Chapter 31
“Elodie,” her mother beckoned. “It’s going to be all right.”
Someone was screaming. Her mother’s eyes were filled with fear, but her voice was oddly soft. Elodie tried to concentrate on her mum’s face, but she couldn’t focus. A headache started behind her eyes, the kind she always got when she was sick, and her eyesight changed.
She tried to look past her mother, but her mum held her face firmly.
“Elodie, I promise. And I’ve never broken a promise to you.”
Elodie’s eyes snapped open as the last word reverberated in her mind. She struggled to cling to the dream. Her mother’s face disappeared from her mind’s eye, but not her voice. Elodie could still hear it clearly.
She sat, shoving her hair from her face. She had fallen asleep in her clothes. It took her a moment to remember what had happened. When she recalled Scott’s confession, all the anger and hurt returned. She had retreated to her room in the hopes of keeping away from Scott and Filip.
Elodie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.
She walked out of her room to the hallway and listened, but she didn’t hear the guys.
She had told them to leave. Now, she wondered if that had been such a good idea.
She thought of the mist and how she had no way of protecting herself.
But the deed was done. She was alone, just as she wanted.
She made her way to the kitchen and looked out the window to see that dusk had fallen. Elodie rubbed her tired eyes. The cottage was too quiet. It felt huge now that Scott wasn’t around.
The rub of it all was that she wanted to talk to Scott. How could she now, though? He’d had an ulterior motive in everything he’d done and said. Whatever trust had been there was gone. His admission had seen to that. Her feelings…she shook her head. She couldn’t think about that right now.
Even though she knew Scott could’ve kept pretending instead of admitting everything, it was hard to give him any credit.
Because, once again, he’d had a motive. That hurt the most. She had thought there was something real between them.
The blame for that lay on her shoulders.
She was the one who’d finally felt something.
She should’ve known not to let herself be drawn in by that, but it had been impossible not to.
And she was sure Scott had felt something, too. Or maybe he was just that good of an actor. It didn’t matter what answer he gave her, she wouldn’t believe him.
Elodie rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She walked through the cottage, room by room, feeling the emptiness of the house like never before.
It was almost as if the ghosts of the past had retreated, as well.
She halted before the fire. A fresh log had been placed in it, and someone had stocked more wood.
It was the first time she had been alone in the house since Scott and Filip had given her the quote.
Elodie didn’t know what to make of the feelings churning through her.
She had always liked her company over that of others. It’d never bothered her to be alone. Now, however, she longed to feel Scott’s gaze, to hear his deep voice, and to see his dark blue eyes. She ached to feel his comforting arms around her.
Her mobile rang, the sound shattering the silence and startling her.
Her heart pounded from the adrenaline as she hurried to her room where she had her phone charging.
She fumbled with it until she had it in her hand.
When she finally had it gripped, she looked at the screen to see who was calling, only to see Unknown Number.
For a moment, she hesitated, wondering if she should answer it.
She decided she was being silly. It was just a call. What could happen over the phone?
“Hello?” she asked.
The silence that greeted her sent a chill skating down her spine.
“Hello?” Elodie repeated.
The line went dead.
Elodie pulled the mobile from her face and looked at it.
Who had blocked their number? Maybe it was just a wrong number.
Or perhaps the connection was bad, and they hadn’t heard her.
Whatever the cause, she wouldn’t let it freak her out.
The house had enough ghosts already. She didn’t need to add another one.
Unable to help herself, Elodie went to the front of the house and looked out a window.
Filip’s SUV was gone. Scott and Filip had promised not to leave her alone because of the attacks, but she had also told them that she didn’t want them near her.
It wasn’t as if she could be angry they had done exactly as she’d demanded.
Except Filip was supposed to continue the repairs.
Though, it was evening. He couldn’t be expected to work all day.
She let the curtain drop back into place and turned around.
Night was falling quickly. She could gather a few things and head to Edie’s, but the same argument she’d had to begin with about not wanting to bring anything to her sister’s family remained.
It wasn’t as if Elodie had funds to rent a room somewhere for the night.
Besides, that would leave her in the same quandary the following night. And the one after that.
“I’m an adult,” she said aloud. “I can do this. The cottage is warded. It kept the mist out before.”
Her head swung to the side as she looked into the front room where the fire crackled.
She would have to make sure it didn’t go out.
If she had magic, she would’ve used a spell to ensure it didn’t.
She wondered if perhaps Scott or Filip had used such a spell.
Her fingers hovered over the phone as she contemplated texting to ask.
“No.”
She lowered her cell. It was time she did something on her own—past time, actually. She had leaned on others enough since returning to Skye. She was supposed to face the past, not ignore it as she had been.
The hardest part had been admitting that she no longer had her magic.
Now that others knew, the only thing left for her to do was go into her parents’ room.
It wasn’t as if blood still covered the walls.
It had been cleaned, and everything within replaced.
The only thing that remained were the memories, the aftershocks of that horrible day that continued to ripple through time.
Edie had managed to get past it. For all she knew, so had Elias.
As for her mum, Elodie knew it was time to see her.
Facing the past meant facing everything.
It was going to be difficult, but she would get through it.
Somehow. As she had done with everything else in her life.
