She hesitated. "Well – no. They were just hungry."
"But they chased you, they were planning to kill you…"
"That's just their nature."
"If they'd been men, would you have felt differently?"
"Of course, I would have –"
"Why?"
She opened her mouth – then closed it again, a little taken aback. "I mean – because men could choose not to do harm."
"What about those who have been raised to believe it is their only option?" he said softly. "What about those who cannot imagine a world in which they do not harm? Those who are frightened, those who lash out in fear… are they evil? Or are they innocent, like the wolves?"
"You're a philosopher," she said, and he chuckled, leaning back on his rock.
"I suppose I am."
"What else are you?" she said softly, looking at him intently. "Are you a man, or are you a wolf?"
"Both," he said softly. "And neither. I'll admit, I live more of my life in fear than I'm happy with."
"What does someone like you have to be afraid of? Not wolves," she said, grinning a little.
But Glimmerbright's expression was solemn. "Men like the one you saved me from, mostly. Men with iron, and anger in their hearts. Men who see fit to put an end to any Fae creature they encounter, regardless of whether or not they understand its nature. Men who've put a screaming end to the lives of peaceful beings whose only crime was being too difficult for a simple mind to understand. Have you ever heard the adage, Julia Andersen, that when one has a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail?"
She nodded, hardly daring to speak. He shook his head, and she realized with a start that his green eyes were shining not just with the supernatural light that dwelt within them… but with tears, too. As she watched, one fell and traced a path down his pale, perfect cheek. And before she could stop herself, she reached out with a trembling hand to touch that cheek, to arrest the descent of that tear. The liquid was cool as it touched her fingertip… but his skin beneath her hand was warm and felt like it glowed with the same light in his eyes… eyes that were suddenly close to hers, drawing her in…
Was she about to be seduced by a Sidhe?
His eyes, impossibly close… the silence of the clearing, the distant hum of the wind in the trees the only disturbance… it was so quiet she could almost swear she could hear his heartbeat. And deep in her chest, so quiet she could barely feel it, was a sense of unease. Of worry. A feeling, however faint, that something was going on here that she didn't quite understand… that there was more to this situation than she could see. That she ought to be cautious here… that maybe Galen had had a point when he told her she was naïve, that there were things she didn't know…
He seemed to sense her hesitation. Her hand was still against his face, and he reached up with his own hand to clasp her fingers in his, gentle but firm, the pressure exquisite. Her heart was still beating faster than she could keep up with, her whole body shivering with longing, and as she looked at him, a not inconsequential part of her mind was occupied with calculations about whether they could lie down together in the soft grass that was growing by the stream. Perhaps he could lay out his exquisite silver cloak for them to lie on…
But then his eyes narrowed, his head turning sharply to the left. She followed his gaze, disoriented, shocked and confused and more than a little frustrated that he'd torn himself away from her just before their lips had met… but those feelings were quickly replaced by crushing dismay as she saw what had drawn his attention, heard the loud shouts and sounds of horses in the trees. She could make out torchlight, too, through the branches, and as she watched she realized that the shimmering magical guard around the clearing was warping and bending, disappearing as though it was being melted from behind…
"Iron," he hissed, his voice suddenly flat and harsh. "They've found us. Found you," he added, shaking his head. And before she could stop him, he was on his feet. Her heart pounding, she stumbled up after him, not thinking clearly – she had to go with him, didn't she? They were mid conversation, it would be rude to simply disappear back to the castle – and she had so many more questions for him – surely there was another clearing they could go to, another place they wouldn't be disturbed… maybe even somewhere with a bed they could share…
"We'll meet again," he said softly, and the promise seemed to glow like an ember in the night. To reinforce the words, he squeezed her hands tightly in his, the warmth of his flesh pressing against hers and making her hands tingle even as he let her go. And then, dismayed and heartbroken, Julia watched as, for the second time, Glimmerbright disappeared into the trees before her very eyes.
Chapter 26
As he disappeared, the world seemed to change. The clearing felt much less magical now, much less still and frozen… she looked down and wrinkled her nose as she realized her feet were sunk into thick mud that surrounded the stream, which felt a lot more like a bog now that Glimmerbright's luminous eyes weren't there to distract her. The clearing itself, too, felt smaller and uglier, and gone was the heart-shaped outline of the trees… it was a rough, uneven little place, and the last of the shine had gone from the trees that ringed it.
And sure enough, the men now riding into the clearing, their horses' hooves churning up the muddy ground even further, were all too familiar. There was the Clan Grant tartan, there were the iron weapons held high… she shuddered a little, feeling a little of Glimmerbright's clear distaste for the metal, the same way someone with a food allergy might shudder at the sight of their culinary nemesis. An hour ago, she'd have been utterly rapt with joy to discover the men of the Watch like this, charging through the trees like a pack of blundering fools. Now, all she felt was irritation. They'd interrupted probably the most important conversation she'd had in weeks… not to mention the connection she'd been feeling with Glimmerbright. He was so handsome, so charming, so fascinating… and what was more, he actually seemed to like her, too. Imagine that.
