“Stop looking at me,” she said from in front of the heavy wooden armoire.

  “I can’t help it.”

  She turned, a torn expression on her face. “It’s too dangerous, Lachlan. What we have between us…” She drifted off, her voice wistful. “It’s amazing. But it’s too dangerous.”

  “It was too dangerous. When I was cursed, there was no hope for us.”

  “Now I’m cursed.”

  “But you’re a goddess, and we’re going to cure you.” Somehow, curing her felt more possible than curing myself ever had. Perhaps because I couldn’t live with the idea of her staying like this. Saving her had to be possible.

  It was impossible not to imagine being together. The memory of our night together—of all our past time together—filled my mind. I strode toward her, unable to help myself. When I reached her, I barely managed to hold myself back from pulling her into my arms.

  “I want you, Eve. I need you. I’m done pretending I can live without my mate.” I could hear the intensity of my voice, the strength and the desperation. But I couldn’t stay away from her any longer.

  A shuddery breath escaped her. Hope and despair flashed in her eyes. “Lachlan, I—”

  “Say you’ll consider it. When this is all over and we’ve cured you of the dark moon curse.”

  Pain flashed in her eyes. “That’s the thing… it’s not just the dark moon curse that I’m worried about. The seer prophesied that if we fall for each other and truly become mates, I’m destined to die.”

  Shock lanced me, cold and harsh. “What?”

  She nodded, her eyes glinting. “She prophesied it when I was young, and then confirmed it after my return to Guild City.”

  “It can’t be. I’ve never heard of that.”

  “Check with her.” Her voice was so sure that I knew the seer would confirm what she’d said. I had no reason not to trust Eve.

  “We have to stop it,” I replied.

  “I have no idea how, except to avoid the fate that brings it on.”

  Avoid loving you. That’s what she meant. And it killed me to hear it.

  I’d do it. If it meant saving her, I could walk away. No matter what it did to my soul, I could do it—but not before I’d tried everything in heaven and earth to save her from that curse as well.

  I nodded. “We’ll fix that, too. But for now, we’ll focus on the dark moon curse.”

  Until we cured her of that, I would assume that a future for us was impossible. Cutting myself off from the idea—from her—was the only way to resist her.

  “Let’s go.” She shrugged on the jacket and headed toward the door, taking the stairs two at a time, as if she couldn’t get away quickly enough.

  I followed her, and we met Carrow in the main entry hall of the castle.

  We made our way to Loch Lomond, taking a portal that led to Glasgow and picking up a car from one of my friends. I welcomed the buffer that Carrow provided. The raccoon was here as well, but he was an unusually silent shadow—as if he knew it was his job to keep Eve sane and he didn’t want a distraction from the task.

  I drove the Range Rover up the twisting lanes to the banks of Loch Lomond. Despite my vow to ignore her, it was impossible to keep my eyes on the road when Eve sat so close. I’d only stolen two quick glances, however, and was surprised she’d noticed.

  “Just keeping an eye on you,” I said.

  “Fine. I suppose that’s necessary. Just makes me feel like a bug under glass.”

  “Sorry.”

  “A cute bug,” Carrow said from the back. “Are we nearly there? These roads are making me a bit ill.”

  “Just up here.” A few moments later, I pulled into an empty car park at the shore of the loch. Trees surrounded it, thinning out at the loch’s edge to provide a view of the dark water. We could have used a transport charm to go directly to the island, but the journey hadn’t taken more than an hour, and we didn’t have enough charms to waste on such a short trip.

  As I parked, I spotted a man standing by a large canoe—Ross, another old friend from my school days who’d retired up here to live the quiet life. “That’s him,” I said.

  Eve climbed out, and I followed her toward Ross. My friend looked at Ralph, but the raccoon stayed silent at Eve’s side.

  It didn’t take long to get the canoe and set off toward the little island. The sun hid behind thick clouds as we paddled our way across the cold, clear water. It was midafternoon, which I calculated should give us enough time to find the gravestones that Eve was looking for. Hopefully.

