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

by Shannon Barczak

  I felt him thrust inside of me, and we both seemed to cry out at the same time I raised my hands above my head and without even realizing called upon the elements. I don’t know why I did that but in an instant Mathias and me both went on another ride of ecstasy.

  When I finally stopped seeing stars in my eyes I dropped my head to his chest, and we laid there unmoving for several minutes. The only sounds were our breathing and the nighttime symphony of animals that lived around us. I lifted my head though when I felt a long blade of grass tickle my cheek.

  I gasped in amazement as I took in the meadow and the area where we were laying. A perfect ring of fire had formed all around the field. The grass and flowers had grown about twelve inches higher, and the soft breeze of the air had them swaying gently. I heard a slight hissing sound and realized with a start that a light mist was falling right above us.

  It was beautiful and slightly scary at the same time.

  “Um, this may be a stupid thing to say but I think you better be careful not to call upon the elements when we are having sex, unless, of course, we’re outside.” Mathias said wryly

  “I didn’t hear you complaining when you came one time after another,” I replied

  “Believe me, I will not be amused if I have to build a new cabin for Robert,” he said

  “Well the good thing is when we get home we have your whole island to ourselves,” I said as I stood up and grabbed my clothes

  “Stop calling it that,” he said. “It’s not mine, it’s ours now. I built it for you.”

  “I thought you built it years ago?” I asked

  “I did,” he said. “But I somehow knew that you would come along.”

  “Awww, that’s so sweet,” I said. “Especially considering you saying this after you got a piece of ass.”

  “Hmm, you are quite mistaken,” he frowned as he came towards me and suddenly picked me up. “I didn’t get anywhere near your ass but thanks for reminding me.”

  I laughed and shouted all at the same time as he leisurely walked to the cabin. I released the elements and said a sincere thank you before Mathias took me through the door and up the stairs. He put me down on the bed and grinned wickedly.

  “Now, about that ass…” he said

  I woke up the next morning to Mathias lathering my breasts with his tongue. I barely had cracked opened my eyes before he slid inside of me and starting to move slowly. It wasn’t until I found my release that I finally started to wake. He stayed inside of me for a long time and just held me tightly.

  We finally got out of bed and took a shower together. I dressed quickly because I was all of a sudden starving with hunger. I slipped on my jeans and my pretty new light orange peasant blouse before going downstairs. Mathias was just coming inside and turning on his phone when I started to take stuff out to make breakfast.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked when I noticed he suddenly straightened. I went over and grabbed his phone before he could protest and blinked when I saw his screen.

  “Twenty-eight missed calls?” I asked. “Wow, you better go and answer them. I’m in the mood for some carbs so I thought I would make French toast, eggs, and bacon. Does that sound good?”

  “Sounds perfect,” he said absently before heading outside to the back deck

  I took my time cooking breakfast but when I finally set the food on the table I waved to Mathias, who was still on the phone. He held up finger indicating he would be a minute, and I had shrugged before I sat down to eat. Fifteen minutes later I was just finishing up when he came in from the outside and sat down. My senses immediately went into overdrive as I took in his expression.

  “Is something wrong at home?” I asked

  “No, nothing for you to worry about,” he replied with a brief smile before digging into a small plate of food. I watched him eat as I drank my tea. I didn’t say another word to him and honestly I wasn’t even sure he was aware that I was still there. His thoughts seemed preoccupied with his phone calls, and I knew right then that something wasn’t right.

  When he finished his food, he gathered all the plates and took his time cleaning up the dishes. I went into the living room and sat down on the couch. I curled my legs up almost protectively to my body. I knew in my heart that there was a problem at home. I didn’t want to know though. I hated that the outside world had come crashing into our little paradise.

  Mathias finally finished straightening up the kitchen and came almost reluctantly into the living room. He sat down on the opposite couch, and we stared at each other for a few minutes.

  “Mathias, what is it?” I asked. “What’s happened?”

  “Willa, it’s nothing,” he said dismissively. “Now what should we do now? I thought we could…”

  “Don’t lie to me,” I said. “Don’t ever lie to me.”

  “Right now all you need to know is that everyone is safe on the Isle of Skye.”

  “No,” I said. “Right now I need to know what is going on Mathias.”

  He stood up and began pacing. My heart began to pound with fear. When he finally started to talk I took several long deep breaths to prepare myself.

  “I don’t know how to start or even how to tell you this,” he said as he came to a stop by the fireplace

  “Start from the beginning,” I said

  “When I first came back to the island after being away for four months your grandmother, and I talked about different scenarios that could occur with the Fae. We weren’t sure if anything was going to happen when they visited nor were we sure that if you did find the weapons would you be able to use them. All of this was well before we knew that you were the Fae Sanctity.”

  I sat unmoving as he continued to talk. “We went over our options and your grandmother and I put forth a few plans in place if anything were to happen. When you came back from absorbing the king’s powers, your grandmother decided to go ahead with one of those plans. It was not the plan that I would’ve choose, but at the time and given the situation she made this decision because she is the queen.”