The only thing that could make this sudden appearance worse, she thought sourly as the men shouted back through the trees to confirm that they'd found her, was the presence of Galen Grant. And sure enough, the universe seemed determined to grant all of her worst wishes. Here he came, riding on that chestnut mare that didn't seem to like anybody else, his stupid helmet on and a torch held high in his stupid hand. How dare he, she thought, gritting her teeth as she prepared for the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. How dare he even be here. When she'd finally met someone who actually treated her kindly, here he came to ruin it all.
But when he jumped off his horse and pulled off his helmet, her anger faltered. The expression on his face was far from angry, far from the judgmental scowl she'd been expecting. No, he looked like a different man entirely. His face was pale, blanched with fear, and when he hastened over to her, dashing straight through the stream without even looking down, his boots would be soaked through, she thought mildly, but he didn't seem to care at all, she realized that his expression was one of fear, not angry.
"Julia!" he gasped, breathing hard. "Are you safe? Are you hurt?"
"Which one do you want me to answer first?" she said blankly, tilting her head – and a few of the guards behind Galen tittered.
He shot them a murderous look over his shoulder, and she relaxed. Now that was the Galen she remembered. Still, something about his expression had made her feel… well, something. A little sorry for scaring him. And very, very interested in just why he'd been so concerned about her. Was it possible that he felt something a little beyond protectiveness for her? No, she told herself firmly… but to her dismay, she couldn't shake the prickle of feeling, deep in her stomach. Glimmerbright was gorgeous, yes.
But so, to her acute dismay, was Galen.
He didn't give her long to deal with her confusion, of course. That might have been polite, or helpful, or comforting – and that clearly wasn't his forte. Having checked her over and ensured that she wasn't bearing any bleeding wounds,
he gritted his teeth, and she could tell from the look on his face that she was in for a lecture.
"Now, am I going to have to yell at you in front of the men?" he asked, voice low and more angry than she'd ever heard it – she could tell from the huge amount of control on his face that he was only barely stopping himself from yelling loudly enough to wake up all the diurnal birds in the forest for miles around. "Or shall we wait until we get back?"
"Save it," she snapped, still annoyed that he'd interrupted her moment with Glimmerbright. What if he was still out there, peering through the trees, watching her get scolded by this jerk? What would Glimmerbright want her to do? Probably stick up for herself, right? "I was getting by just fine until you showed up."
"Getting by just –" His eyes widened with absolute shock and outrage, and for a moment she was convinced he was going to pass out. There was something rather satisfying about that… but she knew she was about to pay for it. "Of all the stupid, reckless, arrogant things to do… Julia, did you really wander into the woods in the middle of the damn night and then tell me you were fine?"
"I was fine! No thanks to you!"
"Oh, you were being protected by that elf, were you?" Galen snarled, narrowing his eyes.
Ah, so he had seen Glimmerbright. She felt a twinge of embarrassment… had he seen how close the two of them had been to kissing? Had he suspected how far it might have gone if he hadn't interrupted? Why did that make her feel bad? It was all of that stupid matchmaker time travel nonsense the other women had been putting into her head, she was sure of it. Somehow, they'd managed to convince her that it was Galen she was destined to marry. Well, Galen hated her, and right now, she felt pretty furious with him, too… no matter how handsome he may have been…
"You have no idea what you're dealing with. Absolutely no idea."
"I know exactly what I'm doing," she snapped.
"Oh, is that so? Is that why you went prancing out into the dangerous woods in the middle of the night instead of just staying put like I've been absolutely begging you to do ever since you damn well turned up here and cursed us all with your damn fool presence –"
"It's difficult to motivate oneself to stay put," she snarled, "when one is being constantly followed and harassed and belittled by a man who behaves more like a verbally abusive jailor than an actual human being. Have you considered how poorly you've been treating me in your woeful little tirade about how mean I am for not listening to you?"
There was a murmur among the rest of the guards in the clearing, who had crept up without Julia noticing to stand behind Galen, listening in on the heated conversation. She realized with a shock she had no idea what time it was – the men all looked exhausted and freezing, their cloaks pulled around their shoulders, and when she glanced into the sky she could see that the stars were beginning to fade just the slightest amount… an indication that dawn may well be on its way. She sighed heavily, rubbing her face with her hands. Galen looked utterly defeated as he called for his horse. For a moment, she was convinced he was going to bind her hands… but instead, he simply wrapped his cloak around her shivering shoulders and helped her onto the back of the horse.
The cloak was still warm from his body, and she shivered a little, realizing belatedly how cold she'd actually been. Galen sprang onto the horse in front of her, and she carefully put her arms around him, a little annoyed by the necessity of the embrace. The horse shifted beneath her and she squeezed it tight with her knees, steadying herself. Then Galen called the rest of the guards over, dismissing them in a low, hoarse voice and telling them to get back to the castle to get some rest.
And then they were alone in the clearing. She felt a shiver run down her spine, and real fear begin to sink into her bones… was he going to yell at her even more once they were alone? But instead, he just waited for the rest of the guards to be gone. There were about a dozen of them, and she watched with bated breath as they headed out of the clearing, a couple of them glancing worriedly back over their shoulders at her. Well, there went the audience. Was Galen about to get worse, or better?
