Chapter Three
Miran frowned whenshe saw Nasim step forward. Not that she harbored any ill will toward the man, he had never disrespected her. Only his brother, Kuresh, had. But seeing Kuresh made happy for any reason did not sit well with her. He dinna deserve the honor of becoming a MacKay. That should be reserved for a man who understood all of the traditions that had made her clan one of the greatest in the northern Highlands.
Kuresh had made it abundantly clear on many occasions that women were inferior—meant to fulfill two obligations, warming a man’s bed and giving birth to children. He had even asked her which one did she think she was fated to perform.
Neither, she had said bitterly.
Her answer surprised him, for he remained silent for many moments before he spoke again. “You wish to be a child forever?”
“I wish to be myself,” she said, walking away before he had a chance to insult her.
“What name have ye chosen, Prince Kuresh?” Father Brandon’s voice brought her back to the present.
“Leod,” she whispered loud enough for her cousin to overhear.
Jamie shook his head. “Doona make a fool of yerself, Miran.”
“I willna.” She focused on Kuresh again, waiting to hear what the black-hearted barbarian had chosen for himself.
“Kai,” Kuresh announced.
Kai?An unusual name, though Scottish. It meant fiery. And as she stared at him, his turbulent gaze met hers briefly, causing something to stir in her belly. Not resentment, not hatred, and surely not appreciation. The strange sensation spread throughout her body, causing heat to rise in her cheeks. She fanned herself, and that’s when Kai—Kuresh, smiled at her before he returned his attention to the priest.
Damn him to the lowest realms of Hades. He’d made her blush and he knew it.
“Do ye swear fealty to Laird Jamie MacKay, to Clan MacKay, to God, whoever ye recognize him to be, and promise that any enemy of our laird and country is an enemy to ye? That yer old life, yer former family, whether parents or siblings, willna interfere with yer duties, and that from this moment forward, ye are a member of this clan, willing to sacrifice yer life in order to keep us safe?”
“I so swear.”
“Kneel,” Father Brandon commanded.
Kai dinna hesitate.
Father Brandon rested his right hand on Kuresh’s head, prayed in Latin, then flicked holy water over him. “Rise, Kai MacKay.”
The hall exploded with applause, and Miran made her escape once Jamie and his wife, Helen, were distracted. Nothing and no one could force her to stay and wish that beast-of-a-man well. Instead, she went outside, wanting to breathe in the crisp morning air and feel the winter sun on her face.
Several guards waved as she walked down the pathway to the loch, pleased to finally be alone. Within a sennight, she would ride out with Kai—under duress of course, tasked with seeking out maids to serve in Jamie’s household. An important responsibility she took seriously, but why had her cousin thought it necessary to punish her by forcing her to go with Kuresh?
“Kai!” she said aloud. “A senseless name for a brute I will always know as Kuresh.”
“Call me whatever pleases you, Lady Miran. Knowing I am on your mind is reward enough.”
She closed her eyes, willing the devil away, hoping she was simply hearing things carried on the wind. “Ye are not real.”
“I am flesh and blood.”
She turned slowly, finding Kai standing behind her. She scowled at his invasion of her privacy. “I dinna invite ye here.”
“Do I need an invitation to come to the loch? Does it not belong to the clan?”
She rolled her eyes. “It belongs to Laird Jamie.”
“As do you.”
She wouldna let his words upset her. The man spent every spare moment he had trying to irritate her, espousing how women should be silent and obedient. “Ye know nothing about me, Kuresh.”
“Kai.”
