Chapter 94
We’d barely stepped out of the massive gathering hall when Lyssira’s voice hit me again like a growl through bone. Something is wrong with that one. Cacta. Her magic stinks of death and lies. It’s rotting, Elowen. Tainted.”
1 stiffened, and Lachlan immediately glanced down at me, his brows pinched, “What is it, love?”
I shook my head once, subtly, not ready to drop this bomb in earshot of the escort guiding us to our rooms. But I gripped his hand tighter. “We need to talk. Privately.”
The guest wing was tucked into a moss draped hill near a silver creek, wrapped in tangled vines and carved stone. It was beautiful and so peaceful. Enchanted to keep out the chill and noise of the outer woods, with fresh linens and glowing runes pulsing softly in the dark wood beams overhead.
The second the heavy oak door clicked shut behind us, I turned to him. “Lyssira’s losing her mind.”
He froze, the air thickening around him as his magic flared like a held breath. “What d’ye mean?”
“She says Caera’s reeking of dark magic. Tainted. Like something’s eating her soul. She’s snarling and pacing in my mind.”
Lachlan went quiet, too quiet. He leaned back against the carved bedpost, his arms folded, jaw clenched tight.
“I’ve never liked her,” he muttered. “Always felt… off. Her words are sweet, but her eyes..never warm. Always watchin’. Always schemin.
But…”
I moved closer. “But what?”
“She saved my mother’s life. Took a fucking death curse meant fer her twenty years ago. My mum swore loyalty tae her after that. Calls her a sister in magic. I was jest a boy when it happened, but I remember seein’ my mother cry over her nearly dyin’.”
“Lachlan,” I said softly, “that doesn’t mean she isn’t corrupted now. People change. People hide. Especially ones in positions of power.”
“I ken that.” His voice cracked slightly, pain flashing across his face. “But if I go tae my mother with this without proof… I risk destroyin’ their bond, for nothin’.”
I reached for his hand and laced my fingers through his. “Then we get proof. Together.”
He looked down at our hands, then into my eyes. The steel returned to his spine. “Aye,” he said, his voice rough but steady. “We catch the bitch in the act. And if she is what Lyssira says she is…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the storm in his eyes said enough.
We unpacked our bags and I giggled as the boys pushed the three beds together. Looks like we will all be sleeping together tonight. I found myself shivering in anticipation and Daxon winked at me and waggled his eyebrows. Ashrian took my hand and kissed it and I found myself in a big bear hug with three of the sexiest men alive.
Lyssi sighed in contentment in my mind. We finished and Lachlan led us to the dining hall. The scent was absolutely delicious and my stomach growled loudly.
Dinner was fucking divine. Highland magic must have been sprinkled into every bite.
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14:39 Thu, Oct 2 M…
Chapter 94
Venison, roasted in juniper and pepper, thick enough to chew like steak but tender as sin. Creamy buttery mashed tatties, sharp greens sautéed in garlic, and bannocks that melted like heaven on the tongue. Even Ashrian looked emotional eating them, and that man once disarmed a vampire warlord while bleeding out.
Lachlan watched me devour it all with proud delight. “Told ye, mo ghrá. A proper Scottish meal’ll change yer damn life.”
Daxon and Ash were battling for the title of Who Can Eat More Meat, and honestly, it was close. I stuffed myself, trying to ignore the growing tension curling in my gut.
Lyssira hadn’t stopped pacing. “That witch reeks of shadows,” she growled. “It’s in her blood. And her brothers even worse. His soul’s rotted out from the inside.”
When dessert came I couldn’t even look at it. We made polite excuses and no one blinked an eye.
It was encouraged for visitors to connect with the magic of the forest, so when Lachlan leaned over and murmured, “Come, let’s take a walk,” I nodded immediately. The boys fell in behind me silently. Time to see what was hiding behind those polite smiles and ancient magic sigils.
We slipped away into the trees under the cover of night. The strike team shadowed us like ghosts, then hung back when we approached the edge of the coven’s inner circle. Caera and Rourke’s stone cottage stood nestled between two oaks, draped in moss and charm wards. The air reeked of thick, oily magic. My stomach turned.
We crouched low, just below a glowing window.
“Ye think the prophecy lass suspects us?” Rourke’s voice drifted out..deep, cold, and rough like gravel soaked in whiskey. “That wolf o’ hers stares right through me. Damn near sent me runnin’.”
“She fuckin’ knows,” Caera hissed back. Her voice had the scratch of age to it, twisted and bitter. “The beast inside her sees what others don’t. If we dinnae act soon, the moon bitch’ll win.”
Lachlan tensed beside me. I grabbed my phone and hit record.
“She’s tetherin’ ’em all,” Caera went on, her voice rising. “Unitin’ the bloodlines. If the Aegis fails again, we’ll slit her throat ourselves. Break the bonds. Kill the prophecy before it kills us.”
“Ye want t’ start a war wi’ the coven watchin’?”
“If we don’t, Rourke, we’re already dead. The Goddess abandoned us long ago. Darkness gives more power…and loyalty.”
A flicker of green light sparked through the window, and the air pulsed with thick dark magic. The kind that tasted like rot. Lachlan muttered something sharp in Gaelic under his breath. His face was stone, but fury burned beneath it.
“They’re twisted,” I whispered. “Lyssi was right.”
“Aye,” he breathed. “Caera’s always been… slippery. But savin’ me mum’s life bought her too much goodwill. We show this tae the coven mother, and she’ll nae be able to look away.”
I slipped my phone back into my coat and gripped his hand. “Then let’s bury them with their own words.”
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14:39 Thu, Oct 2
Hunted Hybrid Aegis War Saga 1
