by Donna Grant
Though she knew it was silly, she hated to have someone else mend him. She watched Drina with baited breath, her gaze never leaving Cade. It took longer than Drogan’s healing had, but finally Cade’s breathing returned to normal. Drina lowered her hands and opened her eyes to Grayson.
“Lower him onto his back gently,” Drina instructed.
As soon as Grayson laid Cade back and stepped aside, Francesca moved to Cade. She sat beside him, hating how there was nothing for her to do.
“Thank you,” she said. “All of you. I know how dangerous it was for you to leave the castle.”
Drina smiled as Grayson helped her to stand. “It might be awhile before he wakes. There was poison on the arrows. They didn’t use much, just enough to cause pain and make the wounds difficult to heal.”
“Everything will be alright now,” Serena said.
Francesca nodded and turned her gaze to Drogan and Grayson, who stood closer to the entrance.
“We’ll stay until he wakes,” Drogan said.
Grayson grunted. “I say we move him into the castle.”
Drogan shook his head. “Cade would never forgive me. I respect why he doesn’t want to come inside, and I won’t force him, even if it is for his own good.”
Francesca waited until Serena and Adrianna walked to their husbands before she intertwined her fingers with Cade’s. Her gaze stayed on his chest, watching it rise and fall regularly. She hadn’t liked the stark fear she had felt when she saw him on the beach. Until she’d felt for herself, she was sure he’d been dead. And the vengeance that coursed through her had been violent, frightening so.
Now that he had been healed and was sleeping, Francesca found it impossible to keep her eyes open. But she didn’t want to sleep and miss Cade waking. She also wished the others would leave so she could be alone with Cade.
He would be furious that she wasn’t in the castle, but she didn’t care. His life meant more than hers. Besides, it wasn’t her time to die.
Francesca leaned her head against the cave wall and let her eyes shut. At the entrance, she could hear the others talking amongst themselves. She wondered what they were saying, but she couldn’t make out the words.
Then she didn’t care as sleep claimed her.
* * * * *
Cade came awake and realized he was no longer in the sea. Had he crawled to the cave? As he checked his body for the injury, he didn’t feel anything. Other than a warm hand holding his. He cracked open his eyes to find Francesca beside him, leaning against the wall, asleep.
“How do you feel?”
Cade jerked his head to the other side to find Drogan squatting across the fire. “Like hell,” he answered. “What are you doing here?”
“We came to help.”
At the “we,” Cade looked around the cave and saw Serena, Adrianna and Grayson. “None of you should be here.”
“The arrow was dipped in poison,” Adrianna said. “I realized it as I was healing Drogan.”
Serena placed her hands on Drogan’s shoulders. “When Fran grasped you were also injured, she came to help.”
Cade inhaled deeply. “Foolish woman. She’s going to get herself killed.”
“Tell her that,” Grayson murmured.
Cade started to sit up when Adrianna’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Rest some more,” she urged.
He nodded and stared into the fire, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of Francesca’s hand. “Thank you,” he told them.
“With all you’ve done for us, it’s the least we could do,” Serena said.
Cade tried not to look at Francesca, but he couldn’t help himself. “You should return to the castle. Take the witch with you, too. It’s too risky for her to be out here.”
Drogan shook his head. “I want to make sure you’re completely healed before I leave. Until then, you’re stuck with us.”
Cade noticed Adrianna was watching Francesca, her brow puckered in concern. “What is it?” he asked.
“I’m surprised Fran hasn’t woken while we’ve been talking.”
Drogan stood. “She’s been through a lot over the past couple of days. None of us have slept well. Maybe she feels safe enough to rest now.”
Cade hoped they were right. The thought of someone harming his witch made him want to kill something.
“Yes,” the darkness hissed.
Cade clenched his jaw. He fought against the rising tide of the darkness, concentrating on Francesca until he was once more in control. He wasn’t used to having so many people around, and it made him nervous and antsy to be up and around. Anything to get them to leave him and his witch alone.
“I know that look,” Drogan said.
“What look?”
“The look that says you want us gone.”
Cade shrugged. “I’m used to my privacy.”
“You’re too damned used to being alone.”
Cade didn’t argue. It was the truth. He spent so much time alone, protecting everyone from himself, that he didn’t know what to do around people anymore.
Except his witch.
It was different with Francesca. Everything was different with her.
Cade glanced at Drogan to find his gold eyes watching him.
“I’m sorry,” Drogan suddenly said.
Cade frowned. “For what?”
“For not doing something that day.”
Cade didn’t need to know which day Drogan referred to. It was the day the darkness had claimed Cade. He could hate Drogan for it, but the blame was solely on one person’s shoulders—his own.
“Nay,” Cade said. “You’ve nothing to apologize for.”
