Page 27 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Twenty-Three

As Kurt walked away, Sabryn kept her eyes closed until she heard his footfalls fade.

For a moment, she thought he might reach for her.

Her face still tingled from where he had held her as he cleaned up the blood.

She hadn’t been able to pull away from him.

Honestly , she didn’t think she could ever refuse him—no matter how angry and hurt she was.

All it had taken was the lightest touch from him, and she ached to be in his arms again. She craved to have his hands stroking her body. She yearned for him. She always had and always would. Because while she cursed him when she was awake, she was his to do with as he pleased in her dreams.

Sabryn hated that she longed for him even now. She tried to return her attention to counting the minutes since the wind had changed but couldn’t pull her mind off Kurt . She found herself grasping the blanket as if it were his body and jerked her hand away as if it had scalded her.

Perhaps he was being considerate. It was something she had always loved about him.

He’d always been keenly aware of what she needed and took steps to get it for her.

But that had been when they were together.

They weren’t together now, and no number of apologies or explanations could change the past.

Her position had once been comfortable, but now that her concentration had been broken, her hips ached, and her legs itched to straighten.

Sabryn pushed aside the throw and got to her feet to stretch her body.

There weren’t many places in the cottage she could use to escape Kurt , and she wasn’t sure she even should in case of an attack.

Instead , she walked to a window and studied it, turning her attention to their wards and how they were holding up under the wind’s constant push and pull.

If she dared venture outside, her SUV was within steps of the door. If she thought there was a chance she could make it, she’d take it. But witnessing Kurt nearly being sucked through the crack in the door gave her pause. Especially since there was no rhyme or reason for the changes in the wind.

A glance at her phone showed it was just after four in the morning.

Springtime in the UK meant fifteen to eighteen hours of daylight, and the sunrise the past few days had been around 5:30 a.m. That meant they only had a little over an hour before the sun rose, and they could see outside.

Once the night had been chased away and they could see, they would have a better chance of escaping.

Sabryn put her hand to the window and felt the glass vibrating beneath her palm.

It didn’t matter how many times they reinforced the wards.

The windows would shatter soon. These panes weren’t meant to take such sustained pressure.

The question was whether they would burst in or blow out.

Either way, she and Kurt needed to get free.

If they could just make it until daybreak. One of the other Knights would eventually get curious and check on her. She was sure of it. It would probably be Finn . And when he couldn’t get through, he would gather the others and come in person.

Nothing about what was happening made sense.

Why was Edie coming for her and Kurt now?

Why hadn’t she finished her attack on the street?

Sabryn had been down. It would’ve been simple.

Not to mention, their group had been scattered.

It would’ve been the perfect time to strike.

Edie clearly hadn’t cared about witnesses that day.

It certainly wouldn’t have mattered if she took a life.

Unless someone told her not to. The same being that had given Kerry and Edie enhanced magic, perhaps?

But again, why ? Sabryn dropped her hand from the glass.

That could only mean that the being wanted her and Kurt isolated.

If it meant to kill them, it’d had plenty of opportunities.

And since Edie hadn’t finished them, there had to be another reason.

Sabryn whirled around and hurried into the kitchen to find Kurt .

He sat in a chair, his arms braced on his knees. His head snapped up as she entered. He took one look at her and asked, “ What’s wrong?”

“ Something got into the Red Hills and killed Kerry . Something that could get through even Balladyn’s magic, and we know Druid magic can’t compete with Fae magic.”

Kurt’s brow furrowed. “ That’s right.”

“ Something didn’t want her talking, and even though she hadn’t divulged much of anything, they obviously didn’t want to chance it.”

He slowly sat up. “ I don’t think she ever intended to give away anything. She truly believed in her cause.”

“ A cause that Edie has since taken up. Kerry said the Ancients chose her, but we know from Ferne that they’ve been silenced.”

“ Which means something out there is claiming to be the Ancients and convincing both Kerry and Edie to act on their behalf.”

Sabryn nodded. “ It can also turn mist into a killing machine and granted Kerry the power to control it. That mist got through all kinds of wards. Add that to the circumstances of Kerry’s death, and you have something exceptionally powerful.”

