by Donna Grant
“And what of you?” Adrianna asked.
“Of course I’ll be in the chamber,” she lied smoothly.
Adrianna nodded. “Good. I’ll add my magic to the room as well.”
“You might want to add it to the castle,” Serena said. “Fran and I have put magic all over the castle just in case.”
“I will see to it,” Drina said.
Francesca could stand it no longer. She had to know what Cade said to Grayson and Adrianna. “You spoke with Cade, aye?”
“Aye,” Grayson said.
“What did he say?”
“Only that he would create a diversion that would allow Drina and I to ride for Wolfglynn without being followed.”
Francesca gripped her skirts with her fingers. The need to rush to the forest to find Cade was overwhelming. The only thing that stopped her was the men beside her. She knew that Drogan wouldn’t allow her outside, not when he feared Cade had turned.
“I’ve never seen someone fight like he did,” Adrianna said. “Now I understand how his blades could move so quickly. He didn’t have to unleash the darkness, but he did it for us. For that, I’ll always be thankful.”
Grayson nodded. “He did a very brave thing.”
“We needed him to fight Nigel,” Francesca said, unable to keep the weariness from her voice.
Drogan moved to stand beside her. “We’ll figure out a way.”
Aye, she would. Francesca forced a grin. “I want each of you to promise me that you’ll find your way to the secret chamber as soon as Nigel arrives.”
“Aye,” Serena and Adrianna said in unison.
Grayson and Drogan exchanged glances but said nothing.
“Grayson? Drogan?” Serena urged. “I’m not going into the chamber without you, Drogan.”
“Serena, understand that I cannot, and will not, allow my people to battle Nigel alone,” Drogan said.
Francesca knew that Serena and Adrianna would talk their husbands into the chamber. They were bana‐bhuidseach, after all. “Nigel will be here soon.”
“Have you seen it?” Adrianna asked.
She shook her head. “It’s only a feeling, but it has strengthened with each passing day.”
“I agree with Fran,” Serena said. “It’s nothing I can put my finger on, but it’s like a threat that has been growing in my mind.”
“I’ve felt it as well,” Grayson said.
Francesca looked at him. “How is it that I never knew you were bana‐bhuidseach?”
“I didn’t even know,” Grayson admitted.
“He can heal himself,” Adrianna said. “It comes in handy in battle.”
Serena crossed her arms over her chest. “Odd, don’t you think, that Nigel would want me, Fran and Drina dead, but not Grayson.”
“Not so odd,” Drina said. “Nigel had the chance to kill him. They battled, but Nigel didn’t realize Grayson’s father wasn’t dead as he had believed.”
“It was my parent’s magic, combined with mine and Drina’s, that helped me win,” Grayson said.
Drina nodded. “That and the fact that after I had put magic into his sword, I also had it blessed by the priest after Grayson told me what happened when Serena gave Drogan the amulet.”
“Since we’re all in this together, everything needs to be brought out. Fran has had a chance to talk to Cade,” Drogan said.
After Francesca told them about Liam and how much stronger Nigel had become, she slipped away from the group. She wandered the corridors of the castle, ignoring the storm and the fear while she worried about Cade.
She found herself standing in a tower that faced the sea. The rain was coming down so hard she couldn’t see the isle. Only with the lightning strikes was she able to make out the hulky form of Phineas’ castle.
“He’s fine,” Drogan’s voice said from behind her.
She nodded, knowing he was referring to his uncle. “Phineas is a strong man. It’s just that I rarely spend so many nights away from him.”
Drogan came to stand beside her. “For a man who didn’t have any children of his own, he was a father to both of us.”
“He’s the only father I ever knew.”
“How come I never realized you were a witch?”
Francesca shrugged. “I didn’t want anyone to know. People react strangely when they discover what I am. I didn’t wish to be burned at the stake.”
“I wouldn’t have, and you know Phineas wouldn’t have let me.”
She smiled despite herself. “Phineas is very protective. I think it’s because of how he found me.”
“He told me he found you half drowned. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I was so young. I remember my mother’s arms around me, but the waves were so high. I was ripped from her. I sometimes still hear her screaming my name in my dreams.”
“But your mother was found,” Drogan said.
“Aye. She was the reason Phineas came looking for me.”
Drogan nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “I remember your mother. You have her hair. What I recall most was that she never smiled. She would sit in the tower and stare out.”
“She was looking for my father.”
“He was alive?”
Francesca shrugged. “I don’t believe so. I was too young to know why she never spoke of him, but I did hear her and Phineas speaking one day. She told Phineas about a battle my father was in and how he was wounded. She tried to get to him, to save him.”
“You don’t think she ever did?”
“Nay. I think he died, and I don’t think she ever forgave herself for failing him.”
For long moments they stood in silence before Drogan spoke again. “I’m glad Cade spoke with you.”
She finally turned to look at Drogan. “You’ve given up on him.”
“Nay.” He shook his head to punctuate his words. Drogan dropped his arms and sighed. “However, I am being realistic, Fran. You don’t know what it’s like living with the darkness, and Cade’s was always worse than mine. The only way he could have defeated Nigel’s army was to unleash it. As strong a man as Cade is, I don’t think even he could come back from that.”
