Page 11 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Eleven

It wasn’t pain that Song woke to but the soft slide of fingertips across her back. It felt amazing. She kept her eyes closed, knowing without looking that it was Carlyle . It was wrong, though. She should let him know she was awake. Instead , she remained unmoving. Others touched her all the time, but few were gentle. Fewer still went out of their way not to cause her harm.

Yet Carlyle did both.

She couldn’t wrap her head around it, but she didn’t care at the moment. Her shoulder throbbed in time with her heartbeat, but his tenderness soothed her, dulling the worst of the ache as he changed her bandage. He wasn’t on the mattress, so she figured he must be kneeling beside the bed. She should open her eyes and get a feel for where she was.

She had succumbed to unconsciousness at some point while Carlyle carried her, so she had no idea where they were or who might be with them. Though she strained to listen, she heard nothing beyond the man next to her.

She opened her eyes a slit and saw a bare foot next to a knee. The last of the bandage was secured, and a heartbeat of silence passed before a large hand flattened on her back. Then it was gone. And so was he.

Song remained on her stomach for a long time before opening her eyes. It was a decent-sized room. Plush carpet covered the floor. The walls were concrete, with LED lights running along the crown molding. The color was set to a soft lavender. She carefully sat up and discovered she was on the bottom portion of a bunk bed. They weren’t the usual single-person mattresses but appeared to be queen-sized.

The bed itself was set against a wall and built into it. The wood that made up the bed was a foot wider than the mattress and stained clear to allow the natural color to show, while the wood that made up the rest of the bed was a dark mahogany. The contrast was pleasing and went well with the khaki, beige, and caramel bed linens.

Shelving units had been built into the concrete wall opposite her and were lined with wood alternating in the same color scheme. Each shelf had recessed lighting to showcase the decorative objects, books, and art on them. A pair of wooden doors likely led to a closet, and a simple piece of wood extending from the wall held up by a single leg served as a table. Four stools that looked like boxes were around it for seating.

Song swung her legs over the side of the mattress and realized that she was naked save for her panties. She searched the room for clothes and found them at the foot of the bed. It took forever for her to dress as every movement pulled at her injured shoulder. Yet she managed to get the oversized sweatshirt and joggers on.

She tested the double doors to discover it was indeed a closet as she’d suspected. It was empty, though. Song tried to run her fingers through her tangled hair, but it didn’t do much good. She walked to the other door and tested the knob, finding it opened easily. She slowly pulled it toward her to peer through a crack and spotted two curving, stone-colored sofas and two armless, dark brown chairs with a round, tree-stump coffee table in the middle of the circle.

The sound of pans reached her. On cue, her stomach rumbled. She remembered the taste of her last meal, and her mouth watered. Song walked from the room, her feet meeting the hardwood floors. She looked down to find the slats set in a herringbone pattern and made her way to the living area and the round, beige-and-brown-patterned rug that sat beneath the furniture.

Wine bottles housed in dark mahogany shelving were against one wall. Another had shelves of different liquor and glasses with a long, light wood bar and an antique, brushed-gold side. Black metal barstools sat waiting to be occupied. There was a pool table to one side while another wall held more mahogany shelves, these filled with books. Hanging above the seating area was a huge light that featured gold and frosted-white bulbs hanging in different lengths.

For just a moment, Song thought the light fixture hung in midair. It was only after she looked closer that she realized the ceiling was painted sky blue to give the appearance that it was a window to the outside. She looked around the room again, noting there were no windows. There hadn’t been any in the bedroom either.

She followed the sounds of cooking to a room off the living area and stepped into the kitchen. It , like the room she had just left, was luxury personified. Her gaze first landed on the side-by-side glass door fridge in a deep blueish gray color with copper handles and hinges. There was also a matching stove with side-by-side ovens and nine burners.

Song watched Carlyle move around the kitchen, humming to himself. She appreciated the movement of his back muscles beneath his tight shirt. When her gaze lingered, she inwardly shook herself and forced her attention to the mahogany cabinets and cream quartz counters. Everything anyone could dream up was in the kitchen, including a coffee maker that any barista would feel at home working.

Carlyle turned, his gaze meeting hers. He motioned to the island with its stools. “ It’ll be a few more minutes. Have a seat or help yourself to what’s available.”

She chose to sit for now. Song wanted to snoop around, but she’d rather do it when he wasn’t watching. He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water before placing it near her, then turned back to the stove, a towel draped over his shoulder.

“ How long was I out?” she asked.

He stirred whatever was in the pan. “ About ten hours or so.”

“ Where are we?”

“ A bunker.”

She paused in opening the bottle. “ Did you say bunker?”

“ I did.” He looked back at her for a heartbeat. “ We’ll be difficult to find.”

