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“That's why we needed your help at Lochmaddy too.” Calum looked from Emmett to Hùisdean. “We needed someone proficient at earth magic.”
Hùisdean sat up a little straighter, sensing something Emmett and Calum weren't telling him. He looked between the two men and scowled, his voice getting tense.
“I don't know what you want me to do about that,” Hùisdean snapped. “I came here for help, not for the both of you just to admit you don't have proficiencies with earth magic and send me on my way.”
Calum held up his hand in a placating gesture. “We won't stop until the Shetland Islands have returned to normal and your people's magic has returned. Emmett and I are simply pointing out that we must bring in someone else before we start dissecting this.”
A cold feeling started building at the base of Hùisdean's spine as the revelation dawned over him.
“Oh, curse the old gods,” Hùisdean grunted and buried his head in his hands. “She hates me!”
“You have a healthy rivalry,” Emmett chided. “But if you think she hates you, you better start drafting your apologies quickly.”
“Emmett is right.” Calum stood, his voice full of authority. “Because I think all of us will need Ayda to crack this.”
Chapter Two
Ayda Bhaduri was deeply aware of two things—life wasn't fair, and there was no greater betrayal when her beloved americano burned the roof of her mouth.
“Shit,” Ayda cursed, nearly dropping the paper cup in surprise. She was naturally frugal, which she blamed on her parents, but always made time for life's small indulgences. When they backfired, she couldn't help but wonder if it was the budgeting gods smiting her for spending too much money on overpriced coffee.
“It's still worth it.” Ayda shrugged, tugging her scarf tighter around her neck. The spring chill was still desperately hanging around the moors well into summer, dampening her good mood. She should’ve been used to it by now but always relished the few short months when Scotland had sun. Ayda delicately jumped over a puddle and returned to her car. She was meeting Darragh and Lachlan at Lochmaddy, where they planned to reset the wards around their ancestral home again.
It was an arduous process but a necessary one. Ayda, one of Scotland's most talented earth witches in ages, had been running Lochmaddy while Emmett was working at the University of Edinburgh. A few short weeks ago, even though it already felt like a lifetime ago, Ayda had helped Emmett and his brothers battle their exiled uncle and his plans for magical domination.
After they made quick work of their now vanquished family member, Emmett returned to Edinburgh with Pippa while Lachlan and Darragh, his brothers, moved full-time to the family home. It was painstaking work as they went over each blade of grass on the behemoth estate, finding every grid and ward that had been disturbed to reset them. Not that Ayda minded. Lachlan and Darragh were both easy on the eyes, and magic was Ayda's favorite thing; plus, the O'Neils were always happy to double Ayda's rate.
Ayda took off down the road and pleasantly lost herself in her audiobook while turning down the elaborate and tiny laneways. The view driving up to Lochmaddy never failed to take her breath away. There was a massive property gate flanked by two pillars containing aged wolf statues—a not-so-subtle nod to the fact that the O'Neils were all werewolves. The house was made of nearly black stone, permanently damp from the Scottish weather. Five towers were sprouting up from the walls, all lined with turrets and iron fencing to keep people from falling off the edge. Now that O’Neils were living on the property again, magic started coming alive within the acreage. One of Ayda's favorite recent discoveries was that the gates were almost sentient, trained to pick up on the magical signature of friend and foe. Ayda idled her car as she got closer, waiting for the gates to spring to life.
She smiled as both stone wolves sat up at attention, blinking moss from their eyes and sniffing at the air repeatedly. As soon as they picked up on Ayda's presence, they yipped happily, and the iron gates swung open without hesitation.
“Thank you!” Ayda rolled down her window and shouted an acknowledgment to the sculptures. She wasn't sure how sentient they were, but it felt rude not to acknowledge them as she drove past.
The thrum of magic buzzing all around her as she pulled up to the house was a pleasant surprise. Restoring Lochmaddy's magical framework continued to be a daunting task, but it was rewarding. After years of only being charged with its most basic maintenance, it was a delight to figuratively pop the hood and dig deep into the manor’s magical foundations. As soon as Ayda threw the car in park, the door to the house flung open, and Lachlan stuck his head out.
“Morning, Ayda!” he called cheerily, pushing the heavy oak door open. “Darragh ran into town to pick up a few things, but there's a bit of leftover breakfast if you want it.” Lachlan leaned against the door frame, giving her a mega-watt grin.
It's a shame he's not my type, Ayda waved in his direction, because it's hard not to resist a burly man offering you breakfast.
“If I ever refuse to take you up on free food, I need you to know something is wrong with me.” Ayda grinned as she stepped out of the car, balancing her bag and americano as she entered the house. Lachlan gave her a brotherly one-armed hug, and they walked towards the kitchen.
The kitchen was Ayda's favorite room in almost any home she'd ever been in, and the kitchen at Lochmaddy was no different. True to his word, Lachlan piled a plate with leftover eggs and sausage. Ayda rolled her eyes playfully when he gave her a serving size more befitting a behemoth werewolf than your average human mage.
She accepted the plate and dug in, still appreciative of a homemade breakfast she didn't have to cook for herself. If there was anything that Ayda appreciated, it was good company and hot food, which she didn't have in spades. Her parents had moved back to India a few years prior, leaving her as the region's only earth witch available for miles. As much as she appreciated being booked and busy, it was another thing entirely regarding her social life. In that, she didn't have one.
No one tells you that being successful means spending some lonely nights in your own company. Ayda mused to herself while grabbing a tiny bottle of hot sauce out of her bag and dousing her eggs in it.
“What are we up to today, chief?” Ayda wiped a little bit of Tabasco off her lip. Lachlan was pouring himself another cup of coffee, and he sat down across the table from her, pulling a small notebook out of his back pocket.
“From where I'm looking at things, we finished off the second quadrant of the property last week.”
“You'd be correct.” Ayda gave a little shiver of remembrance. That area of the land had been particularly tricky when resetting the wards. Some brownies and faeries had been pestering with the magic on that part of the property, and it took ages to find them and sort them out appropriately.
“As long as we don't find any other magical squatters, the next portion should go quickly.” Lachlan joked, finishing the rest of his coffee in two gulps. He clapped his hands together loudly. “Right! Eventually, we'll have to get to some of the tunnels under the house too.”
Ayda groaned. “Those will be the hardest part to date. I better ensure the warding around the rest of the property is up to par before we tackle those. If something goes askew, I want to ensure the rest of the wards can handle some instability.” Lachlan held his hands up in mock surrender.
“You're the earth witch, not me.” He nodded his head. “Just keep telling Darragh and me what to do, and we'll do it.”
