Epilogue
Three days later…
When a knock sounded on the door, Scott lowered his book. Elodie put aside her magazine and rose to answer it. He’d been dreading this meeting for the past day. Mostly because he knew their time of peace was coming to an end.
The past couple of days had been locked in meetings for hours with everyone from the other night. They were no closer to finding answers, but with Druids, a Reaper, the Dragon Kings, and the Warriors, they would uncover everything eventually. Scott hoped it was sooner rather than later.
He and Elodie also had a lot of time alone.
She discovered that her fear of Rhona earlier stemmed from her mother’s spell.
Rhona’s station and power could have removed it, and it triggered Elodie to be frightened of Rhona.
It seemed everything that touched her magical while her powers were bound affected her adversely.
Elodie had been testing and relearning her magic, as well.
He had seen her power firsthand, and Scott suspected the dreams she’d had that coincided with the Druid deaths was her magic trying to tell her there was someone dangerous on Skye.
He couldn’t test that theory, but it was the only one that made sense to him.
Scott had taken the opportunity and already began to expand his knowledge of spells. There was so much to learn, and he could barely keep up with everything Elodie taught him. But he wouldn’t want it any other way.
These few days had given him a peek into what his life would be like on Skye.
Scott had never been happier before. The last thing he wanted was to have his past intrude, but it would until he found Kevin’s killer.
He needed that closure for himself and for Filip. Which was one reason for their guest.
“Are you ready for this?” Elodie asked.
Scott shook his head. “Nay, but I’d rather get it over with.”
He pushed to his feet and followed Elodie to the door. She swung it open, her smile not as wide as it would’ve been had she greeted a friend. Not that Scott blamed her. He stepped up beside her and nodded at George. “Elodie, let me introduce you to Georgina Miller. George, this is Elodie MacLeod.”
“I thought our meeting would’ve been in Edinburgh,” George stated with a slight bite to her words.
Scott parted his lips to reply, but Elodie beat him to it. “Things change.”
“What of your father and sister?” George asked him.
Ire rankled Scott, but he held it in check. “I’ve already spoken to them.”
George’s attention shifted to Elodie, where the two stared at each other for a long minute.
This was Elodie’s home, after all. She would decide whether George would be invited inside or not.
And at the moment, Scott was inclined to shut the door in George’s face.
But Rhona had wanted to meet her. It was a step Scott had never thought would happen.
The fact that George didn’t seem to understand the importance—or relevance—of any of it wasn’t lost on him.
Finally, George’s deep brown eyes returned to Scott. “You seem to have come out the other side of this just fine.”
“If you consider being attacked, kidnapped, and held in a frozen mountain fine, then I suppose I have,” he replied coolly.
She blinked, surprise flickering in her eyes. “You’ve never spoken to me like that before.”
“Perhaps it’s because of the way you’re speaking to us right now.”
George had the good grace to look ashamed. “I apologize. I expected things to be one way, and instead, it’s been flipped around completely.”
“Par for the course,” Scott replied.
George nodded, silently waiting.
“Please, come in,” Elodie said as she opened the door wider.
After George had walked past, Scott glanced at Elodie. She shot him a small smile, letting him know she was good. They brought George to the front room, and Elodie parted her lips to speak, only George beat her to it.
“I know who’s been killing the Druids in Edinburgh,” she stated.
Scott was taken aback by the news. “Have you told Rhona yet?”
“I stopped here first.” George’s dark eyes then landed on Elodie.
Scott frowned. Something was amiss. “Who is it?”
George never took her eyes off Elodie as she said, “Elias.”
“I don’t like it,” Balladyn replied heatedly.
Rhona sat with him on the sofa, their legs and feet intertwined. A movie played on the television, but neither paid it any attention. “I know. Me, either.”
“Then why do this?”
“Because it’s time the Druids stop being a hundred different factions. We need to band together. We have to learn from history. The only way we’ll survive is by becoming one group.”
Balladyn snorted as he ran his fingers through the length of her hair. “And this George is the answer?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” This was the same conversation she’d had with herself. “Scott and Filip both think a lot of her. You’re the one who told me to give her organization a chance.”
“Nay, I didn’t,” Balladyn corrected her. “I said Scott wanted us to give them a chance.”
She shifted her head to look at him. “You like Scott.”
“I do. That doesn’t mean every decision he makes is a good one.”
Rhona sighed as she took his large hand in hers. “Druids are dying. I have to do something.”
