gift. And when anything could be hiding behind a tree, she could see why some stayed away.
It wasn’t long before the hares were done. Both she and Lachlan ate, lost in their thoughts. Except Synne found her mind drifting to the Highlander. He hadn’t put her down for knowing how to use a bow or for wearing pants. He hadn’t been condescending about her relationship with the trees, her training as a Hunter, the witches, or anything. She was used to that with the men at the sanctuary, but she had come up against others in the outside world who didn’t share those views. It made her never want to leave the abbey, because she didn’t feel as if she should have to defend her way of life to anyone—especially a man.
And the fact that men thought they could rule women completely made her equally angry. It infuriated Synne to watch women kowtow to such men. Then again, those women hadn’t been given the same opportunities that she had. They came from two different lives, and if she were in their shoes, she would most likely act the same way.
Lachlan acted more like Radnar than other domineering men. She liked that. Otherwise, she would’ve dropped him on his arse.
“I have a feeling that smug smile is somehow about me,” Lachlan said.
Synne shook her head even as she swallowed her chuckle. “Tell me about your family and clan.”
“My father is a good laird, but he’s aging. I had an older brother who died in battle several years ago. After my mother died, my father remarried, and I’ve a sister and a brother from that union.”
“You’re the eldest, then?”
“Aye.”
“So, you’ll take over as laird.”
He nodded. “Aye.”
“Do you have a spouse and children of your own?”
“No’ yet, much to my father’s exasperation,” he said with a chuckle. “What about you?”
Synne shook her head as she swallowed.
“Is it no’ allowed?”
“To marry? Of course. Edra and Radnar allowed us to make our own choices. Leoma married Braith.”
Lachlan paused in eating as his brow furrowed. “He’s the Warden of the skull.”
“Blood Skull,” she corrected. “That’s right.”
“Are other Hunters still out there?”
She licked the grease from her lips. “A few. Leoma and Ravyn that I know of. And Helena. Other Hunters were out tracking witches, and I let them know to go to Leoma if they made it back to our forest and found everyone gone.”
“Why did you no’ stay with Leoma or find Ravyn or Helena?”
“Because I’m going to stand with the Varroki against Sybbyl and the Coven.”
“Are the others no’ joining you?”
She set aside the bone she’d cleaned of all meat. “Aye, but they’re also trying to locate another bone of the First Witch.”
“You said the last piece was Helena, so no’ a bone at all. Are you sure the rest are bones?”
Synne shrugged and reached for more meat. “Sybbyl can’t be allowed to get more of the bones. She’s already taken out the three elders of the Coven.”
“You said she couldna get the Blood Skull or the Heart. Those are two powerful objects. Surely, they could help you stand against her.”
“Right now, they could. If Sybbyl gets her hands on more bones, that might not be the case.”
“Do you know where another relic is?”
Synne lowered the meat and looked at him over the fire. “Aye.”
“Where?”
“Scotland.”
6
Lachlan was awake well before dawn. What little sleep he’d gotten was filled with dreams of his grandmother talking of magic. And Synne.
He turned his head to look at her. She slept on her side, facing him with her arm curled beneath her head. His gaze lingered on her face, taking in her beauty. The women he knew were hardy. They had to be. But Synne had a different kind of strength. Lachlan had never encountered another female who understood what it was like to be in battle. Synne did.
She was steady. Tough. She dared anyone to question who she was both as a woman and as a warrior. And damn if he didn’t find that insanely attractive. He wanted to deny the feelings he felt within him, but he couldn’t.
The time he’d spent with her yesterday had proven that there were bigger things for him to be concerned with than a war with another clan. He wanted to go with Synne and fight alongside her. His father wouldn’t be happy about that, however. But Lachlan didn’t care. They couldn’t pretend this war didn’t involve them. But if Sybbyl won, then it would be about them.
Truth be told, he wanted to spend more time with Synne. She could take care of herself, but it was always nice to have someone watching your back. That’s what he’d be for her. She had a grand destiny. She hadn’t crossed his path for nothing. His grandmother used to tell him that nothing happened without reason. He was taking that to heart now. Synne had come into his life and had told her story because he was meant to be a part of it. Of that, he was sure.
Convincing her might not be so easy. And he didn’t want to even think about his father. Yet this was something Lachlan had to do. For himself, for Synne, and for his clan.