“I’m sorry.” Milly frowned. “Unusual?”
“And what do you mean by all of us?” Christina kicked in.
“Don’t tell me you aren’t starting to catch on, Milly,” Jessie said. “Don’t tell me you didn’t feel something the very moment the Scotsman called you and you saw this house online. I know you sense it.”
As she continued discussing Milly’s previous life in this very house, she contemplated how she might utilize their unique gifts. Their magic. How she could assist and manipulate things as they began their upcoming adventures. Something she had been mulling over since she first met them in an online forum years ago.
How could she make sure her friends best used their magic to protect themselves and Scotland? Milly with her ability to astral project. Christina and her godlike warrioress abilities. Then, of course, Lindsay with her ability to enchant.
Soon enough Lindsay showed up, and while Jessie would have enjoyed spending time with them all, the clock was ticking. So she feigned exhaustion and lay down on the couch. All the while, she listened to them and plotted. Once everyone had gone off to bed, she pulled out her little book, sat in a chair and began something she had hoped might never happen but deep down knew it would.
She began chanting and focused on the fire. On Scotland and MacLomain wizards. More than that, Scotland and MacLomain dragons. Maybe, if she did this just right, she could save her friends and avoid her fate at the same time.
Bryce MacLeod.
As she murmured and the night wore on, she put herself into an unusual sort of trance. A state of being that allowed her physical body to remain here and functioning while her spiritual presence began an adventure alongside her friends without them ever knowing.
Though some might think she was trying to play God, in truth, she was just trying to save Scotland’s history from a dark curse. One that would eventually wipe out Scotland completely if she didn’t help. That meant controlling creatures set to destroy everything. So, as she had been doing for a long time, she began navigating Scottish history by creating magically induced images in her little book.
As she did, fate began to unfold over the next few days though she never left her chair.
Milly traveled back in time, fell in love with Adlin, ignited her Claddagh ring and defeated their warlock. Which, in turn, put the Battle of Stirling Bridge back on track. Next came Lindsay and Conall who defeated their enemy and corrected both the Actions at Earnside and Happrew. Bringing Christina and Graham together to see through the Battle of Bannockburn, however, took a turn she hadn’t expected. One that brought Sven, a MacLomain Viking ancestor into the mix.
With Sven came the symbol of a burning dragon and a warning. Death comes to Scotland. Death comes to those who fly. While it was ominous, it also gave her control over warlocks that were starting to doubt her. She could use it to remain one step ahead of them. Because as it was, they had nearly figured out the truth.
Jessie was tricking them. She had been for eighteen years now.
She did not want Scotland ruined.
She would not see her grandfather’s curse through.
Bannockburn, Scotland
1314
JESSIE MANIPULATED SCOTLAND’S fate for five long days before her physical body finally left Milly’s house. On that day—after seeing through a time loop she herself helped create—she went to Christina’s aid in medieval Scotland.
A move that set her on a path she had hoped to avoid.
Yet here she stood in a fourteenth century Scottish forest as one of her evil minions skidded to a halt in front of her. This was it. Her last say before all ties were irrevocably severed and her control over Scotland’s fate was no more.
“Hold me in front of you,” she ordered the warlock. “Now!”
Though hesitant because she had never asked one of them to touch her, he did as asked. She flinched at his dark touch but kept it from her thoughts and most certainly from her body language.
Then she began counting.
Three, two, one...
She didn’t flinch when Christina flew at her and swung her sword only for Graham’s blade to stop it inches from Jessie’s face.
“What are you doing?” Christina seethed at him, wide-eyed and furious before she realized that she had almost ended Jessie instead of the warlock.
“Kill me, Christina.” Jessie kept her face expression-free and her voice level as her eyes held Christina’s. “Graham, step away and let Christina do what she needs to do. It’s the only way.”
“Yes, kill her,” the warlock rasped, his eyes trained on Christina. “Run that sword through her, warrioress.”
The warlock assumed Christina would never do that to her friend.
Normally, he would be right.
Moments later, Bryce and Sven skidded to a stop, their eyes taking in the tense situation. Jessie made a point of not looking at them. They were too much, and she needed to stay focused.
“Absolutely not.” Christina shook her head as she lowered her blade and narrowed her eyes at the warlock. “Release my friend.”
“Kill me,” Jessie said calmly, her eyes steady. “Or he will kill you, Christina.”
Connecting specifically with Christina’s magic, she made sure everything else fell away. That she sensed the steady thrum of Jessie’s heart. The utter lack of fear someone facing imminent death should feel.
She was letting her know it was okay to let go.
That this was meant to be.
Then she made sure Graham got the same message. That he and Christina were in agreement. This was the only way. They should trust in that. Trust Jessie. This was what had to be done, and she understood that. She was saying goodbye. Caught in her web, convinced she was right, they did as asked.
Christina and Graham plunged their blades into Jessie at the same time.
Or so they thought.
At the last moment, evidently sensing what they were going to do, the warlock did as Jessie hoped. He thrust her aside and took the blade for her.
Then everything happened very quickly.
