The Highlander's Dark Seduction (Secrets of the Darroch Clan) Read Online Free PDF

long, masculine leg followed it. By the time the huge, muscular Highlander appeared at the top of the wall, Elizabeth already knew who it was.
    “Magnus.” Fear swirled in her stomach, an ice-cold poison that made her sway on her feet. “He will be ambushed.”
    “They should sense each other,” Lily tried to assure her. “Even if Magnus doesn’t acknowledge the
sidhe’s
presence outwardly, he must feel the presence of an enemy in the courtyard.”
    She sounded as uncertain as Elizabeth felt while Magnus dropped to all fours at the base of the wall. He crouched there, still and watchful, his muscles tensed. Elizabeth remembered the way he’d held her. Protected her.
    Even the way he’d looked at her had stolen her heart. He did not stare at her with mockery and amusement or behave as if she was some hulking oddity in a gown. Whether he acknowledged their kiss or not, he
had
kissed her with an intensity that set her soul on fire.
    She could not allow him to be hurt now when he had saved her before. Especially not when he stalked toward the Blackthorn tree with the easy walk of a man who was in a place of safety.
    “Magnus! Behind the tree!” She shouted her warning before she’d even made the decision to do so.
    Leaping from the stool, she scrambled toward the barred kitchen door.
    “You must not go out there!” Lily chased her, but she was not as fast or as determined.
    Outside, the clank of metal on metal was deafening. Light sparked brightly through the narrow windows and glowed through the cracks around the kitchen door. Elizabeth hefted the heavy iron bar from the entrance using both hands. Her arms protested at the burden but her will was stronger.
    “If I stay here, I will go mad.” The metal cut into her hands as she raised it over her head. “All my life I have been a poor excuse for a society heiress. I have never felt a sense of purpose before, Lily. Today, I do.”
    She burst out the door and away from her shouting friend. Lily would bar the door behind her, she knew. She would honor her husband’s wishes because she would protect her home and her husband first before anything else, which was only right. But Elizabeth had no such allegiance. Her loyalty now was to repay the man who had saved her.
    Unfortunately, she could scarcely distinguish the being inside the bright glow battling Magnus. It was as though he fought a bolt of lightning, although now and again she saw a sword swing—his or his enemy’s.
    If Magnus knew she was there, he did not acknowledge it, his expression fierce. Her gaze swept the courtyard in the hope of a weapon but she spied nothing. In the meantime, she could sense Magnus weakening even if she knew nothing about sword fighting. His blade moved slower. He stumbled backward while the enemy surged forward.
    Desperate to at least distract the powerful
sidhe
, Elizabeth raced across the courtyard and scaled the wall. Or at least, she attempted to. When her skirts prevented her from finding her footing, she ripped aside even more of the hated ruffles. Silk barrier gone, she climbed a few feet to sit on the edge of the rock barrier. Putting a finger in her mouth, she made the ear-piercing whistle that an American groom had once taught her for calling back a mount.
    As she hoped, the battle sounds paused, swords lightly humming in the aftermath as they ceased clanging against each other. For a moment, she could see both Magnus and his enemy glance her way. But Magnus recovered first, recognizing his chance. He struck a blow to the enemy that echoed like thunder and sent sparks showering across the courtyard as if lightning had struck from heaven above. The silvery
sidhe
wavered and fell, the glow around him dimming as he did so. The shimmer from in front of the tower faded as well until the sky returned to its normal morning hue.
    The battle must have somehow died along with its leader.
    But Magnus would not have noticed since he already barreled across the cobblestones toward