  We reached the island without incident and pulled the canoe up onto the pebble beach. “Do you know where we’re headed?” Carrow asked.

  Eve shook her head. “I’m hoping I can feel it.”

  “Then lead the way,” I said.

  She took off into the interior of the island, moving slowly at first. Ralph stuck close by her side. Trees and large boulders dotted the land, and a cool breeze rustled through the leaves overhead. We passed a small stone building at one point—a church, from the look of it. Eve completely ignored the small cemetery behind it.

  “We’re looking for something older,” she explained, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

  I could feel her magic flare as she reached out. A moment later, her eyes popped open. I was struck by her beauty, but I tried to drag my mind back to the task. Now was not the time for that. Nor was it the time to consider the seer’s prophecy, which still had me reeling.

  “This way.” She set off through the woods, then stopped in the middle of a section filled with smaller oaks. “We’re here.”

  “There are no gravestones, though,” Carrow said.

  “Underground. They must be underground.” She dropped to her knees and began to dig with her hands. “Damn it, I really need to carry a shovel around. This is getting ridiculous.” Ralph joined her, doing a surprisingly effective job for a creature with such small hands. “They’d be a thousand years old, so they could be buried by now.”

  “I saw a work shed behind the church. I’ll see if I can find a shovel,” I offered. A quick check revealed three of various sizes.

  By the time I returned to Eve with my bounty, she’d made an impressive little hole in the ground. She looked up as I neared, her gaze landing on the shovels. Her eyes glinted with an intensity that made concern shiver down my spine.

  She jumped up and took a shovel, then began to dig. I handed one to Carrow, then asked, “Should we dig here or elsewhere?”

  Eve pointed to a spot a couple feet away, and we got to work. The soil was rich and dark as I heaved it out of the earth, but it was Eve who held most of my attention. Her movements were fueled with a frenetic energy that only increased my worry.

  Carrow also couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off her. At one point, she leaned close to me and whispered, “Do you think she’s getting worse?”

  “I can hear you,” Eve said. “My dire wolf hearing is insane.”

  “Sorry,” Carrow said. “Just concerned about you.”

  “I know. Thanks.” Eve kept digging, an intense look on her face. “I’m fine. Fighting it off all right.”

  “Let me know if you’re having trouble,” replied Carrow.

  “Will do.”

  Would she, though?

  Carrow and I shared a look. She doubted it as much as I did. I trusted Eve—she had a core of honor that was strong as steel—but the curse could overtake a person without warning. If we didn’t need her help to defeat the curse that had captured her mind, I’d have locked her right back up in her cell and taken care of it myself. But as it was, we needed her if we wanted to save her, and I’d take any risk in order to do that.

  Finally, Eve threw her shovel aside and dropped to her knees. She pulled a piece of dirty stone from the ground. It was roughly the size of a football, but pointed on one end.

  “What is it?” Carrow knelt next to Eve, who was busy brushing the dirt off her prize.

  “Part of the gravestone.” She frowned, inspecting the areas that had been carved away. “But not enough.”

  “My hole is at least as deep as yours, but there’s nothing here,” I said. “Where is the rest?” I looked around, trying to see if there were any indentations in the ground that might indicate where we could find more.

  “Not here.” Eve looked up, frowning. “Now that I can feel this one, I can sense that there aren’t any others in this clearing. I think they were taken.”

  “By the Maker?” Carrow asked.

  “Maybe.” She returned the stone to the dirt and stood, covering it with her shovel. “But maybe not.”

  “The church might have a priest who knows,” I said as I refilled the hole I’d made. “I believe this is still on their property.”

  “Let’s go ask.” She set off through the woods, her stride determined and Ralph at her side.

  I grabbed the shovel she’d discarded and followed. As we passed the garden shed, I returned the tools, then hurried to catch up with her. She strode into the church like a general on her way to battle, instructing Ralph to stay outside.

