Page 18 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Eighteen

Song fell in love with being on the water the first time she was on a narrowboat. It hadn’t been a holiday, but for another job the elders wanted handled . She had enjoyed the canals and rivers so deeply that she waited until the last moment before finishing the mission just to be able to soak in that peace for a little longer.

But the water had left a mark on her. One that wouldn’t relent. She began searching for a narrowboat to buy almost immediately.

She sat on the bench and turned the tiller to guide the long boat through the maze of waterways that crisscrossed the UK . She had memorized the maps of canals and rivers to know exactly where to go in any number of events. It was also why she had purchased three vessels. She had always planned for them to be her escape with her sister.

Carlyle came up the steps through the bulkhead and turned to look in the direction they were headed. He stood for long minutes watching the water, all while she studied him. The rising sun glinted off his auburn locks, making the hair look as if it were on fire. He was handsome, stoic, and single-minded in his quest to find Thomas . Unfortunately , it would lead to the very thing the elders wanted.

She would tell him. But not yet. Not until she had Lauren .

Carlyle turned to face her and leaned against the railing. She met his turquoise gaze, once more reminded of Caribbean waters. He said nothing for a long time. Just stared. Song grew uncomfortable. She fought not to reach up and smooth the ends of her hair that were moving in the breeze. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gone so long without her proper face routine. Not to mention her hair. She wanted a long shower, a facial, and a manicure. She wanted to stand in her closet and choose an outfit from a number of luxury brands. Mostly , she just wanted the pit in her stomach to go away.

“ How long until we reach London ?” Carlyle asked.

“ The top speed is three to four miles per hour. If we travel for eight hours a day, we’ll get there in about a week.”

He turned his head away. “ That’s what I estimated. It’ll take too long.”

“ The Serene Star has plenty of supplies, but I have a stash three days from here in Northampton with clothes and cash.”

“ I’m going to need a change of clothes,” he replied.

She nodded. “ Of course. We’ll see to that.”

“ Tell me about your sister.”

Song swallowed as she looked away, no longer able to hold his stare. She licked her lips before pressing them together. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken about her sister. “ I don’t know.”

“ You don’t know your own sibling?”

“ I’ve not seen her in over a decade.”

“ Bloody hell,” Carlyle murmured. He used his arms to lift himself atop the roof to sit, his legs dangling over the side. “ Was that your decision?”

She rolled her eyes. “ The elders’. It was an incentive for me to continue doing their bidding. If I hesitated or indicated that I wasn’t following their plan, they threatened Lauren .”

“ What about your parents? Surely , they aren’t allowing this.”

She thought back to that long-ago night when her parents had left her to look after Lauren . They had promised to return and never had. “ I don’t have parents.”

“ I’m sorry.”

“ It is what it is.”

He nodded. “ I hope you demanded that London prove your sister was still alive.”

“ I did. It seemed to amuse them that I would make such a request.”

Carlyle grunted and shook his head. “ More than likely, they were entertained by controlling you and Lauren .”

“ It began small,” she said. “ The missions. The elders used to say things like we’re keeping you safe or we’re feeding you and Lauren .”

“ They made you feel as if you were beholden to them.”

She glanced at him and nodded. “ I was obligated. I made sure I was successful in whatever they asked of me. Each time I was, they rewarded us with extravagant gifts. What they asked of me seemed a small price to pay to live in such wealth and abundance. And what I thought was safety.”

“ How did you live with all the elders? They have their own families.”

“ It was a manor out in the country somewhere. The elders visited several times a week, but the staff were the ones in charge.”

His brows furrowed deeper. “ What school did you attend?”

“ I had a private tutor.”

Carlyle’s lips twisted. “ They isolated you.”

“ My sister and I wanted for nothing. They were strict, yes, and the things they asked of me became riskier and more treacherous. I refused once. I never did again.”

“ Did they threaten you or Lauren ?”

She hid the shiver the memory caused. “ They never actually said the words. They didn’t have to.” Song shrugged. “ That continued until my eighteenth birthday.”

“ What happened?” he asked softly when she stopped talking.

She didn’t know why she was sharing any of this with him. She had never told another soul about even a single part of it. Perhaps she wanted Carlyle to understand that she hadn’t always been London’s instrument, that she hadn’t been born like this.

She swallowed in an effort to wet her dry mouth. “ I went out for a horse ride. When I returned, my sister’s things had been removed from the house. A large, ribboned box sat on the bed, along with an envelope.” She looked down at the water rippling from the boat toward the shore. “ It seemed I had graduated from minor jobs to actual missions. They promised to let me see her if I completed the assignment.”

Song had taken her first life that night. It had been horrible. She had vomited afterward and cried for days. It still haunted her. “ I never asked to be used by London . I never asked to be a part of them or become who they wanted me to be. I did what I had to do to keep my sister alive. There wasn’t a way out for me. Not until you.”

He didn’t respond to that. Instead , he asked, “ You had to leave the estate for your missions. That means you have some knowledge of where you were.”

