I kept shaking my head because, despite all the proof I’d seen with my own two eyes and, yes, felt in my heart, it was still so difficult to grasp. To look at Ellie’s face and see anyone else. To imagine for even a moment that her face might have once been Elowyn’s.
“I dinnae know what to do,” I managed. “How to handle this. My emotions are too conflicting...too volatile and far too raw.”
“And what of yer inner beast’s emotions?” my mother wondered, tilting her head in question. “How is he reactingaround her because Elowyn was as precious to him as she was to yer human half, whether she was half dragon or not.”
“He wants her,” I admitted, because I had figured that much out. “More than he’s ever wanted any lass.”
“No doubt he does,” she said, handing me a mug of whisky she’d set nearby, knowing I would need it. “Yet ye ken she’s the lass from the pact, right? Sheisthe descendant of the Sutherland sorcerer?”
“How can ye be sure?” I frowned, refusing to believe things were that cut in stone. “Did Willow’s dragon not wear half a gem? Is she herself not descended from a powerful Scottish witch? One, as it turned out, was from this era?”
“Aye,” my mother confirmed, urging me to drink. “Yet Ellie swears she is the lass destined to fulfill the pact and always was, and I believe her, son. Adlin believes her. Even Grant Hamilton believes her.” She shook her head. “And that is too many of us wielding great power for this to be anything but a certainty.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So ye’ve seen Grant Hamilton, too?”
“Aye, he’s about and intends to help any way he can from the Hereafter.”
“Right, that,” I said on a sigh, relieved he was part of all this but not liking the topic in general. “The Hereafter. A place I cannae say I much like.”
“Well, why would ye?” she wondered, sipping her whisky. “It took a lot from ye but—” she met my eyes again— “it also gave a lot back and mayhap ye should try to forgive it...forgive her...then forgive yerself.”
“Forgiving the Hereafter or myself willnae be easy,” I said gruffly. “But there’s nothing to forgive her for.”
“Isn’t there?” she said gently, looking at me in that wise motherly way only she could. “Ye may not realize it, but deep down ye were angry at her for wandering into the forest that day without enough protection. And ye were angry at yerself for notbeing there to protect her. Now here she is, back to protect ye and yers, the two of ye forever stuck in this loop.”
I clenched my teeth, refusing to give in to my emotions. They were right there, hovering beneath the surface just like my inner beast, because we both felt the truth in her words. The pure agony in them.
“So what now?” I said, my voice still gruff because I had no idea what came next. What I was supposed to do. How I should feel. I had never felt so lost and confused yet desperate for another despite having only, to the best of my recollection, just met Ellie.
“Ye bathe and dress for a fine meal with yer kin, their mates and Ellie,” she counseled softly, her voice gentle in a way that soothed my raw nerves. “Then, as Ellie requested, we will retire to the War Chamber where she will share everything she knows, but no sooner, as she wants a normal night with her sisters and her MacLeods, as she phrased it.” She pressed her hand against my heart again, her eyes never leaving mine. “And a normal night with ye, as it has been far too long.”
“Aye, then,” I managed, unsure how normal any of this could ever be. “I will bathe the best I can with my wound.”
“Verra good.” She stood on her tiptoes and embraced me tightly. “I love ye, son.”
“And I ye,” I said, embracing her in return before she left, leaving me standing alone on the cliff, still clueless about how to proceed. All I knew as my gaze dropped to the tattoo Elowyn had so lovingly designed was that I was desperate to see Ellie again. To remain close to her.
And what I discovered soon after made me realize why.
Chapter Eleven
–Ellie–
ALTHOUGH I HAD every intention of leaving MacLeod Castle after I slipped away from Tavish and left the cottage without him being the wiser, I did no such thing. Instead, I drifted into the castle, blinking back tears, feeling overwhelmingly nostalgic as I took in the great hall full of massive tapestries depicting dragons and stormy seas.
I was home.
At last.
It seemed like an eternity since I had been here. Although I knew I shouldn’t be because it would make everything that much harder, I was grateful for the opportunity to relish in the safety and contentment I always found here, before I spent the rest of my days at Sutherland Castle.
“This must all be so strange to you,” Broderick said, appearing by my side. He offered me the same warm smile he’d often given me in our youth. “Even so, I cannae tell you how happy I am that you’re here, as whatever fate may bring, this willalwaysbe your home, Ellie.”
“Thank you, m’laird.” I met his smile. “It’s good to see you, too, however strange it all seems. And I can’t tell you how happy I am that you and Aspen found each other.”
“Och,m’laird?” he chastised, waving his proper title away. “’Twill always be Broderick to you because you’ve long been kin. Hopefully, soon to be my sister by marriage.”
My chest tightened and my throat thickened with emotion, but I still managed a jerky nod, despite knowing that would never come to be, but wishing it could with all my heart.
