His words laced with unspoken meaning; Gabriel pulled the stumbling Maery from the room. Nessa shivered, rubbing the tingling skin at the back of her neck as Gabriel stormed out between the tables.
“There is a darkness about that one.” Latharn leaned closer to Brodie. “Did ye notice? Can ye sense it?”
Brodie’s hand tightened around his glass. “I’ve always sensed evil around that one.”
“No.” Latharn shook his head. “Now ye’re feeling your hatred. Ye must concentrate, Brodie, and listen with your senses, not your rage.”
Nessa flinched as Gabriel’s roar and slamming doors echoed from the outer cloakroom. Chill bumps rippled down her spine.
“You didn’t have to provoke him,” Nessa scolded as Latharn settled back into his chair. She didn’t like all this talk about darkness or evil. All she knew for certain was Gabriel was a jerk. “Now poor Maery will catch the brunt of his anger. It’s pretty obvious she’s been abused by him before.”
Latharn shrugged and picked up his knife, slicing into his steak with an unconcerned nod in the direction they’d left. “The meek lass will be safe. If he touches her in anger, his heart will constrict within his chest.”
“You’re gonna make him die of a heart attack?” Trish leaned forward in avid interest. She tapped her wineglass, eyes wide as she awaited Latharn’s reply.
Latharn shook his head, brandishing his fork in the air before he brought a bit of steak to his lips. “Nay. He willna die. But he’ll think he’s about to meet his maker if he touches her in anger.”
Brodie leaned forward; his voice lowered to a whisper as he glanced about the room. “Can ye teach me any of these fine tricks of yours? Or has all the magic been bred out of our DNA and lost with modern civilization?”
Latharn looked at Brodie with just the hint of a smile. “The magic is in all of the MacKays, Brodie. It lies dormant, just waiting to be found. ’Tis our legacy. A gift from my parent’s union, and a blessing from the goddess Brid. Ye have but to learn to connect with the energies of the universe to watch the mysteries unfold.”
Fiona squirmed to the edge of her seat and rested a hand across her middle. “Are ye saying all the MacKays will be gifted with powers passed down from the mists of time?”
With a knowing wink, Latharn answered, “Aye, Fiona. Your twins will also be blessed with all the gifts running through the bloodline of our clan.” He lifted his glass and sipped.
“Our twins? Fiona?” Brodie stared at his wife and dropped his fork to the table.
“Aye, Brodie. I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell ye. Things have been in such an uproar of late. I wanted to wait to give ye the news at the perfect time. But even I didn’t know I was carrying twins. I just knew I was carrying our child.” Fiona giggled as Brodie swept her into his arms, laughing as he spun her around the table.
Nessa laughed and clapped her hands. “That’s wonderful! Then this is a double celebration. I wondered why you toasted us with water earlier and tonight you weren’t drinking any wine.” Twins. Gabriel’s poison left her mind, wiped away by Brodie and Fiona’s happy news.
“This day just keeps getting better,” Trish added with a smile. “Things are finally falling into place and I’m proud to say...it’s about damn well time!”
Brodie pounded the table in complete agreement. “The MacKay castle will soon be filled with little MacKays running about the halls.”
“Aye,” Latharn agreed, pulling Nessa into his arms. “Ye had best be thinking of a few names yourself,” he whispered next to her ear.
Trish’s jaw dropped as she read Latharn’s lips. “Are you saying you want Nessa to get pregnant or is this something you already know has happened?”
Latharn rubbed his jaw, gazing off across the restaurant. “I’ve had six hundred years to hone my skills. Ye would be surprised at what I’m able to do.”
Nessa almost choked. Her hands flew to her stomach as she realized she hadn’t refilled her birth control pills. But she couldn’t be pregnant already. She had been taking them for years.
Her gaze swiveled to Latharn’s knowing look and her heart nearly stopped as the smile widened upon his face. “Are you serious? Are you telling me I’m already pregnant?” Nessa had never dreamed of having children. What would she do if she was pregnant?
“Ye don’t carry my child just yet. But if the future plays out as I have seen it, we will be blessed with many gifted bairns.” Latharn almost hummed in satisfaction as he held out a glass of ice water to her to help her manage the rising knot in her throat.
“I…I cannot be a mother. I’ve n-never been around children. I won’t know what t-to do,” Nessa stammered as the hysteria sucked the air out of her lungs. She didn’t like not being in control. Then his words took root just as she’d taken a sip of the water, and she almost spewed the mouthful over everyone at the table. “And just how many gifted bairns are we talking about here? And how close together?”
Latharn’s jubilant expression slowly faded from his face. “I fail to understand why ye are no excited about the possibilities the future holds. I am one of triplets. Multiple births run in the MacKay family. Brodie himself is a twin.”
Trish leaned closer, rubbed Nessa’s shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be all right, Nessa. You’ll be fine. You told me you’ve been in love with Latharn since he appeared when you were eighteen years old. Didn’t you ever dream about having his baby any of those times you sat around with that dazed look on your face?”
Nessa’s voice cracked with her rising sense of panic; her mouth dried up as though filled with cotton. “No! My parents were so lousy. I didn’t want to become like them. Why would I want to take the chance of warping some innocent child the way they screwed me up?”
Latharn exhaled explosively. “Now I understand. I promise ye, Nessa. Ye are nothing like your parents. I watched what they did to ye with their cruel, spiteful words. Our bairns will be happy and they will love ye deeply. Maybe as much as I do.”
Nessa’s lower lip trembled as a tiny tendril of hope sprouted deep within her heart. The churning in her stomach lessened as she searched Latharn’s face. Knotting her napkin between her damp palms, she heaved a shaking breath. “So, you promise you’ll help me when it comes time for us to start a family? You’ll make sure I don’t turn into some kind of wicked beast and end up scarring our babies for life?”
