Chapter 33
Sonya sat on the edge of her bed in her chamber long after the others had found their own beds; She couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think of anything other than Broc.
They had shared just a few nights together, but those few nights had altered her entire existence. It seemed wrong not to have Broc with her, not to know he was near. She wondered where he was in the castle. And, god help her, she wondered if he thought of her, of their time together.
Sonya knew she shouldn’t dwell on such things, but she couldn’t help it. As soon as she saw Broc that first time she had known he would mean something to her.
And to have spent the best—and most frightening-moments of her life with him might have to sustain her the rest of her years.
Nothing had been said between them about a future. No promises, no possibilities.
They had taken those few treasured moments and made the most of them. She didn’t regret any of it. But she did regret that they could be over.
You won’t know until you ask him.
Did she dare? Could she dare?
She and Broc had never shied away from each other at the castle. In fact, Sonya had found herself searching for him and only him over the last weeks.
But even then she had been careful to keep herself apart from him. She had feared, even then, of getting too close to him, of opening herself up to the possibilities of... anything.
The threat of dying made her put those silly fears aside. And look what it had given her. The very thing she had dreamed of. Broc.
She now knew he had cared for Anice, but he hadn’t been in love with her. It didn’t mean he felt anything more for her, only that he felt the pull of attraction between them.
Sonya could stand the silence of her chamber no more. She rose and walked from her room. When she had first come to the castle, it had felt massive, as if she would never learn her way about the long corridors and many stairways. Now, it was diminished after such an adventure with Broc.
She walked into the great hall to find it empty. It used to be that Malcolm could be found there when he wasn’t roaming the edges of the cliffs.
Malcolm was gone now. Would she ever see him again? The likelihood was slim, but she hoped that one day he might return.,
Sonya left the castle and stepped into the bailey. The moon was high and the stars numerous. A few clouds dotted the sky, illuminated by the moonlight.
Her eyes had always looked upward. Whether it was to the sun or the moon, the sky had mesmerized her. Was it because her fate had been connected to Broc’s all along?
A shadow moved and pushed from the castle wall. Logan’s form took shape as he neared her. “Can no’ sleep?”
She shook her head. “I want to visit the trees. Isla told me what happened, about how they helped. I want to thank them.”
“You know it isna safe.”
“Then come with me if you must, but I am going.”
She didn’t have to ask permission. If Broc had been near, he would argue that he should accompany her. But he wasn’t there. He hadn’t been near her since they returned.
Maybe that’s why she wanted to see the trees. Oh, she did want to thank them, but maybe deep down she knew it would force his hand.
If he came, it meant he cared enough to forget about the stupid curse.
If he didn’t, it meant... well, it meant she at least had her memories.
She squared her shoulders and walked to the huge wooden gate. As she approached, another shadow moved. She sighed and stopped short of rolling her eyes.
“I’m not running away,” she said to whoever it was.
Ramsey’s silver gaze met hers as he opened the door within the gate. “I know.”
“I’m going to the trees.”
He smiled and took her hand to help her through. “I know.”
Sonya turned once she was through the gate and looked at Ramsey. “You aren’t going to try and stop me?”
“Should I? You said you were no’ running away.”
“And you aren’t going to tell me it would be safer to wait?”
Ramsey shook his head. “You’ll be safe.”
She thought over his words as she walked to the village. Some of the Warriors had taken up residence in the cottages. Fallon wanted all the Druids within the castle, and she understood his reasoning.
Deirdre and the wyrran had attacked the castle several times and destroyed the village twice. It was better to have the Druids where Deirdre couldn’t reach them as easily.
Sonya arrived at the back of the village and halted. There was a barrier created by Isla’s magic around the castle and village. To others outside the magical barrier, it appeared as if the land were bare, keeping the inhabitants safe from unwanted visitors.
It didn’t stop Deirdre. It did give the wyrran pause, and if other Warriors didn’t know about it, they wouldn’t proceed through.
Before, Broc had always been adamant about going with Sonya out of the barrier when she wanted to commune with the trees.
She found it odd that no one was stopping her this time.
It could be that everyone knew there were no wyrran hidden in the forest. Sonya had been gone for several days.
Many things could have changed during that time.
She put her hand out and felt the slight resistance to the shield. The feel of Isla’s powerful magic enveloped Sonya as she stepped through the invisible field. She let out a long sigh as she exited the barrier. The whispers of the trees surrounded her, wrapped her in their emotions.
She hurried to the first tree and laid her hand upon the rough bark. “How I've missed you.”
In answer, the trees swayed, their words mixing together as they all spoke at once.
Sonya laughed and walked deeper into the forest. This is what she had missed most when she thought her magic gone.
