Page 57 of The Finest Scottish Fate

“Where is that, m’love?” he asked, almost hating to break the quiet.

“My grandparents’ farm. Where I grew up.” She let her hand drop to her side, but kept her gaze locked on the window’s icy landscape. “Granddaddy was in the war.” She twitched a shrug. “I’m ashamed to admit I don’t remember which one, but I do remember him saying that it mattered, and he was proud to have done his part.”

Drummond waited, sensing there was more she needed to say.

She shrugged again, then scratched some tiny flowers around the cottage. “He and Grandmama always stressed it was important for everyone to do their part—for the good of all concerned.” She turned to him, so very troubled. He saw it in her eyes. Felt it so strongly that he wanted to hold her, but knew that wasn’t what she needed right now.

“But how do you know what’s good for all concerned?” she asked with a despondency that broke his heart. “How do you choose the right path?”

“I follow what my soul tells me is the right thing to do.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” She rubbed her knuckles up and down the embroidered front of her gown as if trying to settle a poorly digested meal that was fighting to come back out.

“Including me?”

She clutched both fists to her chest. “Including you.”

“Then stay with me and fight.” He held out his hand. “For us. For our people. For yer allies at Craig Durness.”

“What if I mess up?” she whispered without taking his hand. “You know how I worry. How indecisive I am.”

“Ye must decide, lass. Lest they use yer worry and indecision to break ye. Now is the time to show them yer fearlessness and make them quake.” He kept his hand held out, waiting, praying she would take it.

After what seemed like forever, she hesitantly rested her hand in his. Staring down at their clasped fingers, she pulled in a deep breath, then let it ease back out. “I want us to work. To really be real, even though it all started with so much inconceivability.”

“We will, my own.” He leaned in and sealed the promise with the tenderest of kisses. “I swear it.”

Chapter Fourteen

Maybe she shouldn’t have followed Drummond into the storm. He’d be furious when she caught up with him and Murdoch. But she still felt in her heart and soul that they shouldn’t separate. Somehow, she just knew their enemies would use any space between them to their advantage.

Evie squinted through the gray whiteness of the falling snow, glancing around to ensure Jadrack, Jarrah, and Farbis were still close. At least it wasn’t ice and sleet anymore. Snow made for a more solid footing.

After a heated argument about why Evie shouldn’t do what she was about to do, Morganna had finally agreed to stay behind to keep a watchful eye on the council—and the ousted Glengarten—and try to discover the identity of the Fae spy. While the council had accepted Drummond as the new chief and understood all that it meant, Glengarten had not handled his dismissal well. It had taken the threat of banishment or permanent residence in the dungeons to close his mouth. But Evie still didn’t trust him. She might have only recently met the man, but instinct told her that the weasel wouldn’t give up his prize piece of cheese without a fight.

Mercury tossed his head and snorted, making it unmistakably clear that he did not like the weather. While the unicorn’s silvery-white horn was still hidden to everyone else, Evie easily saw his true form, and she would cherish that memory forever. Surprisingly, his usually sleek coat of pearlescent white had turned as thick and shaggy as a bear’s. She was glad. At least he was dressed for the storm.

“There!” Jadrack shouted, pointing at a pair of shadowy forms in the distance.

Bracing herself for what was sure to be an unpleasant meeting, Evie squared her shoulders and turned Mercury in that direction. “Let’s do this,” she said, trying to bolster her confidence. She didn’t like conflict, but this had to be done. It just felt right. “Drummond!”

He turned to look at her, and even at a distance, she could see his disbelief and fury building. Bundled in a fur mantle, his black hair loose and whipping in the wind, he reminded her of an angry, untamable beast—both exhilarating and frightening. He even bared his teeth, and she’d lay odds that if she were closer, she’d hear him growl.

“I told ye to stay at the keep,” he said when she reached him. “Was I not clear, wife?”

“And I told you I was coming with you because we needed to stay together.” She maintained a calm demeanor, hoping that calmness would be infectious. “How much farther?”

“Ye will turn around and go back.” He jutted his chin at Jadrack. “Return Lady Evie to the keep and ensure she stays put, even if that requires locking her in her bedchamber.”

Refusing to rise to the bait and fire back an angry retort, Evie urged Mercury closer to Drummond’s mount, which retreated a pace as the mighty unicorn advanced. “There’s one thing you’d better learn about me. I will not be treated like a child and sent to my room. Like it or not, I’m here, and here I intend to stay. At your side. To protect you.”

Eyes squinted against the pelting snow, he bared his teeth again and kept his glare locked on her companions. “Jadrack! Did ye hear my order?”

Scratching his head, Jadrack nodded. “Aye, m’lord. I heard ye, but ye do realize ye are not my chief, my lordship, or my mate, aye? When I do as ye ask, ’tis because I am inclined to do so. Not because ye ordered it.” He arched a brow at Evie. “This one here believes verra strongly that the two of ye are more powerful when ye are physically together, and I’m thinking there might be some truth in that.” He scratched his beard, making Evie wonder if the dragon’s human form made him itch like a cheap wool sweater. “For a man afraid his mate is going to speak the severing oath and leave, I’m thinking ye should be thankful she wishes to stay at yer side.”

Evie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Jadrack made a good argument.

“I want her safe!” Drummond bellowed in a growling roar that vibrated across the snowy mountainside.