Heart of the Druid Laird by Barbara Longley Read Free Book Online

Mairéad.” Thomas raked a hand through his hair.
    “No. You said Sidney and Dermot.” She shook her head. “I’m not following you.”
    “Aye, that’s clear.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’ve come back to me.”
    “I didn’t come back to you. I’ve never traveled to Scotland. You came here, remember?”
    “Back to me as in reincarnated, lass. Just as Sidney is Mairéad reborn. You see? Mairéad gave up her birthright to be with Dermot, she wanted him that much. Dermot had no idea what to do with the lass once he had her, but the union gave our clan an alliance beyond any worth.”
    “Again. No eff-ing clue,” Zoe muttered in an annoyed tone and scowled at him. “What has all that got to do with me?”
    “It’s why I lost you, and why I can’t die. It all has to do with the curse. I’m trying to tell you about the curse.”
    “Ohhh. There’s a curse. Of course there’s a curse.” She smacked her forehead. “Now it all makes perfect sense.” She glared at him. “Not.”
    Thomas put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. “Och, I’m going about this all wrong.”
    “Ya think?”
    “I swear I do no’ know where to begin.”
    She nudged one of his elbows off his knee so he was forced to sit up. “Try starting at the beginning.”
    “Aye.” He took her hand and placed a kiss in the center of her palm. “I must have your promise first. Will you keep this between the two of us?” He watched her think it over. Her natural curiosity battled with her loyalty and protectiveness toward Sidney.
    She sighed, and her solemn eyes met his. “I will keep it between us unless I find out you’ve made all this shit up. In which case, don’t let my stature fool you. My temper far exceeds my size.”
    He chuckled and put both arms around her stiff body. “That’s all I can ask, love. It all began the day Dermot was born.”
    “Wait.” She raised her hand to stop him. “Is Dermot as old as you?”
    “He’s a couple of years older.”
    “Do we have to go all the way back to his birth?”
    “Aye, we do if you’re to understand the curse. I want you to know all of it.” He paused until she agreed with a nod. “Dermot’s mother died giving him life, and his father couldna’ bear the sight of him because of it. He gave Dermot to the Druids to raise as a priest.”
    “What an awful thing to do.”
    “Nay. Remember, this occurred in the fifth century. Giving a son into the keeping of those responsible for a clan’s good standing with the gods was considered a noble sacrifice. Only those close to the family knew there was nothing noble about what Dermot’s father did that day.” He took her hand in his and played with her fingers.
    “Anyway,” he continued. “Dermot’s mother was a Pict, the daughter of their king, and her people also looked after him. As Dermot learned the Druidic arts, his uncles on his mother’s side saw to it he also learned the ways of a warrior. He and his brothers were all prepared to lead their clan.”
    Zoe rested her head on his shoulder. “You call him Druid because he was raised by Druid priests?”
    “Aye. When Dermot reached a score of years, his father and one of his brothers were slain in battle. His only remaining brother succumbed to a fever shortly after. Their deaths left us without a laird. His mother’s people brought Dermot back and insisted he take his rightful place as our chieftain. From that day forward he became known as the Druid Laird.” Thomas tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. “The next part of the tale might be a tad hard to believe, lass.”
    Zoe snorted. “Harder to believe than your being…so much older than I am? Harder to believe than my being your reincarnated lover, and that you never, um…”
    “I’ve never died.”
    “Right.” She stood up, and paced around the room with her hands on her hips. “This is just swell.”
    “ Leannan, there’s more.” Thomas rose and took a step