Torched

by Donna Grant

  “Eilish … come back to me.”

  She stilled when she heard Ulrik’s voice again. Her first thought was that it was some kind of trick. But what if it weren’t? What if it really was Ulrik trying to find her?

  Even if it wasn’t, she didn’t want to be in this place anymore. She was ready to return to her world, find Mikkel and those two women, and make sure none of them came after her again.

  The darkness within her seemed to purr at her thoughts. It urged her to kill them, to remove anyone who dared to stand in her way.

  The power that darkness gave her was captivating. It enticed, it seduced. And she wanted to give in to it.

  Then she recalled what Ulrik had said about her being strong enough to withstand the darkness. How she needed to cling to the pure Druid magic that was within her. Somehow, remembering those words was all she needed to resist the lure of the darkness.

  But it wasn’t finished with her yet. The mist began to move faster. It tightened its grip around her ankles and legs. She batted at it when it tried to wrap around her arms, but it did little good.

  All too soon, it had her ensnared in its sturdy grip. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn’t break free. Almost instantly, she began to get irate. There was so much for her to be angry about. Patrick lying to her, not being able to find her mother, Mikkel using her, and the women trying to take her.

  Instead of letting her rage loose, she channeled her frustration into something else—Ulrik. Specifically, how she felt when she was with him.

  The darkness was gradually pushed back to the fringes where it belonged, and her magic was able to rise. It filled every bone and muscle, every pore and fiber. Her body hummed with it.

  And that’s when she unleashed it.

  She threw back her head and screamed. The mist’s hold evaporated, and it shrank back from her as if in fear. But Eilish wasn’t going to wait around to find out what its next move might be. She was leaving.

  Her thoughts centered on Graves, but her mind kept conjuring Ulrik. All the while, she could feel the mist coming back for her.

  She pulled up more magic. If she were going to get out, it was now or never.

  * * *

  Ulrik teleported back to his cottage with the new information on Eilish’s family. If he were going to locate her, he had to plan out his next moves. It meant putting things on hold with Con, but once Ulrik found Eilish, he’d most likely find his uncle, as well.

  And it was time to pull that particular spike in his side out once and for all.

  Ulrik had played his part with Mikkel for too long. Since his uncle didn’t know when to give up, Ulrik would have to show him.

  He was walking toward his desk when he heard a crash from within his bedroom. Quickly changing course, Ulrik made his way to the closed door. He listened, his enhanced hearing picking up the sounds of ragged breathing.

  With his magic at the ready, he threw open the door and spotted someone squatting on the floor. When wild green-gold eyes met his, he took a step toward Eilish, only to have her hurl magic at him.

  He raised his arm to block it, but her magic fell short before even reaching him. She used her hands to help her turn in a circle, her eyes darting about in a crazed fashion. Blood ran from her nose, and he could feel her magic fading.

  In two strides, he was before her, going down on his knees to come to eye level with her. He gently grasped her shoulders. “Eilish.”

  Her gaze jerked to him. She searched his face before the wildness faded and a frown formed. “Ulrik?”

  “Aye, lass. It’s me. I’m here.”

  “Am I back?” she asked, her voice cracking.

  He pulled her against him, holding her tightly. “You’re back. You’re safe.”

  She sagged against him. When he looked down, he saw that she’d fallen unconscious. She needed her magic recharged. He didn’t know why she’d come to him instead of a place that could give her strength, but he knew what he had to do.

  Ulrik gathered her in his arms, shifting her so that he could touch his cuff as he thought of the Dooncarton standing stones. They were filled with magic and would help to recharge her.

  Once inside the stone circle, he laid Eilish on the grass so that her palms were touching the ground. He knew he should leave, but he couldn’t. He smoothed her hair away from her face that was turned toward him.

  “What happened to you? Where did you go? And how did you get back?” he whispered before cleaning the blood off her face with the hem of his shirt.

  He stayed sitting beside her as the minutes turned to hours while the magic pulsed around them before moving into Eilish. Her magic recharged, and she grew stronger, but she remained unconscious.

  It wasn’t until he felt how cold her skin was that he realized the temperatures had dropped. He lifted her, setting her on his lap to give her his warmth. He wasn’t keen on leaving until she’d woken in case she needed more magic.

  The quiet of the area soothed him, but it was the magic that eased his soul. It calmed him. Or perhaps it was knowing Eilish was safe.

  Not that he wanted to go down that particular road and discover why he’d been so upset by her disappearance. That was a rocky path that would open old wounds he’d just as soon leave untouched.

  The dark skies gradually turned gray. While sitting amidst the stones with Eilish in his arms, Ulrik watched the sun rise. The clouds were a magnificent pink and red as the big, orange ball ascended into the sky, chasing away the night.

  He pulled his gaze away from the sunrise and looked down to find Eilish’s eyes open. Her green-gold orbs were softened by sleep. She reached up and touched his face, a grin lifting her lips.

  “Ready to return home?” he asked.

  She gave a nod.

  Ulrik touched his cuff. In the next second, they were sitting on the floor of his cottage.

