Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Ro, honey? Did you hear me?”
Rowen peeked through the blinds and watched Mason and Ferne drive away. “I’m listening.”
“You don’t sound like it. What’s going on?”
Too much, but she didn’t want to get into it with her mom. At least, not yet. She needed to sit with it more before she discussed it with anyone.
“Ro, you’re scaring me.”
She grimaced at the rising tone of her mom’s voice.
“Nothing bad has happened, Mom. Promise. I’m still getting used to things here.
There’s a lot to absorb. There is so much about the Druids here that is similar to us, but twice as many things that are different.
The Skye Druids retained and maintained traditions we lost.”
“And a handsome guy is staying in the cottage with you,” her mom pointed out.
Rowen fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. “I never should’ve told you that part.”
“Which? That he’s handsome, or that you’re living together?”
“We’re not living-living together. It’s a temporary arrangement. We’re just roommates.”
“Mm-hmm. Sure,” her mother teased. “By the way, I did a little search on Mason.”
Mortification burned through Rowen. “Oh, god. No. Please, don’t. I can’t handle your description of him.” Her voice cracked with desperate hope that her mother hadn’t pieced together that Mason was an actual earl.
A pause hung in the air, quiet and telling.
The next time Maris spoke, her words were soft, but serious.
“It’s okay to let yourself love, sweetheart.
Not every relationship will work out. They aren’t supposed to.
They’re meant to teach you what you like and don’t like.
What you need and don’t need. So that when you do meet The One, you’ll know. ”
They’d had this conversation since Rowen was fourteen. She had thought things might change by now, but they hadn’t. And they never would. “I know.”
“Do you? Because I’m not sure you do.”
“I promise, I do.” It was just that she couldn’t allow herself to love anyone. She had tried too many times, and the outcome was always the same. She couldn’t stand seeing another angry or miserable expression on a man’s face.
Even though she had seen it on Mason’s face a short time ago. She shouldn’t have kissed him. What had she been thinking? Now, everything between them would be strained and uncomfortable. All because she’d had to know what his kiss was like.
A loud sigh came through the line. “Not every man is going to be like your father. There are assholes, sure, and there’s no getting around that, but there are good men, too.”
Rowen couldn’t take another, You’ll find the right guy when it’s time talk, especially not now. “I’m really tired, Mom. I’ll check in tomorrow. Okay?”
“All right, honey. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
Rowen ended the call and let her arm fall to the side. The phone tumbled from her hand, and for a long time, she simply lay there, staring at the ceiling as her thoughts returned again and again to the kiss. That unforgettable, soul-stirring, toe-curling, go-weak-in-the-knees kiss.
Tentatively, she touched her lips, remembering the way his tongue had teased them apart before mapping the contours of her mouth as if he were memorizing it. She had been lost at the first meeting of their lips.
And every lingering press of his mouth had unraveled her further, deliberate and devastating in its tenderness.
She had felt his longing. It was the same need that burned through her. It had been in his gaze even before their lips touched. Then in his kiss, and his touch afterward. The world had melted away, leaving just the two of them—and a passion so intense that it had scorched everything around them.
Her body ached to be cradled in his arms once more, to feel the hard length of his body pressed against hers, his thick arousal between them.
To lose herself in the heat of his kiss, the sweep of his hands.
She groaned, recalling how he’d touched her as if she were both precious and necessary.
Like the world itself might stop spinning if he let go.
Maybe she had always known he would affect her so, but she hadn’t been strong enough to withstand the pull. That kiss lived in her psyche now—too deep to dislodge, and too sweet to deny.
Too intoxicating to escape.
After him, every other kiss would taste like ash. Would be lacking and uninspiring. She had been ready to give him her body, to lay herself bare and allow him to have his way with her for however long he wished.
If only she could’ve stayed in that sweet bliss.
If only Ferne hadn’t interrupted them.
If only she could forget the past.
If only she were different.
If only…
Rowen sat up and found her shoes. She needed a good walk to clear her head. The longer she let herself dwell on the kiss and her actions afterward, the harder it would be to stay in the cottage with him. And she wanted to stay. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Skye. Or Mason.
She walked through the kitchen, her gaze immediately going to the fridge, where she had been sandwiched between his body.
She hastily looked away and hurried out the back door, no destination in mind.
Twilight was coming fast. Perhaps that’s why she fell back onto the trail they had walked earlier.
She didn’t go to the rock like before, though.
Instead, she headed toward the fence, since the sheep were grazing nearby.
The animals barely paid her any mind. She whistled and clicked to them, but they continued munching on the grass, ignoring her.
Her lips parted, ready to ask Mason if he had sheep, when she remembered that he wasn’t there.
They had spent so much time in each other’s company that she automatically assumed he was with her.
He had wanted her to go with him and Ferne to the wake.
He’d tried to hide his disappointment when she said no, but she had seen it anyway.
It hadn’t been as bad as watching his joy melt into a carefully placed mask of indifference, though. All because she had been appalled that she had given in to the temptation to know his kiss. Because she didn’t want to hurt him. She liked him. Too much, it seemed.
Maybe she should’ve sucked it up and gone with him. She bit her lip, wondering if she should get directions and meet him there.
“Hello?”
Rowen startled at the sound of the voice and turned to see a woman making her way over from the other side of the fence. Rowen lifted her hand in greeting. “Hi.”
“Are you lost?” the woman asked, concern coloring her blue eyes.
“No, no. Just taking a bit of a walk.”
The woman stopped a few feet away and leaned against some rocks. “American, huh? Where from?”
“The Pacific Northwest. Near Washington.”
