Midnight's Temptation

CHAPTER THIRTY

It was after lunch before the rain stopped. Kissing Aisley had been a mistake. It took everything Phelan had not to make love to her right then and there.

He settled for heated kisses and having her straddle his lap as he sat on the ground. She drew his attention away from everything, which he couldn’t allow right then.

Phelan sensed not just the mies but something else as well. Danger was in the air. It crackled around him, putting him on instant alert. Whether the danger was for him or Aisley, he wasn’t sure yet.

And until he was, he didn’t want Aisley to know anything.

He looked out over the land. The sun was already breaking through the dense clouds, shining beacons of light over the rugged terrain of Skye. The rain coating the mountains sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight. It didn’t seem to matter what weather was on Skye, the place was truly enchanted.

“That was good,” Aisley said as she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich and reached for her water.

Phelan swiveled his head to her. “I think we should wait for the sun to dry the rocks before we proceed.”

“We could be here for an eternity. Do you think I didn’t grow up with the damp Scottish weather and don’t know how to keep my footing?”

“The Cuillin mountains are different. They were aptly named for a reason.”

She rose to her feet, dusted off her bottom, and then shrugged on her backpack. With a small movement of her hand, the fire she created disappeared. “We go now.”

Phelan couldn’t hold back his smile. The woman was spectacular when her fawn-colored eyes flashed with determination.

He used the rocks behind him to gain his feet. “Aye, we’ll go. But slowly.”

“Slow it is, then.”

He followed her out of the hollow and averted his eyes while trying not to smile when she’d taken two steps and her foot slipped on some loose pebbles.

“Fine,” she said with a huff after she righted herself. “Go on and say ‘I told you so.’”

Phelan instead cupped the back of her head and kissed her. He gazed into her eyes and whispered, “Be careful, but keep moving. Slow and steady.”

“What is it?”

“I want off this narrow section before you give me gray hair,” he lied.

She puffed out a breath, but when she took her first step, Phelan saw she was being more cautious than before. Thankfully, a half hour later they came to a wider portion of the mountain.

Phelan took the lead again. His eyes were always searching, looking for a sign of the Druids or the danger. If the threat was to Aisley, he could easily defend her and get them both to safety.

If he was the one at risk, he hoped Aisley could use her magic to get herself away.

He glanced at her and was met with a smile. Phelan knew it was the right thing to do to come to Skye. If they could contain the selmyr, then it was one less thing they had to battle.

Coming to Skye alone might not have been so wise. Yet he wanted to do something for the group of men and women who had welcomed him at MacLeod Castle. Maybe it would make up for not going to them four centuries ago.

Maybe it would help heal the wound that cut through his soul.

* * *

Aisley knew something was bothering Phelan. It was the subtle differences in the way he moved and looked around them. He’d gone from hiker to predator in less than a heartbeat.

There were no trees on the mountains. Just rock as far as the eye could see. Bright green grass carpeted the lower hills and valleys and sometimes even halfway up a mountain.

The peaks of the mountains looked imposing and daunting. She wondered how far up they’d have to go before Phelan found what he was looking for. Which made her frown. What exactly was he looking for?

“Phelan, where are we going?”

“Deeper into the mountains.”

She suppressed a frustrated sigh. “Why?”

“The Druids,” he said over his shoulder. “I told you that.”

“Yes, but you didn’t tell me where we were going.”

He slowed until she was even with him. A grin pulled up one corner of his mouth. “I doona know where the Druids are, beauty. The farther we go into the mountains the more of a chance we have of finding them.”

“And if we don’t find them?”

“We will.”

His confidence should have bolstered her own. Instead it irritated her. “I don’t like being kept in the dark about things. It makes me feel untrustworthy.”

Phelan halted instantly and his eyes pinned her. “This isna about trust, beauty. It’s about keeping you safe. You bring up trust at every turn.”

She swallowed nervously, wondering if he would press her for answers about who she was running from. Aisley looked away because she knew Phelan was right. She did have trust issues. Big ones.

“The Druids are here,” Phelan said, his deep voice softened. “I can no’ see them, but I feel them. I’ve no answers for you other than that. I hope they’ll talk to us with you beside me.”

Aisley looked into his blue-gray eyes. “You think they know what you are?”

“A Warrior? Aye. It’s why they’re watching us. I’m sure they also want to know what you’re doing with me.”

“Surely they know of those at MacLeod Castle?”

He raked a hand through his hair and shrugged. “They may no’. You have roots here, Aisley. Your blood links you to Skye. If the Druids talk to anyone, it’ll be you.”