  I waited at the door of the small stone structure. It was ancient and dark, with a small stained glass window over the altar that shed a rainbow glow on the gleaming wooden pews.

  In the church, her footsteps echoed on the stone tiles, startling the old priest who was napping in one of the pews, his head bobbing on his chest. He jumped up, groggy at first, with his white hair messy and his blue eyes foggy. His gaze landed on Eve. “How can I help you?”

  “I’m here for a chat.” She slowed her pace, seeming to realize that it wouldn’t be wise to frighten the old human.

  He nodded. “Of course, of course. Would you like some tea?”

  “No, thank you.” She sat in the pew where he’d been napping, and he joined her, slowly lowering himself back to the hard wood.

  Carrow and I hung back far enough to give them space but close enough to hear.

  “There were ancient gravestones buried in the oak grove behind the church,” she said. “They were put there a thousand years ago, but they’re gone now. Do you know where they went?”

  He frowned. “You mean the Govan Stones?”

  “Govan Stones?”

  “Yes. Our claim to fame. There was an excavation over a hundred years ago. They were taken to museums around the world.”

  “What were the Govan Stones, exactly?”

  “Gravestones, like you said. Special ones, though. Viking in origin, but found only in the areas where they lived with the native population, the Picts.”

  “So they weren’t found where the Vikings had total control, like on the Northern Islands?”

  “Exactly. We had the largest collection of them. Now they’re in a museum in Glasgow.”

  “Which one?” There was a slight note of desperation to her voice that made me nervous.

  “Scottish Museum of National History, of course.”

  “Thank you for your help.” She stood and strode from the church.

  The priest looked back at us, squinting. I nodded my thanks and dropped some money in the collection box near the front as I left.

  By the time I made it outside, Eve and Ralph were already halfway back to the boats, and Carrow raced to keep up.

  Eve

  * * *

  My mind felt laser focused as I strode toward the boats we’d left on the shore. We could be in Glasgow by evening, the perfect time to sneak in. I looked down at Ralph, who’d been following silently. “Can you go back to my place and collect a bag of assorted potions? Make sure to get a tiny pink vial of stuff labeled alarm silencer. Meet us at the entrance of the history museum.”

  He nodded, then disappeared.

  Carrow joined me, slightly out of breath, and asked, “Eve, are you all right?”

  “Fine.”

  “You are not fine.”

  Damn. She was right. And going with fine had been stupid of me. Of course I wasn’t fine. I wouldn’t be fine until I’d cured myself of this curse and killed the Maker. Pretending that I was just made me sound crazier.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’m a mess. But I’m holding it together.”

  “Are you?”

  “With the help of that potion, yes. I can feel the darkness at the edges of my mind, but it’s farther away now.” I looked back and spotted Lachlan behind us by about twenty yards. He seemed to be giving us space, and I appreciated it. This was hard enough without the attraction between us distracting me.

  “I just don’t feel worthy,” I said, finally voicing the concern that had been echoing in my mind. “I mean, am I really supposed to be a goddess? That’s insane.”

  “It’s not. You’re powerful. Insanely so. And it’s not like goddesses are unheard of. Seraphia is one.”

  “I know. But she’s Seraphia. Of course she’s worthy of being a goddess.”

  “And so are you.”

  “I have no idea how to prove that.” And I had to prove it for myself. If I didn’t, I knew I’d descend into madness with or without the curse.

  “You will. I have faith in you.”

  Quickly, I looked back at Lachlan. “Does he?”

  “I think so.”

  I hoped so.

  Finally, I reached the boat and began to push it toward the water. The hull ground against the pebbles on the shore, the water lapping at the stern.

  Lachlan joined us. “Get in and I’ll shove it off.”

