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“Lead the way then.”
Chapter Three
Hùisdean couldn't stand still. He flitted about the drawing room at Lochmaddy, attempting to busy himself with the various decor and books. He was currently in the middle of studying an old shield that was proudly hanging on the wall.
“18th century?” Hùisdean asked, looking over his shoulder at Emmett. Emmett was perched on an oversized leather chair next to the fire, which he’d built up as soon as they'd entered the house.
“Ah! Yes,” he stood up, and his smile widened further, walking over to join Hùisdean. “You know, this particular shield belonged to my father. It was given to him as a traditional…”
“No fucking way.” A sharp woman's voice cut off Emmett, and they turned towards the doorway. Hùisdean's heart dropped to his feet, and he couldn't help the sly smirk that crossed his face when he heard Ayda's voice again.
Perhaps it's wise not to dig any deeper into that reaction. Hùisdean mentally berated himself. Especially when she's cursing the very sight of you.
Ayda stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips, with Calum behind her. She looked livid, and it made Hùisdean's heart skip a beat. Darragh and Lachlan were towering behind her, equal parts amused and defensive regarding Ayda's apparent fury.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Ayda turned around and snapped at Calum, obviously not intimidated by him. Hùisdean was desperately trying not to become any more endeared to Ayda—especially since she was not a fan of him, as he’d predicted—but he was failing miserably. He’d been surrounded his whole life by ‘yes men,’ and anyone who stood up to a prince without an ounce of reserve was someone who got his attention.
Calum raised an eyebrow, but his voice was calm. He looked between Hùisdean and Ayda. “This is what I wanted to speak to you about,” Calum said, holding out his arm and encouraging everyone to sit around the fire. “We need your abilities, Ayda, because Hùisdean’s people have fallen under a curse. Any curse tied to the land will need an earth mage's expertise.”
“You should've saved yourself the trip from Edinburgh.” Ayda didn't budge as everyone took their seats. Hùisdean took it as a challenge and refused to sit too. He leaned against the bookcase and mimicked Ayda's defiant posture. She scowled. “You could have sent a text, and my answer would've been the same. No.”
“Ayda.” Emmett's voice dropped into a warning. “We are indebted to you at Lochmaddy, but the people I invite into my home are my business. I've invited Hùisdean here.”
Ayda flushed red and bowed her head slightly. “Of course. My apologies, Emmett. I'll leave you gentlemen to your afternoon. There's no further use for me here.”
“Are you quite so sure?” Lachlan tilted his head and made eye contact with Ayda. “Your earth magic is the best that we've ever seen. Wulver magic is tied to the land but only to our ancestral lands. We can't help Hùisdean.”
“If it's anything like the curse that Scotland was under, I don't know why you're asking me.” Ayda turned to Calum. “My mother was an even stronger earth witch than I am, and she couldn't break the curse.”
“But…” Calum interjected, as cool as ever, “she did help us identify it. She could map out the perimeters of the curse better than anyone else in Scotland. In the end, it wasn't in her power to break it, but she was able to give us at least a little more insight into the curse.”
“You're better than your mum, anyway, darlin' Ayda.” Darragh grinned cheekily.
Hùisdean's stomach soured at the playful look that passed between them.
“I don't think that's true,” Ayda scoffed. It sounded playful, but Hùisdean picked up on something more hurtful in her tone—he knew something about living up to your parents’ expectations.
“Regardless,” Ayda cleared her throat, “it's impossible. I'm not interested.” She gave a short bow towards Calum, seemingly finding her decorum again, and waved goodbye to the O'Neil brothers. “It's been a pleasure. Lachlan, the wards will be fine for a few days. I'll message you when it's time to…”
“You know,” Hùisdean shrugged, looking at his nails calmly, “if you don't think you're able to do it, you could just say so.”
The room suddenly went quiet. The brothers stopped conversing among themselves and looked at one another. Calum hid his mouth behind his hand, playing off a short chuckle as a cough. Lachlan's eyebrows shot up as he looked between Ayda and Hùisdean, slowly shaking his head. All the emotion vanished from Ayda’s face, her expression suddenly stone cold. She focused all her attention on Hùisdean, and he suppressed a shiver at the weight of her gaze.
What a woman, his subconscious supplied unhelpfully.
“What did you just say?” Ayda gritted her teeth, choking the words out as if it pained her to say them.
“Oh, god,” Lachlan groaned with amusement, “you've stepped in it now, Hùisdean.”
Hùisdean shrugged and attempted to look as blasé as possible. “If she's not able to do it, then that's fine,” he continued, “but let's just be honest about it.”
“If you're here asking for my help, it's a bold claim to insinuate that I can’t help you.” Ayda bit back. She exhaled shortly and pushed some of her hair off her forehead.
Hùisdean forced himself to look away from her, pretending he was bored with the conversation. “I think if you could help, you’d want to, even if you didn't think you could solve it. It would be an opportunity for some magical learning, no?”
Hùisdean was teasing, but the atmosphere in the room remained tense. Everyone looked back and forth between Ayda and Hùisdean as if one of them would explode.
Ayda’s voice was deadly calm. “You couldn't afford my services, even if I wanted to give them to you.” She turned to Lachlan and Darragh. “You boys know my invoice will be sent automatically. I'll reach out about next week's scheduling to start working on some of the tunnels. Good night, gentlemen. Hùisdean.” Ayda turned on her heel and started to walk out when Emmett spoke up and stopped her.