“You’re not even going to try and find out, are you?”
“If he is able to triumph over the darkness, no one will be able to find him.”
“And if he hasn’t?”
“He’ll kill everyone he sees, and he will be looking.”
Francesca swallowed. “What happened to him, Drogan? Why is the darkness so strong in him?”
Drogan’s eyes shut away all emotion. “That’s Cade’s story, Fran. He should be the one to tell you.”
“Then tell me about Cade. Tell me how he came to be in your small group.”
Drogan scratched his chin. “We were the king’s assassins. Gerard and I were recruited because of our skill with weapons. For the longest, it was just the two of us. Then one day, Nigel brought Cade.
“We were only a handful of years older than he was, but we had seen so much death that we had aged beyond our years. Cade’s eyes were filled with such hope and faith for his future that it nearly killed me the first time he came on assignment with us.”
“What happened?” Francesca urged when he paused.
“Cade never questioned our orders. He was there to defend king and country, and he assumed that the orders we got were from the king himself and the person was guilty.”
“That wasn’t always the case.”
Drogan shook his head. “Gerard and I learned that early on. Not every assignment came from the king. We suspected that Nigel forged the missives, but we could never prove it.”
“So Cade did his job.”
“Aye. As good as Gerard and I are with weapons, Cade has a gift. He did things I had never seen before. His weapons were an extension of him, as if held some kind of power over them to make them do the things he did.”
Francesca leaned against the wall, the sensation of the cool, damp stones penetrating
her gown. “I’ve seen him fight. He’s breathtaking.”
“Which is what caught Nigel’s attention. Soon Nigel was sending Cade on special assignments alone. Every time Cade returned, that hope that always shown in his eyes dimmed until there was nothing left. Nigel had taken away all his hope, all his dreams. Cade rarely slept, and when he did, it wasn’t for very long.
“Yet, during those years, the three of us had formed a bond that nothing, not even Nigel, could break. We watched each other’s back.”
“Didn’t you tell Cade about Nigel?” she asked.
“Aye. He knew.”
“Why didn’t he say no? Surely you could refuse an assignment.”
Drogan snorted. “If it came from the king, nay. If it came from anyone else, of course. Cade refused many assignments until Nigel presented him with the ones that only came from the king.”
“You knew he had forged them.”
He nodded. “The three of us even confronted Nigel with it. He laughed and sent us away, but the next day he sent for Cade. I don’t know what Nigel said to him, but whatever it was, Cade never refused another assignment, regardless of who it came from.”
“Did Nigel send for you or Gerard like that?”
“Nay. He tried to bend us to his will, but he couldn’t take away our land or titles.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand why you didn’t just walk away.”
“We tried,” Drogan confessed. “Whatever Nigel told Cade prevented him from leaving, and Gerard and I refused to leave Cade.”
“But you did, didn’t you?”
Drogan leaned back against the wall and briefly closed his eyes. “Nigel wanted us to do something. Gerard and I refused, but Cade had no choice. When Cade left to carry out the assignment, he never returned.”
“Did you look for him?”
“Everywhere. When we couldn’t find him, Gerard and I returned to our land to live in peace. Or so we thought.”
Francesca inhaled deeply. “What could Nigel have told Cade to make him do whatever he wanted?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?”
And one she intended to find the answer to.
Chapter Twelve
Cade welcomed the booming thunder and driving rain. He laughed as a bolt of lightning hit a tree beside him.
“Need to kill. Need to kill!”
The red haze that had fallen over his vision was gone, but the need for blood hadn’t. His knives still dripped with the blood of his enemies.
And he needed more.
He glanced at Wolfglynn and thought he spotted a glimpse of fiery hair. He stilled, and his heart pounded as he squinted through the rain. Surely he had been mistaken. The downpour was too thick to see anything, but he had been sure he had glimpsed Francesca. He would have staked his life on it.
But for that moment, the need to kill diminished. It was enough and allowed him to make it to his cave without giving in to the driving hunger to slaughter everyone.
Cade stumbled into the cave, his knee connecting with a rock. He gritted his teeth and swore as pain lanced through his body. Unable to move through the pain, he took deep, slow breaths. He leaned a hand against the rocky wall of the cave. He could still smell the lingering scent of lilacs. His stomach clutched as he thought of Francesca. How he wished she was there.
“To kill her,” the darkness growled.
Nay!
Cade wouldn’t allow that to happen. The darkness only laughed in response.
He looked down at his hands to see them covered in blood. His tunic, breeches and boots were also stained. Bile rose in his throat. He jerked off his clothes and boots before he rushed into the storm.
Unmindful and uncaring, he dove into the churning sea. The waves pounded his body, pulling him beneath the surface until his lungs burned. He didn’t fight. He wanted to die. Anything to be rid of the darkness.
“You’ll never be rid of me. I’m a part of you, Cade. Now that you’ve unleashed me, I can take over your mind at any time.”
Though he didn’t want to, he found his arms clawing through the water until his head broke the surface. Cade took in several deep breaths, all the while hating what he had become.
