The Highlander's Destiny (Highland Rogues #2) - Mary Wine Page 0,5

the moment when the animal’s rear legs began to slip. She released the reins but was helpless to do anything else.

They both crashed to the ground. Cora rolled away, trying to escape the heavy body of the horse. The animal screamed as Cora grunted with the impact of several rocks. But by some miracle, she escaped being crushed. Relief flooded her. She gulped at the air, trying to calm the hard thumping of her heart.

But she suddenly realized it wasn’t her blood roaring.

It was a river. Swollen from rain, it was churning and gushing. She was still rolling away from her horse when she realized she was heading into the water. There was no escape. It grabbed her skirts and yanked her into its grip. She was torn off the bank and tossed like a broken branch into the water. It sucked her down, filling her nose and mouth. Her lungs burned as she fought to break the surface.

A flash of lightning gave her direction. Cora fought hard and broke the surface. She drew in a breath as she was slammed hard against a huge rock. She clawed at it, but the surface was slimy with moss, and the power of the current carried her right around it and beneath the surface once again.

The fight went on. She felt her muscles burning as she continued her battle. Each breath cost her strength, but every gulp of air also provided her with hope. The need to survive was the only thought in her mind. It was a pulsing demand she made of herself. She fought harder but felt her strength waning. The current forced her head down again, leaving her immersed in a watery world where she couldn’t find any means of deducing which way was up.

Cora felt the lack of air stealing her consciousness. Wasn’t it especially cruel of Fate to allow her to notice her life slipping away?

No, it was a beacon of hope! She wanted her life. Every last second of it was worth fighting for.

She pushed against a rock and shoved off in a direction she hoped was up. A flash of lightning was her reward, and she broke through the surface of the water. She clawed at a rock, finding one that was no bigger than her hand. She grasped it with her fingers, fighting against the chill in her flesh, willing herself to hold on as she kicked and flailed.

The side of her face landed on the sand. She choked and spat out a mouthful of water but gained a second breath and then a third. The burning in her lungs started to subside, making way for a blistering hot rise of pain from her arms and legs. It was so intense, she felt her breath freeze in her chest.

No. She would draw breath!

Cora sucked in air and gritted her teeth against the rise of pain.

She couldn’t hurt if she wasn’t alive.

That thought was a victory. She struggled to her feet, her dress heavy with water. Her legs protested standing, but Cora lifted a fist toward the sky.

“Is that all that ye have?” She demanded of the churning storm above her. Thunder rumbled in response. A long sound like a growl before the lightning crackled across the dark mass of clouds. The flash of light illuminated the place where she stood. Showing her the river roaring by and the sandbar she’d managed to crawl onto.

And it showed her the form of a man standing four feet away.

Chapter Two

Siren.

A fabled creature of moonlight and the sea… Something feared and yet sought by sailors as they braved the ocean and challenged Fate’s unyielding mercy.

The storm was vicious.

Faolan bared his teeth and soaked in the raw violence of the night. Behind him, the two towers of his home held against the onslaught of the fury of the storm. Standing firm against the elements as they had for over a century.

His own flesh wouldn’t persevere as well.

Faolan didn’t let the morbid thought disturb him. He was accustomed to being lacking, or at least being told he didn’t measure up to the expectations of the world around him. He enjoyed the struggle life presented. Strength came from refusing to buckle beneath everything Fate threw at him.

Tonight, Fate tossed a siren onto the rocks at his feet. He was drawn to her just as completely as the sailors of myth and lore. But she surprised him because instead of attempting to tempt him close with lyrical enticements, she bared her teeth