Page 48 of Wild Scottish Beauty

“You seemed pretty hot to me.”

Yup, that’s what I said. What I’d meant to say was he seemed fine, yet those were not the words that came out of my mouth.

“Mew.”

“Oh buddy, your poor voice. May I?” I asked, needing to distract myself from the embarrassment that burned my cheeks. Ramsay handed the kitten over to me, his face inscrutable, and I shifted to cradle the kitten and turned my wet back to the fire.

The kitten tilted its head, and I held it to my face to meet its eyes. We’d never had pets growing up, so I didn’t much know the protocol with a kitten, but I remembered desperately wanting one as a child. About two pounds, with dark stripes in matted grey fur, the kitten settled into my palms and surveyed me with the same interest that I gave him.

Mine.

Jeez, I really needed to stop claiming things around here. Pretty soon I’d be saying the same about Ramsay if I didn’t stop myself. But the same feeling I’d had about the sewing scissors resonated with me about this cat.

The scissors.

I gasped, causing the kitten to stand in my palms, its back going up.

The vision.

I’d forgotten about it, but now as I stared at the kittenwho glared at me, I pulled my eyes up to a dripping-wet Ramsay.

I’d seen this happen.

Quite literally.

And had been coated with sea water after the vision. My mouth worked, but no sound came out, and Ramsay’s expression shifted to concern.

“Willow?” Sophie touched my arm, startling me from staring dumbly at Ramsay, and I turned to her.

“I think I know what my magick is.”

I blurted it, without thinking, and then winced. After the ritual, Archie and Hilda had discussed some of the matters regarding privacy around the Order and magick, and now I’d likely broken their trust. Granted, Ramsay had just been privy to the Kelpies, so it wasn’t like he could ignore the existence of magick in the world, but he also didn’t need to know thatIwas magick. Did he?

“Your magick? Did you call the Kelpies then?” Ramsay asked, looking taken aback.

“Excuse me? You think I’d put us in harm’s way?” I asked, affronted.

“Och, lass, stand down. It’s the only magick I saw, is all. Except …” Ramsay toweled his hair, lifting his chin toward Sophie. “That little trick you did with your sword. A bit magickal, no?”

“Aye,” Lachlan said, surprising Sophie, and Ramsay looked up to him. “Both of the lasses have magick.”

A look passed between the men, and then Ramsay just nodded.

That was it?

Nothing more? I mean, I’d had a thousand questionsyesterday and still felt like I’d barely scratched the surface, and the men could just accept it point-blank?

A knock sounded at the door, and Lachlan crossed the room, flipping the lock, and opening it to Agnes hovering under an umbrella, concern on her face.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I had to come.”

Lachlan ushered her inside, closing the door against the rain again, and Agnes stomped her boots as Ramsay added another log to the fire. It was cozy in here, with friends huddled close by the fire, the rain hammering the window outside. It was almost easy enough to pretend that the last few horrifying minutes hadn’t just happened. A soft rumbling drew my attention, and I realized that I was still holding the kitten aloft, but he’d settled back into my palms. His little body vibrated with purrs. Drawing him close, I wrapped him back in the towel again, and cradled him against my chest.

I could see the future.

That had to be it. It all made sense to me, these flashes of knowing that had occurred in my past, often saving me from danger. It was some sort of latent power that now had manifested with my indoctrination into the Order of Caledonia. Honestly, of all the powers, I expected something perhaps more physical, or something related to sewing, but not necessarily psychic abilities.

Was it psychic though? I mean, I’d drawn Ramsay holding the kitten in the water. But I’d also come away from the vision with sea water on my face. I didn’t know any psychics that had that kind of power. Granted, I didn’t know any actual psychics, so my knowledge was limited in that area anyway.

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