This is what she had been craving since she realized her magic had returned.
This is where her magic was the strongest, where she could find peace and restore her inner balance.
Where she heard the music of her ancestors.
She closed her eyes as the trees swayed around her, welcoming her. They bent low to lovingly brush her with their limbs. She spread her arms out to her side and her head dropped back as she released her magic to merge with the trees.
Their words, whispered and gentle as leaves falling, reached her.
“… missed you, Sonnnnnnnyaaaaaa …”
“… tried to tell the othersssss where to find you …”
“… feared for you …”
“... don’t leave us again …”
A tear fell down her cheek as the weight of their worry for her settled around her.
“I’m sorry,” she told them. “My magic left me, or I thought it had.”
“... stay with ussssss…”
"... we neeeeed you…”
Long ago, when Druids had walked freely upon the land, there had been many who could speak to the trees. Through the years the number had diminished, and as far as the trees told Sonya, she was the last.
The trees needed her as much as she needed them. But what would happen once she was dead? Would there be another who could take her place?
Or would the special, spectacular words of the trees fade into the past?
Broc stood on a small outcropping halfway down the cliffs, watching the sea. He had wanted to be alone and as far away from Sonya as he could get, lest he be tempted to §0 to her.
He had taken one look at his bed and known he couldn’t sleep there. Not alone. Not without Sonya.
Broc blew out a breath and went down on his haunches. He leaned back against the cliff, the hard, jagged rock digging into his spine. There had been many kinds of pain he had experienced over the centuries, but the one in his chest far exceeded the others.
At least at MacLeod Castle he didn’t need to worry for her safety. Even though he wasn’t near her, he could feel her magic. It had always been strong, but since the burial mound, it had grown more intense. Brilliant. Compelling.
No sooner had the thought gone through his mind than the link he felt with Sonya’s magic was gone, as if, it were snapped in half. Broc stood and unleashed his god as he jumped into the air. His wings took him up and over the cliffs. He soared around the castle, using his power to search for Sonya.
And just as he thought, she wasn’t there.
It took less than a heartbeat for his power to tell him she was outside Isla’s barrier in the trees. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, his heart once again easing from its frantic beating.
Broc flew out of the shield and over the tops of the forest. He dropped to the ground behind Sonya and simply watched.
The trees swayed from side to side in a gentle rocking motion. Broc remembered when Sonya had allowed him to see the trees through her magic, had permitted him to hear their whispers. He hadn’t understood their words, but he had heard them.
He weaved through the trees as he walked around Sonya until he stood in front of her. He couldn’t take his eyes from her, couldn’t stop the pounding of his heart in his chest. Her magic engulfed him. Surrounded. Overwhelmed.
And he yearned for more.
Her magic was sensual and seductive, tempting and beguiling. She charmed him, lured him, captivated him.
Made him hunger. Crave. Yearn.
For her. All for her. Her touch, her kisses, and her beautiful body.
Sonya’s long curls lifted on the breeze created by the trees and her skirts swirled about her legs. But it was the pure, glorious smile upon her face that took his breath away.
Her head lifted, and she opened her eyes. Her gaze of amber flecks mixed with gold watched him. Curiosity and anticipation flashed in her depths.
Broc’s skin tingled with the feel of her magic. His gaze dropped to her mouth. He wanted to taste her again, to feel her tongue against his as he plundered her mouth.
He took a step toward her before he realized what he was doing. But once he had begun moving, he couldn’t stop. He closed the distance between them until their bodies were breaths apart.
“Broc,” she whispered, and searched his face.
There was so much that needed to be said, so many things he should tell her. But the only thing he wanted to do was take her in his arms and show her how much he needed her, how much he longed for her.
He jerked her against his chest and claimed her mouth. She opened for him, her tongue colliding against his in a frenzy that sent his already heated blood to boiling.
Need, wicked and crushing, surged through him. There was no turning away, no tearing his lips from hers. However wrong it was for them to be together, he had to have her.
Broc deepened the kiss. The passion, the fervor, of Sonya’s response sent him reeling. She was irresistible and all too enticing. He reached between them and covered her breast with his hand. Her fingers dug into his neck as she arched against him, a low moan mixing with their ragged breaths.
The desire raging in him swelled each time he held her, touched her. Kissed her. It grew more difficult to keep his distance, and he found he didn’t want to.
He wanted Sonya as his own.
He knew he didn’t deserve her, shouldn’t crave to have her. But he did. God help him, he did. He was ready to forget the curse, forget everything as long as he could have her.
Broc ended the kiss and cupped Sonya’s face to make her look at him. “I want you.”