The warlock shuddered, his saddened eyes firmly locked on Jessie as he wailed mournfully, decomposed rapidly then burst into a cloud of ashes. Like before when the others were destroyed, a pinching sensation squeezed her chest then she grew a little lighter.
Fully aware that she was out of time, she narrowed her eyes at Sven and Bryce who narrowed their eyes right back.
“Death comes to those who fly,” she whispered, for any warlock who might be listening. “Death comes to Scotland.”
Then she bolted into the woods, well aware Bryce and Sven were following.
She used her ability to manipulate the spiritual realm to throw them off her trail. Now they had to track three of her. She shot off to the right while her manifestations went straight and to the left. Knowing full well that she couldn’t outrun them she skidded down an embankment and then ducked beneath a rock jutting out of the ground at an angle.
With a murmured chant, she manipulated the Earth, blended in with the rock and remained perfectly still.
Seconds later, Bryce raced past only to skid to a halt and cock his head. She should have known. His dragon senses were picking her up. She barely breathed as he turned, narrowed his eyes and scanned the area.
Just like it did before, sensual heat rolled through her as she looked at him. It was no easy thing finally being so close to him. To know he truly did exist beyond what she knew, beyond the feelings she had been fighting for years.
He was more handsome than most with his chiseled features and deep-set brow. Tattoos covered his arms and shoulders, only adding to his intensity as his pale golden eyes slowly came to a stop on hers. Thickly lashed, startling eyes she didn’t expect to home in on her so quickly.
She stopped breathing as his dragon surfaced and fire flared in those eyes.
“Help!” she mouthed, manipulating the air to make her words sound like a call on the wind from the opposite direction
. That should compel him to run that way.
Yet it did not.
Instead, his fiery eyes remained narrowed as he unsheathed his dagger and slowly headed toward her. She tried to pull her gaze away, but couldn’t. So she tried to control the fire in his eyes. What he saw in front of him.
Big mistake.
His muscles tensed and the fire only flared brighter as he said, “I know you’re there. Show yourself, lass.”
How could he possibly know she was there? Unless...she clenched her teeth as she realized what had happened. The warlocks had totally pulled away. That meant she no longer had their protection. Strange, until that moment with how exposed she felt, she had no idea how much a part of her they had become. Or the other way around. She couldn’t be sure.
What she could be sure of was that Bryce knew she was there. As it turned out, not just him but Sven too. Seconds later, the Viking dropped down from the ledge and turned her way, his eyes just as fiery as Bryce’s. Just as searing as they locked on hers.
“Show yourself, lass,” Bryce repeated softly. “I willnae ask again.”
Sven fell in beside him as they shifted closer. They were moving in pack formation. Or dragon pride formation, if you wanted to get technical. That meant there would be no escaping. At least not right away. Especially considering they had no idea if she was friend or foe. Not based on the things they might have heard about her.
“Put your weapons down, and I’ll show myself,” she replied, using the air to make sure her voice echoed from every direction.
No doubt utilizing their dragon senses to narrow down her precise location, their eyes remained trained on where she was.
“As far as we know, you’re in league with the warlocks,” Bryce replied. “So we willnae discard our weapons.”
“I just helped destroy one,” she reminded. “I would think that should make things clear as to where my loyalties lie.”
“All it made clear is that you’re highly unpredictable,” Sven said. “Show yourself, woman. Stop playing games. Our dragons are not fooled.”
The last thing she expected when she began controlling her grandfather’s curse all those years ago was for Vikings to become involved. Yet it was Sven’s Aunt Aðísla who had apparently caught wind of the curse and informed Grant Hamilton who, in turn, created Claddagh rings with Adlin.
That’s when she realized her life wasn’t going to be so simple. She would not spend it alone in the woods trying to control warlocks and keep Scotland safe. Instead, the creation of the rings had started something much more complicated.
True love connections between modern-day Brouns and medieval MacLomains.
Jessie glanced at her finger and frowned. All this time she had been able to hide the ring not only from her friends but from the warlocks. Because had they discovered it, things might have already gone terribly wrong.
“Jessie,” Bryce prompted, his voice deep and distracting.
The truth was she could disarm Bryce and Sven with magic if she had to. It was their dragons she could not so easily outmaneuver. So she supposed it made sense to show herself and gain their trust so that their dragons trusted her as well.
That in mind, she murmured a chant and stepped forward.
Both broad shouldered and over six-foot-seven, neither man should feel threatened by her petite frame. Even so, she kept defiance from her gaze and did her best to look doe-eyed and innocent. No easy feat on either count seeing how she had trained herself long ago to remain expressionless. Emotions had needed to remain deeply buried which meant embracing a rather low-key, drab existence.
“Hello,” she murmured. Though she typically kept her voice level and monotone, she felt it wouldn’t be best under the current circumstances, so she added a smidge of fluster to her greeting. “My apologies for hiding. This is all...” Scary? Confusing? What would make sense? “Alarming.”
“Alarming?” Bryce’s brows shot up. “I dinnae think that was the word you were looking for, lass.”
As if he knew she was debating which word to use, to begin with.