Drogan ran a hand down his face and sighed as he sat across the fire. “I shoul’ve done something.”
“There was nothing you or anyone could have done. Nigel wanted me, and he stopped at nothing to get me.”
Drogan’s gaze caught his. “What did Nigel threaten you with? It wasn’t us, was it?”
“Nay,” he murmured. Cade almost refused to tell him, but then realized there was no use now. “He used my family against me. My youngest sister, Amelia, had caught his attention. He threatened to make her his and kill the rest if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
“God’s blood,” Drogan cursed. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could have gone to the king or got them out of the castle until we could kill Nigel. He hadn’t acquired the power he does now. He would have been easy to kill.”
Cade sighed. He had been over that day in his head a million times, wondering how things would have turned out if he had done something—anything—differently. In the end, he realized there was no use wondering how things could have been.
“I knew if I brought you and Gerard into it, Nigel would turn to your families as well. I couldn’t live with myself if something had happened.”
Drogan swallowed. “I learned a few years ago that your family....”
“Died,” Cade finished for him.
“Maybe that’s a blessing, since Nigel couldn’t use them against you anymore.”
Cade was more relieved that Drogan didn’t ask how they died. It was one of the many shames he would carry with him into Hell.
“That’s when you left Nigel, isn’t it?” Drogan asked.
Cade nodded. “I knew if I stayed longer, Nigel would come up with something else to blackmail me with. I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“We’ll get through this, Cade. You’ll see.”
Cade didn’t argue with Drogan as he rose and walked back to the others at the entrance. He pushed thoughts of Nigel from his mind and thought of the many—and various—ways he wanted to make love to his witch.
He grinned, turning his head to look at her. Aye, as soon as they were alone, he was going to strip her out of the cream gown and kiss every inch of her skin.
After all, it might be the last time they were together before Nigel arrived.
Chapter Eighteen
Francesca sucked in a
breath as she stared at the forest. She knew this was a dream vision by the slowness in which everything moved.
She stood atop the battlements, the wind whipping around her. Because this vision didn’t involve her, not only could she not feel the wind, but she couldn’t move either. Whatever she was supposed to see was in the forest.
Her stomach fell to her feet when she spotted Cade. She tried desperately to move, to run from the castle and into the woods to see what was happening to him. He moved swiftly through the forest, as though he had seen his quarry and was hunting it.
Francesca focused all her power on Cade, and in a blink, she was in the forest. Cade had paused beside a cluster of trees. His knives were in his hands, and he was getting ready to attack a group of men.
Cade never saw the hole in the ground. His foot slipped inside it as he jumped. There was a loud pop as Cade’s leg broke. He grabbed it, pain lacing his features.
And then Nigel was standing over him, an evil smile on his hawkish face.
The dream faded, only to be replaced with her standing in front of Nigel, as she had dreamed for so many years. The wind whipped at her skirts, wrapping the material around her legs.
Nigel laughed and beckoned her to try her magic on him. Since this dream involved her, Francesca could move around at will. And she felt everything twice as intensely as she did while awake.
She lifted her hands to block the evil Nigel threw at her. Until recently, she had always been able to deflect it and gather her magic to kill him. But not anymore. Now, the evil enveloped her, smothering her in the inky blackness. She screamed and tried to move, but the darkness held her firm as the evil began to claw at her skin.
Francesca’s eyes flew open. Her chest hurt as if she’d run miles. Strong fingers curled around her hand, and she looked down to find Cade watching her. Had she called out or given any hint of the vision she was having?
“That makes twice now I’ve seen you wake in such a fashion. Are they nightmares?” he asked, concern crinkling his brow.
She tried to smile, but the fear in her veins would loosen its hold. “Of a sort. A vision.”
“Not a good one, I gather.”
Francesca shook her head and remembered the sound of Cade’s leg breaking. As awful as that was, it was better than the evil attacking her. She couldn’t understand why before, she had always seen herself beating Nigel, but now she saw him besting her. Had his power grown so much? Or had hers weakened?
“Can you tell me?”
She swallowed, wishing with all her might that she could share what she’d seen. But she had always kept to herself her visions that involved Nigel.
“My visions are snatches of a dream. It’s difficult to piece together,” she lied, praying he would forgive her.
For a moment, Cade stared at her. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. There’s no need to lie.”
Tears pricked the back of her eyes. “I want to tell. I wish I could.”
“I know the feeling well,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “Can you tell the others?”
She shook her head.
“It isn’t good for you to carry such a weight alone, witch. You should share it with someone. How often do you have this...vision?”
“Every night.”
He lifted his brows. “Will it ever go away?”
“When what I see is carried through, then, aye, it will cease to plague me.”
His thumb caressed the back of her hand, lending her strength. “Do you know when that will be?”