  “What was the idea that she had?” I asked quietly

  “She decided to perform a spell that would keep any Fae off the island,” he said. “She also decided to close the portal in the throne room.”

  “Wow,” I said shocked. “That is a pretty intense spell. It’s not like the one with the Rau. You have to take into account the magical abilities of the Fae.”

  “Yes,” he agreed

  “But wait, if the portal closes does that mean Sidra and Kelvin won’t be able to visit?”

  “That was one of the cons that we discussed.”

  “Well, it’s not a big deal now,” I said. “I can go to the mainland and open a portal myself so we can still see them.”

  Mathias just stared at me, and I started to get worried. I knew that there was more to this whole thing, but I must be slow on the uptake today.

  “Willa, do you know what happens to the Rau if they are brought to the island?”

  “Yeah, they will die in twenty-four hours if we don’t kill them first.” I answered. “Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

  Mathias didn’t answer. He continued to look at me with his hooded eyes, and my heart started racing as a thought hit me like a ton of bricks.

  “Mathias?” I asked. “What about Rhoswen and my dad? Hell, what about me? I’m probably more Fae now than before.”

  “We aren’t sure about you,” he said. “I think there is still plenty of Gypsy blood in you. After all, I have Rau in me and the spell to keep them out has never affected me.”

  “What about my dad?” I asked again

  “There were a few options that were discussed,” he said as he sat down next to me

  “What option is there?” I asked. “There is no way my dad or Rhoswen would ever leave my mother and Uncle Oliver.”

  “They decided to choose one that would allow them to stay on the island,” he answered carefully

  “But how is that possible?�
� I asked before I suddenly stopped breathing. There was only one option. One choice that I refused to believe they took.

  “No,” I said shaking my head. “No, they can’t. They can’t turn into a vampire if they did they would be doing it willingly, and that would make them the Rau. No, Mathias.”

  But when I took in his expression I knew. I knew what had happened, and I knew that they had become vampires.

  “How could you let this happen?” I whispered

  “I was against this from the start but at the time Winifred made the decision based on the likelihood of you being able ever to finish this war.”

  “She doubted me?”

  “Willa…” he started to say

  “No, I don’t care right now.” I said. “Tell me Mathias. Tell me my father and Rhoswen are Guardians of the Solas.”

  “Let me start with Rhoswen first,” he said. I closed my eyes briefly but let him talk

  “There were no Guardians who wanted anything to do with this,” he said. “They are either your friends or scared to death of you.”

  I bit my lip and looked away. I had formed some pretty great friendships with the Guardians. Some were deeper than others, but I respected the Guardians, and I knew that they had come to respect me as well. I had no clue as to who would turn my dad or Rhoswen, and I was sickened at the thought.

  “Veronica finally came forward and offered her assistance with Rhoswen,” he said

  “V?” I asked in disbelief. Mathias’s secretary and Jeremiah’s true love was one of the kindest people I had ever met. I was flabbergasted.

  “Jeremiah and Veronica have become engaged,” he said. “Veronica surmised that she should be the one to turn Rhoswen because not only was she now part of the family but she also wanted to make this as less traumatic as possible.”

  “But isn’t that the point of not becoming the Rau?” I said angrily. “You fight for your humanity. You fight against this, so you don’t become one of them.”

  “I know,” he sighed. “If I was there, things might have been different.”

  “But Robert was there,” I said

  “Robert and Katya refused to be part of this,” he said. “You have to understand Willa it goes against every Guardian’s nature to allow another human being turned into a vampire.”

  “Where was Riah in all of this?” I asked furiously as I thought of my beautiful best buddy

  “I’ll get to him in a minute,” he said

  “Oh great,” I muttered

  “The whole family was there for the conversion but as Veronica drained Rhoswen they knew something was wrong. Patcoena and Summer could see her begin to embrace the darkness and acted. Summer chose to give Veronica her light like Patcoena did with me.”

  “Did it work?” I asked

  “Yes,” he said. “But now Summer is without her sight of the future.”

  “That’s not good,” I said sadly. “Poor Summer, I can’t imagine how empty she must feel.”

  “She’s ok with it from what I gathered,” Mathias replied. “She feels that what she did far outweighed the consequences of her losing her abilities.”

  “That is so selfless,” I said absently

  “Rhoswen woke up a few days later and she is indeed a Guardian of the Solas. She has also held on to some of her healing powers. She has several weeks of adjustment to overcome, but I hear she is doing splendidly.”

  “Good,” I said. “What about my father, Mathias?”

  “Your father was a whole different story,” he said. “No one wanted anything to do with turning him. It got to the point where Cormac threatened to go to London and find a random Rau to drain him.”

  “Of course he did,” I said. “Who did it?”

  “Finally after a few days one person did step forward but someone else interceded. He figured that the only person you would want to do it if it were deemed necessary was him.”

  “Riah,” I said tearfully

  “Yes, Riah turned your father.” Mathias said

  “What happened?” I asked

  “Cormac went too willingly like Rhoswen,” he sighed. “Patcoena saw this of course and stepped in to give whatever light that he had but it wasn’t a lot.”

