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

by Shannon Barczak

  I surprised Robert by giving him a hug that he returned warmly. “I still haven’t thanked you.”

  “For what?” he asked, perplexed

  “For what you said in the courtroom when my grandmother was questioning Mathias.” I replied. “Thank you for jumping in like that.”

  “Well, I figured better me than you.” he said with a sly smile before he took off into the sky.

  “Jeez.” I muttered. “I’m not that bad.”

  Mathias picked me up, and we flew to the tree house. I was a little taken aback when he sunk onto the couch. It was then I really got a good look at him. He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his tired eyes and his body, which he regularly held so stiff and proper, was almost hunched over. I had no idea how he went as long as he did without feeding or sleeping when he was gone for those four months.

  “So are you going to tell me how and why you did what you did?” he asked. I shuffled over and sank down beside him.

  “I have no idea how I did it.” I said. “I was sitting in that room and all of a sudden it hit me. At first I thought that I was crazy and tried to dismiss my plan. But the more I thought about it, the more I could visualize myself doing it. I told my grandmother it was almost like my powers and the elements were waiting for me finally to unleash them.”

  I thought some more before adding. “The funny thing is I don’t think I even used them all to my full potential. I can still feel them lingering underneath the surface of my skin.”

  “Do you have any idea what it was like for me to watch you in that field, surrounded by hundreds of Rau?”

  “How many did it take to restrain you?” I grinned

  “About half the room.” he said. “Of course once you started to become a human nuclear bomb, most of them let me go to enjoy the show. I still think half of them are in shock and, quite possibly, scared to death at the sight of you.”

  “You didn’t fight them when they arrested you.” I remarked

  “I wasn’t going to challenge my colleagues.” he said. “I went willingly when I saw that you were safe. Christ, I knew it would happen someday. I knew I would get found out the minute I met you. You’re my mate, and when you’re threatened, you bring out the animal inside of me.”

  “I’m sorry.” I said

  “Don’t be sorry.” he replied, pulling me onto his lap. I curled up and breathed in his scent. I wish I could stay in his arms forever.

  “So what was this quote?” he asked

  “‘We only part to meet again.' “

  “Hmmm, John Gay isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” I answered. “I’m almost afraid to tell you my theory because I’m sure you’ll think it’s ridiculous.”

  “I have to be honest.” he said. “Right now I could care less. I’m tired; I’m hungry, and I need to feed.”

  I pulled away to look in his eyes. “You’re hungry as in food?”

  “Yes.” he growled, “As in food, sex and blood.”

  “Do you even have any food here in the house?” I asked

  “Yes I have food.” he answered as he got up and pulled me to standing position. “I knew I was going to bring you here, so I stocked up some essentials.”

  “I’m so glad you think I’m some sort of chow hound who regularly needs to eat.”

  “I have angus steak burgers in the freezer.”

  “Burgers?” I asked. “Do you have any potatoes? I could make steak fries.”

  He smiled and kissed me lightly on the mouth before leading me into the kitchen.

  We prepared our meal and sat down at the small kitchen table. Mathias moaned in delight when he took his first bite of my steak fries.

  “Not too much seasoning?” I asked

  “Perfect.” he said. “So tell me why do you think you know Patcoena?”

  “When we opened the bakery there was an older couple that came in the first day. I remember thinking I thought that he looked familiar but then I put it out of my head. The second I heard that the line all these memories came rushing back to me. You see the day he came into the bakery he put a spell on me.”

  “A spell?” Mathias asked, his face scrunched up in confusion

  “The first memory I have of him was when I was four. My father had tried all day to teach me how to ride a bike without training wheels. I was so frustrated with myself because I just couldn’t figure it out. Early the next morning, I got up, snuck out of my house and proceeded to try again. I wanted to teach myself how to do it so I could show my dad. I wanted to make him proud.”

  I took a sip from my bottle of water before continuing. “Over and over I tried to ride that damn bike. I remember I finally got some real momentum and then I was off on two wheels. I looked over my shoulder, and there was a man standing there. I don’t know why but I wasn’t scared. He smiled and gave me a wave. Over the years, I would see him at random places but I never put it together. I just thought he was some guy in the neighborhood.”

  “I was shocked when he and his wife walked in the bakery. I said hello and the after that everything was a little blurry. I think that’s when he put a spell on me. He wanted me to forget that I had known him all my life. He didn’t want me to remember him as some guardian angel. I believe the spell became inactive when I said those words that he had written.”

  “Who did you know him as before the spell wore off?”

  “I knew him as Mr.Sumners. He and his wife would come in every Friday morning before their shopping.” I shook my head. “Sumner’s, Patcoena’s wife name is Summer. It all makes sense now. It’s funny how I never thought it was strange that I would see this man help me out in different circumstances throughout my life. He helped me ride a bike and fix my first flat tire.”

  “You’re positive?” Mathias asked. “You have no doubts about this?”

  “I’m pretty freaking sure.” I replied. “I also had another thought.”

  “Does it involve us in bed soon?”

