Chapter 12
BY CAROLYN’S EXPRESSION, Rory wondered if she had heard him or understood what he’d said. But then she finally whispered, “Oh God, I’m sorry, Rory.”
He rubbed his face with his hand. What kind of monster was he after almost manipulating her into performing this spell? She moved her hand to his cheek, but he brushed it away.
“What is it?” she asked, hurt shone deep in her eyes.
“Carolyn, I told you I had the power to manipulate. My Glamour. I almost considered having you participate in my spell whether by your choice or not. I was that desperate.”
“You mean you would’ve raped me?”
“No, of course not.”
“Seduced me with your powers.”
“No, I wouldn’t force you in that way. My Glamour could have broken down your resistance, or released any doubt—”
She shoved him away and glared at him. “I can’t believe you. I thought I knew you, I thought you cared. Did your Glamour make me fall in love with you too? I’m such a fool.”
What the hell was wrong with him? Not only had he ruined his first chance in over three hundred years to break the curse, but he had destroyed the trust and love of this woman, someone who he might be falling in love with. He reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, Carolyn.”
She jerked away.
He raised his hands in surrender and took a step back.
“A little late for sorry,” she snapped.
Could he blame her for being angry? Their situation was his fault. He wasn’t sure if he could fix it and fixing their relationship seemed just as hopeless.
He was a little late for so many things. “I know everything looks bad.” He took a step closer to her.
“Don’t.” She shook her head, then spun around and ran away from the beach toward the sand dunes.
He kicked sand. Where was she going? Neither of them knew where they were. In a few minutes, she’d realize this and turn around.
Rory waited. But she didn’t stop. Stubborn woman.
Carolyn continued over the dunes and disappeared. “Shit.” Rory charged after her. “Carolyn, wait. I know you be angry, but this not be the place for either of us to explore alone.”
She shot him a hard look and kept walking.
Keeping pace with her, he said, “Sorry, lass. I got you in this mess. There should have been some way to warn you…to make you believe from the beginning…” She wouldn’t slow down or look at him. “I wouldn’t ask you to do the ritual now, even if we got back in time, it’s too dangerous. That’s why you saw the albino buck walk back into the forest.”
Now, she stopped and glared at him, her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, right. You say that now. Maybe the buck left because it wasn’t the right time.”
Too late, she would never believe him. “I tried to stop you.”
She nodded, her lips pressed firm. “Of course, because you didn’t want to lose your female sacrifice. Not many women camp in those mountains this time of year.”
He threw up his hands in frustration. It’s over. Whatever he had with her was lost. “I understand if you can’t believe me or forgive me. But we need to stay together in case I hear from the Sidhe. We might still have a chance to get back. If not, we’ll have to consider surviving here.”
She glared at him. “If you expect me to forget what you almost did and play some romantic survivor game, forget it.”
“What?” He needed to make peace with her, since their lives probably depended on it.
“Never mind. Okay, so we’ll stay close, but I’m going to take a look around.” She stomped off toward a distant orchard, not waiting for him to follow.
She was a brave lass—stubborn, but brave. “Sure to be a fine place to be trapped.”
She kept walking, ignoring his attempt at humor.
Still angry and rightly so. He groaned as he picked up his pace to catch her. After they had climbed over another hill the terrain changed into rolling hills of fruit trees and gardens.
Hundreds of spiral poles at least twenty feet tall stood in neat rows like giant corn stalks. Plants grew along the spirals bearing a variety of vegetables or fruits. A vertical farm. Some fruits were as small as berries, others as large as melons or shaped like squash. At the base, a delicate netting caught fallen pieces of the harvest, so nothing was bruised. “Efficient use of space. We won’t starve.”
“Before we have lunch, want to check out those buildings?” She pointed toward a cluster of one-story brick structures at the edge of the orchard. “There should be people there.”
“I’d like to watch these people first, before we go walking up to someone.”
She laughed. “Just like a man to be pessimistic. I saw a woman and a small boy earlier and they waved to me. I think they’re friendly.”
Rory sighed. She was strong-willed, smart, yet naïve too. He had to admire her though, considering their quandary. “Still, we should watch for a while before—”
“You two shouldn’t be here,” a man’s voice shouted.
Carolyn cried out and fell against Rory as she jumped back. Rory grabbed her shoulders and held her close.
He could take the bloke. The man was only as tall as Rory’s chin and looked to be about mid-twenties or early thirties. His green jumpsuit didn’t hide his muscular body, but Rory could still handle the guy. The man wasn’t a vagabond. He had neatly trimmed hair and clean work clothes. “Hello, sir, we be new here and I’m afraid we’re lost.”
The man laughed. “New? Lost? Lost your mind, you mean. Come. I must take you back before there is punishment.”
Rory put out his hand. “I’m Rory, pleased to meet you. And this is Carolyn.” Carolyn nodded and smiled.
The man eyed Rory’s hand suspiciously, then laughed. “I get it, like new?”
“Excuse me?” Rory looked at Carolyn.
“What’s your name, sir? My name is Carolyn and his is Rory.” Carolyn hoped this made things clearer.
The man was not smiling anymore. “I do not know name, Carolyn or Rory. I do know that red and green should not be together, and you should know that too. Come.”
The man grabbed both of their upper arms and began to drag them toward the cluster of buildings.
“I don’t think so. Let go!” Rory pulled out of his grip.
“Hybrid alert,” the man shouted.
Several men dressed in work clothes of assorted colors came running from all directions within the orchard and yanked Rory and Carolyn apart.