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“I don’t recall hearing one. ”
“Do you have special knowledge Alcántara wants?”
He laughed. “No, nothing so clever. ”
“Then did you double-cross him way back when?” When he shook his head, I continued to rack my brain for why the Spanish vampire might be so interested in him. “I’m trying to figure out why he has it out for you. He wants to pin these murders on you, you know. Do you have some sort of…special powers or something?”
“We, all of us, have our talents,” he replied mysteriously.
“All of us?” I slowed my pace, considering. “Even Acari?”
“Even Acari. ” He tugged my hand, pulling me forward again. “The blood merely intensifies these talents. ”
“How do I know what my talent is?”
He reached over and patted my bottom. “You strike me as a most talented woman. ”
I grunted and hopped away. I wouldn’t let him distract me. “Your accent gets thicker when you’re being…improper. ”
“Improper, is it?”
“Inappropriate. ”
“Indelicate?” He waggled his brows just before he rounded a corner, disappearing into shadows. It was a cave—I hadn’t noticed the opening until he ducked inside. “Then you may not want to follow me in here,” he called out to me.
The opening was narrow and sheltered from sight, but once I followed him in, I saw how the cavern opened up, tunneling deep into the rock. It
took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and I peered into the blackness, unable to tell just how far back it went. “Cool. ”
“It’s a sea cave. There are several throughout the island. Viking marauders once hid here. ”
“And now it’s favored by vampire marauders?”
He laughed, and it was a deeply satisfying sound. “Are you accusing me of plunder and pillage?”
I caught my breath. I’ll just bet he knew a little something about pillaging. I wondered if he’d try anything tonight, in the seclusion of our hideaway. “Time will tell, Carden McCloud. ”
I sat next to him, looking out of the cave mouth onto the beach. I resisted the urge to lean in to him and rest my head on his shoulder. Head resting would lead to other things, things that made me nervous, just a little.
Besides, before our precious time got away from us, I needed to understand the Alcántara rivalry. “So,” I said, picking up where we’d left off, “what’s your talent?”
He stroked a slow finger up my leg. “I have great talents at my disposal. ”
My body felt like it was on fire. I shifted away, feeling shy that he might kiss me, yet scared that he might not. “You said you’d answer my question. ”
His hand rested heavy on my thigh. “Such focus, love. If you must. ” He sighed, a world-weary sound. “To understand Hugo’s recent…attentions, you must understand my history. The Clan McCloud descends from an ancient Celtic line. My ancestors were priests of a sort, of the old religion. ”
“Wait. ” I watched his profile in the shadows, trying to follow. “You mean like the Druids?”
“I mean like the Druids. These men had an ability for what they called the second sight. ”
I tried to picture him in a long brown robe, sleeping in the woods, chanting, and living on berries. I shook my head. …I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. “You were a Druid?”
He laughed. “Not hardly. I was a soldier. ”
Now, that I could picture. He’d have had a sword or musket slung over a gritty, sweat-stained shirt. His eyes would be hard, his walk sure and powerful. I wished I could’ve seen it.
I felt a pang of loss, of all that I’d never know about Carden—his long-ago past, his unending future. I had to glance away, squinting hard at the moonlight dancing on the waves.