  Though he longed to keep holding her, Ulrik knew he had to get her into clean clothes and get some food inside her. Still, he held her for a few more minutes.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “Starving.”

  He kissed her forehead and climbed to his feet with her in his arms. “How about a soak in the tub while I get food?”

  “Yes, please.”

  As he walked toward the bathroom, he used his magic so that the tub was already filled with hot water. Once inside, he set her down, not fully releasing her until she was steady on her feet.

  “Take your time,” he told her.

  A flash of concern appeared on her face. Ulrik put a finger beneath her chin and turned her head to him. “No one can harm you here.”

  “Mikkel got past my defenses.”

  Rage burned within Ulrik. It was just as he’d guessed. Mikkel had gotten to Eilish. He should’ve never left her. If he hadn’t, he’d have been there to face his uncle.

  “No one is getting through mine,” Ulrik promised.

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  He released her and turned to give her privacy. At the door, he looked back after she’d removed her shirt and saw deep, red welts on her arms and back.

  Whoever had hurt her was going to pay.

  And painfully.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Ulrik. There wasn’t a man—or dragon—alive who was more enigmatic or baffling. Eilish accepted this as she did the fact that the sky was blue.

  She slipped into the water, sighing as she sat and let the heat surround her. As long as she’d been in his arms, she hadn’t been cold.

  Her eyes lifted to the window. It was morning now. How long had had they been at Dooncarton? And how did he know she loved that place? She remembered waking up and seeing the sun rising, but then she’d looked up and spotted Ulrik. Everything else had ceased to exist then.

  She’d been mesmerized by the unfettered joy that she glimpsed. For those few moments, he’d let his mask slip. He’d been free to bask in the glory of the dawning of a new day.

  In those seconds, she’d witnessed his
wonder at the sunrise. She saw his delight when the first rays of the sun broke through the darkness. She watched him treasure every moment.

  It was something she’d never forget because she knew she’d seen the real Ulrik. The man he’d been before the horrors of life visited him. It made him more mysterious. And it made her love him even more.

  Eilish remained in the tub until her fingers became pruney. That drove her out of the water to towel off. Since she didn’t want to put her clothes back on, she searched for something else to wear. That’s when she saw the hamper.

  Curious, she walked to the wicker basket and opened it. Inside were Ulrik’s clothes. She couldn’t help but smile since she’d never imagined a Dragon King doing his own laundry. She’d just assumed that Ulrik used his magic and got new ones each time he wanted them.

  This was just another layer to him. And one she quite liked. It made him more human, though she wouldn’t tell him that. She knew how much he hated her species.

  She grabbed a dark gray dress shirt from the top of the pile and put it on. As soon as it was around her, she smelled him. Power, woods, and darkness. She turned her head to the side and drew in a deep breath, letting his scent fill her more.

  Now fortified, she opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom. Her stomach rumbled when she smelled the food.

  “I got you some of your clothes,” Ulrik said as he laid containers of food out on the table. “They’re on the sofa.”

  She walked to him, smiling when she saw the assortment of food he’d gotten.

  “I have some of everything.” He looked up and stilled.

  A shudder ran through Eilish as his gaze raked longingly over her. His eyes slowly roamed upward until their gazes tangled.

  “Or you can wear that,” he murmured.

  She placed her hand on the back of a chair. “Thank you.”

  As if her words pulled him out of a stupor, he nodded. “Eat.”

  She didn’t need to be told twice. Eilish pulled out the chair and reached for the container closest to her. It was a cheeseburger and fries.

  Her eyes closed when she bit into the burger. It tasted so good. In between bites, she shoved fries into her mouth after dipping them in ketchup. She was halfway through the burger when she looked up to find Ulrik sitting across from her with a slight grin on his face.

  She chuckled and swallowed her bite. Then she set the burger down and wiped her mouth. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

  “Doona let me stop you.”

  She licked her lips and sat back. “Something happened today—I mean, yesterday.”

  His face grew serious as he pushed a glass of water and a bottle of ale toward her. “Want to tell me?”

  “Yes,” she said and reached for the water. She downed the entire glass before she grabbed the ale. After a few swallows, she set the bottle aside and released a breath. “Mikkel came. He busted through my shields as if they were nothing more than the feeble locks people put on their doors.”

  Ulrik’s brow furrowed as he leaned his arms on the table. “He shouldna have been able to get through them so easily.”

  “I think I underestimated his strength.”

  “Nay,” Ulrik said with a shake of his head. “When you didna kill me, Mikkel found another way.”

  This made her frown. “Another way?”

  “He’ll stop at nothing to end me. He tried to use you. When that didna work, he found someone or something else.”

  “What? Who?”

  Ulrik shrugged, his gaze dropping to the floor as his mind worked. “That I doona know. Yet.” He looked back up at her. “What did he say?”

  “Your uncle was livid that I hadn’t killed you. He kept asking me about what you told me, but I refused to tell him anything.”

  “That’s all?”

  She made herself hold his gaze. “He … hurt me, but I withstood it.”

  Ulrik’s hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles white. “What did he do?” he demanded in a low, dangerous voice.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does to me.”

