I suppose that made sense, given her profession, especially if she gathered her own herbs and such. Yet any information I could get out of Adlin was welcome, considering I suspectedhe knew a great deal more about her than he was saying. “She enjoys the woodland, then?”
“Aye, it draws her more than most,” Adlin said, eyeing her. “I suspect it comforts her somehow, but I couldnae say why.” He leaned in and lowered his voice even more. “I sense a wee bit o’ magic was used in this cave after I went to sleep last night, aye?”
“Aye,” I confirmed, watching him closely. “By both of us, and I dinnae understand it all that much. ‘Twas of the witch variety, yet I am no witch or wizard.”
“Nay, but she verra much is and used deceptive magic to evade ye,” Adlin said, clearly sensing it. “We can only be thankful she’s half dragon too, or something tells me she might have slipped yer grasp altogether.”
I was caught unaware by the strange surge of hope I felt. More so, what it might imply, but I didn’t mention it specifically lest my draw to her be too noticeable. “Ye think her inner beast kept her here then?”
“’Twould certainly seem so,” Adlin confirmed, nodding, grave yet optimistic. “She seems verra determined to sacrifice herself to Dugal, so I cannae imagine anything else being able to hold her back, given her obvious ability to slip free of ye undetected.”
“’Tis good, then, that her dragon has some sense of self-preservation,” I said, keeping emotion from my voice because the thought of her slipping from my grasp altogether was more than alarming. And not just because I promised to look out for her, but on a much deeper level, I tried my best to ignore.
“’Tisgood,” Adlin agreed, looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes that told me he likely caught on to things I didn’t want to feel, let alone show. “Though something tells me it has less to do with self-preservation and more to do with yer inner beast.”
Before I could counter him, because my feelings were so conflicted, he went on.
“Either way,” he counseled, “I think ‘twould be best if she rides with ye today lest she tries to slip away again.”
I was again caught off guard, given how much that idea appealed to me and for all the wrong reasons. Even though I knew better, I was about to agree with him, but Ellie stirred and voiced her opinion on the matter, and I couldn’t say I much liked it.
Chapter Seven
–Ellie–
ACUTELY AWARE OF the moment Tavish moved further away from me to join Adlin at the mouth of the cave, I stirred awake but kept my eyes closed and listened to them talk, struggling to make sense of how I was still here when I’d intended to sneak away last night. I had utilized that spell before and slipped free from others, but with Tavish, it had been impossible.
Instead, I’d been compelled to lie down toward the back of the cave, and while I could say I struggled to understand why, deep down I knew my inner beast was pushing back hard now it was close to him. If that weren’t trying enough, when he covered me with another fur that smelled like him, I nearly groaned with need. Then, I spent the better part of the night trying to mask my arousal with magic so he wouldn’t catch the scent, because that would only draw our inner beasts closer and, in turn, our human halves.
Could that mean he was my fated mate? Normally, I would hope,prayso, but I didn’t have that luxury right now. Nobody did if they wanted Scotland’s history to remain on track.
So yet again, I found myself cursing Adlin for convincing me to go to King Robert first. Adlin, who now told Tavish I should ride on his horse with him, and that seriously couldn’t happen.
“No,” I murmured sleepily, sitting up, making sure to sound like I was still half asleep. “I ride my own horse.”
I was exhausted from hiding my arousal all night, so I could only imagine how bad it might get if I were literally pushed up against Tavish. Possibly too much to hide, and that could be catastrophic. Far,fartoo risky, given how much I sensed our inner beasts were circling each other with undeniable interest.
“Good morn to ye, lass,” Adlin exclaimed as merry as ever, encouraging me to join them by the fire. “Come break your fast with us, and we will discuss our travel arrangements.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” I scooped up the furs. “I prefer to ride alone.”
“And ‘tis understandable,” Adlin conceded. “You being a strong, independent modern-day lass.” He shrugged and sighed. “But alas, your horse must have been spooked by the storm last night because he broke free and is nowhere to be found.”
When I narrowed my eyes at him because, how very convenient, he shrugged innocently. “He’s a well-trained horse, so I’m certain he’ll safely make his way back to the king's encampment.”
“I will see to it personally,” Grant said, appearing out of the Hereafter, looking as innocent as Adlin when I suspected the two of them were up to no good. “I suggest the three of ye leave sooner rather than later, given the next storm willnae be so kind. Not just that, but there’s word of more trouble than usual in these parts, so ‘tis best to return to the safety of MacLeod Castle.”
Again, how convenient.
“Have you been able to contact your kin to see how things fare?” Adlin asked Tavish.
“Nay, but I should be able to once we’re on MacLeod territory.” Tavish looked at me. “So I suggest we do as Grant said and make haste.”
“I can walk,” I made clear, trying not to panic. “Besides, the two of us would be too much weight for one horse on a day-long journey.”
“My horse is strong and built for such weight,” Tavish assured, handing me a skin of water and some bread and cheese from one of the satchels, urging me to eat swiftly since we would be leaving soon. “Not just that, but ye walking would slow us down.”
“Then I’ll ride with Adlin.”
