Her Noble Destiny Read online

  Her Noble Destiny

  HerNobleDestiny

  Her Noble Destiny

  © 2009 by Annie Marshall

  All rights reserved

  First Edition June 2009

  DCL Publications

  36 Monash Street

  Melton South

  Victoria

  Australia

  3338

  www.thedarkcastlelords.com

  ISBN 978-1-921347-30-6

  PUBLISHED IN AUSTRALIA

  Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,orbyanyinformationandstorageretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthecopyrightowner

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information and storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  NationalLibraryofAustraliaCataloguing-in-Publicationentry

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Author: Marshall, Annie L.

  Title: Her noble destiny/ Annie Marshall.

  Edition: 1st ed.

  ISBN: 9781921347306

  Dewey Number: 813.6

  Dedication

  Dedication

  To my Aiden;

  Thank you so much for being my voice of reason. For giving me a gentle nudge in the right direction when I needed it.

  Thank you for being supportive when I cried tears of fear, frustration, and anger; and for celebrating the joys and triumphs right along with me.

  Finally, thank you for giving me the inspiration and courage to bring this strong, sexy, and noble character forward. You are amazing, my Highland warrior!

  Your Jaedin

  Prologue

  Prologue

  1296

  Near Dunstaffnage Castle

  Scotland

  “Christ Almighty!” was all that Duncan MacKinnon could say as he fought to hold down his knight, Iain MacAlister. As the two men continued to struggle against each other, they watched as a whirlwind claimed Iain’s lady Kenna; taking her away from them. Iain was fighting him with all his strength while calling out to her, “Kenna! Nay! Ye canna go!” In one final attempt, he broke free from Duncan ’s hold and desperately tried to reach for her. His hands grasped at her ankles, but passed straight through them, not connecting with anything solid until he hit the ground with a thud. He looked up to see his bride staring down at him with terror in her eyes.

  “Iain!” He heard her faintly called out and then she was gone.

  Once again, Duncan grabbed hold of Iain in hopes at that point to protect him from doing himself harm. Tears of anguish were flowing down Iain’s face. In a raspy voice, he cried out again, “Kenna!”

  Duncan released his knight, bewildered by what he saw next. Iain fell to the ground on his knees and began praying. Looking up into the dissipating whirlwind with his eyes red and tears streaming down his worn face, “Lord Almighty, dinna take her from me! I beg ye!” Iain fell forward on all fours. “Bring her back to me. Please!” he wailed as he grasped his chest, feeling his heart shatter. “Please!”

  “Dinna let the men see ye like this!” Duncan said to his knight as he grabbed his arm in the attempt to hoist the laird back to his feet. “Iain, stand up for Christ’s sake!”

  Hearing Iain’s plea, the whirlwind picked up strength again and the ground shook violently as it did before.

  “Iain, we must go before we get taken too!” Duncan tried to reason with the broken man.

  “Nay! Leave me be!” Iain snapped at Duncan pulling his arm out of his grasp.

  The funnel whipped about wildly until it found its target. And as if it were the finger of God, it extended down from the heavens to hover above the two men.

  Then a woman of extraordinary beauty, bearing a set of stunning wings of the faintest translucent silver, descended from the funnel to float in front of Iain. Her long dark auburn hair flowed loosely as if it were conducting the wind. In a motherly gesture, she reached out to caress his cheeks. Iain looked into her eyes and sucked in his breath as the same emerald green eyes Kenna possessed gazed back at him. Then in a soothing brogue, the woman purred, “Dinna fear me, Iain MacAlister. Yer time here is done.” Several bolts of lightning flashed brightly as they struck the ground surrounding them, the tremor and shock knocking Duncan back away from the two in order to keep their conversation private. The woman continued, “Ye’ve done well, my mighty warrior and the Ancients are pleased.”

  “Lorna?” Iain looked at the woman with astonishment.