“ It’s somewhere south of London . When I was taken from the estate, they put me in a van without windows. They made sure I couldn’t see. But there were things I picked up. I counted turns. I also counted how long it took from when we left the gravel drive until we reached a highway. I have maps where I’ve marked off areas where the house could be. I’ve checked out some, but it never brought me to the manor I remember.”

“ Whose house was it?”

“ I overheard one of the staff say something about it being owned by the organization. If one elder was there, they all were. I never saw one without the others. However , I never spent a lot of time with them. When I was younger, it was just my sister, tutors, and the staff for the most part.”

Carlyle seemed to take that in before asking, “ And when you got older?”

“ Staff and more tutors.”

“ More ?” he asked, his brow quirked.

She straightened the narrowboat after coming out of the bend. “ I was trained relentlessly to get my body, mind, and magic where the elders wanted it. They stripped me of the name given to me by my parents and gave me another.”

“ Devon isn’t your name?” he asked.

She hesitated a heartbeat. “ The elders gave me that name. The name given to me at birth is Song .”

“ Is that what you would prefer to be called?”

“ It is.”

He didn’t say anything, but his features softened around his eyes. It made her uncomfortable, but she’d already opened herself up and accepted the vulnerability. She only hoped he didn’t turn out like others and use it against her.

Like the one late morning after a particularly grueling training session when she looked over at the stables and the horse she rode. It had been over a week since she had been in the saddle, and she was itching to take the horse out. Her trainer made a comment, and Song glanced toward the house to see the elders watching her from a balcony. The horse was gone the next day. That was when she learned to hide anything she wanted from others. It only led to disappointment and sorrow.

Sharing parts of her past was as painful as the wound on her shoulder. She had cut herself open and bared specifics of her childhood that were awkward and shameful. If she had been stronger back then, she would’ve found a way to get both her and Jai out. At first, she had been surrounded by London Druids , which made that impossible.

But later, when she was sent out on her own for weeks at a time, she could’ve done something.

She should’ve done something.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t fantasized about leaving or having a life away from the elders’ long reach. She had stored money and jewelry that could be sold in order to live comfortably when the time came.

Yet she always put it off for one reason or another.

That wasn’t true. She put it off because she was scared. Afraid that she wouldn’t be able to keep her sister safe.

And once the elders believed she had betrayed them? Well , they had individuals who specialized in torture.

Song inwardly shook herself. She didn’t like to linger on such thoughts. It intensified the trepidation she tried to keep under wraps. Sharing her past had stirred up things she would rather not consider. But they were there now, magnified and amplified, until she was choking on them.

Fear —of the elders, of every Druid , of not being strong enough, of failing.

It thrummed in her subconscious twenty-four-seven. She was risking her life and her sister’s on the chance that Carlyle wouldn’t betray her. Even as she still withheld information from him. What kind of person did that make her?

She could tell herself it was because the elders would kill Jai without hesitation. She could even attempt to justify it by saying Carlyle might already know.

But it was all a lie.

How could she expect him to be honest if she wasn’t?

Her gaze lowered into the open bulkhead where Carlyle had disappeared after their talk. She had parted her lips twice to call him back up. And twice, she closed it again, deciding to remain silent.

She had seen pictures of Carlyle smiling in his file. The stern expression he’d worn since he found her in the townhome accentuated the creases in his forehead and those between his brows. It was the kind of agonizing dread she knew well. They had a kinship in that. It was doubtful he would see it that way, however.

The hours stretched on as she sat beneath the sun, listening to the boat glide through the water. They left Nottingham behind and drifted in waterways that cut through parks and subdivisions. It was so serene and beautiful she could almost imagine she was the last person on Earth .

“ London won’t let you or Lauren go,” Carlyle said as he came up from below. He shoved the long sleeves of his tee up to his elbows as he stood before her.

Song tucked her hair behind her ear. “ I know. They put too much effort into training me. Molding me.”

“ Why would they do that?”

“ You mean what makes me so special?”

He dipped his chin.

She glanced away, uneasy with the question. “ It could be any number of things.”

“ Maybe . But I think you know exactly why.”

“ You’re asking me to divulge something I’ve never put into words before. I’ve already shared things I’ve never told anyone.”

Carlyle crossed his arms over his broad chest. “ Isn’t that how trust is built?”

He had her there, dammit. But that didn’t mean she liked it. “ I can’t.”

“ You won’t be giving something for nothing.”

“ I already have,” she replied.

Carlyle considered that. “ You did. That didn’t go unnoticed.”

“ No ,” she stated. “ No more. I’ve told you enough for now.”

“ Time and effort were spent training you. The elders wouldn’t do that without reason. You mean something to them, and that tells me we won’t be able to get to your sister easily. If you want my help, then I need to know everything.”

She lifted her chin. “ The same goes for you.”

“ Don’t pretend that you weren’t given a file on me.”

“ I was. But that only states what they know about you from before you joined the Knights .”

Carlyle gave a bark of laughter. “ And you want to know about my friends.”

“ I want to know what isn’t in the file.”