TWENTY-ONE
Broc braced a shoulder against the stone wall and watched Sonya, his eyes feasting on her beauty. She had her face turned toward the forest as she leaned as far over the side of the battlements as she could without falling over.
After a moment she scowled and lowered her head. Broc had hidden in the shadows many times over the last weeks watching Sonya, always watching. He knew she had been trying to listen to the trees that spoke to her, but evidently she hadn’t been able to hear them.
He pushed away from the wall and stepped from the shadows. By the way Sonya held herself rigid, he could tell something was wrong. “What is it?”
She whirled to face him, the skirts of her green gown tangling in her legs. Sonya braced her hands behind her on the stones. “Broc.”
He held back the shiver that raced down his spine at the sound of his name on her lips. She whispered it, almost as if she didn’t believe he was there.
Broc slowly walked to stand in front of her. “Sonya, what is it? Did the trees tell you something?”
“I don’t know.”
The pain in her gaze was like a punch to his gut. “Is it Galen and Logan?”
She lifted her hand to press it to her forehead, and he saw how it shook. “The trees are trying to talk to me. I’m too far away to hear what they are saying, but it’s important.”
Broc didn’t need to hear any more. He looked down into the bailey of the castle where Lucan was continuing Cara’s training with a sword. “Lucan,” Broc called, to get his attention. “I’m taking Sonya to the trees.”
Broc didn’t wait for Lucan’s reaction. He unleashed his god, his large, leathery wings sprouting from his back. He had carried Sonya before, but he hesitated to scoop her in his arms now.
Instead, Broc held out his hand. “I’ll take you to the forest.”
Her amber eyes watched him as she placed her hand in his. Broc closed his eyes and held back a sigh of pleasure when he pulled Sonya’s lithe body next to his.
“Hold on,” he whispered as he spread his wings.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed her face against his chest. The feel of her heat, her breasts crushed against him, made his heart pound faster and all his blood pool between his legs.
The desire that surged through him made his legs weak, leaving only one thought in his mind — kiss Sonya. Take her. Seize her.
“Broc?”
Her velvety smooth voice caused his eyes to open. He swallowed and launched himself into the air. For just a moment, her fingers clutched him, but as they glided through the sky, she relaxed against him.
Broc could feel her smile against his bare chest. All the tension that had radiated from her on the battlements faded to nothing. He took his time flying to the village outside MacLeod Castle so he could savor the delight of having Sonya’s body so close.
All too soon they arrived. Broc didn’t need to turn around to know the other Warriors watched him. Sonya’s communication with the trees was vital to all of them.
He used his wings and slowly lowered them into the middle of the village, hidden from the Warriors’ view. When Sonya’s feet were once more on the ground Broc had no reason to hold her. He was unwilling to let her go though.
For an insane moment he thought about telling her how he desired her, how he had always yearned for her. But as he looked into her lovely amber eyes, he knew now wasn’t the time.
There would never be a time for them. Broc had known it from the first moment he had seen her as a young girl playing in the loch with her sister. Sonya had been a beautiful child, and she had blossomed into a stunning woman.
“Thank you,” she said, and stepped out of his arms.
Broc fisted his hands at his sides. The absence of her warmth against him hurt worse than a drop of
He would never be able to hold Sonya as a lover, so the times he was able to touch her were burned into his skin and branded into his memory. He held those memories against his heart knowing they would be the only things to get him through the long darkness of eternity.
“I’ll stay here while you go to the trees,” he said.
Her tongue peeked out to lick her lips, and he nearly fell to his knees with the longing that cut through him.
Sonya glanced behind her. “I know Isla’s magic keeps the wyrran from finding us, but I would feel better if you were near.”
“Of course.” He was always near her, always had been near her. He had kept her from harm more times than she knew. And he would always be there to make sure nothing happened to her.
They walked to the far end of the village. Isla’s magic created a barrier around the castle and the village, preventing Deirdre or any wyrran from getting to the castle easily. Though Deirdre knew they were at MacLeod Castle, Isla’s magic was strong and her barrier thick enough to keep out all but Deirdre herself.
Deirdre had penetrated Isla’s shield not long ago as she tried to control Isla’s mind, but Isla had managed to break Deirdre’s hold once and for all. None of them knew if Deirdre had regained her form yet, but Broc surmised Deirdre had used a vast amount of her magic to try and claim Isla.
He didn’t expect a visit from Deirdre for a little while. But he was always prepared, especially where Sonya was concerned.
Broc could feel Isla’s magic vibrating around them, signaling they had reached the barrier. Just twenty paces away was the beginning of the forest that spread across the land.
He watched as Sonya reached out, using her ability to hear and speak to the trees. It had been the trees that had sent her to MacLeod Castle and for that Broc would be forever grateful.
Then he saw Sonya bend over, her arms wrapped around her middle. “I cannot.”
Broc was at her side in an instant. He put his arms around her and pulled her against him so that he took most of her weight. The long, thick braid of red hair fell over her side to land at her breast.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“It’s Isla’s magic. It’s keeping me from hearing the trees. I have to go outside the barrier.”
He shook his head. “Nay.”
She turned her face to his, the strain evident in the lines around her eyes and bracketing her brow. “I have to know what the trees are trying to tell me. It’s vital. I feel it.”
Broc realized he could not dissuade her, but when she looked at him so trustingly, he’d been unable to even form an argument. “All right. We’ll go through the shield, but the instant I say we leave, we leave.”
Her small smile was enough to brighten his day. “Certainly.”
Broc glanced at the clouds in the sky, silently praying he would be able to keep her safe. He followed her through Isla’s shield, the magic enveloping him for a heartbeat until it fell away.
He had left the shield before. He knew if he turned around, the castle and village would be gone. Isla’s magic made it appear as if nothing were there but rocks and grass; not even their words penetrated the shield to the world outside.
They hurried into the trees, Broc’s Warrior senses alert to anything out of the ordinary. When Sonya walked into the trees he saw them begin to sway. And not in the direction from which the sea breeze came.
Sonya dropped her head back, and her eyes closed. Her arms lifted from her sides while she swayed with the trees. He had never seen her speak to the trees, never knew it could be so … arousing and sensual.
Her magic had always made his heart beat double time and his blood quicken. But now, as it surrounded him, shrouded him, consumed him, Broc had to sink his claws into a tree so as not to grab her and kiss her as he yearned to do.
