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

by Shannon Barczak

  “Good.” Robert remarked. “We can keep an eye on them.”

  “They will arrive sometime after lunch three days from now. We will host a small reception for them and then the next night is the ball.” Cecily interjected

  “So we are looking at maybe half of them for the ball.” Gussie added, “Plus our guests as well?”

  “Figure on four hundred to four hundred and fifty.” Winifred said

  “So about that whole thing, what does one wear to a ball? A real, poufy ball gown or is something knee length acceptable?” I asked

  “Willa, I told you to have Desiree make a dress for you months ago!” Julia exclaimed

  “I’ve been busy.” I replied innocently

  “You can’t just run out and buy something.” Cecily said

  “You can look through the attic. I have plenty of formal dresses that I’ve kept from over the years.” Winifred offered

  “You know that whole high-necked Victorian look isn’t my thing.” I remarked

  “I have years’ worth of more youthful gowns. There are even some dresses that are strapless,” she said stiffly

  “No!” I said in mock horror, “Strapless? How scandalous Granny.”

  Winifred smirked a little. “We’ll find something for you that will work. Your mother and I are pretty handy with performing alteration spells.”

  “I hope I have some shoes that will go with whatever I pick out to wear.” I mused. “If you don’t have the right footwear…”

  “Are you done?” Mathias said. “This is the most ridiculous conversation I have ever heard.”

  “I hate to disappoint you but this doesn’t even make it in my top ten.” I said

  “Milton.” Winifred said brightly. “What have you found?”

  “I’m hitting a dead end on this witch,” he said dejectedly. “I can’t find any evidence that supports that the five healers are involved.”

  “We need to focus on the Sanctities and the Fae Lord’s identity.” Jeremiah said

  “I am closing in on finding the paintings.” Milton offered almost cheerfully. “I hope by tomorrow to have a name at least.”

  “What about the Fae Lord?” Cormac asked.

  “Nothing yet, I did have a plan though.” Milton replied

  “Ok, spill.” I said

  “Everyone will be at the ball, at least all the royals and prominent members of each faction. I think we use Willa as bait. Get her to draw one of them out into the open.” Milton said

  “What?” Mathias asked in a low dangerous voice

  “It makes sense.” Jeremiah remarked. “Willa can use her womanly talents on them.”

  Crash! The sound of glass shattering stunned us all for a few seconds. I looked up and saw Mathias holding his broken chair. The conference window smashed, and his face was set in thunderous scowl.

  “BAIT?” he yelled. “We are not using Willa as bait for anyone.”

  “It was just a suggestion.” Milton said meekly

  “A fucking stupid suggestion,” Mathias yelled again. “We are here to protect not put anyone in harm’s way.”

  “That’s not your choice.” I jumped into the conversation. “If I want to be used as bait then I will. We are running out of options.”

  “That is not an option,” he said

  “That’s not for you to decide.” I countered

  “The hell it isn’t.” he said

  “If I want to dance and flirt with one of these pricks to lure them out I will.” I said. “Hell, if I want to give them a lap dance then I’ll do it!”

  Crash! There went another chair through the second window.

  “Mathias!” Winifred yelled. “You will calm down at once. This behavior is unacceptable!”

  Mathias seemed to snap out of his blind rage when she shouted his name. I could see him fighting for whatever control he had left. His outburst had scared everyone but me. I knew he was getting frustrated and to be honest I felt like breaking a few things myself.

  “I’m sorry your Majesty,” he said. “Please forgive me. I think I will go into my office and work for a while.” He walked out of the room without so much as a backward glance.

  “Jesus Mary and Joseph, what the hell has gotten into Mathias?” Cuddy asked

  “I think we are all starting to feel the strain.” Winifred said. She rushed out of the door. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where she was going. I just hoped Mathias was cordial.

  After cleaning up the glass with a fairly cool spell from my mother, the room was put back together in a few minutes. We all milled around for a few minutes before Robert came up to me and whispered in my ear.

  “Willa can I talk to you in private?” he asked

  “Sure.” I said surprised. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I was hoping we could go somewhere where we won’t be overheard,” he said softly

  “Do you trust me?” I asked smiling. When he smiled curiously in return, I grabbed his hands and teleported us to the docks in town.

  “Sorry. I should have warned you.” I grinned

  “It’s ok. That was pretty cool,” he noted happily

  “I thought the docks would be perfect.” I said. “It’s always loud here this time of day with the boats coming in and the tide kicking up.”

  Robert and I walked slowly down the pier in silence. I waited for him to start speaking. Obviously it was important because he didn’t want anyone to hear.

  “Willa, can I ask you a personal question?” he finally asked when we reached the end

  “That depends.” I answered

  “I know that you and Mathias are...true mates,” he said as if in pain

  “Yeah, it sounds so cheesy, right?”

  Robert gave me a nod and smile before continuing. “Willa, have you and Mathias ever slept together?”

  “Wow, cut to the chase why don’t ya?”

  “I don’t mean intimately. I meant sleep as in the fall asleep, snoring way.”

