The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* (32 page)

“Yes?" he asked absently

“Did you love her?" I finally asked after a moment of hesitation.

“Who? Serena?" he asked before answering. “Of course, I cared about her very much. I had known her since I was a kid."

“But did you love her? As in I never want to live without you, kind of love?"

Jeremiah seemed so taken aback that I rushed on with what I wanted to say. “I saw you both that day, you know in the courtyard? You both acted...weird towards each other. I also saw it a few more times, but I never wanted to ask her or you about it."

He took a deep breath and looked off into the distance before finally speaking. “Serena and I had a great relationship all the way up to a few weeks after my mother had been taken. That’s when she found me and the person she was in love with together."

My mouth opened slightly, and I couldn’t find my voice. Luckily Jeremiah kept talking. “I was distraught over my mother’s kidnapping and all I can remember is thinking that life’s too short. I didn’t want to waste another minute, another second, worrying about what was right or wrong, what is forbidden, what is acceptable. None of that mattered."

He gave a short laugh. “So I finally tell the person who I had been in love with for a very long time what my feelings were for them and much to my surprise they felt the same way. Before I knew it, we got swept up at the moment."

He paused for a moment. “Then Serena walked in and at first I thought she was in shock because I was locked in an embrace with a vampire. I realized later it's because she was in love with Veronica as well."

“Veronica?" I asked dumbfounded. “Mathias’s secretary?"

He nodded in silence, allowing me to digest his words before he began talking again. “I never knew. I never once suspected it. Veronica had an inkling, but I was shocked."

“I didn’t know either. She never said anything. When I saw your rather awkward exchange, I thought that maybe it had to do with something between the two of you." I said

“Makes no difference now; Veronica was so horrified to be discovered by another colleague that she pretty much pushed me away,” he said almost matter of fact.

“I’m sorry Jeremiah." I said

"Me too,” he smiled sadly. “Veronica started coming into the library about four years ago. She and I both share a love of Greek mythology. We started talking and soon those little chats turned into long, in depth conversations. I found myself enchanted by her."

“When Serena found us, my first thought was that her reaction was due to the fact I am a Clan Prince and Veronica is a Guardian. Then I started to think that maybe she had feelings for me, and I missed it. It wasn’t until her and Veronica started speaking that I clued in on the situation." he said.

“Veronica is so sensitive,” he said. "She was in of turmoil because Serena had feelings for her, feelings she didn't return. I think some of the harsh words Serena said to her began to wear on her. So she told me, in no uncertain terms, that what happened had been a mistake and that the only thing that would come of our relationship would probably lead to disaster and heartbreak.”

“So what are you going to do?" I asked “I mean; you can’t just walk away, you can’t give up on her. If you love someone, you fight for them."

"I will never give up on her but there’s a fine line between fighting for love and being a stalker. The best thing I can do is be there waiting for her when she is ready. If it takes one day or one hundred years, I will never give up hope that she and I will be together."

“What about the whole Vampire, Gypsy, thing, the ‘don’t get intimate with a Guardian’ rule?"

"Where is that rule written?" he chuckled. “Yes, it's frowned upon for a clan member to get involved with a Guardian but the times are changing. You saw the people that came out for Serena today. They didn’t come just because a Guardian died. They came because someone who they have come to like and trust died."

“I know that certain people, including our grandmother, may have a hard time with the idea. But in general I don’t think anyone cares about that anymore. The Guardians have proven their loyalty over and over again. How can we look at them with any inferiority? They’re the same as you and I, only much faster, stronger and have a different diet,” he continued

“I agree, but it seems, for so many years, they were treated differently because of their curse. They probably feel inferior because of that to begin with,” I said. “I think the Guardians probably have more social issues to deal with than us."

“Exactly,” he agreed. "For my sake, I hope that they get over it sooner rather than later."

I thought about what Jeremiah had said, and of course, that led me to Mathias. Although, in his case, I was pretty sure, there were many other contributing factors to his issues, starting with his father from hell.

“What do you say we go and have a drink?" he asked, breaking into my thoughts

"Sounds good, although I have to warn you, I have a 130 pound puppy that is probably going to want to tag along."

Jeremiah put his arm through mine, and we started walking away from the grave.

“Well it’s a good thing I have plenty of whiskey." he smiled

We walked into the large receiving room on the second floor and were greeted by family, friends and Guardians alike. All were in a quiet, reflective mood that is until Cupcake bounded in the room, tongue hanging out and tail swishing. My grandmother was very displeased when his massive bulk bumped into a small table and sent a vase flying to the floor, shattering instantly.

“Whoops,” I said guiltily. “I hope that wasn’t old...or valuable."

“Yes,” Winifred replied exasperated.  “It was very old and extremely valuable."

