Page 54 of A Scot's Devotion
A flicker of surprise lit Chloe’s eyes when they met his, and she felt his thoughts brush hers. When she caught flashes of the dreams he’d had.
“We were good friends, weren’t we?” she murmured. “Then, more.”
“Aye.” He slipped into a heavier brogue with his heightened emotions. “Ye lent me great comfort, lass. ‘Twas as if things werenae as they should be when ye were not around.”
“Nor were they for me eventually,” she whispered, seeming to understand more. Her eyes stayed with his. “I was drawn to you for your capacity to love. How fiercely you felt for another. Then, even more drawn because yousawme,heardme.Talkedto me.”
He saw her dream as if it had happened to him because, in truth, it had.
“Aye, I always heard and spoke with ye,” he murmured. “Even often saw ye.” He squeezed her hand. “Ye were there until the end of that life...what turned out to be a loveless life at that.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” Sadness flickered in her eyes. “Because she couldn’t see the real you...”
“Only what was on the surface,” he continued for her, knowing she didn’t want to be hurtful. “For, I was quite homely.”
“Maybe initially,” Chloe said softly. Though she looked at him, her eyes seemed far away, as if she looked at the man he once was. “But quite handsome, as more time went by.”
“Because you could see him clearly,” Julie said, her magic at work again. “You saw past the surface to what lay beneath.”
“Which is no easy task for most faeries,” Chloe murmured, sensing something. “I think, as a rule, Fae tend to be drawn to things of great beauty or handsomeness.” Her gaze returned to him. “But with you, it was the ability to love so fiercely.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t something I came across every day. Ever really. Not like that.”
She was about to say more when Julie and Tiernan caught her attention. They were peering curiously at the sunlight splintering through the forest.
“What is it?” Chloe asked.
“I think ‘tis time to go.” Tiernan rolled up his sleeve just as a thin stream of sunlight cut across his tattoo, pointing in a northerly direction. It just so happened, his tattoo had been a magical compass on his own adventure.
“That’s new.” Julie eyed another dab of sunlight on the tattoo. It shimmered through the trees, giving the appearance of fire burning over a spot representing a Stonehenge. “What do you make of that?”
Aidan and Tiernan stood abruptly, sensing their cousin at the same time.
“It means we need to make haste,” Aidan grumbled.
“Because Cray’s temper has once again gotten the better of him,” Tiernan finished.