  I gave him the look that every woman gives a man when they try to turn a serious conversation into a sexual one. “No.” I answered. “I think he’s the man that took you to Fairlia.”

  Mathias looked taken aback. “You said you woke up in a cave with an older man, right? Well, what if it was him. What if he’s the reason you didn’t become fully into the Rau?”

  “You think he was my guardian angel before yours.” Mathias said

  “I don’t know, maybe.” I answered. “You’re in the paintings with me Mathias. Why is that? Is it because you were always meant to be my Guardian? Did Patcoena interfere and pour some of his light into your soul because he knew you were meant for greater things other than revenge?”

  Mathias got up and started clearing the table. I could tell he was mulling over what I said. I just couldn’t shake that there was a reason for all of this. I accepted the fact that we were true mates, but was our fate decided thousands of years ago? I asked myself. Was Patcoena a Guardian to both Mathias and me?

  “Does it not piss you off that someone has been orchestrating our entire lives?” he asked. “If that’s the case, then has anything that we have ever done been by our own choice?”

  “Yeah, it does piss me off.” I said. “I don’t know if it’s romantic or medieval times, arraigned marriage creepy though.”

  “I’m not talking just about us.” he said. “I’m talking about everything. Every decision and every choice we ever made. Was it ever ours?”

  “I wish I could blame the whole rolling up my jeans and wearing a scrunchie in middle school on someone but unfortunately I have to own up to it myself.”

  “What the hell is a scrunchie?” Mathias asked with a bewildered expression

  “It’s a thick, cloth, hair tie thingy.” I explained laughing. “Not everything to do with us has been determined by fate. I think probably the major sort of meat and potatoes but not all the other little side dishes. You know what I mean?”

  “I have no fucking clue what you mean half the time.
” he sighed

  “It’s ok, you don’t have too. “ I said. “I’m totally fine with you just wanting to be with me for sex.”

  “Is that why you think I’m with you?” he asked amused

  “Blood and sex?” I asked. “Yeah, pretty much. Does that make me a sucking whore? Not to be confused with a sucky whore. I think I’m rather good at my job.”

  “Sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or put you away in an asylum.”

  “It’s a thin line between my comedy and insanity.”

  Mathias was back over to the table where I still sat in an instant. He swept me up in his arms and sprinted to the bathroom.

  “I think I like the title of a sucking whore.” he said as he took off his clothes

  “I actually think the term whore is pretty offensive.” I said

  “So my blood and sex bitch would probably be out?” he asked

  “I prefer to think of you as my bitch.” I said as I shimmied out of my clothes

  “I have been from day one.” he said as he turned on the shower. He came over and grabbed my hand. I let him lead me under the hot sprays. “So what should I call you?”

  “Girlfriend?” I asked as he began to lather my body with soap

  “Too generic.” he said. He rubbed the foaming suds all around my breasts, and I almost forgot what we were talking about right now.

  “I’m not your whore. I’m not your bitch, and I’m not your girlfriend.” I gasped as he began to trail his hands lower. “So what am I?”

  “Mine.” he answered as he got down on his knees and buried his head into my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair that was dripping with water and sighed.

  “That is way too cheesy and domineering.” I said as I shut my eyes when he placed soft kisses in my thighs. I was so caught up in his touch I didn’t even realize he hadn’t answered. When I felt his touch leave my body, I looked up in surprise. He had stood up and was staring at me intently.

  “It’s not cheesy or domineering.” he said as he lifted me up and put my legs around his waist.

  “It’s the truth.” he murmured in my ear right before swiftly entering me.

  I had no desire to continue any more conversation after that.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “I think I might call you Candy.” Mathias said the next morning when he lifted his head up between my bent knees. I was still gasping after my wake up call. “You’re like my own personal sweet shop. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds like me calling Oliver after I shoot my fire at one of your limbs and you’re incapacitated.”

  “You don’t like Candy?” he asked grinning

  “I love candy.” I answered. “Peanut butter cups, Twizzlers and Junior Mints are the reason I’m not a size zero. Candy, on the other hand, is not even what I would call my alter ego.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask.” Mathias said as he sprawled back against the pillows

  “Scarlett.” I said

  “Scarlett?” he repeated. “Scarlett is your alter ego.”

  “Like Scarlett O’Hara.” I said. “She was a tough chick. Even though, she was raised to be a southern lady, she went after what she wanted. She lied and manipulated, yet you still liked her. I mean think about if Scarlett was alive today. She would be a bad ass. People would say ‘Oh did you see what Scarlett did? She done fucked that guy up and never even broke a nail.' ‘Scarlett’s coming, better hide the liquor, you remember the last time.' ‘Don’t let Scarlett near her tonight’ and my personal favorite, ‘Scarlett can make a dress or a weapon out of drapes’.”

  “Now and then I want to ask to speak to whoever thought that you and I should be mates.” Mathias said. “Sometimes I wish I could demand a refund.”

  “I just want to let you know that Scarlett isn’t scared off by any threats of a refund or a restraining order.”

  “I’m not calling you Scarlett.”

