Eternal Moon

Chapter 25: The Cost

They had slipped back into the village in the dead of the night. Sorcha could see that Deidra had closed the tavern and every other shop and residence was dark and quiet. Even the sheep didn't so much as bleat when the witch and Colin passed by on their way into the woods.

Sorcha did not dare go by Castle Murdock, fighting the urge to see if the Laird was still up. She had sensed these past few days that something was shifting between Kane and his wanton American. Something that did not bode well for her, she knew.

If she was not careful, the infernal Jamie Campbell might just break the curse.

Time was slipping away. Sorcha could feel it. If she did not act soon enough, the tide would move against her. The gods bestowed favor among those who worshipped them but not for long. They did not look kindly at those who squandered good fate.

Her best chance was the market run to Inverness. In a week, several of the villagers would go to the Highlander city and be gone for an entire day. With fewer eyes on her, it would be the perfect time to perform the ritual. And it gave her some time to prepare.

The fight was leaving young Emma. She hung limp in Colin's arms, exhausted from the journey and its demands. Starving her had helped Sorcha keep her leverage and sapped the girl of her strength. Sorcha even doubted that the girl was conscious as Colin gently laid her down in the cell next to his.

"She won't last if she doesn't eat," he grumbled.

Sorcha's eyes rolled. "I'm not going to starve her. I need her, remember?"

Colin's repulsed scowl made her ire rise, but Sorcha threw a few packets of food into the girl's cell. "Better?"

"Overwhelmingly," he drawled.

Now that she had dropped her glamour, she could use some more of her power, and she relished the sight as Colin suddenly dropped to the ground and writhed in pain.

"Enjoy your pet for the forthcoming week. It won't be long until I give her pretty little body over to Dea Matrona. And don't forget Irishman, I own you."

Hatred burned in his eyes despite the excruciating pain she was inflicting on him. She felt it on her as he crawled into his own cell and even as she walked away.

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"I'm not going to sleep with you, you know?"

Kane's mouth widened into a sly grin. "Aye, I know."

Jamie narrowed her gaze at him as she slowly took a bite of her green bean. She had agreed to dinner with him finally but only after one condition: he would not try and seduce her.

Of course, she hadn't specified how he could not seduce her. So he managed to convince Catrina and Effie to make their finest meal - a prime rib served with buttery mashed potatoes, juicy green beans, and thick sourdough rolls paired with a bottle of his best red.

Then he had asked them to set up a dining area just for two by candlelight in his own chamber. By his king-sized bed.

She had rolled her eyes immediately when she realized what he was up to, but even she couldn't resist the smell of the prime rib wafting towards her. Or the generous glass of wine that went perfectly with her meat.

A cream tablecloth covered the small wooden table and a vase of a single red rose sat in the middle. The entire chamber was only lit by candlelight and the fire raging in the hearth. Instead of expensive china or glass place settings, he had asked Catrina and Effie to use the simple plates and bowls from which he and his family used to eat during the sixteenth century. He wanted nothing to distract Jamie from the food.