  She reached across the table and put her hand atop his. It was enough that he became angry on her behalf. “How much do you know about your uncle?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “His story? Do you know his background?”

  Ulrik shook his head.

  She took a deep breath and released it, sitting back. “Then let me tell you what he shared with me.”

  For the next thirty minutes, she told him everything Mikkel had divulged about his past while he held and tortured her, but Eilish left out the particulars of what Mikkel had done to her.

  The entire time, Ulrik remained as still as stone, not uttering even a single sound. When she finished, he drew in a deep breath and released it. Only then did he unfurl his fisted hand and lay his fingers flat on the table.

  “Did you believe him?” Ulrik asked.

  Eilish gave a small shake of her head as she shrugged. “I suppose I did. Why would he make up such a story?”

  “I never heard anything like that from anyone in my family. Ever.”

  “Perhaps it was something not spoken about.”

  Ulrik made a face that said he highly doubted it. “Mikkel usually kept to himself. I tried many times to make him part of the family, but he chose to live away from us.”

  “Maybe because of what his father, your grandfather, did.”

  “Even if what Mikkel said is true, that gives him no right to act the way he is.”

  Eilish tucked her damp hair behind her ear. “But it allows you to understand him better.”

  “You’re comparing me to him.”

  She quickly shook her head. “I’m not. He was abused. You were betrayed. Those are two different things.”

  “Are they?” Ulrik asked in a soft voice.

  She quirked a brow. “Yes.”

  “What did Mikkel do to you?”

  “As I said—”

  “Doona tell me you survived it one more time,” he interrupted. “I want to know what my uncle did.”

  She discovered she was absently rubbing her hand along one thigh. The pain was gone, but the memory of the bone snapping in half would never fade.

  “Eilish,” Ulrik urged.

  Swallowing hard, she said, “He got in my head first. The pain was … debilitating. I heard the door splinter, and then he was in my bedroom. He threw me against the wall and held me up by the ceiling, choking me. I couldn’t use my magic to defend myself. It was like it couldn’t hear me trying to gather it.”

  “And?” Ulrik said, his hand fisted once more.

  She held his gaze for several tense seconds. “He broke my leg.”

  Ulrik’s knuckles went white again. “And?”

  “He dropped me to the floor and broke my other leg.”

  Without a word, without any movement, she felt Ulrik’s wrath. His gold eyes burned with a fury that made her shiver—not in fear, but in anticipation.

  She licked her lips before continuing. “When I woke, I was in a bedroom that I didn’t recognize. The windows were covered, and I couldn’t move because of the pain in my legs. I tried to heal myself, but I couldn’t. Then Mikkel came in and said he could take away the pain if I helped him. I knew he meant that he wanted me to get to you.”

  “And you agreed.”

  It wasn’t a question. She nodded. “With the knowledge that I had no intention of doing anything for Mikkel. When he left without helping me, I focused on my magic. Then, I felt the Ancients.”

  “They spoke to you?”

  “They did,” she replied with a smile. “They cautioned me to be careful.”

  “About?”

  Eilish shrugged. “I assumed Mikkel.”

  “It could’ve been about anything.”

  That was true enough, not that it mattered now. “I was finally able to heal my legs. It wasn’t long after that when Mikkel returned with two women. They said I was the spit
ting image of my mother.”

  “They were your aunts.”

  “I figured as much,” she said in irritation. “They tried to take me, but I fought them off. They had no magic, but they didn’t seem worried about that.”

  Ulrik blinked, his gold eyes locked on her. “Was there a fight?”

  She thought back and slowly shook her head. “When I become angry, my magic … well, something changes within me as well as my magic.”

  “It’s the darkness.”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “I knocked my aunts out, and then I faced Mikkel. I didn’t hold back my rage. I unleashed it and everything that came with it.” She paused, her gaze lowering to the table as she recalled the power that had rolled through her like a tsunami. “I remember screaming my anger. I remember releasing the magic around me, directed at everyone.”

  Ulrik’s voice penetrated her thoughts then. “Your magic busted windows and broke everything inside that bedroom.”

  “You went there?” she asked, her gaze jerking to his.

  He gave a single nod. “When you unleashed your magic, it sent a boom across the land, causing a ripple of magic. It nearly knocked me off my feet. It was even felt in Scotland.”

  She wasn’t quite sure what to say. Should she be glad she had such power? Or terrified that she could unleash such darkness?

  “There were no bodies in the manor,” Ulrik continued. “In fact, it was deserted. They left in a hurry. But I’m more interested in where you went.”

  “I don’t know. I saw nothing but mist. It was thick and cloying. It surrounded me, and even tried to trap me there.”

  He nodded at her leg. “Is that what those marks are from?”

  Frowning, Eilish turned her leg to look at it. She saw nothing on either limb. “What are you talking about?”

  “The red marks. I saw them on your back when you undressed. I see them on your arms, as well. They were done with magic.” He sat forward, his gaze penetrating. “Who did that to you?”

  A shiver went through her as she recalled how tightly the mist had held her. “The mist.”

  “Doona ever go there again,” he ordered.