Page 6 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Four

Kurt’s heart missed a beat when Sabryn finally met his gaze, but only because he had surprised her. She showed no outward emotion otherwise. The same couldn’t be said for Finn , Elias , and Carlyle . The atmosphere in the room changed the moment they realized he was the man who had hurt Sabryn .

He felt their furious looks, sensed their rage.

The tension in the room grew, and he fully expected all three to give him the pounding he deserved.

But their attack didn’t come, at least not from their fists.

It came from expressions that could flay him alive and a silent promise for recompense later.

Kurt couldn’t tear his gaze from Sabryn .

He didn’t care that she thought less of him than the dirt beneath her shoe.

He was in the same room as her after years of wondering if he would ever get the chance again.

The red-orange glow of the fire bathed the right side of her face in fiery light in direct contrast to her icy regard.

Yet still, he burned for her. Ached with a soul-deep hunger that would forever seek a connection to her.

Song looked from him to Sabryn and then back again.

Her eyes narrowed slightly before she crossed one leg over the other, a new frostiness in her demeanor.

He hadn’t expected a warm welcome from anyone.

The fact that he was inside the manor still shocked him.

He’d anticipated the house tossing him out and barring him from ever seeing Sabryn again.

Kurt cleared his throat. “ I left the safe house without grabbing my mobile. I thought about pulling over and sending a message through my laptop but decided to drive to the isle to warn you instead. My intent was to find Parker .” He paused and rubbed his forehead, allowing his lids to close for a few seconds.

“ If I had been thinking clearly, I would have. I was worried about what he might do to Sabryn , and the next thing I knew, I was here.”

“ You’d have gone to your brother and given away all our secrets?” Finn looked at Elias . “ You should’ve hit him harder.”

“ You hit him?” Bronwyn asked her lover.

Elias shrugged. “ I had to make him stop, and he wouldna listen.”

Kurt wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his eyes open.

Even his throbbing jaw wasn’t keeping him awake.

The faces around him kept going in and out of focus, and he was having difficulty keeping track of the questions being tossed about.

He just needed to get the story out so they could let him go to his brother.

Or sleep. Bloody hell, how he wanted to shut his eyes and sleep for days—maybe even weeks.

“ I would never tell anyone anything about us,” Kurt declared.

Carlyle grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. “ Us ? You’re not one of us, mate.”

Kurt rubbed his eyes. It was the wrong thing to do.

The moment his eyes shut, he felt himself falling asleep.

He jerked awake when he leaned to the side.

His time was running out. He swallowed, the action proving difficult.

“ Parker won’t stop looking. If he doesn’t find me or Sabryn , he’ll hurt others.

There’s enough going on here without adding this. ”

“ And yet you brought it straight to our door,” Elias replied.

Kurt took a breath and parted his lips, but the argument he’d had vanished like a puff of smoke.

He couldn’t even remember what Elias had said.

His eyelids wouldn’t stay open. He’d been sitting for too long.

He needed to get up and get his blood pumping, or he’d pass out.

He scooted to the edge of the chair and struggled to stand, but his legs wouldn’t hold him.

He was reminded of Sabryn watching him—observing but not talking.

All these years, he’d thought she would blast him with her anger and maybe even her magic when he saw her again.

But in the end, she merely disregarded him.

She had moved on. Maybe she hadn’t forgiven him for hurting her, but she wasn’t holding on to the same feelings he was.

And that cut deep—deeper than he’d been prepared for.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t deserve it, though. She didn’t know the whole story, and he prayed she never learned. If she did, she’d likely kill him.

“ I need to rest,” he told the room. “ Give me half an hour to sleep, and I’ll answer the rest of your questions.”

Finn faced him. “ After all you’ve just told us, you want to sleep?”

Kurt tried to answer, but everything went black for the second time that day.