  “I know what you can call me.” I paused and added dramatically, “Your soul mate.”

  Mathias snorted. “People that call each other soul mates are the most annoying creatures on earth.”

  “Isn’t that what true mates essentially are?”

  “I don’t know.” he said. “I guess I can live with sucking whore.”

  “That’s not appropriate.” I replied. “If I was a vampire, maybe, but…”

  “But what?” Mathias asked after I ended my sentence abruptly

  “If I was a vampire, would my powers go away?” I asked slowly

  “Sabine’s didn’t.” he answered. “Maybe some might have diminished but she was still strong in her spell casting skills.”

  “But what if I turned into a vampire?” I asked. “Maybe I would be weaker. Then they wouldn’t have any use for me.”

  “Willa, I don’t think that would happen.” Mathias said

  “Just think about it though.” I said. “If I was a vampire, they might not want me anymore. They might think my powers went away and then they would leave us alone.”

  Mathias sat up and looked at me intently. “I already thought about it and I decided the risk was too great. We still don’t know the extent of what you can do. The addition of vampirism in your blood may trigger something even more dangerous.”

  “You thought about it?”

  “Yes, I did, and the outcome is too uncertain.”

  I slumped down even farther in the bed. I was trying to think of anything that could get us out of this mess without starting some bloody war.

  “You’re stalling.” Mathias said as he got out of bed

  “I know.” I replied and followed him into the bathroom. “I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I may not want to find out who or what I really am.”

  “You’re Willa.” Mathias said pulling me into the shower with him, “My hot sucking whore.”

  I shook my head. “I know I should be offended but somehow that title warms my insides.”

  “Are you sure you can do this?” Mathias asked an hour later. “No one but the Fae king or queen has the power to open a portal without the aid of a mirror.”

  “Am I sure I can do this?” I asked. “No, but I have to try. Worst case scenario we use the bathroom mirror.”

  Mathias still seemed doubtful. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my churning insides. I called each element and waited for them to surround my body. Instead of trying to call my fire in my hands, I simply reached out to it and found out the element still lingering within me. I knew that I might fail, but the more I pictured the portal opening, the more I realized that I could do this.

  I opened my eyes and could see the air start shimmering and sifting in front of me. I pictured the alley down the street from the bakery. The vision before me looked was so perfect I almost wasn’t aware that the real thing was now opened right in front of me.

  Mathias just raised his eyebrow and chuckled. “Why I doubted you is beyond me.”

  “It’s ok.” I said. “I work much better with low expectations than high ones.”

  We clasped hands and walked through the portal together. The feeling of being sucked through a time and space was still not one I was entirely comfortable with yet. Teleporting was quick and easy. Going through the portal was like jumping into a tornado.

  When we landed on the pavement, the portal closed immediately. I was so confused that the elements had left me, and the portal closed by my lack of concentration.

  “It’s still dark out.” I had observed before it hit me. “Oh crap. I totally forgot about the whole time zone thing.”

  “It is about three in the morning local time.” Mathias replied checking his phone. “What time does Patcoena usually show up at the bakery on Friday’s?”

  “Not until nine or nine thirty,” I answered. “What are we going to do for six hours?”

  “I have an idea.” Mathias said. “Hop on my back.”

  I clambered on and held myself tightly around his body. We took off towards the sky, and I look
ed around almost detached as we soared over my hometown of Yuma, Arizona. I may not have been gone for that long but so much had happened over the last six months that to be here almost felt awkward.

  When he turned towards the river, I knew where he was going. I almost protested, but my curiosity was too great. We landed on a quiet tree lined street and I stumbled to the ground as I climbed off of Mathias’s back. We walked in silence until I stopped in front of a long driveway.

  Even though, it was dark; the street lights illuminated the one story rambling house. I walked down the long driveway and stopped when I got to the front door. Instead of making Mathias break the handle so I could get into the main house, I walked around to the back and there sat my little cottage. It still looked like something out of a fairy tale to me.

  Only know I knew that some fairy tales were real, and they didn’t all have happy endings.

  I turned the knob on the wooden door and was surprised when it opened with ease. My little kitchen looked neat and tidy. I remembered working hard many days and nights in this space. I rolled out dough for countless hours on my countertops and crunched numbers on my little bistro dining table. I went further in, and a wave of homesickness came over me as I looked around my living room.

  The overstuffed furniture was still sitting in place, but the bookshelves that used to be jammed packed with books and knickknacks were gone. I used to love to curl up and watch TV in here. In the winter, I would light a fire in my beehive stove and sip homemade hot chocolate. I would dance around the room with my iPod blaring and not have a care in the world.

  “What are thinking?” Mathias asked as he went over to stand by the cold fireplace

  “I’m thinking that Willa McCormack wouldn’t recognize Willa, Princess of the Clan of Skye.” I answered. “I’m not sure whether that makes me sad or not.”

  “I think Willa McCormack is still there,” he said. “She’s just a bit more mature.”

  “I never thought of myself as childish until I met you.” I said pointedly