  I did as he commanded, followed by Carrow. Lachlan pushed us off and jumped into the boat. We each picked up a paddle, headed toward the shore. Ralph sat at the front, the wind ruffling his whiskers as he looked toward the castle on the far bank. It was a perfect Sottish ruin, evocative of past battles and epic romances.

  Once we arrived at the shore, we dropped the boat with Lachlan's friend and retraced our steps to Glasgow, making the journey in silence. My mind raced the entire way, and by the time we reached the museum, I felt like I could have solved the mysteries of the universe if only I’d been doing anything useful with my head. Instead, I’d been recycling worries.

  It was nearly dark as we stepped up to the front doors of the museum. Ralph stuck to the shadows, careful not to be spotted. Outside of Guild City, he was still an invasive species.

  I nodded at him, then studied the big glass doors that revealed the brightly lit atrium beyond. The hours were embossed in gold lettering, revealing that they’d closed a while ago.

  “We can’t wait until tomorrow.” I looked around at the city square. We were in one of the prettier old stone sections of town, and people were passing through. They weren’t paying attention to us, but that didn’t mean we could break in through the front door. “Let’s find a back entrance.”

  I set off toward the side of the building, heading for an alley that looked promising. Ralph darted from cover to cover like the Pink Panther, but he kept up easily. We found a simple steel door that I assumed led to the working areas of the museum. No doubt they stuck the conservators down there or something.

  “This should work.” I gripped the handle and pulled. The steel lock snapped, and the door swung open. “So much easier to break into human establishments.”

  “What about the alarm?” Carrow asked. It hadn’t gone off yet, but it would if we didn’t type in the code.

  “I’ve got something for that.” I held out a hand to Ralph, and he fished around in the bag he’d brought, then handed me the pink vial. Quickly, I splashed the potion on the alarm mechanism. After a few seconds, when I was sure it hadn’t triggered, I started forward. “Now let’s find those gravestones.”

  The others followed me through the dark, sterile hallway. Fluorescent lighting gleamed off the linoleum floor. As expected, we were in the working part of the museum. A wide set of wooden doors beckoned at the end of the hall, nice enough that they likely led to the public part of the museum, where the artifacts would be displayed.

  “There will be guards,” Lachlan murmured from behind me.

  “Right. Of course.” I’d totally forgot them. I was beyond obsessed with finding this stone, as if my past self were inhabiting my present self and driving my interests.

  Hell, weren’t we the same person, anyway?

  And I wanted to know more about her. More about me.

  I could feel the fractured magic inside myself. Great power was there, but I needed to do something to unite it. These stones would have the answer for how to find the crown that would do that.

  Carefully, I pushed the door open to the main part of the museum, careful to peek out and check if there were any guards nearby.

  “None here,” I whispered before stepping out.

  The others followed me into the dimly lit room. It was a cavernous space filled with glass display cabinets and statues set on pedestals. I could tell right away that this wasn’t the room we were looking for, however. The artifacts were too modern.

  I looked down at Ralph. “Run ahead and look for guards. Return if you see any.”

  He nodded and scampered off, doing an expert job of sticking to the shadows.

  It didn’t take long to explore the entire ground floor of the museum. Ralph returned to report a guard at the front, so we avoided that area until the man had moved on.

  Finally, we reached the entry hall of the museum. Massive stairs led to the floor above, and Carrow craned her neck to look at the balconies overhead. “Let’s check the first floor.”

  I nodded and started up the stairs, moving swiftly and silently. I’d taken the potion bag from Ralph and stored it in the ether, but I gripped a stunner bomb in one hand. It would only knock a guard out, thankfully.

  We reached the first floor without incident, but as soon as I turned the corner onto the balcony, a shadow appeared in front of me.

  “What are you doing here?” The guard was burly, with wide shoulders and almost no neck.

  I slammed the potion bomb into his chest, darting backward as it exploded and doused him in the liquid. A moment later, he tumbled forward. Lachlan was quick and caught him before he could hit his head on the ground.

 

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