also been known to spend hour after hour patiently teaching bairns the fundamentals of rugby, his favorite sport before Americans had come up with their own âfootball.â Though Bowe was always the first into a fight, eager to punish slights, once the battle was over he was also the first to forgive those slights.
In the north of Scotland, winters could be harsh, with spring eagerly awaited by the clan, but Bowe always regretted seeing winter, his favorite season, fade. Lachlain supposed heâd enjoyed it because it was stark like him.
At least Bowe had enjoyed it until heâd lost his Mariah in the dead of winter . . . .
âWhatâs so important that you canna rest more or eat?â Lachlain waved at the gel packs of food and strange-smelling mineral replacement drinks beside his bed. Bowe was supposed to partake of them, having just come off such a long interval without food and water, but had scarcely touched them. âIs this about revenge against Wroth?â
Bowe said nothing, just seemed to be preparing to rise, planting his feet wide on the wooden floor.
âIf so, I ask you to reconsider that action. And noâ only because of the debt I owe his brother.â If not for NikolaiWroth, Emma would have . . . died. At the mere thought, suddenly Lachlain needed to see her, to feel her, even when he knew she waited for him just twenty minutes away with her fierce Valkyrie family. Heâd left her safe at Val Hall behind thick curtains, protected from the sun, and happily playing video games. âBowe, you have to remember that it was a contest. And the reports we received all said âthe Lykae competitorâ was proving ruthlessâand that he played dirtier than Kaderin had in three previous Hies.â
Bowe shrugged.
âWe heard you mesmerized Kaderin with a glittering object so you could barricade her behind a rock slide. Did you noâ trap her alone with three hungry basilisks?â
A flicker of something arose in Boweâs eyesâor eyeâthat Lachlain suspected was satisfaction. âAnd we also heard that when you were on a task in the Congo, you whaled a shovel across Sebastian Wrothâs face. Knocked him out and then threw him into a raging river. At high noon in Africa .â
His cousin had obviously taken a savage thrill in that actâand still did.
âThis is noâ about Wroth,â Bowe said. âNoâ yet.â
âThen are your thoughts occupied with the witch?â
At last, Bowe turned to him with interest. âWhat have you heard?â
âI know about the curse. And that you can actually die from these wounds.â
Bowe didnât appear to be concerned about that in the least. âThat witch and I have much unfinished business. Iâm going to retrieve her from the tomb, since no one else has been able to. Though I doona understand how nonecould locate that place. In that round of the Hie, the coordinates were given to all the competitors.â
âIâm told the goddess Riora erased them with each round,â Lachlain explained. âNo one took note of that location if they dinna plan to journey there. You trapped anyone who did.â
Bowe scowled at that. âI was sure theyâd eventually escape.â
âAnd what is the witch to you?â Emma actually knew this Mariketa fairly well because the witch often visited the more rowdy Valkyrie at Val Hall. That didnât surprise Lachlainânearly every time heâd been to Val Hall heâd spotted intoxicated witches laughing and staggering about the place.
Bowe hesitated, then said, âShe put another spell on me besides the weakening one. A spell to make me feel things for her. I think itâs triggered me to think of her as . . . my mate.â
âYou are sure itâs a spell?â Lachlain hastily asked. âWhat if itâs real?â He could only hope. Emma had told him