Page 19 of Her Scot of the Morrow
“Oh no,”she gasped when she looked at her chest and finally saw what I’d seen when she first shifted. Not an entire blue gem over her dragon’s heart, but half of one.“What is this, Sloan? What—”
That’s all she got out before I was thrust out of the Morrow again because the next thing I knew, I stirred awake on the floor right back where I began in the dank cell in Sutherland Castle’s dungeon.
“Willow?”I leapt to my feet and raced to the barred window, only to find the willow tree gone, and my view blocked by overgrown vegetation.“Talk to me, lass. Where are you?”
“I’m right where you left me, only I’m not in the Morrow anymore, and I see Sutherland Castle ahead,”she returned.“I’d ask where you are, but something tells me my dragon already knows.”
A chill raced down my spine.“What do you mean?”
“I mean, my dragon yanked back control and seems to be in charge because I can’t get her to go anywhere but toward the castle.”Worry was evident in her voice, and I didn’t blame her.“Do you think it’s because of the half gem over her heart? Because she’s trying to get back to Dugal?”
“I couldnae say,”I answered honestly because she would catch it in my thoughts anyway. White-knuckling the bars, I tried not to imagine what might happen to her because from where I was, I couldn’t shift. Elspet had ensured it with her blasted magic, making this dungeon especially unfortunate for dragons.“Whatever happens, ‘twill be all right, lass. I promise you that. You'll be all right.”
What else could I say with my hands tied like this? Or wings, as it were? All I could do was pray everything I feared didn’t come to pass, because I knew Dugal and what he was capable of. What he would do to her dragon, never mind her human half.
He found pleasure in being savage and ruthless, and something told me, based on his wife’s overly submissive ways, it was very much a part of his lusty appetite. Worse yet, I already knew he craved intimacy in dragon form because I had seen it firsthand when he thought he might be able to keep Hazel, so I wanted him nowhere near Willow because rutting that way was not for the faint of heart.
“I’m not so sure it’s going to be all right, Sloan,”Willow replied to me as thunder rumbled outside and the wind picked up.“My dragon’s still heading right for the castle.”
“You need to try to steer her away,”I said, but she was unable to hear my words, just like when Willow used to fly planes. Somehow, her dragon was using that ability, and I wasn’t sure what to think of it because why willingly block me? Her mate?
Unless, of course, I wasn’t her mate after all, as the half gem implied.
Even as I thought it, I refused to believe it, grateful I could still see through her mind’s eye like I could when she piloted planes. Or should I say still see through her dragon’s eyes? And it was heading toward Sutherland Castle with alarming speed and aggression.
What was she doing?
Because it didn’t feel like she was giving herself overpeacefully.
If anything, as she soared over the outermost battlements with too many guardsmen for my taste watching her, then down over the forest, it felt like the opposite. That’s when I realized,as she moved at breakneck speed, what she intended to do, and there was no time to try and stop her.
Her dragon wasn’t here for Dugal but for me.
“Bloody hell,”I exclaimed, having just enough time to duck into a corner when a spiked tail crashed into a portion of the wall, and it fell along with my inability to shift. Even though I knew better, because this would bring the wrath of king and country down on me and my clan, there was no stopping my dragon from emerging and chasing after hers, determined to protect its mate until it was safely gone from this place.
If that was even possible, because the chances were slim.
We were on Sutherland territory, trying to flee a castle fiercely protected by their matriarch, her wretched son, and the power they so craved in Willow. Yet it turned out, Willow was remarkably powerful, too. Something seen clearly when we launched into the air, and more and more Sutherland dragons came at us, only for the Morrow to envelope us, seeing us safely into the clouds high above.
One moment, they were coming for us.
The next, they could no longer see us.
“My dragon’s still in control,”Willow exclaimed as we flew up into the cloudback and outer edges of the incoming storm, heading for MacLeod Castle, before we shot out of the Morrow into cold, hard reality.“And however wrong I know it is, I can’t say I hate her for it. I wish I could because so many lives are at stake, but...”
“’Tis all right, lass,”I said, soothing her the best I could when she trailed off because I felt the same way.“As you would say, we are only human, but the truth is, we are also dragons, and no dragon would let her mate die at Dugal or Elspet’s hands because I have no doubt that was their ultimate plan for me once I’d served my worth. And no male dragon would allowthe woman he loves to suffer at Dugal’s hands, whether she was his fated mate or not, which I know you verra much are mine.”
“Nevertheless, I wish my inner beast wouldn’t bring this back to your clan.”Emotion thickened her internal voice.“It’s not right to put this on them, Sloan, and we both know it. Not right to spark a war that could hurt so many because I can’t imagine this going any other way.”
Not long after we entered the ever-darkening storm front, a line of MacLeod dragons appeared on the horizon heading in our direction. Not just any dragons, either, but Broderick’s fiercest and in battle formation no less.
“Broderick and Lucas aren’t one of those dragons, are they?”she asked tentatively.“If they were welcoming us back, they would be flying our way, right?”
“Nay, my brethren arenae there,”I confirmed gravely, truthful because she deserved nothing less.“And aye, that doesnae bode well.”
Nor should it if I were to be honest, knowing I would have done the same if I were in their position, given they had been honorable and saw their roles in the pact through. Yet here I was, the ultimate peacekeeper for the clan, without a doubt bringing the wrath of king and country down on them, risking so many lives.
Even so, I had no choice but to get in a position to defend Willow until my last dying breath, ready to face the consequences. Moreover, I prayed they would spare Willow’s life and keep her safe in the end, when I knew deep down, they could not.