  “Yes, we have.” I answered almost resigned. To talk about this with a guy I hardly knew was a little embarrassing for some reason. Polly and Julia? No problem. I could give every detail, every emotion, and every word that was spoken, moans, grunts, and the whole nine yards. The only reason I was even having this conversation with Robert is because I knew he must have a point.

  “Has he fed from you as well?” he asked

  When I just nodded he sighed. “How long ago did these things happen?”

  “We slept together a few days after we first met, so about six months ago. He had fed on me before he left four months ago.”

  “That explains a great deal,” he said. “I’m not sure if you are aware of this but once we sleep or feed on the person who is our mate, we can’t do it without them again. That means Mathias hasn’t slept in six months nor has he fed in four.”

  “What?” I asked in disbelief. “What do you mean? Christ isn’t there some handbook I can read. I keep getting all this crap thrown at me.”

  “Unless someone knows what it’s like I’m afraid there is no one that can tell you any of this. I contemplated asking Katya to talk to you but after the meeting today I realized that time was of the essence.”

  “You’re worried that Mathias is a ticking time bomb?” I asked

  “Yes,” he replied looking somewhat surprised I caught on so quickly.

  “With the Fae due to arrive shortly, I’m afraid of what he will do. If any of the Fae, not just the Lords, looks at you the wrong way, Mathias is bound to rip their head off and start a war.”

  “You’re right.” I said. “He’s liable to blow this whole thing simply because he’s a stubborn peckerhead.”

  Robert burst out laughing. “That’s not exactly what I was going to say but yes you need to convince him somehow to rest and feed Willa.”

  I laughed inside for a minute. I knew Robert and Mathias were friends but didn’t he know him at all?

  “I’m aware it’s going to be difficult, i
mpossible even, but you have to try Willa,” he said gravely

  “I’ll give it my best shot but don’t be too disappointed when I fail.”

  “I have faith in you,” he said. My stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly. After a marathon Caster session, I was starving.

  “What do you say to lunch at The Queen’s Crown?” he asked, “My treat?”

  “I never turn down a free meal or any meal for that matter.”

  Robert and I were joined by Katya at the pub. We ended up having not only a fantastic meal but a good time. I found myself liking them more and more with each passing minute. I think it was because even though we didn’t know each other well we shared a connection. It was a connection that not many people could understand unless you were mated.

  After having lunch, Robert treated us to an ice cream. By the time, I teleported us back to the offices I was in a great mood. Unfortunately, I knew that the mood was going to be killed in a heartbeat when I confronted Mathias.

  I saw Veronica at the main desk. “Is he in his office?” I asked

  “Yes, but Willa, I think he needs to be left alone,” she replied softly. “Ever since Winifred talked to him he’s been pretty down.”

  “I have no intention of pissing him off right now.” I replied. I gave her a small wave and ignored her protests as I walked down the hall. I thought all afternoon on how I was going to go about this, and I steeled myself for the inevitable confrontation.

  I saw him stiffen the minute I walked through the door. I knew there was no way I was going to catch him unaware. My heart broke slightly when I took in his almost sad face. It was then I noticed for the first time that Mathias had dark circles under his eyes.

  “Willa, please leave. I’m not asking you again.” he said not even looking up from his computer.

  “I just wanted to…OWW!” I cried dramatically. “What is that?” I pretended to look down at the palm of my hand in horror.

  “What?” he sighed “What is it now?” Mathias got up from his desk and came over to where I was standing.

  I turned my palm over, and when he looked at me quizzically, I grasped both of his hands and teleported us to my bedroom.

  The explosion happened almost at once.

  “What the fuck Willa?” he yelled. “Why did you do that? You had no right. I’m in the middle of working.”

  “I need to ask you a question Mathias.” I said intently.

  “I need you to back the fuck off right now,” he yelled

  “When was the last time you slept or fed?” I asked, even though I knew the answer

  “None of your Goddamn business,” he turned to walk away but I teleported in front of him and blocked the door.

  “Mathias, you are putting not only me, but every single person on this island in jeopardy if you don’t get some food and sleep.”

  “Get out of my way Willa,” he said. I saw a vein twitch in his neck. Never a good sign with Mathias but I was determined.

  “You need to feed on me.” I stated

  “I don’t need to do anything.” he yelled. “GET OUT OF MY WAY NOW!”

  I didn’t flinch when he went about destroying my bedroom. Lamps, pictures, DVD’s, anything he could get his hands on went flying but still I stayed in place by the door.

  I knew that he wasn’t completely out of control when I saw him pause in front of my sixty inch flat screen TV. No man in his right mind would break that piece of electronic beauty.

  “Are you done?” I asked firmly

  “You have no idea, you know that?” he said almost smiling. “You have no idea who or what I am. If you did, you would run. You would run as far as you could away from me.”

  “What’s the big deal?” I asked. “You’ve fed from me before…”

  “I. Will. Kill. You.” he interrupted

  “No you won’t.” I replied. “You would never do anything to hurt me.”

  “Yes I would,” he said as his eyes met mine and turned a brilliant red.

  “I’m not afraid of you or what you are.” I replied calmly

  He let out a sharp laugh. “Little girl, you have no sense, do you? You have no idea what kind of game you’re playing right now. Run, Willa. Run while you can. Run while I still have the strength to let you, because if you don’t, I will hurt you.”

