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CHAPTERTWENTY
Sophie
“Do you have to go?” I worried my bottom lip as Matthew packed his bag. It had been four days since Lachlan had rocked my world in the stables, and I’d busied myself with learning more about my magick and trying to figure out why a second stone—an emerald this time—had shown up in my dirk. If we were going by deeds alone, Matthew thought it was due to my generosity with the townspeople, but I wondered if it had to do with protecting Lachlan from the Kelpies.
The insanely terrifying and intoxicatingly beautiful Kelpies.
At that moment, I’d discovered what I thought might be my magick, and I’d quietly been sneaking away to practice it where the others couldn’t weigh in on what I was doing. And if I was correct, I was pretty sure that compulsion was my power. Which, frankly, was astounding to me. For so long, I’d been battling to be heard, and now my gift was my voice.
Talk about revelations, eh?
“Though it kills me to do so, yes, I have to go. I know I’m supposed to be on sabbatical, but they really do need my help,” Matthew said, neatly rolling his socks. The professor shouldering his classes at school had been in a car accident and would take a while to recover. Since Matthew was technically able to assist, he’d offered to cut his sabbatical short to help the department out. I’d miss him terribly and was pouting more than just a bit this morning.
“You haven’t even seen the Kelpies yet.” I played my last card, knowing how desperately Matthew had wanted to see a myth come to life and crossed my fingers, hoping he’d take the bait.
“You have no idea how much this breaks my heart.” Matthew leveled a serious look at me. “But I’m a man of honor. They really do need me. And since I’m so enthralled with everything happening here, I can’t claim to be working all that hard on my book.”
“Well, maybe there are some ideas for a new book. Abetterbook,” I wheedled, leaning against the bed as he ducked his head into the tall armoire to search for any last items of clothing. Outside, the rain pattered at the window, and a dull gray light filtered into the room.
“Sophie. I love you. I don’t want to leave you. I’d stay if I could, but they need me. And this will give me even more freedom to come back once this class is over for the summer. It’s only a four-week intensive class so, by the time I finish up, the weather should have warmed, and I can be back on a plane out here. You have a phone. Call me every day and fill me in on the developments with Lachlan.”
“Ha! Like anything will develop there. The man is acting like he wasn’t just inside me days ago.” It rankled the way Lachlan treated me with utmost respect, only consulting me on things relating to the Order. Gone was the banter, the needling, and the frustration he’d directed my way. Instead, I’d been served with polite “customer service” Lachlan, and I had to say—I was deeply annoyed.
“From what it sounds like, the Kelpies have played a huge role in a major personal tragedy in his life. Be gentle, Soph. He’s grieving.” Matthew rounded the bed and put his arms around my shoulders. I looked up into his warm eyes, needing his support, and my own eyes filled.
“I’m grieving too,” I reminded him, not caring if I sounded petulant.
“I know you are. And you will be for a long time. I can’t help but wonder if Arthur set this all up so you’d be too distracted to realize how much you miss him.” Matthew pulled me into his chest and spoke into my hair.
“I wouldn’t put it past him. But even Arthur wasn’t powerful enough to engineer the Stone of Truth or pull magickal beings from the loch,” I murmured against his chest. “I miss him.”
“I know you do. He was one of a kind.” Matthew stroked my back. “But you have to be strong and see this through.” He pulled back and brought a finger beneath my chin, tilting my face up to his.
“I’m going to,” I said.
“This…this right here, Sophie? It’s the stuff of fairy tales. And you get to live it. In real life. It’s not a movie or a made-up story told to you at bedtime with a cup of cocoa. It’s the real deal. You’remagick. Just think about that for a second. You are well and truly a magickal knight of awesomeness. You get to do that. Right now. Right here. And the hunky man of the castle? He could be yours too. It’s all at your doorstep. You don’t need me to open the door for you. You’vegotthis.”
“You’re the best.” I hugged him fiercely once more, hating that he had to leave but loving him for his amazing pep talk. He’d always been one of my biggest champions, and his words soothed me, even if the truth of them made me nervous. Particularly the hunky man of the castle part. Frankly, I wasn’t entirely upset that Lachlan had been giving me a bit of the cold shoulder. Our fire had run so hot the other night that I think I also needed to step away from the flames to cool off. And if I was being honest, I was used to being abandoned, so it felt about par for the course whenever I let myself get close to someone.