Devon licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. She had been on shifting ground before, but never like her current situation.

Or with someone like Carlyle .

London had underestimated him. She had, too, to a certain extent. It wasn’t a mistake she would repeat. “ How far down are we?”

“ Not too deep.”

“ That isn’t an answer.”

Carlyle paused and turned his head to look at her. “ We’re fifteen feet down.”

“ And how long will we be here?”

“ As long as it takes.” He went back to preparing the meal.

Song drank the water, her knee beginning to bounce as her anxiety ratcheted. She placed a hand on her thigh to stop it, but it was bouncing again a few minutes later.

“ You can’t show any emotion. Stop the leg now.”

The memory, along with the demanding voice, came to her unbidden. She drew in a deep breath and then slowly released it. The knot of apprehension in her gut loosened a little, but not nearly enough.

“ Everything all right?”

Her head jerked up at the sound of Carlyle’s voice near her. She looked into his turquoise eyes and nodded. “ I’m fine.”

He quirked a brow, letting her know without words that he didn’t believe her.

Song briefly looked away from his prying gaze. “ I’m fine. Really .”

“ Sure .” He set a plate in front of her.

She looked down to find chicken alfredo and suddenly found herself starving. She picked up her fork and twirled the pasta around it before taking a bite.

“ It’s not great,” Carlyle said. “ All I had was canned chicken and powdered milk.”

Song shook her head and took another bite. “ It’s delicious. You should’ve become a chef.”

“ In another life, I would have.”

She looked at him as he brought his plate and sat at the island, two stools separating them. “ You still can.”

“ Right ,” he said with a half laugh. “ I’m the only one of the bunch who really likes being in the kitchen. It gives me something to do when we’re all sitting around.”

“ By the bunch, you mean the Knights ?” she asked carefully.

His gaze met hers for a heartbeat. “ I do.”

“ What are they like?”

“ I’m sure you have a file.”

“ I do. But I’m asking you.”

Carlyle took two more bites before leaning on the arm farthest from her and half-turning his body toward hers. “ They’re each remarkable Druids in their own right. Together , we’re a cohesive team. We know how everyone thinks. That comes in handy in battle.”

“ An American , a Brit , a Scotsman , and an Irishman . You do make quite a team.”

“ You forgot Sabertooth .”

Song swallowed her food as she nodded. “ That’s right. Your hacker. Where is he from again?”

“ I thought London knew everything.”

She grinned and returned her attention to her plate.

“ Why all the questions?” he asked.

“ A lot can be learned by gathering intel, but it can’t tell me everything.”

His lips twisted before he wiped his mouth on a napkin and pushed his empty plate away. “ And you think I will?”

“ I don’t see how. There’s a distinct lack of trust between us. I can’t trust you, and you can’t trust me.”

“ So , what’s the answer?”

She lifted her right shoulder and turned to look at him. “ We go our separate ways.”

“ That isn’t going to happen.”

“ We’re at an impasse, then. And that means we’re wasting time.”

He studied her. “ I almost buy that you’re worried.”

She was concerned. There was no reason for London to come after her. She needed to get to the bottom of it before they took her life.

“ The problem,” Carlyle continued, “is that London has my father. I intend to get him out, and you’re going to help me.”

“ You ask the impossible.”

“ It’s far from impossible. You’ve stated that you get jobs done. That means the elders grant you a certain level of trust.”

Her stomach clenched painfully in dread. “ You overestimate what they see in me. They came after me, remember? You were running with me.”

“ You seem like a resourceful person.”

“ They’ll kill me.”

He stood, took her plate with his, and walked to the sink. “ What makes you think I won’t?”

“ You’re not a killer.”

“ They took my father.” Carlyle’s back was to her as he set his hands on the edge of the sink. “ I’ve already stated that I will do anything to find him.”

She studied the ends of his hair that curled at his neck. “ Don’t do this.”

“ It’s already done.”

Song frowned at his words. There was no way he’d reached out to London . They were isolated from others, and he hadn’t given her anything. Her eyes landed on the pan that sat on the stove. That wasn’t exactly true. He had served her a meal she’d willingly eaten. “ What did you give me?”

Carlyle turned to face her as he leaned a hip against the counter. “ Odd how your mind goes in that direction. Is that what you do to people?”

“ If I’m ordered to.”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back. She never let information like that escape.

“ I didn’t put anything in your food,” Carlyle said. “ We’re Druids . I used magic.”

Unease slid through her as she thought about his hand on her back earlier. She had believed he was touching her because he wanted to. The truth was that he had been spelling her. “ What did you do?”

“ Made sure I would get the truth.”

It made sense now. She hadn’t understood why he would keep her around if he couldn’t believe her. She should’ve expected something like this. She should have been prepared.

“ I just want the truth,” Carlyle said.