"He didn't hurt you?" he said abruptly, not looking around at her.
She blinked at the back of his head, a little thrown by the tone of his voice – no anger, none of the overzealous, crotchety tone of earlier.
"Glimmerbright?"
"Is that his name?"
"You didn't even know his name?" A burst of shock and anger went up in her chest like a flare and she shook her head. "You were trying to kill him, and you didn't even know him."
Galen heaved a heavy sigh, and when he spoke, he sounded decades older. "Come on, Julia. I want to show you a few things."
Chapter 27
The horse under them walked steadily and calmly across the clearing toward a path that opened up into the open space, and before long they were swallowed by the darkness of the forest again. Julia realized with a brief burst of worry that they were heading in a very different direction to where the guards had headed. Were they not going back to the castle? Had he gotten so angry with her that he was going to lock her up somewhere else entirely? Was she ever going to see her friends again? No, she told herself firmly, fighting the rising panic. He might have been an ornery old bastard, but something told her he wouldn't be that cruel.
"No," she said finally, wanting to break the uneasy silence between them. "He didn't hurt me at all. Quite the opposite. He saved me…" She hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed by the story, not wanting to give Galen an 'I told you so' about the dangers of the woods… but at the same time, she wanted him to understand that Glimmerbright wasn't the monster he'd clearly decided he was. Far from it. "He saved me from a pack of wolves."
Galen sighed. "You were chased by wolves?"
"I was fine," she added sharply, though she knew in her heart that was a lie. "I'd climbed a tree, I was going to wait until they got bored and left me alone… but he turned up and chased them all away."
"And then spirited you off to a magically sealed circle that we had to break with iron and fire," Galen said flatly, and she could see him shaking his head. "Of course. Why wouldn't you trust that?"
"He didn't do me any harm," she insisted, annoyed with his refusal to listen to the point she was making. "Why would he have saved me from the wolves if he wanted to hurt me? He could have just left them to eat me."
"Can't manipulate the dead," Galen scoffed, shaking his head again.
She couldn't see the expression on his face from her seat on the back of the horse, but she could picture it in her mind… the smug curl of his lip, the hooded brows, the surly way his forehead would furrow as he reflected on just how foolish she was… she gritted her teeth, already annoyed at being on a horse with him.
"You got a good look at him, then?"
What was that supposed to mean? "We talked, yes," she said coldly. "He was very kind to me. Explained a great deal of information to me and managed to avoid insulting my intelligence or my maturity. Imagine that."
"If you're suggesting something –"
"Maybe the two of you could get together sometime. It seems like you could learn a lot from him when it comes to talking to women –"
"Don't you dare," he growled, and she bit her lip, deciding against continuing to goad him. "You saw him, but you didn't see him."
"Sure. Very Zen."
"I don't know what that – listen, woman, would you?"
"What did I just say about being polite –"
"Please!" he all but exploded.
She rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long, boring ride if he ended up giving her the silent treatment again like he had back in the clearing when she'd scolded him for being a verbally abusive jailer… best to play nice, at least for a little while.
"Fine. What are you trying to tell me?"
"They're not what we think. They wear faces the way we wear clothing. They may look beautiful, and graceful, and alluring… but it's all a mask. You see their true selves in a steel mirror. It's true o
f all powerful Fae. The ugly ones, the goblins and the like… they're not strong enough to hide their true selves. You're safe around them. The pretty ones… those are the ones you really have to worry about."
"And that's why you wanted to kill him?" she said, raising an eyebrow, glad at least that he couldn't see her expression – otherwise he might just explode with anger again. "Because he's pretty?"
"Because he's dangerous," Galen said, and she could hear that his jaw was tight, and his teeth were gritted. "I don't know why you're determined to see the best in him –"
"I don't know, Galen, probably because he's given me no reason to think anything else," she said drily. "I mean, look at it from my perspective. Can you really blame me? I turn up here, I walk into the woods, there you are trying to stab an unarmed man to death. He runs off, you proceed to treat me like a mixture between a crazy toddler and a wild animal that you have to keep in a cage… I mean, who's the good guy in that story?"
He was quiet for a very long time at that, and when he spoke again his voice was calmer, flatter. "I'll admit I haven't handled our – our friendship – especially well, Julia. Alright?"
"I'll say," she said… but she couldn't bring herself to be too venomous. After all, this was the closest thing to a civil conversation they'd had in days, and good behavior had to be rewarded, didn't it? Like training a dog. "But thank you for saying so."
"Can you just… promise to hear me out, this one time? Then we'll go back to the castle and I'll try to be – I'll be more civil to you. That's a promise."
More civil, she thought, repressing the urge to roll her eyes… then rolling them anyway, remembering that Galen couldn't see her. What an absolute gentleman. She was practically swooning on the back of this horse. Still, it was progress. "I'll hear you out," she said softly. "It's the least I can do. After all, you came to rescue me from the woods."
Woken By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 7 Page 12