Page 5 (1/2)

“Isla” He stared at her, and she tried to ignore the warmth in his voice when he spoke her name

She shrugged “What?”

“I’ve not come to banter with you”

“I didn’tby it I justhere”

He sat back in the chair and rubbed his chin in thoughtful contemplation “There are plenty of reasons why ahere I find dull or uninspiring” The corners of his htly “I see you still hold that lint in your eye The room still radiates with an undeniable vitality when you’re in it”

She felt her face flush but resisted the urge to fan her cheeks She thought of ht-hearted co fros have changed” Namely, she drank blood and could not eat food She shrivelled in the sunlight; bore the evil curse of a foreign devil

“Aye Neither of us is as innocent and naive as we once were”

His comment tore at her heart He was supposed to have been the one she married, the first and only one to claim her body and soul She was supposed to have been the one who bore his sons The sudden pain of loss alhed

“Are you alright?” He sat forward “Do you need water?”

“No I shall be fine” She gulped a breath as she struggled to understand how it had all gone so terribly wrong “Perhaps I’ doith a chill”

“Well, if you will go racing off into the forest at night, what do you expect?”

She forced a smile “Do you not know that’s itches do? They dance naked under the full entlemen to commit a whole host of wicked deeds”

Lachlan rubbed his hands down his powerful thighs “YouIs that what you do every night when you’re not terrorising the village livestock?”

Isla tore her gaze away frohed “How could they think rown up with these people, known them all my life I just pray they find an explanation, and soon”

“I doubt there is an ani these parts that is equipped to cause such fatal injuries It doesn’t help that you’ve only been seen out at night these last few years Such odd behaviour is sure to make them suspicious” His words brimmed with curiosity, and she kneas his polite way of asking her why