“ So , why hasn’t it broken through the cottage wards?” he asked.

“ Exactly ,” she stated, excited that he saw the same things she had. “ I don’t think it wants Edie to get to us. At least, not yet.”

Kurt sat back in his chair and laid an arm on the table.

Sabryn’s gaze dropped to the tear in his shirt and the glimpse of skin she got through it.

She thought about seeing him in nothing but the towel when she first entered.

He’d looked good. Really , really good. Damn him. She instantly shut off those thoughts.

“ They want to isolate us from the others,” Kurt stated.

“ I think so, too. And that means something is happening on Skye that they don’t want us to be a part of. We’re stuck here without any way of contacting our friends or getting out to help.”

“ Have you tried reaching out to the wind again?”

She shook her head. “ Not yet. The last time was…” Sabryn shook her head as she recalled the emptiness of not having the wind respond. “ But I can.”

“ If Edie wanted us dead, we’d be dead. That means she has another purpose for us.”

“ That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

He wrinkled his nose. “ Me , neither.”

“ Could Diana be working with Edie ?”

“ Anything is possible when it comes to Diana , but she had her sights set on running the London Druids . She’s always bristled under their control.

I can’t imagine she would willingly submit to some unknown being.

That said, if it said it was the Ancients and offered her the kind of power we’ve seen with both Kerry and Edie , then… yes, she would. Without hesitation.”

Sabryn pulled a chair out and sat. “ I don’t think I need to ask what Parker would do.”

“ No ,” Kurt said with a snort. “ You don’t. Right before Parker stabbed me, he said that it had been a long time coming.”

“ He never liked being in your shadow.”

Kurt looked to the side and slowly shook his head. “ We might not have gotten along, but I never thought…” He trailed off, then sighed. “ The excitement in his eyes as he slid the blade in was appalling.”

Sabryn bit her lip and looked away, not liking how his words, spoken softly while filled with pain, struck her like a punch to the gut. Kurt had looked his would-be killer right in the eyes. The fact that his assailant had been his brother made the act even worse.

“ I can’t say for certain if Diana sent him or not,” Kurt said, turning his head toward her. “ But Parker never deviates from Diana’s orders.”

“ It’s been six years since you’ve spoken to your brother. Can you really say that for certain?”

“ I don’t suppose I can,” he admitted.

She twisted her lips. “ Sadly , none of that brings us any closer to knowing what’s happening outside this cottage. We need to get to the manor.”

“ If we’re not meant to die, then let’s try to leave. Maybe Edie will pull back.”

“ Or she won’t, and we’ll die.”

He lifted his hand in exasperation. “ What choice do we have? We stay, we die. We go, we die.”

“ I’m the reason you’re here. Well , in this cottage anyway,” she amended. “ I didn’t want you at the manor.”

“ Because it was your space. I understand.”

“ And I’m the one who wanted to talk alone.”

He dipped his chin, one side of his mouth quirking up. “ You wanted to yell.”

She had wanted to do much more than that. She had wanted to hurt him as badly as she had been hurt. Why hadn’t she? “ Stop being so understanding. I’m trying to apologize for putting us in this predicament.”

“ Apology accepted, but I don’t blame you.”

“ I do.” She could’ve had it out with him at the manor or Rhona’s place.

She should’ve said her piece there. She looked back, trying to remember when she had gotten it into her head that she needed to be completely alone with Kurt when she hadn’t been able to share the same house before.

“ I shouldn’t have asked to be alone with you. ”

His brows drew together. “ What ?”

“ I didn’t want to be alone with you. Why did I ask to have a cottage to ourselves?”

He shrugged, looking at her helplessly. “ I’ve no idea.”

“ Why didn’t Finn , Elias , or Carlyle point that out?”

“ What are you suggesting?”

Sabryn rubbed her forehead. “ I don’t know. I just…something isn’t adding up. I wanted to hear you confirm what Parker told me, but…”

“ Not alone,” he finished.

She tried to ignore the despair in his eyes. “ What if this thing helping Edie can reach us?”

“ When did you decide to ask for a separate location? Were you at the manor?”