“We agree on that.”
“You’ve not even met George yet.”
Balladyn raised a black brow. “Tell me you’re not irked that she rescheduled.”
“She probably had a valid reason.”
“Putting off meeting the leader of the most powerful group of Druids on this realm doesn’t ingratiate someone.”
Rhona was a little irritated, but she was trying not to let it color her view of George, which was already stained by the fact that she led a group of Druid Others.
“That’s what I thought,” Balladyn replied.
Rhona teasingly elbowed him. “We’re going to keep an open mind. We’ve gotten nowhere over the past few days trying to figure out who could’ve used the Red Hills.”
“I really thought it was Kerry.”
She grunted. “I admit, I did, too. It would make sense that she’d want revenge. But…we went straight to her. Like she said, if it was her, she would’ve used somewhere different.”
“I’m not convinced she’s not somehow involved.”
“Which is why she’s being monitored.” Rhona winked at him.
Balladyn grinned. “Aye.”
Rhona sobered as her thoughts turned to what kept her up at night. “You and I both know it’s only a matter of time before more Druids die.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right.”
“I wish Corann were still leading us.”
Balladyn pulled her against him as he kissed her temple. “You’re doing a great job, sweetheart. You should believe in yourself as much as I do.”
Rhona wished she could, but she constantly second-guessed herself. It wasn’t just her life on the line—it was everyone on Skye. And that was a tremendous amount of pressure.
“We’ll figure it out,” he told her.
“And?” she pushed.
He sighed dramatically. “And I promise to give George a chance.”
She settled her head back on his shoulder, but her smile quickly faded. Balladyn’s words carried weight, but also because she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that had only grown larger with every passing minute since George’s arrival.
Edie stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Outside the door, the kids argued over something trivial.
Trevor was on his computer, ignoring them.
She gripped the counter tightly, the urge to throw her head back and scream tempting.
She tried to drown out the children. Everything irritated her lately. But she knew the reason—her siblings.
Since Elias’s arrival, Edie had noticed a marked change in Elodie.
The biggest being that her sister’s magic had returned.
No matter how many times she asked, Elodie wouldn’t give her a straight answer as to how or when it had returned.
She simply kept saying that it’d just come back. But Edie knew that was shite.
Something had happened between her siblings that neither would admit to. And Edie wasn’t stupid. She saw it. But this wasn’t the first time her brother and sister had thought they were keeping a secret from her.
Dreagan
“I have to go,” Esther told Nikolai.
He held her gaze. “Henry isna here. You and your brother are a team.”
“I know that,” she snapped. Esther paused and blew out a breath. “I’m sorry for my tone, but he’s the one who left for Zora. He said something was drawing him there. Nothing I said could have stopped him. We work in tandem, but he doesn’t seem to care.”
Nikolai took her hands in his. “You willna be going to Skye alone.”
She didn’t argue with him. Not because it was futile, but because she wanted him with her.
She and Henry were from a long line of Druid enforcers.
There were always two. A TruthSeeker and a JusticeBringer.
She was the TruthSeeker. Esther didn’t know how things would work with only one of them, but she knew something big was happening with the Druids.
She had felt it right after Henry had gone through the Fae doorway to Zora.
At first, she’d thought she’d just imagined it because Henry had left. Now, she could no longer ignore what her instincts were telling her. As someone who could track down and stop dangerous Druids, she had no choice but to do her duty.
“I can have someone alert Henry,” Nikolai offered.
Esther smiled up at her Dragon King. “That won’t be necessary. I can handle this.”
MacLeod Castle
Sonya paced the great hall. Every Druid at the castle had tried to reach out to the Ancients, but no one had gotten a response. The trees kept repeating the same warning to Sonya—Danger.
Evangeline and Gwynn entered the castle. Sonya halted and looked at them expectantly.
“The stones just told me to be careful,” Evie said.
Gwynn sighed. “There’s an urgency to the wind, but I can’t get anything else from it.”
Sonya turned to look at the other Druids sitting in the hall. “Someone’s targeting our people, and we’re no closer to discovering who it is. The Ancients sent that one-drum warning, which only raised more questions.”
“I think we only have one alternative,” Cara said. She looked around at the others. “But we can’t do it and stay hidden here at the same time.”
Saffron shrugged. “In my opinion, we only have one choice.”
“We fight,” Marcail replied.
The others nodded in agreement.