“The one that will give us what we seek.” She looked from Dugal to me. “’Twill be convenient if ‘tis ye, but we will find her regardless.”
What was shetalkingabout?
“I thought I was the one you sought to fulfill some old pact I have nothing to do with?” Though tempted to drink the mead provided, I refrained in case they had done something unsavory to it.
“Oh, I think we both know ye have everything to do with the pact, if not in this life, then the last, aye?” Elspet held out her bony hand. “Let me see the mark, lass.”
I was more than alarmed by how much she seemed to know, from the trees to my sisters to my previous life. “No.”
“Aye,” Dugal growled, his dragon eyes flaring. “Otherwise, without yer mutt here to protect ye, ye willnae like what I do next.”
I might be brave in the face of danger, but something about this, him,them, felt like more than I could handle. In fact, it felt a little terrifying. When I glanced at Lilias, she was staring down at her empty plate, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes.
“’Tis all right, lass,”Broderick said softly, his inner beast brushing my mind in comfort despite his growing alarm.“Just do as they ask. I’m on my way.”
“No, it’s okay,”I assured, not wanting him to risk his clan but knowing I would be hard-pressed to stop him.“Don’t risk it, Broderick. It’s too dangerous.”
Granted, I wasn’t traveling through the forest with Dugal anymore, where I’d had the vision of Broderick and Lucas dying when they tried to pursue me, but still.
“Let me see the mark, Aspen,” Elspet repeated, her eyes seeming darker by the moment. “Now.”
Listening this time because both Elspet and Dugal were clearly dangerous, I pushed up my sleeve and gave her my wrist.
“’Tis the mark, to be sure,” Elspet murmured, dusting her icy finger over it. “Just as foretold.”
“Aye,” Dugal concurred, with a wicked gleam of anticipation. Behaving as if his mother confirming the mark all but gave me to him, his lusty gaze raked over me as if his wife weren't present. “Surely, there is no need to go any further with this.”
“Further withwhat?” Scowling at him, I shook my head. “And let’s not forget your bargain with the king. I have to be okay with everything. Specifically,youor none of this happens.”
“Bargain or not, that isnae quite true.” Elspet gave her son a stern look. “And aye, we must go all the way with this for the pact to truly be fulfilled. ‘Tis the only way we will find the correct lass and harness the power she will bring to our clan, marking her a true Sutherland. AworthySutherland.”
Obviously, we were all born to a Sutherland and most certainly worthy, but I kept that comment to myself. If I had to choose, I’d much rather be a MacLeod.
“There is more to the pact than most realize,” Elspet went on, unrolling the scroll resting on the table that looked like the one Dugal had brought to MacLeod Castle. “A second page, as it were.”
Not liking the sound of that, I narrowed my eyes. “How convenient.” I frowned at Dugal. “And you didn’t show this to the MacLeods, why?”
He frowned as well, no doubt because his mother wasn’t simply handing me over to him. “Because it didnae seem necessary at the time.”
“How could the remainder of the pact not be necessary?” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “I’d say all bets are off now, considering—”
“Nothing is off until we confirm whether ye are, in fact, related to the sorcerer,” Elspet said, cutting me off. “Only then will the pact be complete.”
Confused, I furrowed my brow. “I thought we established that with the marking?”
“We established that ye descend from Malcolm Sutherland and are one of four who might be of the sorcerer’s bloodline.” Elspet slid the parchment my way. “Now ‘tis a matter of determining which one of ye truly belongs with the Sutherlands so we might finally usher in a new breed of dragons that will empower us far into the future.”
I read the second part of the pact in disbelief. It claimed four witches would be hidden among the trees of the distant future until the mark appeared on them and another person, leading them home to Sutherland Castle and their true fated mate. This would, at last, fulfill the pact and usher in a time of peace between the clans.
“Should I assume thatotherperson is you, Dugal, no matter the sister?” I managed, wanting my siblings nowhere near him.
“Not necessarily,” Elspet said. “If ye read on, ye’ll see it could appear on any Sutherland male.”
I didn’t need to ask how that fulfilled the pact between a MacLeod and Sutherland because it said as much as I continued reading, claiming the four witches would be MacLeods.
“Does that mean my sisters are all related to the MacLeods somehow?” I wondered, shooting Dugal a look. “Or that we already have fated mates we’re in love with among the MacLeods, making us one of them.”
“It doesnae say, so ‘tis impossible to know.” Dugal scowled at me for reminding him I belonged to Broderick. “We willnae know until the tree delivers them to our era and the markings reveal themselves.”