Sabryn thought back to after she’d been taken from the hospital. “ We were driving to it.” And she had been an emotional wreck, in turns furious and beside herself. “ I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“ You were upset, and rightly so.”

“ Being emotional allows someone to enter a person’s mind. I never once stopped to think that I should guard myself.”

Kurt held her gaze. “ Your friends wanted to help and gave you whatever you wanted to help you heal.”

“ Oh , my god. What have I done?” she gasped. “ We have to get to the others. They need us.”

He stood. “ Then let’s go.”

It was so easy to remember the man she had grown to love in DC .

She saw flashes of him now and couldn’t reconcile it with the facts of who he really was.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Their friends were in trouble, and she and Kurt had already wasted hours thinking they were the target.

“ My car is steps from the door,” she said, getting to her feet.

“ I’ll buy you some time as you get to the vehicle.”

She shot him a dark look. “ Don’t be silly. We’re both going.”

“ I think only one of us will make it. You have the key, and you know the roads.”

“ We go together,” she declared and headed for the door.

“ Sabryn ,” he began.

She halted and raised a hand to silence him, then closed her eyes and listened for the wind.

It was still silent, which meant it was in the vacuum again.

After its frantic screams before, the hush was unnerving.

If the Ancients could be quieted, then it stood to reason the wind could, as well.

She had turned her back on her gift for weeks, and now that she needed it, it wasn’t there.

“ I hear nothing,” she admitted.

Kurt was right behind her. “ We wait until we hear the wind blowing again to make a run for it.”

“ It’ll change as soon as we’re outside.”

“ Then we’d better run fast.”

She turned when she heard him walk away. He returned a moment later and handed her a backpack. “ What’s this?”

“ My laptop. The passcode is Sabryn .”

“ I don’t want this,” she said and shoved it back at him. “ That’s your department.”

His face tightened. “ Don’t be stubborn.”

“ Then don’t give up so easily. Get your ass to the car.”

The gusts started again, ending their argument.

Sabryn reached for the knob as Kurt quickly shrugged on the backpack.

She threw open the door and ran outside.

A burst of wind knocked into her side, sending her skidding across the stone path and into the grass.

She lost her footing and toppled to the ground, the wind rolling her.

Something grabbed her arm. Sabryn looked up to find Kurt holding on to the edge of the cottage with one hand and her with the other.

“ Hello , Sabryn .”

The feminine voice in her head startled her. She searched the area, squinting through the gusts in the pre-dawn light until she found Edie standing about ten feet from her, untouched by the gusts.

“ You know I could rip you both into pieces. But I’ll make you a deal. I won’t hurt either of you if you leave Skye and go your separate ways. It’s that simple. If you don’t take the offer, you will die, but not before watching everyone you love perish horrifically.”

“ Sabryn !” Kurt shouted.

She looked at him and felt his grip slipping. When she returned her gaze to Edie , she found her gone. Kurt yanked on her arm, roughly pulling her to him. The wind died enough that Sabryn could put her feet on the ground and stumble into him.

“ Go !” he yelled, shoving her toward the SUV .

Sabryn didn’t hesitate as she dashed toward the vehicle.

They jumped inside just as the air switched to the vacuum.

She pressed the ignition button and threw the vehicle in reverse before jerking the wheel around and sliding on the grass and gravel.

Then she threw it into drive and slammed her foot on the accelerator.

She glanced in the rearview mirror, but there was no sign of Edie in the soft light of daybreak. Had she imagined her and the voice? No . The words were distinct, and the meaning was clear. Her heart pounded as she took the corners of the winding road at breakneck speed.

Kurt had one hand on the dash and the other gripping the handle near his head. She took a turn too sharply, and the tires on one side of the vehicle went off the road. She straightened the SUV and pressed the accelerator when they reached a straightaway.

“ What happened back there?” he asked.

Everything . “ Nothing ,” she answered.

Sabryn felt his gaze on her, but she didn’t take her eyes off the road.

One turn took them right into the blinding light of the rising sun.

She winced and flipped down the visor, but when that didn’t help, she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

Her focus remained on the road and taking one curve after another.