“Skye gets visitors from all over the world. I’m always curious where people hail from.”
Rowen glanced around. “With a place like this, it’s no wonder. Do you live here?”
“Born and raised.”
“You’re very lucky. I’ve only been here a few days, and I have to admit, it’s going to be tough to leave.”
The woman laughed as the wind ruffled her short, blond hair. “Every place has its pros and cons. Skye is no different.”
The more Rowen stared at her, the more she looked familiar. If they had met, surely the woman would’ve reminded her of that. A niggle of worry began in the back of her mind. She held out her hand. “I’m Rowen, by the way.”
The stranger smiled, her gaze never wavering as she grasped Rowen’s hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Edie.”
The instant the name hit her ears, Rowen’s chest tightened, and fear surged.
Icy dread pooled in her gut. Her movements were jerky as she dropped her hand to her side.
No wonder the woman had looked familiar.
She could see the family resemblance between Elias, Elodie, and her. “That’s an unusual name.”
“Let’s dispense with this, shall we?” Edie suggested with an easy smile. “You know who I am.”
Rowen nodded warily. “I do. Why are you here?” Edie hadn’t come upon her by accident. Now, more than ever, Rowen wished she had gone with Mason.
“To talk to you. You’ve not been alone. It has made it difficult for us to have a wee chat.”
“We’re nice people. You could’ve come to the door.”
Edie chuckled wryly and propped a hip against the rocks. “We both know how that would’ve gone. Mason isn’t going to allow anyone near you that he doesn’t deem…oh, what’s the word?” she mumbled to herself. Then she smiled like a cat toying with its prey. “Appropriate.”
“First, I can take care of myself. Second, do you believe yourself appropriate?”
“I imagine if you ask any general in any army, they would tell you they were in the right, and those they fought against were on the wrong side.”
Rowen’s brows rose. “Comparing yourself to a general? Thinking mighty high of yourself, aren’t you?”
Edie’s smile was slow, dangerous. Predatory. “You were brought to Skye for a purpose, Rowen.”
That was the second time she’d heard that, but coming from Edie, it felt tainted, oily. Like something rotten slithering over her skin. “I wasn’t brought here.”
“Sure you were. But if it helps you to reconcile what’s going to happen, then believe what you want.”
Rowen bristled, her nerves frayed to the point of anger. She swallowed her response at the last second. It was better to learn what Edie wanted.
“The one thing we can agree on is that a war is happening on this isle. You’ve been chosen by the Ancients to join us,” Edie said, her voice serene, as if they were talking about the weather.
“The Ancients have been silenced.”
Edie laughed softly as she glanced at the ground.
Then she took a deep breath, smiling as she shook her head.
“They’ve not been silenced, dear Rowen. They are the ones leading this movement.
They can no longer stand by and watch the power and might of the Druids fall away.
Something must be done, and they’re guaranteeing that a change happens. ”
Dread spread into Rowen’s body. Edie sounded so certain, as if the fall of Skye was inevitable. “How are these supposed Ancients going to do that?”
“Druids are losing their magic. The more we mate with those who don’t have any, the more our blood gets diluted. Soon, there won’t be any of us left. The Ancients are weeding out the weak and selecting those they deem worthy to lead the next generation into a new day. You are one of those chosen.”
Rowen was going to be sick. Her hands were clammy, her mouth was dry, and her heart was beating so hard and fast that she wondered if it might burst from her chest at any second.
She desperately wanted to take a step back and put some distance between them, but she refused to show any weakness. “Chosen, huh?”
“Don’t be so dismissive. It’s a great honor.”
“The same kind given to Kerry? I heard how she was killed. Or should I say obliterated?”
Edie shrugged a slim shoulder. “No one wants their secrets leaked to the enemy. Think about what I’ve told you. The Ancients are willing to give you a little time to consider their offer, but don’t take too long.”
“And if I refuse their proposition?”
Edie twisted her lips as she turned to walk away. “The Ancients have already spoken to you once. Listen for them. They speak to their chosen ones in a single voice.”
Rowen stood, her knees weak, eyes fixed on Edie’s retreating form until she disappeared over a hill.
Only then did she release the breath she had been holding.
She placed a trembling hand on her stomach and whirled around to hurry back to the cottage, looking over her shoulder every few steps to make sure Edie didn’t return or follow.
The minute she was inside, she bolted the door and warded it.
Her hands were still shaking when she pulled out her phone to call Mason.
Her finger hovered over his name in her contacts.
Just before she pressed call, she lowered the phone.
Edie had been watching her. She could’ve come into the house, but she had waited to approach until Rowen was outside.
Edie could’ve tried to take her, but again, she hadn’t. She had simply talked. This time.
Rhona’s group believed someone was silencing the Ancients.
Ferne had been adamant that it had been the Ancients who’d spoken through her.
In what little Rowen knew about the Ancients, she’d heard they all spoke at once, so it sounded like thousands of voices.
Edie was just as positive that it was the Ancients going through her, and that they had coalesced into one voice.
Rowen had believed the stories she’d heard from Ferne and the others because they had all experienced them. But she had to admit that Edie’s version had credibility, too. Rowen knew for a fact that Druids were losing their powers since it was happening on Orcas.
Could the great evil that Mason was willing to fight actually be the Ancients? Could that be what was trying to get through the dimensions? Had the Ancients reached out for Finn and branded him? More importantly, could they really have chosen her?
Knowing who to believe had been simple until she’d talked to Edie.
She didn’t know how long the Ancients would give her before they demanded an answer, but if she was to survive, she needed a plan.