Not that we were all that close, I reminded myself. I still didn’t know things like what his favorite color was or if he liked mashed potatoes. But I did know he had an unshakeable code of honor, that everyone in the village spoke highly of him, and he had a lightning-quick wit when he decided to use it. And that he hated numbers. I’d spent more time in his office when he wasn’t there, digging deeper into the past years’ accounts and noting any issues I’d discovered. And then, helpless not to, I’d stayed up late to start working on a brand campaign for MacAlpine Castle. I couldn’t help myself, really and, of course, Sir Buster, Lachlan, and Graham would all be heavily featured in my campaign. Because nothing drew tourists more than a cute dog and sexy men in kilts. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel once I started my advertising run. But in the meantime, I still had to delve deeper into the Order of Caledonia.
“Matthew!” Hilda called from downstairs, and Matthew zipped his bag.
“That’s my ride. I love you. Remember, nobody puts Baby in a corner, okay?” Matthew said, quoting our favorite line fromDirty Dancing. He’d used it through the years when he’d seen my insecurities rise and when I had tried to hide in the background. Giving him a kiss, I waited until he left and then pulled a raincoat over my sweater and wound my way through the long hallways of the castle and to the back entrance, where I came upon Archie having a conversation with Sir Buster.
“We’ve discussed this, laddie. You still have to go outside to do your business even in the rain,” Archie lectured. Sir Buster looked up at him, his teeth bared in a growl, and I laughed despite my sadness at Matthew leaving.
“It looks to be slowing. At least I’m hopeful,” I said, and Sir Buster cast wide eyes full of doubt at me.
“Off to work on your driving?” Archie reached for keys hanging from a peg by the door. I’d approached Archie about a car earlier that week, and once he’d realized that I had no clue how to drive a stick shift, he’d taken me out in the pasture in his old farm truck. Once he was confident enough that I understood the basics, he’d given me the go-ahead to take the truck out on my own to practice driving around the long dirt road that hugged the edges of the farm. It was nice being able to learn without pressure, and I’d started to grow a touch more confident with my skills. Once I was far enough away from the castle, I’d taken to practicing my magick and my sword skills, knowing full well that I’d likely have to face the Kelpies once more.
Not that stabbing a horse made of water would do much, but it was hard to say where the dangers ahead could come from. If someone had told me last month that I’d be a magickal Knight in Scotland battling mythological water horses, I’d have quietly backed away like Homer Simpson disappearing into a bush when his neighbor talked too much. Bending to pat Sir Buster on the head, who tolerated my touch just barely, I raced from the castle to the old truck and hopped inside. The rain had already slowed, but I didn’t want to get my leggings too wet. My Amazon order had arrived this week, and I finally had a few pieces of clothing that were more suited to the moody Scottish weather.
After a few failed attempts at starting the truck, I eventually managed to get it in gear and took off across the field, bumping along the muddy road until the castle faded out of sight behind a long stretch of trees. There, with nobody to watch, I spent time starting and stopping the truck, reversing, and shifting gears as I recited all of the rules that Archie had taught me. Once I’d deemed my driving lesson done for the day, I pulled up to a small cluster of trees that hid me from view and jumped out of the truck. Earlier that week, I had cajoled Archie into loading a few bales of hay for me to practice my sword skills on, and I’d placed them in front of the trees. Now, with the rain having disappeared, I lent myself to the task of keeping my skills fresh.
For two hours, I practiced until sweat dripped down my back beneath my T-shirt and my breath came out in little puffs of air. Finally, after I’d well and truly stabbed the last bale of hay, I stepped back and returned the dirk to the front seat of the truck. There I gulped water while I stared down at the blade, wondering how the jewels had fused into the metal and if it had been my standing for Lachlan that had caused the second one to show up. Wasn’t courage one of the knightly duties as well? Frustration at having no clear-cut answers made me want to stomp my foot. I liked things that fit into neat boxes, like spreadsheets, and not these random and weird rules of magick. If there were even rules.
I wondered if the Stone of Truth could read my thoughts.