  “The only place in the world I want to run is to you.” I said. “If you left right now, I would walk to the ends of the earth to find you. That’s what you don’t understand. I know exactly what you are, and I’m telling you I don’t care.”

  “And what am I Willa?” he asked. “What do you think I am?”

  “You’re the Rau.” I said as I looked intently into his eyes.

  He bowed his head in shame. I wanted to run over to him and throw my arms around him. I didn’t though because Mathias needed to accept this. I did a long time ago, and he needed to acknowledge what he was before we could move forward.

  “How?” he asked. “How did you figure it out?”

  “I wasn’t sure until I met your father and he told me his horrible tale. I thought it was strange that only your eyes ever glowed red from time to time. When I asked Serena and Riah if any of the Guardian's eyes did that, they told me that was a characteristic that was only associated with the Rau.”

  “Did you tell them..?” he asked

  “No, I would never do that. I kept it to myself. You see I had an epiphany later that night after our rescue mission. I thought about what Benedict said. He knew that you wanted to be turned into the Rau just so you could kill him. He was right, wasn’t he?”

  Mathias just nodded. I think he was beyond speech right now.

  “There was no way in hell that you would ever let them kill your sister and not want to get revenge. What better revenge than to turn into the very monster you hated? But something went wrong didn’t it? You didn’t fully become the Rau?”

  Mathias sat down on the edge of the bed and clasped his hands while he bent his head. He still hadn’t looked at me yet. I wasn’t even sure he was going to answer my questions. When he did start talking, I was surprised.

  “I wanted to be like them. I thought that was the only way I could have my revenge for my sister. Not only on them but every single one of their despicable kind. When my life was being drained out of me I eagerly embraced the darkness. I wanted it more than anything. At the last second though, something strange happened. A light from above appeared. Not the light from heaven or anything but it almost seemed like stars shining.”

  “Those stars slammed into me. I tried to push them away. I didn’t want them. I could feel the goodness that they had pulsating through them, but I fought so hard. Finally, I gave in but I didn’t feel just light, I also felt the darkness.”

  “So you’re a hybrid like me?” I asked softly

  “I don’t know. When I woke up, I was not in Wales, Willa. I was in a cave in Fairlia. I have no memory on how I got there or who might have brought me into the realm.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked in confused.

  “I woke up to an old man shaking me. I smelled his blood and wanted to sink my teeth into him, but something stopped me. He fed me and then told me that I was brought there for a reason. He also told me about the Rau and the Gypsies. He explained who the Guardians of the Solas were. We left after a few days, and he deposited me at the castle. Sidra was suspicious. She had no idea who I was or how I could have been brought into the realm.”

  “What she didn’t realize is that I was more Rau than Solas. I was more darkness than light. I accepted her offer to come to the island, but I never gave up hope that I would find my father or brother. The temptation was hard at first, but I learned how to control it rather well.”

  “Until you,” he said. When he did look up at me, his eyes flashed red but I didn’t even register that in my brain. “You walked into my life and wrecked my whole world. Do you have any idea what a pain in the ass you are?”

  “Words any girl wants to
hear.” I muttered

  “I can’t give you the words that you want to hear. I don’t know if I’m capable.” he said truthfully

  It wasn’t until that moment that I realized I didn’t need to hear those words. Words mean nothing if there are no actions behind them. Mathias had proven time and time again with how he felt about me. He wasn’t running; he was hiding but not from me. He may have tried, but I saw through him.

  I had to accept the fact that he wasn’t going to sit on a blanket in a grassy meadow and read me love sonnets. He wasn’t going to write a song for me. He wasn’t going to be something that he wasn’t. The thing is I didn’t want him to do any of that stuff. I wanted something real in this crazy world I lived in now.

  “I don’t care.” I finally answered. “The only thing I care about right now is that you feed on me and then sleep.”

  “I could kill you,” he said

  “I can kill you too, remember?” I smiled

  “Do you remember the first night we spent together in a hotel? When I woke up, I wanted to rip your throat out.”

  “You didn’t though.” I smiled. “Do you know why?”

  “Why?” he shook his head

  “You can’t kill the other half of your soul.” I said softly. “At some point Mathias you’re going to have to accept the fact that we are true mates.”

  Mathias looked at me for a long time. I could see him wrestle with this in his head. He knew I was right, but he was still putting a small fight.

  “Look, I’m going to take a shower.” I said. “Why don’t you feed the dogs and take them out? If you’re here when I come out, then we’ll go from there. If you’re not, then we’ll figure something out and move on with another plan. Either way Mathias, we need to do something. All I am asking is that you consider letting me help you before you kill someone.”

  He slowly nodded. I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I just took the biggest gamble of my life. I wasn’t going to force Mathias or anyone to do something that they didn’t want to do. If Mathias couldn’t come to me without having to lock him in a room than did I really want him?

  Did I want to remember that we broke down our walls because I coerced him?

  I didn’t know if he would be waiting for me on the other side of the door when I got out of the bathroom.