By just putting one foot in front of the other.
Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in a while. Elodie walked to the kitchen and toasted some bread. She found some sausages in the fridge that Scott had bought and heated those in the microwave. It wasn’t much of a meal, but it was sustenance.
The quiet of the house unsettled her more than the memories of the past. Elodie put on some music through her phone, but she skipped every song that came on.
Some of her favorite ones she didn’t want to hear.
Finally, she gave up and turned off the app to finish her meal in silence.
Only after she had cleaned up did she find herself staring at her cell again.
She needed to talk to someone, and she knew exactly who she wanted to speak with.
Elodie went to her contacts and scrolled through until she found her brother’s name with his information she had gotten from her sister.
Her finger hovered over Elias’s number for several seconds before she got up the nerve to press the icon to call.
She hated how her hand shook as she lifted the phone to her ear.
It rang three times. Just as she was about to hang up, the line connected.
“Hello?” asked a deep voice on the other end.
Her eyes closed and filled with tears. She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed to hear from her big brother. “Elias?”
“Elodie?” She heard surprise in his voice.
Tears slipped down her cheeks. It took her two tries to talk. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself. I’m glad to hear from you.”
She sniffed and sank into a chair at the table. There was no stopping the tears now. She blinked open her eyes. “You’ll never believe where I am.”
“Last Edie told me, you were in Edinburgh.”
“I’m on Skye. In the cottage.”
There was a long beat of silence. “Are you alone?”
His question made her frown. “I am. Why?”
“Why no’ stay with Edie?”
“Because I don’t want to be a burden. I’m getting the house ready to sell. I assume Edie told you about that.”
Another pause. “She didna.”
“Oh.” Shite. Elodie didn’t want to cause a fight between her siblings, and she really needed the money. “The place is in bad shape. None of us took care of it. Not that I blame Edie. She has her family. We just thought it was time.”
“I’m no’ averse to selling.”
But there was a problem. That was obvious. “That’s good.” She swallowed, trying to think of something to say. “Do you think you might come for a visit while I’m here? It’s been a long time since we’ve all seen each other.”
“Why no’ come see me?”
“I…well, I suppose I could.” Her thoughts raced with details about the repairs on the cottage. And Scott.
“That would be better.”
Something in his words caught her attention. “Why would that be better?”
“The timing of everything. Come tomorrow.”
Unease shifted through her. “Why the hurry? And what about Edie?”
“As you said, we’ve no’ seen each other. It would be good to catch up. I’m sure Edie could use a little time away, too.”
Her gut was telling her that Elias was lying about something—or at the very least omitting. Then it hit her. “You don’t want me in the cottage.”
“I didna say that,” he answered.
Elodie wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks. “I just wanted to hear my brother’s voice. I know you kept in touch with Edie, but not me. I didn’t exactly reach out to you either. Returning to Skye made me realize that I need to face the past.”
“Nay!”
His bellow shocked her. Elodie’s growing frown deepened. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Elodie,” Elias said more calmly. “The past is done. It tore our family apart. Why would you want to go back to it?”
“Because my life has been hell. I want a fresh start, and I don’t think I can do that until I face things. Coming to Skye was just the start. I’m tired of being weighed down by everything. You and Edie managed to get by, but I haven’t.”
Elias snorted loudly. “Who said I was good?”
“Are you?” she asked in a soft voice.
“We’ve all dealt with that day in our own way.”
“You went away. You abandoned me when I needed you the most.”
Elias signed. “I know. I’m sorry. That’s all I can say. I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know. But I had to leave. If I didna…”
“I understand.” And she did. After all, she’d left Edie behind.
“I should’ve done better to keep in touch,” he said after a moment.
Elodie smiled, even though he couldn’t see her. “Me, too. Can we change that?”
“I’d like that. A lot. I meant it about you coming tomorrow.”
She looked around the kitchen. She didn’t like being in the cottage. Especially alone. Then there was Scott. She didn’t want to see him, either. On top of that were the attacks directed at her.
“Elodie?”
“Before I say yes, you should know a couple of things.”
“I’m listening.”
She drew in a deep breath. “My magic is gone. And Druids are being killed on Skye. Some believe I’m being targeted.”
“Bloody hell!” Elias bellowed. “You should’ve called me straight away. Get Edie there with you right now.”
Elodie winced at the alarm in his voice. “Calm down. The cottage has been warded—by Druids, Rhona, and even Balladyn.”
“The Reaper on Skye?”
Obviously, Elias kept up with what was happening on the island. “The very same.”
“Elodie, I need you to listen to me. Doona trust anyone that isna me, Edie, Rhona, or Balladyn.”
Her thoughts immediately slid to Scott. “Why?”
“I’ll tell you everything when I get there. Doona let anyone else inside the house.”
“Um…that might be an issue. I hired someone to repair things around here.”
She could hear Elias moving stuff around through his end of the phone. “Who?”
“Filip Gordan, and his friend from Edinburgh, Scott Ryan.”
“Doona let them in the house again. Do you understand?” Elias bit out.
“Scott saved me, though.”
“Elodie. Did you hear me?” her brother barked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The call disconnected.
Elodie placed the phone on the table as a shiver went through her.