“Both Ellie and I couldnae be happier,” I said, managing a smile for her as I looked at Lucas, Sloan, and their mates. “More than ye can possibly know.” I turned my smile Hazel’s way. “Mayhap ye could make us a fine meal to break our fast and to celebrate how verra blessed our clan is despite the trying times, now we've four wee bairns on the way?” I swallowed back my pain. “Trying times that should soon be over.”
Hazel wiped away a tear of both joy and grief and managed a jerky nod. “Of course. If that’s what you and Ellie want.”
“’Tis,” I assured, finding strength in Ellie’s relief because I was doing what she could not, realizing there was at least some hope in that. “Because Ellie was connected to me in another life and the Hereafter, she can communicate with us with or without the Viking blade, so she will remain with us in spirit even if she cannae be in body.”
“’Tis so verra good to hear,” my mother said softly, resting a supportive hand on my shoulder as Ellie’s sisters wiped away tears and nodded, trying to rally their own emotions in the face of such a bittersweet turn of events.
“Then let us retire to our private dining chamber,” I urged, “and take a few moments to celebrate the two new wee lives on the way.”
So we did, and while I behaved as I knew Ellie would want me to, she was always on my mind. Always in my thoughts. In every heartbeat, as she made her way out of MacLeod territory and was seized by Dugal and his men the moment they sensed her coming.
They didn’t hurt her, thank God, just snatched her up the moment they knew they could.
I did my best, we all did, to make idle conversation and focus on our unborn kin, but we were all aware Dugal had her on his horse and firmly under Sutherland protection now. Knew she would suffer at his hands because they weren’t in the king's good graces anymore, so there were no checks and balances in place to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.
“That’s not entirely true,” my mother said gently, looking at us with reassurance when she sensed something even I did not. “Elspet wants to do this right, so word might get back to the king and perhaps see their clan back in his good graces. Therefore, she willnae allow her son to do anything that might work against them.”
Like taking Ellie against her will for starters, because Dugal was more than capable of it, so this was welcome news, even if it only delayed the inevitable.
“Then we can be grateful for small favors,” I said, trying to remain positive for Ellie’s sake. “And pray Malcolm knows something we dinnae and there is still hope on the horizon.”
“If anyone can get Ellie out of this,” Storm said, backing me up by trying to remain positive, too, “it would be Malcolm Sutherland because there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his daughters or his country.” She shook her head. “Nothing he wouldn’t do for his clan, who suffer beneath the weight of their false leaders, trapped beneath the oppressive and watchful eyes of those greedy for more power.”
I knew she wanted to use words like evil and sinister, but refrained, given one of our own was trapped in their clutches as Ellie and Dugal crossed the Sutherland’s drawbridge and their gates closed behind them, locking her into a terrible fate.
Chapter Nineteen
–Ellie–
THERE WAS NO way to properly convey how I felt the first time I laid eyes on Laird Dugal Sutherland, other than he looked familiar.Toofamiliar with his dark hair and stormy grey eyes.
Could I have seen him in my dreams because he was married to my sister Lilias, and did my dreams tie me to more people and places than even I realized? Or did I see him in the Hereafter when he crossed paths with Tavish and his kin over the years? It was impossible to know.
What I did know was how I felt when he tossed me on his horse and brought me back to Sutherland Castle. After he raked his eyes over me with such blatant lust, there could be no doubt he was every bit the monster everyone claimed him to be.
So being on his horse, tucked between his thighs, was a test in patience. Of fighting nausea when he clamped his big hand over my thigh roughly,possessively, and inhaled my scent, not as if he cherished it but owned it. As if he intended to consume it along with the rest of me until there was nothing left but a soulless husk.
“If it were not for my mother,” he said huskily in my ear at one point, “I would take ye here and now for all my men to see. Take ye until yer inner beast surfaced to protect ye, then I wouldtake her too. Make ye both suffer for evading yer rightful mate and master, for so long.”
Rather than show him even an ounce of the fear he so craved, I remained unresponsive, saying nothing as my skin crawled at the feel of his vile body against my back. And I stayed silent even when Sutherland Castle loomed ahead with my mighty elm standing proudly on its outskirts, silently damning me to my awful destiny.
Yet still, it gave me strength, even hope, and I couldn't say why, other than it tied me to Tavish. Tied me to his first shift beneath such an elm in another life, and how determined his dragon had been to protect me. While that was impossible now, it still lent me comfort. Better yet, it helped me keep my chin up because some small part of him, even if only a tree, would forever be here for me to gaze upon, keeping him here with me in spirit.
While the castle was lovely enough with its soft curves cradled by woodland, backdropped by the blue-green sea, all I saw was a prison. A prison where I would spend the rest of my days suffering the touches of the monster at my back, my only refuge being the children I might bear with him, because I would never blame them for the acts of their father.
Fortunately, Dugal ceased his untoward advances and threats as we rode into the courtyard, but maybe that would have been preferable to the monster I met next. If I knew nothing else, as he swung down and yanked me after him, was that his mother, Elspet, was not only the true power here, but she would relish every moment watching me wither at her son’s hands.
Doing my best not to let her see my terror because it was palpable, I held my head high and stood as tall as I could, refusing to let her intimidate me, but it wasn’t easy. Not when I saw the dark aura fluctuating around her, telling me she’d beenspewed out by the Hereafter upon birth and only ever moved forward with a sinister spirit.
With her grey hair tied tightly back, she peered down her nose and assessed me with her black, beady eyes, her sharp gaze homing in on my tattoo, and that was it. The extent of her greeting beyond a sharp nod saying I would suffice, before spinning on her heel and barking orders at someone who could only be Lilias in passing. “See her out of those blasted colors, then have her escorted to our dining chamber.”
Although tempted to smile at my lovely sister with her earthy skin tone, soft features, light brown hair, and dark olive-green eyes, I knew better. So, I acted like I didn't know her lest it bring the wrath of her mother-in-law or traitorous husband down on her. A husband who thought nothing of having his wife see to his mistress’s needs. Rather, he raked his lustful eyes over me one last time and strode after his mother.
It seemed they weren't concerned about having me and Lilias watched closely, like they had been with my sisters, since they allowed us to be alone together without a guard. I guess they knew nothing would be taking Dugal’s witch from him this time. I was his, having willingly sacrificed myself for the greater good. And the MacLeods were no longer a threat. Not to say Clan Sutherland wasn’t still taking defensive measures surrounding the castle, they clearly were, so getting out of here would be impossible anyway.
Lilias remained quiet as she led me into a great hall vastly different from the MacLeod’s. There wasn’t a dragon in sight, be it in a tapestry or carved into the furniture.
While I wanted to ask her if she had seen Blaze, I suspected he was likely somewhere near Marjorie, considering they had become fast friends. The little wolf even spoke telepathically to her, despite not communicating with anyone else that way.
