The sudden burst of magic throughout the castle startled him from his sleep. The magic of The Eight was connected—each could feel when another used their powers. This magic was different. It belonged to another.

Raudrich rose from bed quickly. As he stepped outside of Calder’s room, he could hear the others rousing. Such a change in the energy of the castle wouldn’t go unnoticed by any of them.

Ludo, whose room lay next to Calder’s, joined him in the hallway.

“What in the name of Brighid was that? It couldna have been Calder, aye? We would’ve known if it were him.”

It wasn’t Calder. If Calder had used his powers or tried to sever them from The Eight, it would’ve been recognizable. This magic was not.

“No, ’twas not Calder.”

Quinn appeared at the end of the hallway, and together they moved to meet him.

“Has anyone seen to Machara? Could it be her?”

As if summoned, Nicol entered the castle doors from his place in the garden. While he possessed no powers of his own, he was linked to the castle and all within it. He could feel the use of magic just like the rest of them.

“I shall make certain she is still locked away. Gather everyone else. We must discern what has just happened.”

As Raudrich watched Nicol run toward his bedchamber, he turned to look at Ludo and Quinn.

“I doona believe this is Machara’s doing. ’Twas not the magic of the fae.”

“I agree.” Quinn’s voice was sure and certain. “There was no malice in it, though it felt strong and somehow uncontrolled.”

Raudrich racked his mind for an answer. In truth, there was only one possibility, even as shocking as it was.

“The magic came from within the castle, aye? We can all agree on that?”

Both men nodded in agreement.

“And we know that ’twas not one of us. There is only one other answer, lads. The magic came from one of our guests. Either Marcus is a druid or Laurel a witch.”

Was it possible that he’d spent so much time with her and not seen it? Could she have hidden it from him so well?

He had to find out straight away.

Before either man could even respond to him, he took off toward his own bedchamber, calling after Ludo and Quinn as he left.

“Ye two round up the others. I shall go to Nicol to make certain all is well with Machara. Then, I shall collect Laurel and Marcus, and we will get to the bottom of this in the dining hall.”

---

There was no time to gauge Marcus’ reaction. The moment I told him my suspicion, the door to the bedchamber flew open and Raudrich stepped inside.

His expression was surprised. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said he looked wounded. He looked quickly between me and Marcus and then locked his gaze with mine. He didn’t blink as he spoke.

“Is it ye, Laurel? If so, why dinna ye tell me? I trusted ye with everything ye wished to know about this castle without a second thought. It hurts me that ye dinna trust me enough to do the same.”

Marcus was silent next to me and his own gaze was turned downward. I could see him wrestling with what I’d just told him. If not for his own experiences before waking me, he would’ve laughed at my suspicions, but the incident had been enough to make him wonder if it could be true, and he didn’t have the slightest idea how to handle it, if it was.

I stood and walked the short distance to Raudrich and gently reached for his arm. He stepped away to prevent me from touching him.

“What are you talking about?”

“The magic, lass. Everyone in the castle felt it. Did Morna even send ye here, or did ye tell me that so I wouldna learn ye were a witch?”

I chuckled.

“Well, I sure didn’t feel it. I’m not a witch, Raudrich. I didn’t even know true magic existed until a few days ago.”

He looked as if he meant to argue with me, but before he could do so, Marcus stood from his seat on the end of the bed.

“Neither did I, but apparently I possess it. It was me. Whatever happened, it was me.”

Raudrich’s expression softened at Marcus’ tone. He could hear the weariness and confusion in it.

“Ye dinna know, did ye, lad?”

Marcus shook his head. I tried to catch his gaze as he walked over to us, but he wouldn’t look at me. A knot settled in my stomach. He was going to do exactly as Morna had predicted in my dream. He was going to push me away.

“Of course I didn’t know.”

“Has anything strange ever happened around ye before?”

“No.”

Raudrich reached out and gently clasped Marcus on the shoulder.

“There is much we must discuss with ye. I know ye must have many questions and even more reservations. We are the only ones that can explain any of this to ye. Will ye come with me to the dining hall? The men are gathering there.”

Nodding, Marcus stepped toward the doorway. When I reached out to touch his arm, he whirled on me.

“Don’t touch me, Laurel, and don’t say a word. I know it was me that suggested we come back to Scotland, but I did that for you. I came here for you. And you suspected before we even left this might be my fate, and you didn’t care enough about me to tell me that. If I’d known, I never would’ve come here. You took that from me, Laurel. You took away my choice. You’ve taken away my life. How can I possibly ever forgive you for that?”

One tear fell down his cheek, and with it, my heart broke completely.

Sobbing, I tried to reason with him.

“Marcus, I’m so sorry. I should’ve…”

He held up a hand to stop me.

“Don’t. You’re selfish, Laurel. So damned selfish. I’m done with you. If I’m going to be trapped here forever, I sure as hell don’t want you here with me. Start looking for a way to get Morna to send you home. Until you find one, stay out of my sight.”

He stormed away as I sobbed. Once Marcus was out of earshot, Raudrich pulled me into a hug.

“Lass, I think it best that ye stay away from the dining hall today. This shan’t be easy on the lad, but with time he will see this for what ’tis—his destiny. He will make his peace with it, and when he does, he will see that ye are not the one to blame. I’ll seek ye out later, lass.”

I stood shaking in the doorway, tears running down my face, for hours.

I’d never felt more ashamed or alone.