Midnight's Temptation

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Phelan wasn’t astonished to find Aisley could climb better than she’d said. They reached the first slope of the Cuillins an hour ago. The climb was steep and slippery in places. He stayed behind her in case she fell, but he let her choose the best path for her.

The Druids he’d felt in Portree were near. They were getting closer to them, he knew. Aisley’s apprehension of meeting them gave him an uneasy feeling—about all of it.

Phelan realized that giving Aisley the room she needed to trust him could well turn against him. What he had learned of her past were things she hadn’t shared with anyone else.

It was the rest of her past that concerned him. Like who she was running from. And who in her family had told her about being a Druid and magic as well as Warriors but hadn’t told her the story of Deirdre.

He braced a hand on Aisley’s hip when she reached a steep part of the mountain that required her to get a firm handhold to pull herself up. Only when she had gotten past the roughest section did he use the strength his god gave him and jump to stand beside her.

Her lips twisted. “I’m thinking I should just hop on your back and you do that all the way up the mountain.”

“I can,” he said with a grin. “Then you’d miss some great views. And we could miss the Druids.”

“This is a long shot we’re taking. The Druids that bound the selmyr are probably long gone. You said yourself Druids are becoming scarcer and scarcer. Do you really believe the ones here will know what to do?”

He turned her to unzip her pack and take out the jacket he’d packed for her. After he zipped her pack back up, he pulled it off her and handed her the jacket. “You’re going to want to put this on.”

Aisley looked from him to the sky. Without a word she got it on and zipped it as the first drops of rain started. Phelan then handed her a fleece beanie.

“Thank you,” she murmured as she slid the beanie over her head, making sure it covered her ears.

“The rain is going to make the climbing that much more difficult.”

She shrugged. “I’ll be all right.”

“Aye, but I willna be worrying about you. There’s a place a few hundred yards up that will give us protection.”

Aisley’s flattened lips told him she hated being coddled, but he couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t chance her life just to get a little farther.

Not to mention the rain could last all day. He hadn’t mentioned spending the night on the mountain, but he had come prepared for it.

Phelan pointed her in the direction they needed to go. As if on cue, the rain quickly turned from a drizzle to a downpour. It could last as little as a few minutes or as long as an hour. The weather on Skye adhered to its own rules.

The slope evened out as they neared the hollowed part of the mountain. But it also grew narrow. Phelan was opening his mouth to tell Aisley to be careful when her foot slipped on a loose rock.

His instincts and quick reflexes grabbed her before she could go over the side. Phelan tightened his hold on her wrist before he pulled her up beside him.

Aisley was visibly shaken as she looked over the side to where she would have fallen had he not caught her. He couldn’t even think about it.

“Slowly,” he cautioned.

She nodded and started forward with one hand on the mountain. Phelan watched every move she made like a hawk. It was an eternity later that they reached the hollow.

As soon as they were inside he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her long and hard. It was meant to distract them both, but her answering moan turned his blood to molten lava.

He angled his head, deepening the kiss. His hands delved into her wet hair, feeling the coolness of it. Instantly it was like cold water doused on him.

Phelan ended the kiss and looked down at her. “Are you cold? You feel cold.”

“I am a little.”

“You need a fire,” he said and looked outside hoping to find something to burn.

There was a loud sigh behind him. “What I need is for you to calm down,” she shouted over the rain.

Phelan turned his head and glared. “You’re cold.”

“And so is your skin. It’s raining and the temperature dropped. I’ve been in colder weather than this, and I survived.”

He was handling the situation all wrong, but how could he explain to her the terror that gripped him? She was mortal. It took the smallest thing to end her life. He’d witnessed it through the centuries, and the idea of it happening to Aisley left him feeling as if the iron grip on his chest would never let up.

“Besides, there isn’t room for a fire,” Aisley said. “There’s barely enough room for both of us to sit.”

Phelan ran a hand down his face and shook the water from his hair. “Do you have the magic to heal yourself?”

The silence that followed made the fist around his chest tighten until he couldn’t breathe.

“No,” she replied in a soft whisper.

He turned to her. “You’re strong. You willna get sick.”

