Darkest Highlander by Donna Grant Page B

tight. She had woken needy and aching. If he had been in the chamber, she wasn’t sure what she would have done. All she had known was that she needed him with a hunger that went to her very soul.
    “I did,” she answered. “And you?”
    “You know we doona need to sleep every night.”
    That got her attention. She ran her fingers along the small table as she walked around it. “So you stayed awake all night?”
    “I kept watch.”
    “That’s two nights you’ve not slept. You must sleep sometime.”
    He shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ll rest when I need it.”
    Sonya blew out an exasperated breath and leaned against the wall. “So, what now? Is this where you try and talk me into returning with you?”
    “This is where I try to convince you that MacLeod Castle is where you need to be.”
    “And if you cannot?”
    His lips tilted in a lopsided grin. “Then I will continue to try and persuade you to my way of thinking.”
    She wanted to smile at him, to carry on as if everything was as it had been before the battle. But she couldn’t. “What use am I to anyone if I don’t have magic?”
    “But you do,” he argued. “I feel it.”
    There was such sincerity in his dark, compelling eyes that she believed him. How could she not? Broc would never lie about her magic. “All right. Then what use am I to anyone if I cannot use my magic?”
    “You will use your magic again. Maybe once at MacLeod Castle with the other Druids you can discover what has happened.”
    Sonya looked at her injured hand. So much had changed in so little time. How could someone be so content in life and in the space of a heartbeat have everything crash around her?
    “Did you no’ tell Fallon the trees warned you to stay at MacLeod Castle?” Broc asked.
    She nodded, unable to deny it. She didn’t care why Fallon had told Broc. Obviously the eldest MacLeod brother had thought Broc needed to know.
    Sonya swallowed and lifted her gaze to Broc. “I don’t know why they wanted me at the castle, only that they said that’s where I need to be.”
    “And you’ve always trusted them.”
    It was a statement, not a question. “Aye.”
    “Why question them now?”
    Sonya smiled ruefully. “I’m not. I’m questioning myself.”
    He exhaled sharply and pushed off the door to slowly pace the confines of the chamber. “It’s because of what I said to you, is it no’? It’s about you finding me with Anice and learning that I knew her.”
    “It’s partly why I ran, aye.” There was no use hiding that information now. Broc already knew anyway. “Coupled with the fact I couldn’t heal Reaghan when she was dying. If it wasn’t for the spell she’d put on herself, she would be dead now.”
    “But she is alive.” He stopped before her, daring her to deny his words.
    Sonya had to tilt her head back to continue looking in his fathomless eyes. “A few days ago I knew who I was. I knew what I was. I knew the power of the magic inside me and all I could do. And then…”
    She trailed off, unable to finish as she recalled the raw, heartbreaking agony she had felt when she could no longer call up her magic.
    “And then Anice died,” Broc concluded. “I know I hurt you by no’ telling you the truth. I know I should have, but Anice wouldna know if she hadna stumbled upon me all those years ago.”
    Sonya had never been envious of her sister until she had seen her in Broc’s arms. Not even knowing her sister was dead could halt the jealousy. It had been the complete suffering in Broc’s voice and in his face which tore apart Sonya’s heart.
    “If it had been me instead of my sister who found you, would you have spoken to me as you did Anice?”
    He stared at her, the muscle in his jaw jumping. “Nay.”
    “I see.”
    “You doona, Sonya.”
    “Then explain it.”
    His brow creased as his gaze dropped to the floor. “I … cannot.”
    Sonya hadn’t thought she could hurt more than she already did, but those two simple words brought it