“He can’t help it, he’s just a baby. A 130 pound baby but nonetheless…" my voice trailed off uncertain

“Nonetheless?" she yelled. “What that dog needs is to learn some manners."

“He’s a little kitten trapped in a big dog’s body. It’s not his fault." I said as I leaned down and petted his silky fur.

"Willa,” Gussie said my name as she came over and drew me into a hug. “I know we were never introduced but I just want to say thank you for everything that you did. Some people might have discounted Julia’s journal as rubbish, but you didn’t, and I for one am horribly grateful."

“How are you?" I asked. Her ash blonde hair looked like it had been cut and colored back into the same stylish shoulder length bob that I saw in the picture from Julia’s room. Her face still looked washed out from her time spent underground but there was a definite spark back in her eyes.

“Better than I have been that’s for sure, Cuddy has been spoiling me horribly since I’ve come home. It will take some time but I am determined to embrace all that life has to offer now. Having my sister home with me is the best gift imaginable." she answered

I smiled in response but before I could continue chatting, Julia and Cuddy came over to us.

“Willa,” Julia said as we stared at each other. It was odd, I felt like we had known each other our whole lives. She had obviously seen me in her visions, but I had only read her journal and met her briefly, once, in the heart of our rescue mission.

“Julia,” I replied. I was not an overly emotional person, I preferred to make jokes and brush things off but my time here on the island had changed all that. I suppose it’s because I never until recently had to deal with any major upheaval in my life. Now I was crying at the drop of a hat and opening my arms to receive bear hugs from strangers.

We held each other for a moment before pulling away. I looked into her eyes and realized that everything we had done was worth it. I’m sure even Serena would’ve agreed that bringing them home, by any means, was the right thing to do.

“Willa, my favorite niece, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Cuddy’s booming voice interrupted. “Julia and I have been talking about the design for the bakery."

“You have?" I asked. “And what pray tell have the two of you been discussing concerning the design of MY shop?"

"Pink,” Julia said innocently

“Excuse me?"

“You said you wanted to go for a more vintage look. The 40’s or 50’s art deco look?" she rattled on oblivious to my horrified expression. “So we were thinking a nice bright pink for the walls."

"I hate the color pink."

“Nonsense, nobody hates the color pink,” Julia laughed

"Well let me be the first person to line up for the ‘I hate pink crusade’.” I said

“Hi everyone,” Oliver said, “What are we talking about?"

“The new color for the bakery,” Julia said brightly

“My utter hatred for the color pink,” I answered. “Does anyone else want to join the club?"

Oliver just smiled before he leaned in and said to me quietly. “Willa, I need to talk to you privately. Would you mind if we found a quiet place to talk?"

"Of course not,” I said taken aback. I had no clue as to what Oliver would have to say to me in private, but I discreetly followed him out of the room. I glanced over to the corner where I noticed Mathias and Winifred were speaking in hushed tones.

Oliver led me into a small sitting room down the hall that I affectionately had dubbed the ‘Lilac room.' Soft lavender walls accented by framed artwork of lilacs and hydrangeas hung in small groupings around the room. Cream colored sofas with lilac throw pillows accented the extremely feminine room.

"What’s up Doc?" I asked jokingly

"Willa,” he began solemnly. “I’ve been in the lab for the past few days. You remember you came in last week, and we drew blood to analyze it?”

“Yes." I said as my heart began beating frantically. Oh God, he found something. I have cancer, was my first thought

"I’m going to try to explain this very simply.” Oliver said leaning forward on the couch and clasped his hands. “Your blood is poison."

"Come again? Poison? As in it’s riddled with poison and I’m going to be taking a dirt nap soon?"

"No,” he chuckled. “I ran tests, experiments, so to speak, and it was odd. I took a small drop of your blood and merged it with the blood of the Rau and the Guardians. Every time I had the same result. Your blood cells attacked theirs and effectively killed them."

"That’s impossible." I breathed.

“It’s not something I have ever heard of or seen before in all my time as a healer. I ran multiple tests, and I concluded that between your fire and your blood, you are a vampire repelling being, in every way, shape and form."

I sat in utter disbelief. There was no way Oliver’s tests were correct. If that were the case, Mathias would be dead right now, and we would be burying both him and Serena.

"Willa?" Oliver asked perplexed. “Are you all right? I know it’s downright shocking but in a way it’s remarkable. Your blood is unique, magically even. No harm can ever come to you by a vampire."

I did the only thing I could think to do as I sat there frozen in shock.

MATHIAS!
I yelled in my head.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mathias was in the room in a blink of an eye. His head moved back and forth while his eyes scanned for any threat.

What? What’s going on?
He yelled in my head

I just sat there, unable to form any complete sentences, out of my mouth or in my head.