“Let’s just say,” it was no use playing dumb, “that I have some explaining to do.”
“Aye,” Bryce grumbled, his weapon still drawn as he eyed her. “At the verra least.”
“For starters,” Sven continued, eying her with equal uncertainty. “Why do you keep saying death to Scotland and death to those who fly?”
“For two reasons,” she replied honestly, her eyes steady on Sven. “When the symbol of the dragon in flames began to appear, my warlocks took notice. I saw that as the perfect opportunity to connect it with Scotland’s ruin. Something they would welcome.” She kept her eyes off of Bryce. “As to death coming to those who fly? I figured it would be a good way to ensure that they believed Bryce being meant for me was no longer a possibility.”
“Because you wear a ring,” Bryce stated bluntly, his expression disgruntled.
“Yes,” she replied. “Something they didn’t know, but I feared they would eventually find out.” She cleared her throat. “Considering I had every intention of helping my friends from the beginning. Helping all of you.”
“So you say.” Sven and Bryce didn’t budge an inch as Sven prompted her to continue. “Tell us everything. Then we will decide how noble your intentions really were...are.”
Jessie nodded, thirsty but determined not to say so. Doing what she had, being in a state of limbo for five days, was tiring. Though she didn’t smell like most would after so long without a shower, she still desperately wanted to bathe, eat, drink then sleep.
“I’ll tell you everything,” she assured. “But first we should leave this era and seek shelter in anything surrounded by stone and close to fire. It will be harder for a warlock to get to me there.” She met Bryce’s eyes and said the last thing he would want to hear. “Preferably your castle because they tend to be more wary of dragons.”
“Do they?” He frowned. “Because they havenae seemed all that wary of me up to this point.” He shook his head. “So nay, I willnae bring you anywhere near my castle and kin. Not until you’ve shared far more.”
“The moment I allowed a warlock to die for me, they knew I deceived them,” she said firmly. “Soon enough, if not already as Christina and Graham find their way out of their time loop, the warlocks will come after me, and they will do so with a vengeance.”
“Because you wear the last ring,” Sven said softly.
“Yes,” she replied. “And because I’m the only one who knows what’s left of them and if even possible, how to stop them.” Her eyes went to Bryce again. “Staying here risks everything because if I’m killed, I can promise you that there is no hope for your country.” She shook her head. “The last battle that we must keep on track, the Battle of Byland Moor, will be changed and with it, the fate of Scotland.”
“Byland Moor,” he murmured, his eyes narrowed on her. “No one knows what battles we’ll be fighting before Grant and Adlin.”
“Except me,” she said. “And the monsters I’ve kept under my thumb for a very long time.”
His hand clenched a little tighter around the hilt of his dagger. “Monsters you controlled.”
“Yes,” she said softly. “Just like I’ve helped control my friends on their adventures through time.”
“How could you control such things?” He shook his head. “When their love was fated.”
“Because I was there when the rings were made.” Though she didn’t want to say it, the time for denying it was long past. “And I knew I was meant for a beast nearly as terrifying as the very monsters I already controlled.”
Chapter Two
HAD JESSIE JUST compared him to a warlock?
Bryce continued eying her with distrust. While he had heard she was small and delicate, he had not expected her to be so beautiful. With luminous hair and large, almond-shaped eyes that appeared as black as her hair, she was almost otherworldly. Her eyelashes were long and thick and her skin tone warm.
&
nbsp; Yet he got the feeling despite her slight frame and less-than-confrontational disposition that she could take down an army with one fell swoop if she were so inclined. That what lay at the heart of her was far bigger than what he could see with his physical eye. Or even with his dragon eyes.
“I assume then that I am the terrifying beast,” he said dryly. “And that you think yourself fated for me.”
“I stopped assuming things a long time ago.” Her tone remained soft as her eyes stayed on his. “And I will say nothing further until we leave this place.”
“Which we willnae be doing until you are far more forthright with me, lass.”
Sven nodded in agreement before he sensed something at the same moment as Bryce. A shift in the air. A miniscule temperature drop.
“One of them is coming.” Jessie’s calm disposition faltered as she shifted closer. Based on how she turned her back and scanned the forest, she was set to defend them against the warlock. “We need to leave now.”
He and Sven glanced at each other again as they spoke within the mind. Something they could do because they were dragon kin. “I dinnae trust her.”
“Nor I,” Sven responded. “But my dragon senses something coming that is far more untrustworthy.”
“Aye.” Bryce frowned. “But how are we to leave here without Grant or Adlin’s help?”
“With my help.” Jessie surprised them when she spoke into their minds as her eyes met Bryce's over her shoulder. “I can create tunnels within fire. Preferably fires ignited by others.”
He ignored how arousing the sound of her voice was in his mind and shook his head. “What good will a tunnel do us?”
“A tunnel that can go anywhere,” she provided. “Even through time.”
How powerful was this lass? And if what she said were true, where should they go? Because he certainly wouldn’t subject his people to her without knowing far more.
“We must go to your castle, Bryce,” she replied. “It’s the safest place in Scotland right now.”
Avenged by a Highland Laird Page 2
