Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Merrill ate while furtively watching Katla . Her stomach had rumbled when he sliced the bird, but she’d said nothing about being hungry before. She didn’t devour the meat. She savored each bite like it was her first taste, then went back for seconds and even thirds.
“ You nearly didna eat when I brought the deer back for you and the bairns,” he said. “ Was it the animal?”
Katla licked her lips and lifted her gray eyes to meet his. “ It didn’t have to do with the animal. It was more about me. Once Villette visited, I wasn’t hungry or thirsty. It wasn’t until after I left the valley that I experienced hunger. At first, I didn’t realize what it was. I had forgotten that sensation—and many others. It wasn’t until the children that I recognized my need for sustenance.”
“ With berries?” he asked, his brows raised.
She wrinkled her nose. “ That was easy. It meant I didn’t have to hunt.”
Now , he understood. “ Because it’s a reminder of the past.”
“ My hunting of your kind.” She turned pensive as her gaze slid to the fire. “ It hit too close to home for me.”
“ You would’ve done what was needed for the bairns.”
A small smile curved her lips at the mention of the children. She looked at him. “ Aye , I would’ve. Thank you for both meals.”
“ You’re welcome. What is the bird called?” he asked.
“ I know it as a porunea.”
“ Porunea ,” he said, testing the word on his tongue. “ Other than the color of its feathers, it looks similar to grouse on my realm.”
That got her attention. “ Are there many differences between our worlds?”
“ As many as there are similarities.”
“ Tell me,” she urged.
Her words were soft, curiosity winding through her voice. It glittered in her stormy eyes. She didn’t look at him as if he were a wounded animal who needed to be handled with caution. She didn’t treat him as if he were broken—when, in fact, he was.
Maybe beyond repair.
Each time she talked about the past, she retreated, her walls rising around her. She carried guilt and a wealth of blame that caused her to withdraw. But now, seeing her lit up from within took his breath away. He would talk for eternity, telling her anything she wanted to know, if only that look remained. He would break down every molecule between the worlds if it meant keeping her shining.
He had the chance to make her happy, and he would give it to her. “ Where shall I begin?”
“ Anywhere .” Her brows drew together. “ Though I don’t know much about my own world.”
That statement made her face darken as she traveled down the path to the past. She had spent enough time there, and he was partly to blame because he had asked her to return to those memories. But it was time she moved on. At least, for now.
“ You know enough. How about I start with the Druids ?” he offered.
The interest returned to her eyes as her entire body perked up. “ I would like that.”
“ Henry can only sense other Druids , but dragons can recognize more than Druids .”
“ What does magic feel like?”
“ No one has ever asked me to describe it before. Let me see if I can put it into words.” Merrill searched for the right descriptive expression as he beckoned her magic close. “ It weaves a silken, fluid thread that is both subtle and robust.”
She was silent as her eyes lowered to the floor. “ I wouldn’t have used such words for my abilities.”
“ Call it what it is, lass. Magic . What would you have used?”
“ Dangerous . Disturbing . Unstable .”
He wondered if she was talking about herself and not her powers. “ Do you fear your magic?”
She shrugged and looked at him. “ I know what you said before, but I don’t think it’s mine. How can I trust it when it comes from Villette ?”
“ I’m no’ sure Villette could give you something you didna already have. She might have woken your powers, however.”
Katla’s dark brows drew together. “ Woken ?”
“ You could have been spelled for them to remain dormant forever or until the magic was needed. There are many scenarios. Many Druids on Earth are unaware of their abilities. Some bloodlines are diluted, so the magic doesna show up as it once did. Unless they’re around other Druids , a person wouldna know what to look for. Nor do we know where you came from.”
She lowered her legs to sit cross-legged. “ You mean not even the dragons know where the babies brought here hail from?”
“ We doona even know who it is transporting the bairns to Zora .”
“ Which means I could’ve been taken from anywhere.”
Merrill nodded. “ Exactly .”
“ If the first mortals brought to your world were Druids , then every human is descended from them and, therefore, a Druid .”
“ But no’ everyone has magic. Those first Druids on Earth didna have any. It’s why they were chosen. However , as more humans were born on Earth , some had magic. They were drawn to each other, and a particular place called the Isle of Skye .”
Her lips softened into a half-grin. “ It sounds magical.”
“ It is. I’m partial to the place because it’s part of Scotland .”
“ Your home. I remember,” she said. “ You say its name reverently. Same with Dreagan .”
He put his elbow on his knee and flattened his hand against his head. “ The magic of the realm is centered at Dreagan . It’s why we chose the location as our central location. It might be what makes Scotland —and the Highlands in particular—so ruggedly beautiful. The gray rock peeking through the towering, green mountains and the rolling glens. Waterfalls at every turn. Some huge, some small, but all breathtaking. Forests that beg to be explored. And lochs deep and wide enough to hide even the largest of my kind.”
“ Lochs ?” she asked.
“ What you call lakes.”
“ I think I like loch.”
She smiled, and he found his lips quirking at the corners. “ And that’s just the Highlands . Around the wild coastlines of my homeland are pristine beaches and water in colors you wouldna believe existed. The isles, like Skye , are a treasure trove even more picturesque. Then there are the people. We Scots stand apart from other cultures with our love of tartans, bagpipes, and whisky.”
“ Is a tartan a food?”
Merrill could have described it for her, but he decided to show her instead. He held out his palm and called his magic to create a ten-by-ten-inch plaid square. Her eyes widened as she crawled closer for a better look. She tentatively touched the red and yellow material accented with green.
“ It’s so colorful.”
