Page 7 of A Little Highland Magic

“Have I not protected you in battle?”

“Aye, as I have protected you.” Aria’s chin came up and her gaze connected with his. “I suppose that is the truest test of trust—in the heat of battle. There is no time for scheming.”

“I am trustworthy, Aria. That I promise you.” He reached for her hand, needing to touch her at that moment, but she stepped away, leaving his hand hanging in mid-air. He dropped his hand to his side, not wanting the strained moment to continue.

“You asked me earlier about Fairyland and about Keiran.” Her gaze slid to the floor. “Before I tell you about the MacLeod child, I must explain about the land of the fae.”

He shifted his weight uneasily, groping for words to reassure her, trying to bridge the awkwardness that existed between them. “Though I have not always shown it to you, I am not an overly harsh man. I can be reasonable, and kind to those whom I care about. And as part of the MacLeod clan, I do care about your welfare.”

She sighed. “Since I have no other choice but to trust you, I suppose I must.”

It wasn’t exactly a compliment, but he would take it. “That trust will not be misplaced.”

Her hands relaxed and she brought her gaze to his. “Fairyland is not an idyllic place. It might appear as such since every aspect of the natural surroundings are touched by magic and delicate beauty. The enchanted settings are only an illusion. For a serene pool of clear water could become a mud puddle at the whim of a nearby fairy. The only things one can trust are things rooted in the earth such as rocks, trees, or shrubs. They are real and solid while everything else might only be a spell or a charm that vanishes with the morning mist.”

Aria stepped back and looked for a moment like she would turn away, so he sent her an encouraging look. “I would hear all you have to say. There will be no judgement from me, I promise.” Graeme wanted to ask her more about Keiran but held his tongue. Instead, he drew a deep breath, taking a moment to master himself. He would keep his promise no matter what she revealed.

She nodded. “The fae are as playful as they are cruel sometimes, especially to those who are not of their kind unless they are favoured by the king. If they are, then no one would dare to do them harm.”

“You said Keiran was favoured.”

“He is well loved by the king.”

“But you are not.”

She shook her head, as though acknowledging the fact in words was too painful. “My mother’s rebellion, escaping to the human realm, falling in love with a human, and finally bearing him a son, then a daughter, did not ingratiate her to her father. The fairy king stole Keiran to punish the MacLeods for their part in her rebellion.”

Graeme frowned. “Yet Keiran was not stolen until centuries after she bore Iain Cair a child . . . children,” Graeme clarified, remembering she also was a child of the long-ago MacLeod laird.

Aria’s expression tightened and he saw pain in her eyes.

Graeme reached towards her, not so much to touch her but rather in a helpless gesture of contrition. He had bungled the matter already. “I am sorry. I said I would not judge you. Please continue.” He let his hand fall.

Clutching her hands in front of her, she looked off into the distance. “You are right. I was not favoured. In fact, I was despised as a half-breed. Mind you, there have been others before me who were also both fairy and human, but to the fairy court that hardly seemed to matter. They took great exception to the fact that my mother was allowed to live in the human realm for one of your human years.”

“What did they do to you?” he prompted when a flash of pain crossed her features.

“Anything they could get away with.” Her gaze connected with his. “I was tricked, beaten, abused, left to die at the edge of the shadow realm. ’Twas always my own mother who came to save me until they started abusing her too.”

He could not keep a look of utter incredulity from his face as he stared at Aria, imagining her lips bruised and bloodied, or still the fury that erupted within him. His anger forced his hands into tense fists as he thought of how she had suffered all for a reason she could do nothing to change. “How dare they! Only your mother would stop them?”

Aria nodded once more. “When I finally grew weary of their beatings and trickery, and refusing to bow to despair, I took matters into my own hands and stole two weapons from the fairy king’s armoury. Every day after that, I would sneak off to a place near the shadow realm to hone my skills. I trained with the bow I stole and arrows I made myself, and a sword I also stole, until I built muscle in my arms and legs that would help me outmatch any male opponent.”

Her hand drifted to the hilt of her sword. “Seeing this as a new way to humiliate me, the challengers came—one after the other. Yet it was I who humiliated them when not one of them could best me.” A shadow of a smile came to her lips. “The king had no choice but to make me one of his defenders, and after that, the abuse stopped. For none were willing to put their lives on the line to torment me any longer.”

She was a self-made warrior as was he, but she chose this life while he was born into his role as guardian of the flag and the MacLeods. “But the fairies still pushed you away, keeping you at a distance, didn’t they?”

“Aye,” she acknowledged. “No one wanted anything to do with me.”

“Which is why you came here, to Dunvegan, to be amongst your other family.” His frown returned. “And yet you keep yourself apart from them. Why is that?”

“It is not easy to trust after years of mistrust.”

Graeme pressed his lips together in thought. It had to be more than that. “The MacLeods have been nothing but kind to you. They accept you fully as one of their own.”

“They are not to blame. I am. I do not feel as though I deserve their kindness.”

“Do you wish to return to Fairyland?”