Read Susan King - [Celtic Nights 02] for Free Online

block the horsemen. One of the knights cut around her and chased after the boys while the other man rode toward her.
    She swerved and went down the bank, splashing into the shallows. On the loch, a swan launched into flight, great wings beating. As the huge bird swerved toward them, the horse neighed, but the knight drew closer and reached out. Splashing through ankle-deep water, Juliana avoided his grasp.
    "Stop!" he hollered, reaching again.
    "Let her go," a deep voice called out. "The boys will pay for her escape!"
    With a sense of dread in her gut, she slowed and turned.
    De Soulis stared at her from a few yards away, his eyes small and piercing. He was graying but handsome with precise, carefully etched features, and she sensed a darkness about him that went beyond his notorious black armor.
    "We have your brothers," he called. "Go into the loch if you wish." He waved a hand to encourage her. "Show us how you turn into a swan. I, for one, would like to see it."
    Two knights rode behind De Soulis, Alec and Iain trapped in their arms. Alec sat quietly, but Iain shrieked and struggled as he lay over the front of the saddle, legs kicking.
    "Juliana!" Alec called. "Run!"
    She hesitated, standing in a cool sweep of water.
    "What shall I do with them? Will you speak in their defense, Swan Maiden?" De Soulis guided his horse into the water toward her. She stepped back.
    "Do not talk!" Alec shouted. "Remember the Swan Maiden!"
    She glanced toward her brother. Alec bravely wanted to protect the ruse they had agreed on, while nearby, Iain still squealed and fought. She was proud of both for their spirit.
    "Quiet that boy!" De Soulis ordered. Iain's captor winced loudly when he was bitten, and he smacked the child in response. Iain began to whimper.
    Furious on his behalf, Juliana lunged through the water. De Soulis turned his horse to block her advance. When she stepped sideways, water swooshing, he blocked her again. Her dress was soaked, her breath and chest heaving, her hair hanging down. She stared at him, trapped, wild with a need to free her brothers.
    Artan glided swiftly through the water toward them, wings raised aggressively. Nearing the horse, the cob lifted his wings and swatted outward. The bay snorted and stepped back.
    Juliana moved again but De Soulis blocked her. Near her, the swan hissed. Reaching down, she touched the taut curve of Artan's neck. The bird settled low in the water and swam away.
    "So, we see some of your magic after all, Swan Maiden," De Soulis drawled. In the distance, Malcolm and a few monks ran toward them, shouting. "Come to me, or the boys will be harmed."
    She knew it for a genuine threat. After a moment, she lifted her arm toward him in passive surrender.
    "Well and truly caught," he said. "I am disappointed. I expected more of a challenge from the Swan Maiden of Elladoune." He grasped her arm to pull her up behind him.
    She grabbed his belt to steady herself, head lifted and back straight. He guided the horse to the bank and looked over his shoulder. "No plea for mercy?"
    She narrowed her eyes. At close view, he was lean and taut, with sharp features and dark eyes. His chain mail, finely woven and glossy as onyx, draped over him like heavy velvet.
    She stared at it curiously. De Soulis's black armor was renowned. Rumor said it was impenetrable, even enchanted. Whatever the truth, she had never seen a war garment like it.
    "Juliana!" She looked around to see Malcolm and the monks rushing toward them.
    "Father Abbot!" Iain yelled, struggling in his captor's arms. "Help! The black knight has us all!"
    "Let my wards go, Sir Walter," Malcolm said sternly in Scots. "You have nae quarrel with them."
    "True, though I confess I am curious about the girl. The rumors about her are... intriguing."
    She twisted, and De Soulis caught her forearm in a steely grip. "You cannot fly away now," he murmured.
    "Let them go," Malcolm repeated. "Leave here."
    "We have business on the loch." The creamy smoothness