The wind toreat Elise’s hair as she galloped along the cliff road, the early morning light stretching long shadows over the land. Perhaps she should have slowed. Planned. Stopped to think.
But the urgency boiling in her wouldn’t allow her to slow.
She rode hard, following the same tingling of her MacFinnan senses that she’d felt the other day. She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t running away. That she was runningtowardssomething, towards a clue that might help her unravel the mystery of Islay’s plight. She wasn’t sure she convinced even herself.
She didn’t bother to try and curb her power now. She felt it inside her, battering against her ribs, demanding release. It guided her, dragged her into the south as surely as a fish on a hook. That sense of wrongness she’d detected was still here, getting stronger with every step she traveled. She hadn’t understood it the last time and she wasn’t sure she understood it now.
But she wouldn’t stop until she’d figured out what it was.
The coastal road began to dip, and in the distance she spotted her destination—the wide horseshoe bay with its beach of shingle. Ah, that beach. It was on that beach that Jamie had kissed her.
No. She would not think about that. She would not think abouthim. But despite herself, memories of what she’d seen in the great hall that morning flickered across her sight: Jamie reaching out, accepting a letter from his future wife. Her heart squeezed painfully and she pushed the thoughts aside with an effort, gathering her will around herself like a cloak and forcing herself to concentrate on the path ahead.
It dropped towards a wooded dell and the horse’s pace slowed as the ground began to change. Elise pulled gently at the reins, forcing herself to breathe, to listen, to let the magic settlelong enough for her senses to sharpen. The dapple mare snorted and tossed her head, uneasy.
“Yes, I know,” Elise murmured, stroking her neck. “Something’s off. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise. Just a little farther.”
She dismounted before the tree line, leading the horse quietly into the shadows beneath the branches. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in broken shards, dappling the mossy ground. Birds chirped—then fell suddenly silent.
Elise froze.
Her magic surged so violently that she slapped a hand to her chest, pulse suddenly hammering. “Holy shit,” she whispered. “What is that?”
The sense of wrongness was thicker here. It slithered along her senses, like the touch of an icicle. She let the reins fall, creeping forward until she reached the edge of the trees. Ahead stretched the familiar dip of the coastline, the curve of the bay, the rocks where she’d stood with Jamie just a few short days ago.
Nothing looked different. But everythingfeltdifferent.
She reached out, fingertips brushing the rough bark of an old pine, and leaned around the trunk to get a better look—
A hand touched her shoulder.
Elise yelped, spinning. Power ripped through her in a blinding rush, bursting from her like an explosion of white-hot lightning. It slammed into the figure behind her, sending him flying backward into the bracken.
Elise’s heart stopped as she recognized the pale-blond hair, the line of the jaw, the broad shoulders.
“Jamie!”
She scrambled over to him, flinging herself onto her knees at his side. Her eyes roved over his body. His eyes were closed. Oh God. No.
“Jamie! Are you all right? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Jamie. Please!”
Her hands shook as she cupped his face, brushing dirt and leaves from his skin. His lashes fluttered against his cheek. His hair had fallen across his forehead, and she pushed it back with trembling fingers, horrified with herself.
His eyes opened slowly—those startling eyes she’d come to love so much.
“Ouch,” he whispered. “Remind me never to get on yer bad side.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “What the bloody hell were you thinking? You startled me…and I…” She shook her head, dismissing the excuses. “Are you all right? Did I…hurt you?”
He pushed himself into a sitting position. “A few bruises maybe.” His gaze found hers. “But no more than I deserve.”
“Why did you sneak up on me? I didn’t sense you at all. Everything’s so…so distorted here. My magic is so swamped I couldn’t feel anything else.”
He didn’t reply, just gazed at her. She wanted to touch him again, wanted to run the tips of her fingers down his jaw, wanted to feel the silkiness of his hair beneath her fingers.
With an effort, she rose and strode away a few paces, standing with her back to him. “You shouldn’t have followed me.”
She heard him climb to his feet and take several steps towards her. “Elise. Listen to me. OfcourseI should have followed ye. I couldnae let things stay the way they’ve been between us. It was tearing me apart. It’sstilltearing me apart.” His voice faltered for a moment before he continued. “Elise, I have to tell ye how I feel—”
