Highland Supplanter (Book 2)

Chapter 58

AN - Just the epilogue left and then the sneak peak into Aonghus' story! Enjoy...I hope! Az x

Chapter 58

Hamish finally managed to catch up with Cam as he reached the small grove of trees, just a short distance from the village, though most did not come here. There were many tales of fae movement within this grove, and according to Fyfa’s grandmother, this was where he and Cam had been found as bairns. There was a quality to the air that could not even be found upon the mountainsides, a special quality to this untouched place dwelt in the dappled light, even if magic was not real, nature had outdone itself with the peace it had created here. But damn, Cam had moved like the wind to gain the clearing before Hamish could finally catch him.

Hamish paused and took in the male who was more like a brother than anything else. They had been through so much together, and had sworn to be there for each other until the end. But never had he seen Cam as such a loss, such anger and grief coursing through him, that he paced the clearing in the dappled light, and seemed to not know how to proceed, what actions to take to rid himself of the overloaded emotions building within him. Deciding that Cam could either let this out himself, or he would need help, Hamish knew exactly which of those options would be the quickest. And without any warning, stepped into Cam’s path and swung with his large fist, only just missing the side of his friend’s face as he managed to duck, and come up swinging with a punch himself. Hamish allowed it to land on his side, but only because it gave him the leverage to retaliate.

The fists swung, and the grunts abounded, somehow both men ended up tackling each other to the ground. Rolling as they had as bairns taking out their frustration on the world. With a final half-hearted hit from Cam, they both rolled to their backs, staring through the tree cover above, the leaves waving in a gentle mystical breeze, and the sun lighting the clearing in a green haze. Both breathing hard, Hamish lifted his hand to crack his jaw and touch his fingers to his bottom lip and the blood seeping from the split in the side. Turning his head, he looked over at Cam. A cut along his cheek bone was seeping blood, and he had closed his eyes as a beam of the sun hit him in the face at that moment. Heaving a sigh, Cam sat, elbows to knees and his head hanging down between his hands. Hamish waited a moment, and heaved himself up beside Cam, in a similar position knees raised but hands behind him leaning back, looking out at the tree trunks before him.

“Are you ready to talk now? Or do you need me to pound you into the ground once more?” His words came out a little slurred as he got used to the split in his lip. Cam did not laugh as he expected, but instead sighed heavily, craning his head backwards to look up at the canopy before looking out at a distant spot in the trunks before him. “Cam, as much as I would like to help, I cannot until you give me some information in which to go from.”

He waited, knowing that Cam would speak when he had gathered his thoughts, but what he said, when he finally opened his mouth was nothing at all like what he had expected. “Aislinn gave birth.” Hamish’s face split into a wide grin, and he was about to congratulate his brother, when Cam’s tone, expression and the events of the last hour slowly seeped into his mind. His brow furrowed, something had gone wrong, only what he could not work out. “How bad?”