Page 22 of Awakened Light

“I shouldn’t. My place is here.”

“Shouldn’t but not can’t. Just for a few minutes. Just ride in the boat with me until your magic works and then perform the spell on the map. I’ll bring you back straight away.” I lifted the map off the ground and held it up for her. “It will just take a few minutes, and you can save Annella. Please.”

I saw her contemplating it, but before she could answer, the map ignited in my hand. “What the hell?” I dropped it into the sand and watched it dissolve into ash.

“Catrain will not help you. You go. Now.” Liùsaidh stood taller, and I knew then the cause of the flames.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I grumbled, then smiled at Liùsaidh and pointed at my duffle bag. “Nice try, but I have other maps. Come on, Catrain. We can still find her.”

My duffle bag burst into flames, and I clasped my hands onto my head. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Anger roared inside my chest. I spun to face Catrain’s mother, clenching my fists while I glared. The look in my eye caused several of the giant tribesmen behind her to step forward, lifting their spears. The biggest one that I’d seen around the village, and a few days ago on the beach, lowered his head and growled.

“You see,” Liùsaidh said. “Vampires are bad.”

“Mother!” she snapped. “You are being unreasonable. He has done nothing to you, and you have just taken his best chance at finding his friend. If someone had kidnapped me, wouldn’t you want help finding me?”

She didn’t answer, only lifting her chin higher.

Liùsaidh and I stared at each other for a moment before I turned back to Catrain.

“Come with me. Get on this boat, come to my castle and perform the spell there. I promise I’ll bring you back safe and sound. This is your decision... not hers.”

We both glanced at Liùsaidh, and then Catrain took a deep breath. She spun on her heel and marched up to her mother, squaring up with her.

“I am an adult, and I am going to rule this island next year. You do not have the power to stop me, and I am going to help him find her. You may not like it, but that’s your problem, not mine. I love you, and I love our people, but I will not be a prisoner here. I am going to the mainland, and I will return when I am done.”

“Catrain,” she started, but Catrain just lifted her hand and stopped her.

The powerful woman I’d gotten to know now stood on the beach, and not the obedient daughter she turned into every time her mother came around.

And she’d never looked hotter.

“I will return,” she said one last time, then turned and strode toward me. “Get in the boat,” she whispered as she marched past.

“Seriously? You’re coming?” I asked, still struggling to process she’d actually agreed.

“Hurry up before I change my mind.”

I didn’t hesitate even another second. I flashed to the side of the boat and held it while she climbed inside. Once she sat down, I pushed it into the water and hopped onto the bench across from her. Catrain sat proud and immobile while I paddled us away under the glaring gazes of her tribe.

After a few moments, a thick fog crept across the lake, and I watched while her island and her tribe disappeared. The minute they were gone, I looked back at her and saw the terror filling her eyes.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked as I padded.

She shook her head. “No.”

“I’m so sorry you had to leave under those circumstances, but I really appreciate you helping us. It means the world to me. It was good to see you stand up to your mother.”

“What did I do?” she whispered to herself. “What did I just do?”

She continued repeating the same words over and over while she stared at her feet.

“Are you okay?” I asked, slowing down my paddling.

“No! I’m not okay! I just disobeyed my mother, my leader, and abandoned my island. What am I doing out here? I’ve never been this far out before! What am I doing?”

The panic in her voice sent it up a few octaves higher than normal, and my heart squeezed in my chest.