“You’ll join me?”

“As much as I’d love nothing more, it’s better I keep watch. Besides, you’re dead on your feet, and I really do prefer my partners fully awake and participating.”

I laughed softly. “If they fall asleep during sex, you’re not doing it right.”

“Something I have never been accused of,” he said, with a laugh that rumbled through his chest. He kissed the top of my head and then stepped back. “Go. Before desire gets the better of common sense.”

I smiled and went. A hot shower definitely leached the ice from my skin if not my soul, and the covers on the bed thick, heavy, and toasty warm. Sleep found me within minutes.

A soft ringing woke me who knew how many hours later. I blinked owlishly as sleep gave way to consciousness, then realized the ringing had been replaced by talking.

And it was coming from the kitchen.

I flipped the heavy bedcovers off. The clothes I’d been wearing yesterday had been neatly folded and stacked on the nearby bedside table, but I grabbed fresh clothes from my pack and shivered my way into them. The cottage was definitely warmer than it had been when we’d broken in last night, but there was condensation on the windows, and the wind howled around the building even if the storm no longer raged.

Which did not bode well for the ferry trip back.

Cynwrig glanced up as I entered the kitchen and motioned toward a cozy-covered tea pot. I gratefully poured myself a cup, then wrapped my hands around it and leaned back against the Aga.

It sounded like he was talking to Lugh, which was surprising... until I remembered my phone hadn’t been charged recently.

I returned to the bedroom to grab it. Yep, deader than a doornail. I connected the charger and plugged it into a point, then headed into the larder to find something edible. There was the usual range of condiments and jams, various cans of vegetables, soups, and baked beans, and several packets of biscuits. I settled on Jammy Dodgers simply because the shortbread and jam combination was probably the closest thing to a breakfast food in the pantry.

I tore the packet open, removed four biscuits, then pushed it across the counter as Cynwrig hung up. “What did Lugh want?”

Cynwrig plucked a Dodger free and took a bite. “He wants us to meet him in Swansea ASAP.”

Excitement—and more than a little fear—surged. “He’s found the cave and the church I saw?”

“Yes, and they just happen to be on a tidal island that runs by the name of Draig Y Môr.”

“Meaning the Looisearch might already be there, given Vincentia gave them a heads-up.”

Whether they’d be able to access the stone chest was another matter entirely.

“Oh, I think they’ll definitely be there. As will Vincentia.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“Because about two hours after she woke up in her car and walked back to the cottage, she and two men returned and drove to the airport. They took a plane to Swansea.”