The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* (80 page)

Chapter Two

Mathias

“Well, I’m almost positive that she is driving Patcoena crazy right now,” I said to Summer as I watched the remnants of the portal fade away.

“Mathias, they only just left,” Summer laughed. “I’m sure that Pat and Willa are just fine.”

I turned to Summer and smirked. “I’m pretty sure after what I just mouthed to her she is probably throwing quite the fit and poor Patcoena is the one that has to hear her rant.”

“You mouthed something to Willa?” Summer had said before her face lit up in understanding. “Oh dear, I’m assuming you responded to her declaration of love?”

I ignored her question and held out my arm. “Madam, we must get you to the Isle.”

Summer smiled and gracefully took my arm before she clambered on my back. I shot off into the sky completely unaware of the sea that surged underneath us. My mind was too wrapped up in thoughts of Willa. She was now in an entirely different realm, and I wasn’t with her. I had no idea of the challenges that she would face because all I could think about was the dangers that her being there could pose.

I did not want her to go without me, but Summer had a vision of me dying if I went so of course Willa was adamant that I stayed behind here on the Isle of Skye. My heart, which I had thought died long ago, had leapt with joy at her spontaneous speech before she stepped through the portal. Her declaration of love did not surprise me. I knew she loved me. I had known for a very long time.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to tell her that I had loved her the second I saw her face.

I remembered that afternoon very clearly. When the Queen had informed me that Cecily and Cormac were in trouble and that I needed to bring them back safely, I was only too happy to perform my duty as the head of the Guardians of Solas. I had been Cecily’s Guardian from the moment she came into this world. I thought of her, not as my daughter, but as a favorite younger cousin. I had always liked Cormac, and I had been the only one aware of their forbidden relationship in the beginning.

Winifred had stopped me in my tracks though when she told me that they had conceived a child. We both were in shock. There had never been a child born between the Fae and the Gypsies. It had always been considered to be impossible. We also both were fearful because we did not know what this girl was capable of as far as magic. We did know that the Fae would view her as quite the prize.

Winifred had asked me to perform an assessment of her and I agreed graciously. I knew that she was angry with Cormac for taking her daughter away and I also was aware that she did not want to get attached to Cecily’s daughter. I think we both figured that her being on the island would attract too much attention, and that was dangerous.

I had gone to Arizona only to make sure that Cormac, Cecily and their daughter made it to the Isle of Skye. When I walked into their house, I had been taken aback by the hum of awareness that I felt in my system the moment I walked inside the home. I brushed it off because I thought I was soaking in Cecily’s and Cormac’s magic. I had been impatient to get out of there as soon as possible. When Cecily had yelled for her daughter, my only thought was that I hoped she hurried up so we could go through the portal and get back to the island.

I knew that Frank and Serena were already somewhat enamored with her, and I hoped they didn’t fawn over her too much. The fact that she existed was going to make her a celebrity, and I had no desire to waste any more time watching them make fools of themselves.

When the kitchen door opened, I felt her presence at once. It caught me off guard so much that I had stumbled back into the shadows by the front door. My hands started to shake, and I shoved them in my pockets. I was so thrown by my body’s response that I had no idea what was going on until she stepped into view and at that moment a swirl of emotions had almost overwhelmed me.

Her clear blue-green eyes were wide and friendly as she was introduced to Frank and Serena. I could tell that they were charmed by her right away. When her mischievous laugh reached my ears, my knees almost buckled. I watched her long unusual colored golden red brown hair swing over her shoulder, and I closed my eyes as her scent reached my nose. I knew that Cecily had Willa’s scent masked, but I could still smell it faintly and my fangs immediately started to ache in my mouth.

When Cecily turned to me, I straightened my stance and came forward. I didn’t dare give her my hand because I knew if I touched her that would be it for me. I saw her jolt of shock as she looked at me, and I could tell she felt the same. I reminded myself who I was and why I was there. I tried to ignore her quizzical expression as I dismissed her and went outside to check the perimeter of the house again. I had to regain control over myself.

I also was deathly afraid that everything I had worked for was going to be ruined by Willa. When I woke up from a sound sleep in a St. Louis hotel room and almost tried to feed off of her, my fears were confirmed. I was disgusted with my behavior. I had almost killed her. The more I tried to pull away from her though the more she drew me in her innocent web.

She was quite simply the most magnificent creature in the world, and I would never be able to resist her.  I knew it pissed her off, but I still could not squash my protective instincts towards her. The thought of anything happening to her made me want to kill everything in my path. I knew that she believed that there was no reason for me to protect her. She had proven time and time again that she could handle herself in any situation but what she didn’t realize yet was that our beings were tied to one another on every level.

Her survival meant my survival. If she were to perish, my soul would wither and die as would hers, if I were to leave this earth unwillingly.  I could care less about my life, but her essence was far more precious. When I left the island for those four months, it had been pure hell. I didn’t eat or sleep for months.  I was worried about what our time apart could do to her now that we had truly mated in every sense of the word.

Patcoena had said that Willa could be overwhelmed when she tried to take in the king’s power of the elements into her body. I didn’t want to tell her that being away from me may only compound that feeling. I knew she had enough to worry about, but I was now kicking myself.

I was also apprehensive because I could feel her power. I knew when it was building up inside of her, and I could also feel her joy when she released its force. If the king’s powers engulfed her mind and body then I would suffer too. I knew she would need me if that happened, and I had to find a way to coexist with her while she went through this experience. Even if she was able to come through this with flying colors I knew that we were in for a roller coaster ride.