  “Aye, Iain MacAlister.” She took her hands and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Tis time for ye to rest now and go claim yer bride.” She took Iain by the hand then turned to Duncan ; and in a commanding tone of voice she said, “Prepare yerself and seek the other MacAlister. He will need yer assistance and only you can help him understand what is to come.” Her feet rose from the ground and with a warm smile, “Yer day is comin’ Duncan MacKinnon.”

  And with another flash of lightning, Duncan watched his knight be lifted into the whirlwind in the same fashion as Kenna. Then as quick as it appeared, it was gone, leaving nothing but a slight breeze blowing through his hair.

  Duncan ’s heart was racing as he collapsed to his knees, spent from the fight and the emotional whirlwind that engulfed him. He looked around to see the two swords lying on the ground that Iain and Kenna had been fighting the English with, just a few moments ago. Had he not been there to witness it with his own two eyes, he wouldn’t have believed what he just saw. Lorna, the Fae Queen herself, had come to take Iain and Kenna to heaven.

  They were gone, and Duncan knew he would never see them again. Wiping a single tear from his cheek, he again, looked up to the heavens. His days of adolescence were over; sucked away with the storm.

  He wondered how he would tell everyone when he arrived back at the keep without his knight and his warrior bride. Better yet, how would he tell Aiden, Iain’s brother. They had all grown up hearing about tales of the Fae and their mighty queen. He prayed that Aiden wouldn’t think he’d lost his mind.

  With a heavy heart, Duncan rose to his feet and gathered the swords. Then he looked off in the distance towards Dunstaffnage, sad that it’s laird and lady would never walk through it’s doors again.

  * * * *

  “Tis their rite of passage wife and ye know it.” The king said to his queen, watching her pace the floor of their throne room then took a deep whiff of the rose he held in his large hand.

  “There has to be another way, Teàrloch. I watched one go through it. I dinna ken if I can watch another.” Her heart ached recalling the vision of Kenna’s body. “She was so battered. Is there no other way?” The queen knelt pleading in front of the large man as he sat on his throne.

  Teàrloch gently lifted Lorna to stand in front of him so they could look at each other. “In order for them to prove their place in the royal house, they must go through the portal and survive. We have no control over what the Ancients do to them or when and where they will leap.” Still seeing the distress in his wife’s emerald eyes, he rose from his throne, placed the rose behind her ear, and took her into his arms, laying her head against his chest. “Lorna, you ken they must do this and their wounds will heal just as Kenna’s did.” He continued to try and reason with her. “If ye protect them from this, ye’ll be forcin’ them to be tested and have to go through the Rites. It takes great strength
to pass the Rites and their chances of survival are not good. Would ye doom our daughters to their death?”

  Not liking what she heard, Lorna broke free from her husband’s embrace and walked across the room to look out the window. In the distance, her storm was building strength and it called to her, begging her to join it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and then exhaled. She could feel the damp air blowing through the window and the roll of thunder shook the ground. “So be it then,” she said with anger, opening her eyes. “I am the queen of the Fae Guardians. Brought about by my own hand in battle. They are my daughters and my blood flows through their veins!”

  Teàrloch was beside himself trying to reason with his wife. “I’m not the enemy, Lorna.” He said then turned back around to go sit on his throne.

  A messenger quickly entered the room, “I beg yer forgiveness, my queen, for intruding but an urgent message just came for ye.”

  “Who’s it from, Conall?” Lorna asked the little man.

  “Tis from Cináed, yer majesty,” he answered her.

  Teàrloch’s head snapped around as Conall handed Lorna the folded parchment. She immediately opened the message and her eyes widened as she read the correspondence.

  Dropping the letter to the floor, “I’m takin’ her tonight!” She announced then quickly turned to leave the room.

  “Who are ye taking’?” Teàrloch asked.

  “Jaedin. They’ve sent her into battle.” She answered then just before she walked through the doorway, she looked back at her husband, “Ye should have more faith in yer daughters Teàrloch!” Unfurling her wings, “Send a message to the Ancients, husband. Test them!” She stated as she left Teàrloch bewildered.