“I won’t get sick,” she repeated, a small smile tilting up the corners of her mouth.

Phelan dropped his pack to the ground and smoothed his hair away from his face. He couldn’t take his gaze off Aisley. She slowly set her pack down before she removed her jacket.

With her gaze locked with his, she held her hands out with her palms facing down. Her magic, warm, elegant, and provocative engulfed him.

Claws lengthened from his fingers that he buried in the granite of the mountain. If he went to Aisley, if he neared her he’d take her savagely, brutally. His hunger was that great.

Fire erupted between them. Phelan tore his gaze from hers to look at the red and orange flames. Heat instantly filled the small space.

“I might not be able to heal myself, but I can do other things.”

Phelan swallowed hard. “You really have no idea what your magic does to me, do you?”

“If you mean, can I see that your eyes are flashing from blue-gray to gold, yes, I can tell.”

“Does it frighten you?”

“Only if you don’t come here so I can kiss you.”

Phelan was in front of her the next second.

MacLeod Castle

Larena stood on the shore with her arms wrapped around her. The wind battered her while the waves rolled toward her, landing in foam upon the rocks at her feet.

For centuries she had been a part of this land. She’d given blood, sweat, tears, and her soul to protect it—to protect those within the castle walls.

The woman she was when she first met Fallon had been shaped by years of fighting droughs and the love of the one man in all the world who was meant to be hers.

Yet, she was changing. She could feel it inside. The things that used to matter—family, laughter, love—were things she had to work to remember.

She held out a hand and called up her goddess. Her skin shimmered as it turned iridescent and long, sharp claws extended from her fingers. She ran her tongue along her fangs.

Her goddess, Lelomai, called for death.

Larena struggled to take in each breath. Lelomai was taking control. Bit by bit Larena was losing the battle she’d won hundreds of years ago.

Lelomai’s call to let go was tempting. Larena was tired of fighting, tired of giving up everything for the safety of mortals who didn’t know she existed.

All she had to do was relinquish the last grip of her control. It would all be over quickly.

Hands, firm and strong, spun her around. She found herself looking into the dark green eyes of her husband. Fallon’s long, dark locks were dancing about his head in the wind, and the stricken look on his face told her he knew exactly what she’d been about to do.

“Doona go where I can no’ follow,” he begged.

She placed a hand over his heart after she tamped down her goddess. He’d had his own demons to fight when she first met him. She had helped him fight his addiction to alcohol, but she wasn’t sure he could help her. “It’s getting too hard to fight my goddess.”

“You’ve had control for five centuries, my love. The only way Lelomai gets to rule you is if you let her.”

“If I let go, all of this craziness inside me will cease.”

“If you let go, I’ll lose you.”

Anguish, sharp and true, rang clear in his deep green eyes. She had loved this man through centuries. How could she think of giving up on that? They had shared laughter, heartache, battles, long nights of steamy lovemaking, and a bond that couldn’t be reversed.

Larena closed her eyes and gave a vicious shake of her head to clear it. When she looked at Fallon again, whatever had taken hold of her was gone.

“I’m fading,” she told him. “I can feel it. One day you’ll come to me and I won’t know who you are.”

He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “We’ll always know each other, Larena. Our love is solid and formidable. Evil isna strong enough or brave enough to try and touch us.”

“It’s not safe for me to walk freely in the castle. You need to lock me in the dungeon.”

“Never.”

She lifted her head and traced his lips with her finger. “Always so stubborn.”

“I’m protecting you.”

“Then let the Druids spell me into a deep sleep.”

He shook his head. “Nay. I wouldna be able to reach you then. You must stay with me. You have to fight this. I’ll be here. You know I’ll help you, but you have to do this, Larena.”

He didn’t finish. But there wasn’t a need. She knew if she didn’t fight she was already lost to him.

She looked out across the turbulent sea. Engaging whatever was inside her was going to be the most difficult battle of her life. How could she refuse Fallon, though? She couldn’t. It seemed a daunting trial before her, but with Fallon beside her, she could get through anything.

Larena faced her husband and smiled. “Then let’s fight this thing.”

Relief flooded his eyes. He held out his hand, and together, they jumped to the top of the cliffs to walk back to the castle.