Shoulder the Skye (Skye Druids #2)(65)
Author: Donna Grant

 

Bronwyn faced him, her blood running cold. She had stood in the In-between with Beth before, and she’d never seen anything. But she hadn’t been looking, either. It’d never dawned on her that something might realize she or Beth were there.

 

Bloody hell. Beth.

 

“I disregarded it, thinking it was the police from our side. Then one came in the room.” Finn’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “We couldn’t see her, but we knew where she was. I looked back at the shadow. It had stopped moving, and though I can’t explain it, I knew it was focused on me.” He ran a hand down his face lined with apprehension. “I’ve encountered a lot of bad people in my life. The truly malicious ones, those wicked to their core, have a hollowness about them. That’s what the shadow felt like. There’s something evil there, Bronwyn, and there’s only a thin veil separating it from Beth.”

 

Bronwyn found herself looking at the door as she thought of her cousin. Did she pull her out now? She couldn’t fight Beth and Sydney because she knew Beth would be furious. She had to make a decision. She just hoped it was the right one.

 

“This shite with Sydney ends tonight. One way or another. If I’m killed, I’ve ensured the portal will automatically open for Beth. She should awaken and get out on her own, but just in case,” she said as her gaze slid back to him.

 

Finn nodded. “One of us will be here for her.”

 

“Thank you. And if we defeat Sydney, well, I intended to release my cousin anyway. It’s time for Beth to wake and live her life. She’ll never forgive me for what I’ve done, and I don’t think I should be absolved. If we succeed, it’ll be enough that I’ve saved her from a horrible life with him.”

 

“There’s a reason you have your ability, you know,” Finn said.

 

She frowned as she cocked her head. “It’s come in handy to hide Beth as well as all of you, but I can’t imagine why else I’d need it.”

 

“To hinder something from crossing into our dimension.”

 

Bronwyn clenched her hands as dread thrummed through her. “If it were easy to move from one plane to another, individuals would do it all the time.”

 

“It might not be easy for us, but we don’t know about other worlds. You might have woken something without even being aware of it.”

 

He had a point. One she had never considered. Bronwyn assumed that nothing could harm Beth in the In-between. What if she had woken something? What if she’d put their world in danger? Beth in danger. The thought left her shaken.

 

Finn held her gaze. “I’m sure I’m being overly concerned. Beth has been in there for weeks. A few more hours can’t hurt.”

 

“Right,” Bronwyn said, but she didn’t sound convinced, even to her own ears.

 

Finn took one final look at the door and walked away, but his words stayed with Bronwyn long after he was gone. She debated whether to open the portal and retrieve Beth right then. She even contemplated going into the In-between with her cousin to see if she sensed the shadow Finn spoke about.

 

In the end, she did nothing.

 

“There you are.”

 

She jerked at the sound of Elias’s voice, her heart in her throat. Bronwyn put a hand on her chest and bent over at the waist. “Bloody hell. You scared the shite out of me.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Elias said as he put a hand on her back. “I thought you would’ve heard my approach.”

 

She straightened. “I was thinking.”

 

He turned her toward him, worry filling his eyes. “About?”

 

“Did you…see…anything when I hid you from Frasier?” she asked hesitantly.

 

Elias contemplated her words before shaking his head. “Nay. I heard things, but I didna see anyone. Why?”

 

“Finn did.” She explained what Finn had told her.

 

Elias leaned a shoulder against the wall and whistled low. “Damn. I wish he would’ve pointed it out.”

 

“I’ve never seen anything, but then I’ve never looked. What if I’ve put everyone in danger?”

 

He pushed away from the wall and took her hands in his. “We can inspect things right now if you’d like.”

 

“I wish I could, but I need to save my magic. I’ve already opened the portal twice today. It takes a lot to do that.”

 

“All this will be over soon. Sydney will be handled, and we can get Beth out,” Elias assured her.

 

Bronwyn nodded woodenly. She clung to his words, praying they were true. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Beth and the shadow. If she didn’t talk about something else, she’d give in and open the gateway regardless of what it might do to her. “I finished the cover.”

 

“Aye?” Elias asked with a grin. “Congratulations.”

 

“You can say that after the author approves it. I’m hoping she’ll only want minor changes.”

 

Elias glanced at their hands. “Sabryn and Finn left a few moments ago to get in place at the locations Sydney could enter the estate. We should leave soon, but I wanted a wee bit of time with you.”

 

She understood because there were things she needed to say, too. “I need to apologize for this morning.”

 

“Nay,” he said with a shake of his head. “I knew better than to push, but I did it anyway.”

 

She smiled as she gazed into his bright blue eyes. Bronwyn reached up and moved aside the lock of hair that continued to fall onto his forehead. “Perhaps I should’ve pulled you into a bedroom and enjoyed your body instead of working on the cover.”

 

“There’s always later tonight,” he said as he pulled her closer until their bodies touched.

 

“I want you to know that if something happens to me—”

 

“Doona,” he stated, his voice deep with emotion.

 

She put a hand on his chest and felt the beat of his heart. “Let me say this, please.”

 

Elias relented with flattened lips and a slight nod of his head.

 

“You and the Knights will be able to come and go in the manor. Everything is in order if I should die. I saw to that when I became drough and used blood magic. The house and estate pass to the next relative, which is Beth. My will is under my mattress.”

 

“Nothing will happen,” Elias stated.