Chapter Eight
–Tavish–
IWAS so focused on fighting the three Sutherland warriors, determined to protect Ellie, that a wild boar nearly ran me through as I defeated the last warrior.
And it would have if not for her.
I leapt to my feet when I heard a mighty roar and turned to find the most beautiful yet ferocious dragon I had ever seen, driving off the boar moments before it would have attacked me. Ironically enough, much like I had driven off a boar before it harmed Elowyn all those years ago.
While that was noteworthy, it paled in comparison to how I felt when Ellie’s shimmering white dragon looked my way and her pale brownish gold eyes met mine. For lack of a better way to put it, it felt like two worlds collided, and I could barely catch my breath.
In response, my own dragon eyes ignited, and I would have shifted had Adlin not roared, “Nay, dinnae shift, Tavish! Not right now.” He looked Ellie’s way. “Shift back, lass, because we need to go! If we dinnae, ‘twill be the end of ye both because more Sutherland’s are coming. Far too many for me to protect ye from.”
It seemed his magically induced urgency was all it took for us both, because she shifted back and I scooped her up, but notbefore I saw the damning gem over her dragon’s heart. A gem I wanted to rip away, right then and there, but I couldn’t dwell on it as I needed to get her safely behind the walls of MacLeod castle before more Sutherlands showed up. So I tossed her on my horse, grabbed the Viking blade, swung up behind her, and raced through the woodland toward MacLeod territory.
All the while, I tried reaching out to my kin.
“’Twas wise of ye not to approach as dragons,”Broderick exclaimed, finally answering me, much to my relief.“The Sutherlands are coming in fast, so make haste. We’ll protect ye.”
I knew Adlin had protected us with his immense powers so far, but I didn’t realize just how much until I saw Sutherland dragons, not just above the trees, but in human form on horseback all around us. We were being surrounded, and I didn’t see how we could possibly escape until the unexpected happened.
“The Morrow,” Ellie whispered in wonder, as one moment the Sutherlands were there and then they seemed to become blurry, then they were clear again, but seemingly unable to go any further. For a second, everything appeared enchanted, for lack of a better way to put it, and the next, totally back to normal.
I had heard about the magic her sister Willow could create thanks to their father, Malcolm Sutherland, and her own mother, but could hardly believe it until we raced out of the woodland toward MacLeod Castle, sitting proudly on a cliff overlooking the sea. When we did, we weren’t attacked by Sutherlands but surrounded by MacLeod warriors on horseback and MacLeod dragons overhead, seeing us safely home.
As we slowed to a trot and Broderick assured me we were safe for now, I once again became increasingly aware of the woman in front of me. Better yet, aware of how her breathing had gone shallow as if she fought with her emotions. And while that madesense, given what just happened, something told me there was more to it.
“What is it, lass?” I asked softly, gently, wrapping my arm more firmly around her when I felt a tremor ripple through her delicate body. “Are ye well?”
“I should never have come this far,” she whispered hoarsely, telling me she did indeed fight turbulent emotions. “It’s too much. Way too much.”
“What is too much?” I wondered because her thoughts were scattered, telling me she used magic to keep them from me.
“Nothing,” she whispered, clearing her throat and sitting up straighter when moments before she had been sinking back into me as if desperate to be closer.
“’Twassomething,” I murmured, not letting her get away so easily. I pulled her back against me again, unable to stop from inhaling the scent of her sweet hair. Something I had kept myself from doing the entire ride north, but now, having seen her lovely beast, it was impossible, and I knew she knew it. Better still, I knew she fought whatever was blossoming between us. Despite trying to keep my promise to Elowyn, I was fighting a losing battle, and I sensed she knew that, too.
Our dragons were pulling us closer, and there was no escaping it.
“Don’t,” she said hoarsely when she caught me pulling in her scent, and with good reason, because moments later, it wasn’t just the scent of her hair I caught but one far more delicious.
“Bloody hell,” I murmured just as hoarsely, inhaling deeply, as I caught a scent of arousal I suspected she hid from me before. A scent that nearly made me turn the horse around and find a secluded spot near the castle under MacLeod protection, where I could ravish her. Sink deep inside her and claim her.
Unfortunately, it was too late to do much of anything as we made our way over the drawbridge into the courtyard. I had nochoice but to let her go when she swung down and embraced her sisters, who had been eagerly awaiting us.
Grateful when I was able to chant away an untimely erection, I too swung down and handed my horse off to a stableboy before greeting my kin. Naturally, first came my chieftain and brother, Broderick, as we clasped arms, then I finally had the pleasure of meeting his raven-haired bride, the new Queen of the Castle, and Aspen was every bit as lovely as her other sisters. My cousin Lucas’s bride, Hazel, had vibrant red hair, and Sloan’s bride, Willow, had sun-kissed brown locks.
“’Tis always good to have ye safely in my arms again, son,” my mother, Chara, murmured as she wrapped her loving arms around me before my father, Marek, embraced me as well, clearly just as grateful to see me safely within our castle’s walls. My parents had aged well, my mother with her pale blonde hair and golden mystical eyes, and my father, with his silver-flecked black hair.
“We should see to that wound,” my mother noted before turning a warm smile Ellie’s way.
“’Tis so verra nice to meet another one of Aspen’s lovely sisters,” Mother said warmly, her gaze lingering on Ellie in a way that told me her magic was at work before she smiled and embraced Adlin. “And of course, Adlin MacLomain. Welcome, old friend.”
“Always a pleasure to see all of you again,” Adlin said, as merry as ever despite everything we had just been through.
Meanwhile, Ellie was frowning at my wound, her eyes a little different, almost worried, as she spoke with words that didn’t quite suit her century. “We should see to that wound straight away lest it fester.”
Before my mother could assure her she could heal me with magic, Ellie spun on her heel and headed not into the castlebut down a pathway between cottages, calling over her shoulder, “Come now, Tavish. Ye heard what I said.”