“Mathias? What’s the matter?" asked a befuddled Oliver

Winifred hurried into the room and looked around the room. She seemed startled that Oliver and I were sitting there but looked even more worried when she took in Mathias’s face.

“Mathias, whatever is the matter? You took off in such a rush,” she asked concerned

“Forgive me. I thought I heard something. I was mistaken." he said smoothly.

Winifred nodded at him before turning her attention to us. “What are the two of you doing?"

Since I was still a mute zombie, Oliver took the reins and spoke for me. “Willa and I were having a discussion regarding her recent blood work."

Are you all right? Are you sick?
Mathias asked

“No, that’s not a problem.” I muttered, drawing my grandmother’s and Oliver’s attention.

“Has the party moved in here?" Uncle Cuddy asked as he walked in with a confused expression. Closely behind was the rest of the family, including my parent’s.

“What’s up Willy Dilly?" asked my dad looking concerned.

“Same old, same old, just when you think it can’t get any weirder…" I answered

“What’s going on?" Cecily asked as she sat beside me

“Willa, since I’m sure this falls under the Doctor/Patient confidentiality rule if you don’t want me to say anything yet..?" Oliver asked

“No, it’s fine. We’ll have to tell them at some point." I said

Oliver quickly explained about my blood and what had happened during the tests that he ran. I listened as he gave a more detailed explanation to my family with one ear though. My mind was swirling with questions that I knew I couldn’t ask or explain. I had to figure out a way though. Mathias had drunk a great deal of my blood when he had fed on me before we went on our rescue mission. The thought of him being sick or even him not being sick was of the utmost importance in my mind.

“Wow, you are a badass, Willa." Jeremiah said in wonderment

“How is this possible?" Cecily asked

“I’m not sure. The human body is a miracle to begin with; throw in some magical properties of both the Fae and the Gypsies, and obviously you and Cormac created something very special." Oliver stated

“A weapon,” Julia said almost confused

“What dear?" asked Aunt Gussie with a befuddled look.

“She’s a weapon,” Julia repeated with a dazed look on her face. “She was created for a few different reasons. Her blood though is the key somehow."

“Julia what do you see?" Winifred asked as she came to stand beside her and put her arm around Julia’s shoulders.

“It’s vague, but somehow it all ties in with, the Rau, the witch, and the Fae Lord."

“The Rau, The Witch, and the Fae Lord it just doesn’t have the same ring to it like ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’.” I said

That brought everyone’s attention back to me. Only instead of looking at me like a mental patient, they all cracked smiles. All except Mathias. He was staring at me with his hooded eyes.

“Oliver." Mathias said. “There was an incident...”

What the hell are you doing?
I asked in panic

“What sort of incident?" Rhoswen asked

“When Willa and I were interrogating the Rau prisoners, I pricked Willa’s finger with a knife to draw her blood. It was over dramatic of me, but I wanted to torture them a bit."

“Go on Mathias." Winifred said

“After I pricked her finger, I licked her blood off of the knife,” he finished

Everyone gasped, except one person, my Father. He just looked at Mathias with curiosity and vague disapproval.

“Mathias, how could you? Willa’s blood hadn’t been tested. You, more than anyone, are aware of the rules about waiting and now look? You could be sick.” Winifred said worriedly

“Obviously it was not the smartest thing to do. To be honest though, I really did not experience any difference in tasting her blood, only a very small charge." he answered smoothly

“That’s very curious Mathias,” Oliver said. “I only used a very tiny drop of her blood in the testing. Almost immediately the blood cells attacked the others, of the Rau and Guardian blood alike. We should go to the hospital right away to draw some of your blood so we can do more lab work."

Mathias nodded. “I agree. First I would like to brief the Guardians. Word had gotten around about Willa and her fire. It needs to be addressed as well as this latest development."

“Absolutely,” Cormac said. “We wouldn’t want anyone mistakenly drinking Willa’s blood."

Oh fuck, he knows. I don’t know how I knew that, but I did. I could tell by the tone of his voice that my dad realized something was up between Mathias and me. By the surprised look that came and went over Mathias’s face he was aware of it too.

“Cormac," Gussie laughed. “No Guardian is going to attack Willa and feed off of her blood. That is ridiculous."

“Ridiculous as it may seem, I believe some form of conversation is in order,” Cormac said so sternly his internal blue light started pulsating

“Goodness Cormac, calm down, darling." Cecily said

“I agree Dad. The whole blue light special thing you got going on right now is unnecessary,” I added

“We’ll see about that.” he said curtly

“I’m a little beat, so I’m going to head out. Oliver, all you need to do is just call if you need to take more blood from me." I said as I stood up to leave.

