CHAPTER EIGHTEEN –Sloan–
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
–Sloan–
WHILE I LOATHED every step that brought Willow closer to Dugal and Elspet, I could admit I was remarkably proud of her.
Not only for the way she interacted with my people, who took to her as easily as I had so long ago, but because of her courage.
Despite facing the possibility of shifting again and wearing the entire gem over her dragon’s heart that would change everything, she was willing to do it for my, our, people, and I respected her a great deal for it.
Heading for the king and doing whatever he commanded, even if it meant losing her to Dugal, should have been something I committed to from the beginning for the sake of king and country, but it was beyond me.
Beyond what I was capable of when it came to the mere thought of letting her go.
I wasn't sure I could do it, even if I had no other choice. I protected those who mattered most, not just for Scotland here and now, but Scotland’s future.
So giving her to a monster went against everything I stood for.
And Dugal was every bit the monster he was yesterday, so I prayed it didn’t come to that. All I could do now was stay by her side and be there if she needed me. And pray that was enough.
When our retinue slowed ahead, I thought we had intercepted the king sooner than expected until I heard swords clashing and realized we were under attack. I swung down from my horse and pulled Willow after me moments before an arrow whizzed by our heads.
“I know you said as much back in New Hampshire, but do you truly remember what I taught you about defending yourself?” I asked Willow within the mind, unsheathing the Viking blade and keeping her cushioned between me and the horse while scanning the area, trying to figure out which direction the attack was coming from.
All I knew was it had to be the Sutherlands.
I just couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t sensed them sooner because we were still on MacLeod land.
“I do remember how to defend myself.” Willow pulled out the blade I had given her earlier. “No worries.”
But I did worry, and with good reason, it seemed, when three sizable warriors emerged out of the woodland.
“Stay behind me, lass,” I ordered, praying she listened as I faced off with the men, not bothering to look for the warriors traveling with us because they were a ways off fighting.
“Who are ye?” I growled, knowing better than to flash my dragon eyes until I knew what clan they were from, because they weren’t wearing Sutherland colors, and if possible, dragons were to remain discreet. “Because ye’ve ambushed the king’s men on MacLeod land.”
They didn’t bother answering, only eyed Willow with a little too much interest before attacking.
I might not be Lucas, but I could more than hold my own, especially when defending my mate.
So I swung the mighty Viking sword and clashed blades with two men at once, keeping an eye on the third who was trying to figure out a way around me to get to Willow.
“The two I’m fighting are a distraction so the third can get to you, Willow,” I warned her within the mind as the men came at me harder, creating sparks as our blades crashed against one another in the blustery, cold forest. “This is a well-orchestrated ambush, so keep your blade at the ready because I dinnae doubt they’re here for you. ”
“Yet they’re not wearing Sutherland colors,” she pointed out. “So what are we thinking? Hired thugs to make it seem like the Sutherlands aren’t trying to steal me out from beneath the king’s nose?”
“’Tis possible.” I blocked one sword and thrust a dagger at the other, catching him in the thigh. “Whoever they are, they fight well, so I’m leaning toward them being Sutherlands with no dragon blood.”
“And what about them?” she wondered.
There was a frown in her internal voice, and with good reason, because several more warriors had just appeared out of nowhere.
It was more than a little alarming, if I were being honest, when I couldn’t get through to Broderick, hoping he’d send backup, because that meant we were way too close to Sutherland land.
There had once been grey areas that prevented long-distance telepathy between dragons, but those areas were rare, and my understanding was that Aunt Chara had addressed them years ago.
“Or Elspet has her bony fingers in this somehow,” Willow said, warning me to watch out as a fourth man rushed me, leaving Willow vulnerable. “Remember, she was messing around with our tree, trying to access its magic.”
She was, and that made more sense than my theory, given I was almost certain gray areas didn’t exist anymore.
When more and more warriors rushed my way, the man focused on Willow shot past me, and even though she did well holding her own with a sword, we were going to be in real trouble if we didn’t get help soon.