  “Mathias, tell me my father is a Guardian,” I pleaded as I started rocking back and forth. Mathias grabbed my hand and leaned into me.

  “Willa, I’m so sorry Luv, but your father is more Rau than anything else,” he whispered in my ear and my world promptly fell apart.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I sat on the couch unresponsive. I couldn’t even speak. The thought that my father was now the Rau was a completely unrealistic thought in my mind. I couldn’t imagine him like that nor did I truly believe it just yet. My father was not an evil soulless creature of the night. I refused to believe that possibility.

  “Willa,” Mathias said gently. “He’s not fully Rau. The Fae can never be…”

  “Turned one hundred percent into the Rau,” I finished as my head shot up suddenly

  “How did you know?” Mathias asked

  “Machall mentioned it when he told us about Beatrice,” I answered. “So there’s hope, right? I mean there’s still a part of him lurking inside. He just needs some time to acclimate maybe.”

  Mathias sighed and looked at me before answering. “Unfortunately, we do not know that at the moment. He has displayed characteristics of being particularly bloodthirsty.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Where is he? If he’s on the island then he can’t be the Rau.”

  “He was repelled almost instantly,” Mathias said

  “Where is he?” I asked after Mathias’s words finally sank in my brain which had started to pound furiously

  “He’s in an underground cell on our island,” he answered carefully

  “What underground cell?” I asked dumbfounded

  “I built one a long time ago in case a situation called for one,” he answered. “The enchantments on my island keep the Rau out but they do not kill them in twenty four hours unlike those that are around the Isle of Skye.”

  “You built one for your father didn’t you?” I asked. “You wanted a place to bring him so you could torture him before you killed him.”

  “Yes,” he answered. “I always knew I would kill my brother immediately but I wanted my father to suffer.”

  “You put my dad in a cell that you built for your sick, despicable father?” I asked

  “It was the only option…”

  “Don’t tell me there were no other options,” I finally yelled after I jumped off the couch. “There were plenty of other options available but instead of believing in me you all took it upon yourself to make the most heinous decision imaginable.”

  “Willa,” Mathias said as he stood and reached for me

  “Don’t touch me,” I yelled. “Don’t fucking touch me right now. Don’t you get it? My father is now the very being that I was born to kill. Instead of giving me time to recover and just catching my breath everyone went ahead with this idea without even consulting me or thinking about the ramifications of their actions.”

  “I agree,” he said

  “You agree?” I asked mockingly. “If you agree with me Mathias than why didn’t you put a stop to this?”

  “Winifred had already made up her mind…”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it,” I said. “If you really wanted this not to happen then you could’ve put a stop to this whole thing. Granny Winnie respects you and all you had to do was to tell her to hold off for a few days, but you didn’t. You didn’t fight for me, and you certainly didn’t fight for my father’s life.”

  “Excuse me?” he asked in a low voice

  “Excuse you?” I repeated. “No, fuck you.”

  “Goddammit,” I screamed a few seconds later. The air started to whip inside the cabin, and I stared at Mathias angrily before running out the door.

  I ran as fast as I could. I ran through the meadow and into the dense woods. I ignored th
e pain in my legs and chest. I had to get away. I had to be by myself. My father was a vampire. My father was more Rau than a Guardian. My father was more darkness than light. My father would probably try to kill me if he smelled my scent.

  I stopped after I scrambled up a high ridge, and then the ground dropped off hundreds of feet. I was standing on a cliff, and the Rocky Mountains were spread out before me in majestic splendor but I didn’t see them. Images flashed through my mind of my father. Moving pictures that flashed from the time I was little until just recently.

  I sank down on the ground and leaned my back against a large boulder. I was vaguely aware that this whole scene was similar to my personal hell on the mountain top in the Air realm. I wasn’t afraid though. I was way too devastated to fearful. I felt like someone ripped my heart out and was tearing it apart.

  My handsome amazing father was a vampire. The first man I had ever loved, the first man I had ever danced with, the man who gave me life, had willingly sacrificed himself so that my mother and I would be safe. I knew what his reasons were. I didn’t have to have those explained to me. I knew my father better than almost anyone.

  I knew that in his mind he did it to ensure that I would never have to use my powers that had made me crazy. He didn’t want me to fight a war. He wanted me and my mother to be safe on the island for the rest of our lives without worrying about any invasion of the Rau or the Fae. He did what he had always done my entire life. He protected me first without any regard to his own wellbeing.

  How could I possibly be mad at him? I thought to myself. I would’ve done the same thing for either of them in a heartbeat. I knew going into this there would be some casualties of war. I had prayed for everyone’s safety but at the end of the day I was fully aware of what might happen if I set this plan in motion when I stepped through the portal to Fairlia.

  I realized that some would say Fonn and Sabine brought the war to us but regardless I still would’ve turned myself into this massive weapon. It was the best thing to do because this whole thing affected thousands of people and if I had to do it again I would without hesitation. I never in a million years though could’ve imagined that my father or even Rhoswen would have to turn into a vampire. It wasn’t so much the vampire part that upset me but how it all came about.