“I will. Thanks Willa." Oliver said

“Fantastic idea,” Cormac said suddenly cheerful. “I’ll escort you home."

I let out an inward groan. “Great."

I’ll be over later. We need to talk.
Mathias said to me

Yeah, that would be an understatement.
I answered wordlessly

We said our goodbyes to the family and the rest of the mourners and Guardians still gathered in the other room. My father and I walked with Cupcake in silence down to the parking area. Maybe it was all in my head or just my guilty conscience but I could sense the questions and anger reverberating off of him.

I drove home slowly. I wanted to prolong the start of this conversation for as long as possible. When we pulled into my driveway, both of us got out of my golf cart stiffly, even Cupcake seemed aware of the tension filled atmosphere.

I opened the front door and went right into the kitchen to go about making hot chocolate with a shot of Irish cream whiskey. I figured we both may need this by the time we got through our conversation.

I set down the steaming mugs on the coffee table and sat while I waited for him to start.

“I realized it the other night, the night you came back from London, that something was up,” he started saying. “When I looked up and saw him standing in the bathroom doorway, he looked like he was in pain as well. I tried to convince him to leave when you were in the shower. I told him to go home, that your mother and I would take care of you, but he flatly refused."

Cormac came over from standing by the windows and sat next to me on the couch. “Well with Mathias, it wasn’t a very long argument. So we left you under his watchful eye, and when we got home, it hit me. All these little things started to add up, and quite frankly I was pissed."

I glanced up at him in question. What the fuck did he have to be pissed about?

“What the frick did I have to be pissed about?" he echoed my thoughts. "Well, when your daughter falls in love with someone you kind of want to be there to witness that. To be the one she talks to you with or cry on your shoulder when she’s upset or confused. You just want to be a part of that, and I wasn’t."

"Dad...” I started

“No. You're old enough to live your life and do as you choose,” he interrupted. “But I guess I’ve been feeling a bit left out lately. The house, the bakery, this rescue mission, all of those things you decided and didn’t tell me or even let me weigh in on with my opinion."

“You didn’t have too obviously but you've always come to me, whether it is for advice or just to chat. These past few weeks I have seen you grown leaps and bounds. Your different somehow, more serious, more emotional. Not that I wouldn’t expect you to change slightly but still I’ve missed you and now your heart doesn’t belong to me anymore does it?”

Tears pooled in my eyes, and I all I could do was just shake my head.

"You’ve had boyfriends before but Mathias is different. Are you in love with him?" he asked

“I don’t know." I finally choked out before letting out a nervous laugh. “It’s complicated, one moment I find myself falling madly head over heels and the very next minute I find myself wanting to kill him."

Cormac laughed. “Sounds like love to me Willa. I assume from your reaction earlier that Mathias has fed from you and not just from a speck on a knife either."

‘Why do you think that?" I asked cautiously. I promised Mathias I wouldn’t tell anyone. I was also somewhat protective of him. I didn’t want anyone, especially my dad, to think less of him.

“Knowing you, if you found out your blood was like poison to vampires, you would be dancing around and calling yourself the Terminator while singing some kooky song."

“I have no idea what you're talking about dear father of mine. That doesn’t sound like me at all. Although, anything by AC/DC, would probably be appropriate,” I smiled

Then I realized something. He doesn’t care. My father doesn’t care if I swear like a sailor or try to seduce a vampire. He loves me no matter what. So I started telling him everything from the moment Mathias, and I met to the time a few minutes ago when I shouted for him in the Lilac room.

I glossed over a few details though, no matter what, he was still my dad. No father wants to hear about his daughter’s sex life or overactive libido.

He let out a big sigh and took a sip of spiked hot chocolate. “What is it with this family? Do we all fall in love with the one person we shouldn’t?"

“Dad, do you know anything about this whole, vampire, true mate thing?"

“Ah, yes. Well, communicating with each other through your mind and sleeping together are classic signs. The blood thing though?" he shook his head. “That I have no idea. It could be one of the more obscure signs or it could be something else entirely."

“So either way I’m screwed." I said. “I’m already bound to him in some crazy, cosmic, cheesy romance novel way."

"Yes, unfortunately, I believe you are,” he answered. “I only say, unfortunately, because if I know Mathias, he probably likes the idea about as much as you like going to the dentist."

“Hey,” I said, lightly punching him in the arm. “My problem with going to the dentist is on an entirely different level of irritation. One stubborn, enigmatic, vampire with a giant stick up his ass I can handle. At least I have seen glimpses that he does have a sense of humor and a soul. One dentist who doesn’t even want to give me Novocain when he replaces my filling? What kind of sick, sadist fuck does that?"

“I told you not to have that candy apple at the fair,” my father laughed