  Lorna knew she would have to place Jaedin into limbo for a short time. Her daughter’s mate wouldn’t be ready for her yet and she hoped that would give her enough time to change the Ancient’s minds.

  * * * *

  Duncan stood before the makeshift graves that he’d created in the chapel courtyard for Iain and Kenna watching the sun rise above the Highland mountains. There was still a fair amount of mist settled on the land, but he could see the top of Dunstaffnage peaking above the clouds. He gently laid Iain’s sword in his grave and then Kenna’s in hers. Then he took to task of burying them with the earth then the stones.

  “May the Almighty have ye safely in His arms my dear friends.” he said as he placed Kenna’s sash around the cross that he’d lashed together and paused. Kenna had been such a joy in their lives and was exactly the wife Iain had needed.

  He took a breath in and exhaled. It had been two days since Duncan watched the Fae Queen take them to the Almighty and now it was time to go to Iain’s brother and tell him the news.

  Aiden MacAlister was seven years younger than Iain but he ended up being the taller and brawnier of the two and only four years older than Duncan.

  Duncan had arrived at the MacAlister household as a wee lad when King Alexander had sent him there after John MacLean and his clan killed off Duncan’s clan. From that day on, Aiden had treated him like a younger brother more than the squire of his older brother. Because of that fact, Duncan was not looking forward to carrying the news of Iain’s death to him but he would have no one else give him the news. He owed him that.

  Duncan rose to his feet and took one more look at the graves. Then mounted his horse and took the reins of Iain’s steed and tied them off to his saddle. He knew he could be at Inverlochy Castle by nightfall if he left now. So he guided the horses out to the road and rode north, up the coast towards Aiden MacAlister’s keep, only stopping long enough to rest the horses and eat.

  The sun was just beginning to set as he approached Inverlochy and he slowed the horses to a walk as he crossed the bridge over the mote that was connected with the river Lochy. Duncan slowed both horses to a stop as the guards challenged him.

  “Tis Duncan MacKinnon, laird of the MacKinnon clan,” he answered. “I’ve come with news of his brother for yer laird Aiden MacAlister!” he called up.

  One guard bellowed out the orders to open the gate and then to another of the men to go tell the laird he had a visitor.

  As the heavy iron gate slowly ascended into the gatehouse wall, it scraped and groaned causing Iain’s horse to become agitated. One of the guards came out to help with the restless beast and once the noise ceased, and the gate was lifted, followed Duncan into the courtyard and handed it off to one of the stable boys.

  Aiden ducked under the doorway of his great hall and walked out into the courtyard to greet their visitor. Seeing that it was Duncan, a smile spread wide across his face. Then after realizing that the horse that accompanied Duncan was his brother’s, Aiden became suspicious. There was only one reason why Duncan would be delivering Iain’s horse to him, yet he silently prayed that he was mistaken.

  A different stable hand grabbed the stallion’s bridle, bringing the horse to a halt. Duncan dismounted and walked up to stand in front of Aiden who towered over him by a foot.

  With his hands on his hips, Aiden’s smile widened as he recalled the pranks they used to play as lads. “Duncan , dinna tell me ye’ve created some grand jest on my brother and stolen his horse.” When he saw the expression on Duncan ’s face, his smile faded and his heart began pounding furiously in his chest.

  Duncan placed his hand on Aiden’s shoulder, “No, Aiden, no jest. Soon after ye left Dunstaffnage to go home, the English descended and we fought to defend Iain’s lands.”

  Aiden looked deep into Duncan ’s eyes waiting for some sort of signal. Then with the comprehension that his brother was no longer alive, Aiden took a deep breath and quietly said, “Ye must be exhausted. Come eat, then I’ll have Mairi draw ye a bath.”

  Aiden fought to keep composure as he felt the wind picking up. “We’ll discuss this matter more inside. There’s a storm coming.”

