Page 25 of Her Scot of the Morrow
“Not the only person,” I reminded. “I would swear Lilias saw me too.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “But she is a sister sired by Malcolm Sutherland as well, so it makes more sense if his magic is behind all this, and there is little doubt it is.” He wrapped his fingers with mine, eyeing my ring. “As is your mother’s, and there can be no question, hers was designed to bring you back to me so we might find love before you crossed paths with Dugal.”
“A mother who descends from only one of two powerful witch lineages out of Scotland,” I reminded. “I can’t say I’m crazy about those odds.” I sighed, certain I was right, and I wasn’t sure why. “Nor the fact that I’m almost positive the willow tree is still at Sutherland Castle and not here. Yet another point of argument for Dugal and Elspet, I’m sure.”
I was about to go on when I sensed, or better said, I had some sort of vision, and it wasn’t good.
In fact, I had a feeling it would prove very bad.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
–Sloan–
MY MORNING HAD started perfectly, enjoying my mate’s beautiful body and all the pleasure she could bring me, until things began going downhill. First, the gem on her tattoo had decided to become whole once more, and now it seemed she sensed Elspet was trifling with our willow tree somehow.
Something Kenneth MacLomain soon confirmed.
“I cannae say what she’s doing because I cannae get close enough,”he said.“Only that I dinnae trust it and nor should ye.”
“Definitely not,”Willow confirmed, crawling out of bed, having gone from well-satisfied and relaxed in my embrace to unsettled and restless.“She’s chanting things I can’t quite catch and probing in a way I can’t put my finger on.”
“I would say she’s probing it to discover what kind of magic it’s using,”Aunt Chara added to the conversation, telling us to come down and break our fast with the family since things were escalating.
After that, she left the conversation, and I reluctantly got up as well when all I wanted to do was spend the rest of the day, if not weeks, in bed with Willow, now that I finally had her here. Instead, I had no choice but to watch Willow cover her lovely flesh with a linen dress Aunt Chara must have left here at some point because it hadn’t been there the night before.
“Should I assume she did this on purpose?” Willow said, noting its dark blue color.
“Verra likely.” I dressed as well, fully aware that based on her lustful glances, she was just as disappointed our time in bed was over. At least for now. “Aunt Chara is nothing if not subtle.”
“Well, here’s hoping it works out like it did for Aspen and Hazel,” she replied, referencing how their dresses tied them to a memory with their mates. Dresses that her father clearly knew about because he had requested those colors be worn at his funeral.
“’Twillwork out,” I assured her, reeling her into my arms before we headed downstairs. Cupping her soft cheek, I made myself clear. “Because as I said last night, I willnae be handing you over to Dugal no matter what happens.”
Despite agreeing, I sensed a new unease in her this morning that hadn’t been there last night because of the tattoo changing once again. One that lingered even after another kiss that showed her just how much I meant it, and we discreetly headed downstairs, only to discover Lucas and Evan missing.
“There’s word of a skirmish betwixt MacLeods and Sutherlands at our border, so they are heading that way,” Broderick said, urging us to sit and eat. “’Tis not by any means the bulk of their warriors but one of several skirmishes reported overnight, so Lucas is seeing to things.”
Lucas was our finest warrior, so that made sense.
“I would have gone too if they’d let me,” Hazel said, her brow furrowed in distress at not just her mate being gone but one of her closest friends. She absently picked at her food, seemingly not interested in eating, even though she had undoubtedly cooked some of the best bannock I had ever tasted. “I know how to fight.”
“You do. No one is disputing that,” Aspen agreed, having clearly been going back and forth about this with Hazel for some time. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you recently escaped the Sutherlands’ clutches and are no longer of value to them, sothat makes you fair game. And we both know if you’re a target, you’ll be a distraction to Lucas and Evan because they’d do anything to protect you.”
“’Tis true,” Chara said. “’Twould verra likely increase their chances of being caught unaware. Not to mention the distress it would cause Aspen, who, need I remind you, is carrying her only bairns.”
Hazel sighed and relented, but still muttered under her breath how she couldn’t protect them all the way across Scotland, despite it not being nearly that far.
“And I see there’s been more changes with you two.” Having obviously been communicating with Kenneth as well, Chara eyed Willow’s tattoo. “I cannae help but wonder if Elspet trifling with the willow tree isnae somehow related to the changes in the gem.” She gave us a knowing look, referencing how the gem changed after we were intimate without Willow’s dragon shifting. “Or mayhap something else.”
“Why would it have anything to do with me not shifting during sex?” Willow wondered, her appetite much improved from last night, if not robust. “I would think it would be the opposite.”
“If we assume the gem in the tattoo relates to you two being fated mates,” Chara said. “’Tis my impression, despite being a color that represents a memory with a MacLeod, ‘tis the gem which means you are meant for a Sutherland.”
Willow frowned. “I’m not following.”
“Och,” I exclaimed, understanding what Chara might be hinting at. “’Twould make no sense for the gem to keep changing lest there was some sort of deception happening.”
“Nay, ‘twould not if we’re to assume the pact is valid and stated in its entirety,” Chara said. “And I can vouch for the validity of it now, having seen it in its entirety, that thosewords are binding and make no mention of there being half of anything. Certainly not the gem.”
