Chapter 25
Elodie stood beneath the winter sky, the thick clouds moving slowly. Her eyes closed with the rays of the sun that managed to slip through and find her. But the warmth didn’t last. When she opened her eyes again, she stared at the gently rolling waves as they crashed onto the beach.
The white sand was dull beneath the overcast sky, unlike when it glistened during the summer.
The wide expanse of beach had been a favorite play area for her siblings and her.
Running, laughing, teasing. And, yes, bickering.
They had thrown balls as well as magic while at the beach. The cove gave them seclusion.
It was impossible to think back to those happy days and not remember how Elodie had said she would never leave. She had thought it the perfect place. How na?ve she had been. Nothing was perfect. Not her family, not anyone.
Anger churned as she braced herself against a gust of wind.
She had believed her father to be the best man in the entire world.
He had been kind, loving, and generous. At least she had believed that.
He had fooled her. He had fooled everyone.
The only one who had known who Edward MacLean really was had been her mother.
Elodie had felt betrayed—by both her parents. Her father for the abuse against her mother, and her mother for his murder. That kind of deceitfulness was nearly impossible to heal from.
She sniffed and burrowed deeper into her coat.
She had come to the beach because this was where she had first begun her training as a Druid.
Elodie had believed it was because of the beautiful setting, but now she knew it was because her father wouldn’t know what they were doing.
It wasn’t as if she could be angry at her mum for that.
Elodie was glad that she knew how to use her magic.
And yet, that circled back to the lies between her parents.
She wanted to know why her mother hadn’t told her father that she was a Druid. That weighed heavily on her mind.
Elodie frowned as she shook her head. She was at the beach to try using her magic. Thinking about the past wouldn’t help. It only made her angry, and that was never a good emotion when a mie called to their powers.
She drew in a breath and then blew it out. The fear inside her made her stomach churn and her heart race. Maybe rage was better than anxiety. The urge to leave and forget all about attempting magic made Elodie take a step back.
“What am I doing?” she asked.
How many times had she tried? How many times had she been disappointed? The only way she had been able to carry on was to try and forget that she was a Druid, to forget that the magic had left her.
Now, Scott wanted her to try again. She did need to protect herself against whatever was after her. She couldn’t have Druids around her forever, nor could she stay inside the protected cottage her entire life. Whatever was out there would find her eventually. Elodie had to be able to use her magic.
But what if she tried and it really was gone for good?
Elodie’s breath quickened. A Druid without magic wasn’t a Druid. She would be nothing more than human. Nothing special. Nothing unique. She took her hands out of her pockets and looked at them. Magic had once come so easily. Spells had been effortless to master. Her mum had been so proud.
“Come back, please,” she begged. “I learned my lesson. I won’t use it frivolously again. I swear.”
She closed her eyes and called to her magic. Elodie focused deeply on her body, waiting to feel even the slightest stirrings. Nothing happened.
Her throat clogged, but she wasn’t done yet.
She sank onto the sand and crossed her legs.
With her hands on either side of her, and her fingers touching the white grains, she once again closed her eyes.
Elodie took a deep, steadying breath and then slowly released it.
She thought back to the day her mother had first brought her out to the beach to practice.
“Concentrate, Elodie. It’ll take time, but you’ll be able to feel your magic.”
“What if I don’t have any?”
Her mother smiled gently. “My darling girl, you have it.”
“How do you know?”
“I know.” She tapped her finger on Elodie’s nose. “But the only one who can call and control it is you. Until you feel it, you won’t be able to use it.”
Elodie lifted her chin. “Then I’m going to feel it.”
“Good girl. Now, close your eyes. Elongate your breaths. That’s it. Whenever you need a connection, put your hands on the sand. Magic flows through Skye. It will heighten yours.”
Her mother’s voice grew distant. Faint drumbeats, deep and slow, reached her.
“Good. Very good. Call to your magic, Elodie. It’s waiting for you. It’s always waiting for you.”
With her mother’s words echoing through her mind, Elodie recreated the entire scene.
The sounds of the outside world became faint and then distant.
She sank her fingers into the sand, feeling the grains rub against her skin as she sought out Skye’s beautiful, powerful magic.
She waited to hear the drumbeats of the Ancients. Waited to feel something, anything.
But she was disappointed yet again.
Elodie had no idea how long she sat there before she finally opened her eyes, feeling empty.
She got to her feet and dusted off her bottom.
She wouldn’t cry. She had known that her magic was probably gone for good, but it hurt worse than she’d thought to have it confirmed.
Scott had given her hope. Being back on Skye had given her hope.
She turned around and drew up short at the sight of Scott. He stood on the rocks behind her, watching. How long had he been there? She was glad that he hadn’t interrupted her. It had been hard enough doing this alone. She didn’t want anyone with her.
Elodie made her way to him. The wind whipped at his dark hair. He ignored it as he followed her with his gaze. She thought about their night together and how right it had felt. The way he’d touched her, looked at her. It had been a heady experience, like a drug—and she wanted more.