Of course, life with Willa was always like a carnival ride so maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal. After all, our lives and our relationship were far from normal and stable; a little more craziness was pretty much on par with our day to day life.

I spied the castle in the distance and stiffened. I had no idea what would happen when we landed. Winifred might throw me back in jail.

“Summer, be prepared,” I said. “I’m not certain what may transpire when we land on the island.”

“I’m not worried,” she yelled back

I dropped down as gently as I could. Summer slivered off my back and gave me a smile. I heard the footsteps and shouts the second my feet touched the ground. I fixed an impassive look on my face as I faced my colleagues. Robert, my friend and former head of the Guardians made his way over to me slowly. I tried not to smile in greeting. I knew he wanted no part of arresting me again.

“Mathias,” he said formally

“Robert,” I answered. “May I introduce you to
Summer…?”

“Mrs. Sumners?” Cecily shouted in greeting, I looked over Robert’s shoulder and saw Cecily with Winifred coming towards us.

“Mathias,” Cecily said almost coldly. I almost smiled. I knew she had to be slightly pissed and probably a little disappointed in me. Willa had told her about us, and I’m sure she wasn’t pleased Willa was with a vampire. I nodded but refrained from saying anything to her. Now was not the time to have a discussion about her daughter’s relationship with me.

“There is a lot to talk about Mathias,” Winifred said. “Can you please bring your guest with you to my office?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” I replied before turning to Robert. We wordlessly exchanged a quick look. I shook my head in answer. I knew that he wanted to know why Willa wasn’t with me, and I needed him to be in the loop about all of this. I gestured for him to join us, and we all proceeded to follow the Queen into the castle and up to her office.

“Where’s Willa?” Winifred asked once we were all settle inside. “I’m assuming you found Patcoena and this is his wife
Summer?”

“Yes, this is
Summer,” I answered. “Willa is with Patcoena.”

“What?” Cecily asked as Cormac burst into the office. “Where did they go?”

“Where’s my daughter?” Cormac demanded

“Cormac, please sit down,” Winifred said. “We’re just getting to that.”

“If I may explain, your Majesty?” Summer had said before she launched into the whole story of who she and Patcoena were. I listened with one ear. I walked over to the side window and stared out at the darkness that still enveloped the island from Sabine’s sinister spell. My mind was calculating the time that had gone by since Willa left. Forty- three minutes, I thought, two thousand five hundred and eighty seconds.

“Willa has gone with Pat to seek out the…” Summer started to say

“No,” I said. “That’s enough. Willa has gone with Patcoena to find out more information on the Fae Sanctities. She’ll be back in four or five days.”

Summer grew quiet as she looked at me. I knew that she wanted to tell everyone about Willa being the Fae Sanctity, but I was hesitant. We had to keep this a secret for Willa’s protection. I trusted her family, but I wasn’t ready for them to know the details. I also knew that Willa wouldn’t want them to worry about her.

“Why didn’t you go with her?” Cormac asked in a low voice

I let out a snort. “She gave me no choice Cormac.”

“She shouldn’t have a choice,” Cormac said. “You are her Guardian and her…”

“Be careful Cormac,” I warned. I knew that Winifred was perfectly aware that there was something going on with Willa and me but until Willa told her I wanted to keep her in the dark. That was something she should hear from Willa not me.

“You are sworn to protect her,” Cormac said

“I’m afraid if Mathias went with Willa than he would’ve died,”
Summer explained. “I had a vision of what would’ve happened and I showed this to Willa. She was adamant that he was to stay here and not come after her.”

“I don’t care,” Cormac yelled. “It’s his job to keep her safe…”

“She gave me no choice,” I shouted. I pushed myself away from the window and stared down at Cormac. I was angry enough about not being with her. I didn’t need anyone to question Willa’s decisions.

Everyone grew quiet, and I had to hand it to Cormac, he didn’t shrink away in fear from me. I knew how much he loved his daughter, and I respected that, but I was already pissed off enough at myself. I didn’t need him second guessing me.

All of a sudden Riah burst through the door. “Jeremiah’s gone,” he said

“What?” Robert and I both said at the same time

“Where could he have gone?” I asked concerned, for Jeremiah to be missing was the last thing I needed right now. I knew how close Willa and Jeremiah had become in the last few months. If anything happened to him, she was liable to go postal.

“Mathias,” Riah said. “Do you know where Willa is?”

“Yes,” I answered. “But what does that have to do with anything? She’s fine. Where’s Jeremiah?”

“Apparently he’s with Willa,” Riah answered

“No he’s not,” I said confused

“Veronica just came to see me,” Riah said. “An hour ago Lord Machall opened a portal and came to see Jeremiah. He told him that the great Patcoena had said that he and Jeremiah were to be guides to help Willa on her quest. He requested that Machall fetch him and meet them somewhere in Fairlia.”

I stalked over to where Summer sat and placed my arms on her chair essentially blocking her in. “What the hell is going on?”

“I had a vision last night,” she said. “Pat and I both thought that Willa’s history with Machall may cloud her judgment if he was to tell her that Lord Machall would be coming along with them.”

“Lord Machall is the very reason this island is in darkness,” I said dangerously. “Lord Machall was there when that bitch tore down the protective barriers and let the Rau in to kill thousands of people.”