But he had done it for Francesca and the other witches. It was a sacrifice he would gladly make again. Despite what he had become, despite the fact that it was now up to Drogan and Grayson to kill him, Cade had seen the witches safe.
The waves propelled him to shore. As Cade climbed to his feet, he walked woodenly into the cave while the darkness continued to chant its need for blood and death. Cade wasn’t a fool. He was no longer in control, and when he’d had control, it was only by a slim thread. With the evil loosened, his time at Wolfglynn was up.
“Attack the castle. No one is safe from your blade. Kill all within before we move to the next village.”
Cade fell to his knees, his arms outstretched as he screamed his fury.
* * * * *
Francesca’s eyes flew open, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. Though her eyes stared at the ceiling of her chamber, she didn’t see it. She was reliving the dream she had of Cade. His fury and fear pulsed in her body.
She threw off the blankets and jammed her feet into her shoes. She didn’t bother to change out of her nightgown. Time was of the essence, and she might already be too late.
All her years at Wolfglynn had proven beneficial, as she used back stairways and corridors that brought her out into the great hall. The hall was filled with Drogan’s people seeking solace from the storm. Knights sat against walls and rested between shifts.
She had taken the back way to avoid the others. Serena and Drina would know what she was about, but she’d rather not have to try and explain. Francesca slipped through the doorway that led to the dungeons. Fortunately for her, there was no one being held, which meant no guards. She found the secret door with a sigh.
The door slid open with nary a sound. She rushed inside and ran down the dark tunnel that led to an entrance beneath the castle. She heard the sound of the waves crashing before she stumbled out of the cave, cutting her hands on the rocks.
Francesca disregarded the stinging on her palms and the rain that soaked her within moments. She was near Cade’s cave. After blinking away the rain, she lifted her skirts and navigated the rocks to the cave.
The glow of a fire beckoned inside the cave. A smile pulled at her lips because she knew Cade was within. She didn’t slow her steps as she entered. Just as she parted her lips to call out to Cade, cold metal touched her throat.
Francesca halted and followed the blade with her eyes until she saw Cade’s hand, but the rest of him was in shadow.
“I could kill you now.” His voice was low, rough, as if it weren’t his own.
Dread filled Francesca, but she refused to give up. “Then do it.”
He lowered the weapon and turned away. “Leave before I change my mind.”
“You saved Adrianna. She and Grayson are in the castle.”
Cade paused on his way to the fire. He wore only a pair of breeches.
Francesca wiped the rain from her face and followed him. “Are you wounded? Let me tend to you.”
He whirled around, his lips peeled back in a snarl. “I said leave!”
She gasped as she looked into eyes of pitch. Drogan had been right. The darkness had taken over, but if that was the case, why didn’t he kill her? Drogan had said Cade would need to kill and continue killing until someone stopped him.
Francesca knew that somewhere inside him, Cade was struggling with the darkness. He wouldn’t give up that easily. He had fought too long and hard to give in once the darkness took over.
She lifted her hand to touch his face. His fingers wrapped around her wrist, halting her without hurting her. Undeterred, she lifted her other arm. Cade trapped that one as well.
“Don’t,” he said.
She shivered as a breeze filled the cave. With the wet material of her gown, chills raced over her s
kin. His gaze moved from her eyes to her breasts.
Her nipples were puckered and straining against the wet material. His gaze smoldered, causing her breasts to grow heavy. Dampness pooled between her legs as her blood quickened.
Francesca pulled her arms from his grasp and cupped his face. “Cade?”
“Damn you,” he growled as he backed her against the wall.
Rocks dug into her back, but she felt nothing, not with Cade’s heat surrounding her. He cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. Francesca laid her palms on his bare chest. Something wicked and wanton unfurled low in her belly when he ran his tongue over her lower lip.
He lifted his head for just a moment before he took her lips in another kiss. A kiss that scorched her, made her yearn for more of him. Then he slid his tongue past her lips. Francesca sighed. His hands moved down her body to pause at her waist. He pulled her against him, pressing her breasts against his chest. A shiver of delight raced through her when she felt his hard rod pushed into her stomach.
“Witch,” he murmured between kisses.
His thumbs rubbed the underside of her breasts. She moaned and tilted her head to the side as he kissed down her neck. It was only belatedly that his voice sounded more like the Cade she had come to know.
He cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Francesca gripped his shoulders as a gasp tore from her lips at the hunger that burned inside her each time Cade touched her.
She opened her eyes to find him looking at her. His eyes were more of a gray now, instead of the black. Before she could comment on it, he grasped the neck of her gown and ripped it from her body.
Her lips parted in anticipation as he looked over her body. Her breasts ached for more of his touch. The desire in his gaze made her knees weak. She had never known such hunger, such...need...before. And she wanted more.
Cade’s body was on fire. For Francesca. Her kiss had been exquisite, heady as the sweetest wine. And he needed more. He needed her. Each touch and kiss sent the darkness further and further away. He knew he should send her back to the castle, back to safety. But for once, Cade was doing something for himself. The passion in her tawny eyes only propelled him onward.