Page 66 of Of Fate & Forbidden Desire

"Nice one, I'm starvin'." I said, as my stomach grumbles and Ally lets out a chuckle. I glanced at Jace's shocked look and wondered how long I'd been… away, "How long?"

Ally, understanding my question, looked at the other two obviously waiting for someone else to answer. However when nobody did, she gave me a small smile and said, "Around twenty-four hours give or take a couple."

"Oh." I commented, lapsing into silence, as I now understand their shocked looks. For me it had felt like so much longer than just a day.

"Dina, drive the bloody car." Jace's demand drew me back to what's happening in the car as he gave her a small shake. Slowly, like a statue coming back to life, Dina moved, putting the car in gear and slowly inching it forward.

My thoughts return to The Inbetween and Eilidh; with her help I now had complete control over my magic, including visions of the future. We'd figured out that my magic had been with me since I was a teen. That my dreams had actually been visions of the future. It explained why my night terrors seemed so real: they had been.

“So who owns this house?” Ally's exclamation split apart the silence, as we pulled up to a wide set of tall, black wrought iron gates. All I could see outside the car were fields upon fields.

"I do," Dina said, making my head flash towards the back of hers. They're the first words she's uttered since my shocking awakening. "It will be perfect for you to train and for Charleene to recover properly. It doesn't have any protective shields in place, but then that's not stopped what's-his-name from finding you before. So it'll have to do."

“Holy crap!” I let slip as gravel crunched beneath the car and a massive Tudor style building came into view as we turned a wide corner, “you’ve been holding out on me.”

Dina drove right up to yellow sandstone steps at the front of the house, “Ok, well get comfy, I’m going into town this afternoon to speak with someone who might know where we can find the Nicnevin Coven.” Dina said to the others before turning to fix me with a very unimpressed glare, “And I think it’s You, Charleene, that has been holding out on me! What the fuck happened back at Gladys’?”

Instead ofanswering her question, because there's a lot to explain, I said, “I hope you have food in there and tea?”

I'm dying for both,I think releasing my seatbelt and getting out of the new car.Who's is this car anyway?I wondered, shivering in the cold wind that ruffled my unruly hair, as I stood looking up at the house before me, and the others climbed out.I can't believe this is Dina's house.

Dina stood at the front of the sky blue car as she said, ?“The kitchen should be fully stocked, Mrs McClowd should be somewhere on the grounds,”

?“You even have a freakin’ housekeeper?” I squealed, bouncing on the balls of my feet, ignoring Dina's surly tone and the cold.

?“We’ll be talking about your…nap. And soon!” Dina said curtly, disappearing inside.

“She’s pretty pissed,” I commented, voicing my thoughts aloud.

“Well yeah, I’d be pretty pissed if Ally decided to go on a spirit walk and chose not to come back,” Jace declared, leaving me and Ally standing in the drive as he followed Dina.

“It was worth it though,” I whispered without thinking, staring at my palm as a flame flickered into being.

“Holy shit girl!” Ally's voice reminded me that I'm not actually alone. Looking over, I watched as she stared at the controlled flame. “What did you do, during your nap?” she asked, reaching out with her fingers and touching the fire like a child that doesn't understand the danger, “Fuck that’s hot!” she shouted, yanking her hand away as a laugh burst from me.

“Well duh! Ally you really shouldn’t play with fire,” I said, stating the obvious, making her giggle as I linked our arms together like we're best friends instead of people who only met a couple of days before.

Ally quickly explained what I've missed, and why we're in Glasgow, as we walk up the driveway.

?“I know where we’ll find the Nicnevin Coven,” I said, dragging Ally through the enormous front door and pausing.Where the heck is the damn kitchen?I wondered, glancing around the huge entrance hall with its chessboard floor and wide sweeping staircase.

Walking further into the hall, I noticed the tall vases of fresh flowers that stood on small round tables next to the staircase and the people staring at us from the paintings on the wall.Is that Dina?I thought, moving closer to a painting of a woman posing before the house.Yep, that's Dina alright,I chuckled, taking in her unimpressed look.

“Oh,” a woman's voice interrupted my musings as she walked into the hall behind me, “you must be Miss Adrina's guests.” She stated.

“Erm, Yes,” I answered, taking in her dark trousers and neatly ironed white blouse. Her eyes wrinkle in a kind smile as I met her light blue eyes.

“I'm Mrs McClowd, have you just arrived?” She questioned politely.

“We have.” Ally replied, coming to stand next to me.

“Then she will be in the kitchen, please follow me.” Mrs McClowd answers, before walking off down a hall to the right.

Exchanging a look with Ally we followed the small woman. She took us down a long hallway that had small windows with lead criss crossing the glass, which let the sunlight flood inside. We continued following as she opened a small door and led us down a set of uneven concrete stairs, explaining that Dina had replaced the original wooden stairs, to last longer with less maintenance.

"Is the kitchen in the basement?” Ally worriedly asks.

“No, the main house is raised slightly, so the first floor is actually higher than this one.” Mrs McClowd answered, giving her another kind smile over her shoulder.

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