“Hi,” he said when she reached him.
“Hi.”
“Any news?”
The hope in his eyes made her look away. “No.”
“No matter. You can try again later. I wish you would’ve told Filip or me you were out here. You could’ve been attacked.”
She looked at the cottage. Filip was working on the roof. “I wanted some time to myself.”
“About earlier with the spell…” he began.
Elodie didn’t want to talk about that. “I have to meet Edie. She’s giving me the deposit for the work. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said and started walking.
He kept in step with her on the path to the cottage. “Are you angry with me?”
“No.”
“It seems like it.”
She stopped and looked at him. “We had unprotected sex. I don’t want a child. I may never want children, but especially not now. My life is in utter turmoil, not to mention someone appears to be after me. I came here because I had no choice, and I don’t know what to do now.”
“Then come back to Edinburg with Filip and me.”
Elodie was taken aback by his suggestion. “We barely know each other.”
“You doona have to live with me. My sister has an extra room you can use for a wee bit. My point is, you have options.”
“Do I?”
He nodded and moved closer as he took her hand. “Aye, my bonnie lass, you do.”
She linked her fingers with his. Elodie smiled at him. He seemed to really care about her. Why else would he stay with her and ask her to go back to the city with him? “I’ll consider it.”
“I can introduce you to so many people in Edinburgh.”
“Druids, you mean.” And just like that, her happiness dissipated.
Scott shrugged. “You heard Rhona. We’ll figure out your magic.”
“Can we talk about this later? I need to get to Edie,” she lied. She didn’t want to think about her magic—or her lack thereof.
“Of course.”
They walked in silence to her vehicle. Scott stood in the drive and watched her back out.
The trip to Edie’s didn’t take nearly as long as Elodie wanted.
Then again, it wasn’t good to drive when her thoughts were all over the place.
She also didn’t want to run into Trevor.
Thankfully, his vehicle was gone when she pulled up to her sister’s house.
Before she got out, Elodie looked around to see if there was mist or anything else that might attack her.
“Hey,” Edie called from the door. “I saw you drive up.”
Elodie forced a smile as she hurried into the house. “Hope this isn’t a bad time.”
“Not at all. Tea?”
“Please.”
They walked to the modern kitchen. The house was quiet with the children in school and Trevor gone.
Edie laughed. “You don’t realize how much noise kids make until they’re not around.”
“Speaking of the bairns, I have a favor.”
Edie stopped what she was doing and looked at her. “Anything.”
“I…well, there’s no other way to say this. I had unprotected sex. Twice.”
“Ah.” Edie dusted off her hands. “Take off your coat. There may not be a need to do that spell.”
Elodie frowned at her words. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve learned a few things since you’ve been gone,” Edie said with a wink. “One particular spell can determine if someone is pregnant.”
“But this just happened last night.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Elodie shrugged. “Okay. Do whatever you need.”
Her sister placed her hand on Elodie’s stomach. The instant Edie began to mumble the spell, Elodie grew dizzy. She grabbed onto the edge of the island to stay on her feet. Blood rushed through her ears, and sweat covered her body. She was going to be sick.
“All done,” Edie said. “Looks like you got lucky.”
Elodie perched on one of the barstools and nodded. “Thanks.”
“You don’t look well.”
A moment later, her sister set a glass of water before her. Elodie took it with a shaky hand and drank. Gradually, she began to feel better. “Thank you.”
“That spell shouldn’t have made you sick.”
Elodie glanced at her sister. “I’m surprised you’ve not asked why I didn’t do the spell myself.”
“Why would I? I know you can’t do magic.”
“What?” Elodie asked as she jerked her head to her sister, shock making her body rigid.
Edie shrugged. “Why are you so surprised?”
“I never told you.”
“You didn’t have to. I was there.”
Elodie shook her head in disbelief. “Edie, I didn’t lose my magic until I left Skye.”
“No, you lost it here. It’s why you left.”
No. No, that was wrong. Elodie knew the exact moment she’d lost her magic, and she most definitely hadn’t been on Skye. “Why are you saying that?”
“I was with you. We sat up all night as you cried.” Edie’s frown deepened as she studied Elodie. “Don’t you remember? You kept asking me what you were going to do. I told you that plenty of people live on Skye without magic, but you said you couldn’t stay.”
Elodie placed her hands on the cool granite to try and calm her racing heart. “That isn’t how it happened.”
“Why would I lie? I’ll never forget it. It’s the day I lost my sister. I can even tell you what you were wearing.”
“Stop,” Elodie said as she slid off the stool and started toward the door. “Just stop.”
Edie followed her, a deep frown marring her forehead. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m scaring you?” Elodie whirled in astonishment to face her sister. “I know what happened in my life.”
Edie threw up her hands as she came to a halt. “All right. Maybe I misremembered. I’m sorry.”
Elodie searched her sister’s face for a full minute. Then she released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “That’s it. You misremembered.”