  The two men walked into the keep and into the great hall without saying a word. There were still a few lingering in the hall and upon seeing the look on their laird’s face, decided it would be best to leave. Aiden ordered the bath drawn and food brought and then gestured for Duncan to sit at the table.

  Unable to sit, Aiden placed his hands on the stone ledge above the large fireplace, bracing himself. With his back to the rest of the room, “Tell me everything that happened?” was all Aiden said.

  “The battle went on for hours. There were plenty lost on both sides.” Duncan started telling Aiden about the battle. “We fought with all the strength the Almighty gave us. Kenna fought side by side with Iain and me.”

  “Did Kenna survive?” Aiden asked.

  “Nae, she dinna survive.” Duncan answered as Aiden grasped the stones tighter, turning his knuckles white.

  Then Duncan took a deep breath. “All of the sudden, a storm formed outta nowhere and moved with speed I’ve never seen before.” Still debating whether to tell Aiden about the Fae Queen, he continued. “A whirlwind appeared and upon seeing that, the English army turned tail and fled, Longshanks hot on their tails.”

  Duncan paused as a kitchen maid brought a plate of cheeses and meats, setting the platter down in front of him then filled a tankard with ale. Feeling the tension in the air she sat the pitcher down on the table and quickly retreated back into the kitchen.

  “Aiden, the whirlwind picked up Kenna and took her away.”

  Aiden turned around with a look of horror on his face. “Christ Almighty” was all he could say. “And then?”

  Taking another deep breath, Duncan looked straight into Aiden’s eyes. “The Fae Queen then came out of the funnel to take Iain to the heavens.” He waited for Aiden to show doubt.

  “Lorna herself?” he asked.

  “Aye,” Duncan answered and then recalled the events that took place, telling Aiden precisely what he saw.

  “Did anyone else witness this?” Aiden continued to drill Duncan with questions.

  “Not that I’m aware of. The whirlwind engulfed us and kept us outta view,” Duncan
answered. “When everything had cleared, no one was around.”

  Aiden paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. There were several minutes of silence that passed as he processed the information. In spite of the age difference, the two brothers had been close all their lives. Aiden had looked up to his brother with awe at how strong and mighty he was. When Iain had become laird of the clan, it had been a proud moment for them both. It was difficult to believe that Iain wouldn’t be a part of his life anymore. The thunderstorm finally rolled in with a crash of thunder.

  “Damn ye, Lorna,” Aiden growled just under his breath then with a lightning strike and a hard gust of wind, the hall’s doors burst open startling everyone. A couple of men from the kitchen fought the wind to close the doors and upon seeing their difficulty, Duncan and Aiden joined in the effort. The wind finally died down enough that the four grown men were able to shut the two large wooden doors to the great hall.

  Duncan turned his back against the door out of breath then looked at Aiden while he was still leaning against the doors to keep them closed. “Looks like Lorna dinna approve of yer words.”

  One of the men engaged the large bolt to lock the doors in place. Then Aiden stood up and looked at Duncan.

  “Finish yer meal and bath and get some rest.” Aiden turned to head towards the stairs. “Tomorrow morn, we leave for Dunstaffnage; storm or not.”

  ChapterOne

  Her Noble Destiny

  Chapter One

  Present Day

  Somewhere in the middle of Iraq

  The sky was orange and the air was saturated with dust, causing it to look like a rust hued snowstorm. An exhausted Jaedin Greer, a United States Army captain and nurse, fought to open the door to the trailer that served as a makeshift aid station to report for duty after only receiving four hours sleep.

  The Military Police unit that Jaedin was attached to at the moment was in desperate need of medics. The insurgents had been brutal in the area they were in and it left the MPs extremely short. Needing to continue with their missions, command went to the nearest Combat Support Hospital and asked for help. Though each staff member was crucial, they asked for a volunteer, so she was happy to step in to help out until the Army could send the MPs some replacements. This had been three months ago and they were still waiting. Everyone was getting frustrated and impatient, however, the war kept going on, and therefore they must do the same.