“Phelan, look, I’m sorry,” she said and licked her lips. “I just … it’s just … so—”

“Shh,” he said over her. “There’s no need for an apology, beauty.”

“There is,” she insisted when he continued walking.

It took her more energy to climb up the steep slope behind him. Her breath came in great gasps, and the cool air that had come in with the rain was gone.

Sweat covered her brow. Aisley couldn’t get her jacket and sweater off fast enough. She stuffed them, as well as her beanie, into her pack and sighed with relief.

She grabbed a bottle of water and lifted it to her lips when she spotted a face in the rocks below and to the left of her. The vibrant blue eyes blinked up at her without fear, without alarm.

It took Aisley a moment to make out the face belonged to a female. A stunning one at that with long black hair. Aisley parted her lips to call to Phelan, and in that instant, the girl vanished.

Aisley jerked her head to Phelan to find him watching her with furrowed brows. “There was a girl there,” she said and pointed to where the face had been.

“I knew they were close,” Phelan said. “We need to keep walking.”

“Why didn’t she speak?”

He lifted one shoulder. “They’re getting closer to us a wee bit at a time.”

Aisley slid her pack back onto her shoulders and started after Phelan. His long strides ate up twice as much distance as hers could. She thought he would be happy that a Druid of Skye had been so near, but it was the exact opposite. He was worried, and it didn’t take his searching gaze or the gold claws extended from his left hand to tell her that.

It was in the way he walked, as if he were looking for something to kill.

Aisley imagined this was how he would be when he came for her. His jaw tight, his eyes devoid of emotion. A Warrior through and through.

She took in a deep breath when they reached another plateau. Turning around slowly, Aisley took in the views.

“Wow,” she murmured. Her eyes landed on Phelan to find his lips flat and a frown marring his forehead. “What is it?”

“I—”

She didn’t hear the rest as pain exploded in her head. Aisley clutched her head with her hands and bent over. Agony shot through her like small pieces of glass cutting into her brain.

“Aisley.”

No. It couldn’t be. Her stomach fell to her feet with dread.

“You’re mine!”

She screamed when something cut into her upper left arm. The force of the attack sent her off balance as it spun her. She tried to pry open her eyes to see where she was, but the pain was too much.

“Mine!” the voice bellowed in her mind.

Another cut, this one deeper, toppled her onto her back. Something was pressing on her chest, the weight of it blocking her air. Her lungs couldn’t expand to draw in breath. She was suffocating.

She knew who was attacking her. And Jason wouldn’t make her death quick.

* * *

Phelan couldn’t make his body move fast enough. He dropped his pack and launched himself from the edge of the mountain as Aisley fell off the side.

Something, someone had pushed her. He knew it, just as surely as he knew that he wasn’t going to let her die.

He caught her against him and reached out with his other hand to grab hold of anything he could find. His fingers came in contact with a rock protruding from the side of the mountain, and they came to a bone-jarring halt that jerked his shoulder out of place.

Phelan gritted his teeth. He forgot all about the pain when he saw the blood dripping from Aisley’s arm, and the trickle that fell from her nose. She was breathing but unconscious.

He glanced down to see a small outcropping about thirty feet below him. Phelan released his hold on the rock. He landed on the outcropping with Aisley cradled in his arms and his knees bent.

In one jump, Phelan had them back atop the plateau. He removed her pack and gently lay Aisley on the ground, then knelt to look at her wounds. There were three slashes across her arm. One was so deep it went to the bone.

With one claw lengthened, he cut his wrist and let his blood flow into her wounds. As soon as he saw the injuries heal, he released the breath he’d been holding.

But Aisley wasn’t out of the woods yet. Phelan let his blood drip into her mouth. It took her a minute before she swallowed it, but as soon as she did, he could see her body healing.

He wanted to search for whatever had attacked her, but he couldn’t leave her. The longer she lay unconscious, the more agitated he became.

There had been something in the air, something evil and malicious. He’d felt Wallace’s magic an instant before Aisley grabbed her head in pain.

But if it had been Wallace, why hadn’t he also attacked him? Wallace made no secret of his hatred for those fighting against him. It would have been the perfect opportunity for Wallace to capture or kill him.

Instead, the assault had been on Aisley.

Phelan jerked his shoulder back into place and then pulled out his phone. His finger was about to press Charon’s number when Aisley’s eyes opened. She drew in a long breath, and her gaze found him.

“You’re all right now,” he told her.

A lone tear fell from her eye to fade into her hair. “You aren’t safe with me, Phelan.”