Highlander's Kiss

Chapter 10: Gavin

Gavin's heart pounded. He opened his eyes and looked around, feeling a kind of tug on his soul that something had changed. He briefly forgot that the other men had escaped, and with Colin gone, he hadn't been disturbed in quite some time.

Gavin's neck ached, the stone floor wasn't the kind of bed he ever expected to sleep on. He rolled over and stretched out, before planting his hands against the floor and lowering himself. He did an explosion of push-ups, feeling the sweat bead on his forehead before he stopped. He couldn't explain the anxiety he felt, but he just knew that something had changed in the air of the castle. He rolled onto his back and started pulling himself up to his knees, straining against the weight of the furs that held him down. He tried to determine what time it was. Was it night? Or day? When was Katrine going to arrive so he could finally be put out of his misery? When would he get a chance to find out if Elyn was still safe?

He hoped Barron and the others hadn't been caught. He suspected they hadn't. He had a feeling that Robert or Colin would take perverse satisfaction in telling Gavin if Barron and the men had been killed. But maybe they were waiting to crush that ember of hope.

A sound outside the chamber alerted him. His stomach growled in protest, but he ignored it. He climbed to his feet and approached the bars, grasping them with his swollen fingers. The door unlatched and a woman stepped inside. Gavin frowned, because his first thought was that it was Elyn, and he tensed up. But he was sure it couldn't be.

The woman closed the door and turned to face Gavin. He stared at her hard, trying to figure out what she was doing there. Her brow knitted and she burst into a smile. She raced toward the bars and reached through them, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him forward before he could react. She kissed him hard, and he knew that his gut instinct wasn't wrong — it was Elyn. Those lips had a flavor to them that he could never forget. He reached between the bars and planted his hands on her head, turning her lips and kissing her deeper. She let out a soft moan in response, and he felt a tear from her cheek drip onto his.

After a long and passionate kiss, they pulled away and gazed at each other, their spirits renewed and empowered. The fire of their love blazing at full strength again, threatening to destroy the hearth it was contained within. "Gavin, ye are still alive!"

"I thought I might never see ye again."

She blushed and looked down, and she gasped when she saw his wounds. "Oh my God, who did this?"

"Maxwell's men. But Barron and the rest escaped. They should be reaching Eilean Donan any day now..." he paused and his eyes widened. "What are you doing here? It isn't safe!"

"I know that — I've already met with Robert."

"You what?" Gavin shook his head in disbelief. "How?"

"Ye'd be surprised how similar Katrine and I look. He hasn't seen her in so long... I think I fooled him."

"Why!" Gavin fell to his knees, his hands sliding against the bars. "Why would ye do that?"

"Gavin," Elyn said, her voice unwavering. She lowered herself to sit in front of the bars, meeting his eye level. She stroked his arm through the bars. "Robert Maxwell wants his daughter to marry Gavin MacKenzie, and guess who he has together in the same castle now?"

Gavin's eyes lit up. "My God, you're a genius. Right under his nose?"

"Aye, under God and Scottish Law."

Gavin reached through the bars and kissed her again, holding her. She embraced him, and he felt his heart swell with vigor again. After some time, she pulled away from him. "It's better — I know that the King was killed."