He missed the dinners where everyone was talking at once, the laughter, and even the arguments.
He missed movie night and the playful fights on who would get to choose the movie.
He missed the crash of the waves against the cliffs, wind that could sweep him off his feet at the top of the towers, and swimming in the swift-moving currents of the sea.
His parents had envisioned a time when the threat of evil was gone and the shield protecting the castle could come down. Aiden long ago realized their words had been nothing more than a dream.
There would always be evil, maybe not to the extent of Deirdre, Declan, and now Jason, but evil would always exist.
The shield could never come down from the castle. For too long, there had been no MacLeod Castle. It couldn’t suddenly appear.
Not to mention, it was Isla’s shield that kept the Druids immortal. Aiden couldn’t imagine how his father would react if his mother died. Love bonded Quinn and Marcail, but that bond was linked to their souls as well.
“Shit,” Britt said as she threw down her pencil.
Aiden jerked at her outburst. “What is it?”
“What is it?” she repeated testily. “I can’t find what makes this different.”
He glanced at the slide beneath the microscope. “Which blood are you looking at?”
She released a loud sigh and reached back to rub her neck. “Sample B. Everything I put into the blood, which would eradicate a normal sample, doesn’t faze it. Nothing. I thought I had found something, but I was wrong.”
“Is that what you’ve been working on?”
“No,” she said, and leaned her head from side to side to stretch it. “I thought I found what made this blood so different. I was trying to isolate it.”
“You couldna do it?” he guessed.
She cut him a look. “Of course I did it. It just didn’t work.”
Aiden scratched his chin, the sound of his fingers scraping against a day’s growth of whiskers loud once Britt shut off the radio.
“What’s next?” he asked.
“Maybe if I really knew what I was looking at,” she began.
Aiden shook his head. “No’ going to happen.”
“I know,” she said wearily. “I just thought I’d try again.”
“Let’s get you home. You’ve been at this for hours.”
The fact she didn’t protest told Aiden just how exhausted she was. She continued to work with such dedication even though she didn’t know the real reason. Not many people would have done that.
He gathered up the blood samples while she put away everything else. Aiden slipped the strap of his messenger bag over his head and waited for Britt by the door.
“Has any other strange person, besides me, approached you recently?” he asked as he removed the pencils she’d stuck in her hair at the base of her ponytail.
Britt flicked off the lights, her steps slow. She grasped the door handle and closed and locked it behind them as they walked out. “I have tons of strange people approach me on a daily basis, Aiden. I’m at a university. Raging male hormones and all that.”
“Besides that,” Aiden said with a wink.
They were side by side, walking down the stairs, when he glanced up and spotted his father waiting below. Quinn lifted his head and looked at them in that moment.
“Wow. He looks like you,” Britt said.
Aiden hadn’t expected to see his father, so was unprepared for a response.
“Aiden,” Quinn said as he pushed away from the wall.
Britt continued down the stairs at a faster pace, ahead of Aiden. She stopped in front of Quinn and held out her hand. “I’m Britt. Are you Aiden’s brother? You have the same eyes.”
Aiden hurried to Britt. It was then he saw the worry in his father’s dark green eyes.
“Hello,” Quinn said, and took her hand. “I’m Quinn. It’s nice to meet you. How’s your work coming?”
“Slow,” she said with a sigh.
Aiden cleared his throat and faced Britt. “Do you mind giving us a moment?”
“Of course. I’m heading home anyway.”
“Wait for me to walk you out.”
She smiled, her blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “You really think someone would hurt me for looking at the blood.”
“Aye,” Quinn answered. “We willna be long, Britt. Please wait for Aiden.”
She looked from one to the other, and then gave a nod. “All right. I’ll be right outside.”
Aiden waited until the door closed behind Britt before he faced his dad. “What is it? Is it Mom?”
“Nay,” Quinn said. “Wallace has been watching Charon for months. He tried to kidnap a woman who works for Charon.”