“Can you access the Morrow?” I wondered, pretty much knowing the answer before I asked, given the tree wasn’t here. Yet her dragon had accessed it in the sky and delivered us to the MacLeod battlement, so maybe it was possible.
“I don’t think so.” She ducked beneath the blade swung at her and cleverly used a nearby tree to stay one step ahead of her opponent.
“I’m not sure what I did last time other than try to protect you, so maybe it’ll kick in soon because there are far too many of them, Sloan, and they seem determined to kill you rather than take you prisoner. ”
“’Twill be all right,” I assured when I heard her inner voice wobble with fear, not for herself but for me. I punched an oncoming warrior in the gut, spun, and side-kicked another before clashing blades yet again. “If need be, I’ll embrace my dragon and be done with this lot.”
“Need be?” She tripped the man trying to catch her and sliced her blade across his Achilles tendon, making him cry out in anguish and disabling him from walking, let alone fighting. “I think we’re pretty much there, don’t you?”
She was right because I was fighting too many warriors now, and several had slipped past me and were pursuing her, so I swung my blade one last time, roared, and embraced my dragon...or at least I tried.
“What is it?” Sensing something was wrong, Willow glanced in my direction as she was being driven back against a tree while parrying with one of two warriors.
“I cannae shift,” I fumed, as my inner beast struggled, desperate to surface and protect its mate, its fury only growing as I was knicked by a dagger. “Bloody Hell,” I roared. “Something is blocking it!”
Another warrior rushed at her, but she spun away just in time. “Who has that kind of power?”
“The only person I know of when she’s on her own land is Elspet Sutherland,” I groused, sensing foul play because I couldn’t even access my dragon magic.
“I thought we were still on MacLeod land, though?”
Regrettably, answering her became impossible even telepathically as I focused and tried fending off far too many warriors, and I felt her fear for me spike.
That’s when I realized with horror exactly what was going on.
“Dinnae shift!” I roared aloud, but it was too late. My life was on the line, and her inner beast was having none of it, so she was coming to my rescue.
And that was precisely what Elspet wanted.
Willow’s dragon had protected me once, so she wouldn’t hesitate to do so again, which to my mind more than proved we were fated mates. Yet as Willow’s magnificent amber dragon emerged and roared at the warriors battling me, my heart sank all over again.
While I had prayed her gorgeous beast was using deceptive magic on us, now I was starting to think otherwise. If it were, it was pulling away from me rather than proving we were mates. How else could it be, considering her dragon had three-quarters of a gem over her heart now rather than just half?
“Holy hell,” I cursed under my breath when I sensed Willow about to roar fire at the men I'd been fighting to drive them away from me, but something, or someone, got to them first, and they began magically dropping like flies.
Some grasped their throat as if being strangled by an unseen force, while others simply fell to their knees, then to their deaths.
“What’s happening, Sloan?” Willow said, confused. “I was only trying to drive them off until we figured out who they were. I wasn’t going to kill them unless I had no choice.”
“’Tis all right, lass.” I rested my hand against her haunch, trying to calm her beast. “You arenae doing this.”
She had no chance to respond before we heard horses drawing closer.
“Shift back, Willow,” I warned, having seen the trap coming. “’Tis Elspet.”
“How do I do that again, exactly?” she wondered. “I have no clue how I did it the first time.”
“You need to focus on your inner human,” I counseled, “and you need to do it fast.” I looked from her chest to her eyes, and my own dragon eyes flared in warning to heed me right away. “Elspet set us up, and there's every chance her plan will work.”
She peered down at her chest in confusion, her pupils flaring in what seemed genuine distress. “Why is it only bigger? And how could she know...”
“I couldnae say, but we will face this together.” I kept my hand resting on her. “You have my word, mate.”
“Am I though?” she worried softly, peering at me again. “Am I your fated mate, Sloan, because this seems to be saying otherwise?”
“You are,” I assured her. “Mark my words, there is deception going on here, and we will get to the bottom of it, but please, Willow, you must shift back before she arrives.”
Fortunately, after seemingly focusing inward, she shifted almost effortlessly. Yet, it wasn’t quite in time.
Worse yet?
Our enemy wasn’t alone.