He handed her the fabric. “ Each clan chooses a different tartan. That’s how mortals recognize members of other clans. In the old days, there were even different patterns for hunting and special occasions.”
“ And bagpipes are?”
“ An instrument.”
She looked from the tartan in her hands to him. “ Can you show me?”
“ They’re better heard than seen, but they’re loud. You either love or hate the sound.”
“ You love it?”
He nodded as he thought back to walking through Edinburgh and hearing the pipes play. “ Verra much so.”
“ What about whisky?” she asked eagerly.
“ Now , that I can show you.” He produced a bottle of Dreagan whisky and two glasses.
“ A drink?” she asked, regarding the bottle. She ran her finger over the double-headed dragon logo and then lifted her gaze to him. “ Dreagan . Does the word mean dragon?”
“ It does, indeed. It’s from the ancient language of the Celts . Whisky is favored among the mortals. We make this particular brand, but there are hundreds of different kinds.”
Katla pointed at the label. “ You call your whisky dragon and even put dragons on the bottle. Do humans still not know what you are?”
“ They doona have a clue. And that’s how we want it.” He unscrewed the cap and poured a splash into a glass before handing it to her. He cautioned, “ Sip it. It’s strong.”
She brought the tumbler to her mouth and inhaled. “ It smells good.”
“ It tastes even better, though some claim it’s an acquired taste.” He raised his tumbler to her and then drank.
Katla watched him before she tipped the glass back and wet her lips.
“ Let it sit in your mouth for a moment to feel the texture,” he urged
The moment she swallowed, her face creased, and she gave a little cough. “ It’s strong, but I like it.”
“ It’s perfect on a cold, wet night.”
She studied the tartan in one hand and sipped the whisky with the other. “ How else is our world different?”
“ We only have one moon, while you have two. Also , while Zora is younger, I am surprised you’re no’ more technologically advanced.”
Her head snapped up. “ I don’t understand that word.”
“ People on Zora move from place to place either on foot, by cart, boat, or horse.”
“ If you say so.”
He took another drink. “ On Earth , we have other options. Cars , trains, buses, and planes. Electricity runs everywhere, lighting people’s homes as well as cooling and heating them. You can use computers to look up anything you want to know and find the answer. Devices we carry in our pockets can call anyone on Earth .”
“ I don’t know what any of that means, but I want to know. It all sounds incredible. There are really things that cool and heat a home?”
“ There are. Did I forget to mention plumbing that brings in fresh water to bathe and wash clothes?”
She gave a small shake of her head. “ That’s incredible. I wish we had some of that.”
“ You might have, but I think the culprit preventing that is Villette . She kept cities in conflict and displaced people to keep them focused on food and surviving each day rather than improving their lives.”
“ Another reason she needs to pay.”
Merrill tossed back the rest of his whisky before pouring more. “ It’s just a guess.”
“ You’re probably right. It goes with everything else she’s done.”
“ That’s why you and I will stop her.”
Katla looked at him over the rim of her glass, then sipped. “ We ?”
“ Who better? You no’ only survived her, you fought against her.”
Katla shrugged one shoulder. “ I didn’t win.”
“ You survived. That’s more than most can say. You’ve stood against two Star People ,” he stated.
She lowered her gaze to the tumbler. “ I didn’t know that’s what Miena was.”
“ How did you get away from her? More importantly, how did you destroy the tower?”
“ Good question. I don’t think I would’ve done anything had I been in there alone. I reacted to the threat to the children.” She inhaled and lifted her head. “ I felt their terror the moment I entered the tower. When I saw Miena , I knew she intended to do them harm. A wave of fury washed over me when she started toward us. I held up my hand to stop her, and everything happened all at once. A ripple of magic shot from my hand that swelled to surround us. I saw her fly backward right as a bright light flashed. There was a loud rumble, and then we were standing together just as we had been in the tower, except we were in the forest.”
Merrill swirled the whisky, wishing he had witnessed the interaction. He suspected it was all Katla , but he had to ask. “ Was it all your magic, or did the bairns help?”
“ If any of the children did anything, they didn’t realize it.”
“ That’s why you were eyeing the tower. You wanted to see the damage.”
She laid the tartan on her leg and smoothed her hand over it. “ I was happy to see it damaged so thoroughly.”
“ I’d say it was more than damaged. The top is completely gone.”
“ Too bad the entire thing didn’t come down.” Her shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug. “ We might have gotten away, but I didn’t hurt Miena . I merely threw her back.”
Merrill shrugged as he shifted to get more comfortable. “ I disagree. The fact that she wasna able to get to you says a lot. Besides , you hurt Villette .”
“ I can’t take credit for that. It was a combined effort with your friends.”
“ I know you walked up to her and took her by the head. A bright light was described there, too. Which also took you to another place. Maybe you wanted to be away from the valley just as you wanted to get the bairns from the tower.”
Katla sighed. “ I was angry then, too. I turned that vengeance on Villette . I really thought I could kill her. It’s why I went after her myself.”
“ What did Kora tell you about Derek ?”
“ That Villette was using him.”
“ Did she also tell you that Villette shared some of her magic with him?”
Katla stilled and stared at him for a long moment. “ You know that for sure?”
“ I do. I saw Derek go up against Miena . He was able to stand his ground with her because he had Star magic. You hurting Villette is proof that you have some, as well.”
“ Villette had to know I might turn against her. Why would she give me the power if it could harm her?”
“ Control ,” Merrill said. “ Villette never intended for you to discover the truth. Because for all her planning, she couldna have foreseen Melisse entering the vines or Henry going after her.”
“ I don’t want her magic. How do I get rid of it?”
“ You can no’. Think of it this way. It could be how we exact justice.”