She could see by the set of his jaw he had an idea it had to do with Nigel. In no way could he discover what she had to do. She knew without a doubt he would stop her.
“Nay,” she said, and it wasn’t a complete lie.
Thankfully, he didn’t ask any more questions. Francesca glanced to the front of the cave to find the others. She was surprised they had stayed.
“I wish they would leave,” Cade murmured. “You as well. It’s dangerous here.”
“It is dangerous everywhere.”
He grunted. Her gaze strayed to his chest and abdomen to the waist of his breeches. Aye, she wished the others would leave as well.
“Cease, witch,” he ground out. “My blood heats with you near, and if you continue to stare at me like that, I’ll take you right here.”
She should have been shocked at his words, but instead, a thrill rushed through her. She looked into his blue eyes and saw the desire there. She smiled as desire heated her own blood.
“Witch,” he warned.
“I can’t help it.”
He rose and walked to the back of the cave until the shadows took him. Francesca felt his absence immediately. She’d known him only a few days, but it was if her body had known him for eternity.
And my heart.
Her heart? She bit back a groan. Her feelings for him were strong, and she feared they were turning into love. Francesca used the rocks behind her to help her to her feet. She glanced at the shadows where Cade had moved before she walked to the others.
“Did you rest well?” Adrianna asked as she joined them.
Francesca nodded, but the way Drogan watched her told her he knew she’d had a vision. She could hide most anything from anyone except Cade and Drogan. Drogan had known her since she was a child, so it was only natural that he would sense her emotions.
But what about Cade?
“Cade wants us back in the castle,” Grayson said. “The more I look at the beach, the more I realize how easy it would be for Nigel to attack here.”
“He won’t,” Cade said as he strode up with a new tunic on and his weapons back in place. “The other side of the castle is braced by razor‐sharp rocks. No army could slip through that without being seen. The only way to the back of the castle is on this side, and I won’t let them through.”
Drogan, his arms crossed over his chest, stared at the sea. “How many of Nigel’s men tried to attack Grayson and Drina?”
Grayson shrugged and looked at Cade.
Cade absently scratched his shoulder. “About three score.”
“Sixty?” Drina repeated.
Drogan faced Cade. “How many do you think Nigel will bring with him?”
“Hundreds.”
Drogan cursed, and Serena wrapped her hands around his arm.
Francesca listened to all of it with interest. She’d seen Nigel’s army in her vision.
“Francesca,” Drogan said. “Have you had any visions on this? Anything that would help?”
She kept her gaze from moving to Cade, but she felt his on her anyway. Her eyes locked with Drogan’s. She hated lying to him, but there was no other way. Still, maybe she could give some information.
“Aye.”
Grayson took a step toward her, his face mottled with anger. “When were you going to tell us?”
Cade stepped between them, his hand on his dagger. “Don’t talk to her that way.”
She wanted to wrap her arms around him and bury her head in his neck, to feel Cade’s warmth and strength surround her. No man had ever taken up for her like that before, and she found she loved it.
“Grayson has a right to be angry,” Drogan said.
“He can take his anger out on me then.”
Francesca touched Cade’s shoulder. He turned his head to look at her, and she grinned. “Thank you, but they do have a right to be angry. I should’ve told them.”
Cade turned toward her and moved his head to her ear. “Is this what you dreamed about? What has frightened you so?”
She nodded, wondering why she answered him when she knew he would want to know more. He sighed and straightened only to move beside her.
Francesca licked her lips. “Nigel will bring hundreds and hundreds of men. They will surround the castle from one side to the other. The only place they won’t be is in the water.”
“Why, I wonder?” Serena said. “You would think Nigel would attack everywhere.”
“He’s leavi
ng us a way out,” Drogan commented. “He wants us to get in the water so he can kill us then.”
Adrianna shuddered. “With another storm?”
“Most likely,” Drogan said.
Francesca wished she could alleviate their fears, but if they were thinking of a way to protect themselves, they wouldn’t be worrying over her. Which would give her the time she needed to sneak out of the castle and confront Nigel.
“Witch,” Cade whispered next to her, “promise me you’ll be in the castle with the others.”
She looked at him, wondering again why such a handsome man would want her, but thankful just the same. “Where else would I be?”
“I don’t know, but you have a look about you that says you’re hiding something. You’re leaving something out.”
She glanced at the others to find them still talking about Nigel’s men. She leaned into Cade and inhaled his scent of orangewood, salt and man. “You smell good.”
He snorted. “I’m covered in salt and dried blood.”
“You always smell good to me.”
“Stop changing the subject. What do you have planned?”
She shook her head. “Don’t make me lie to you. Please. I’m not putting anyone in danger.”
“And yourself?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“You can ask me that, knowing what I am?”
“I can ask you that, knowing what you are.”
For a moment, she thought he would kiss her. His eyes blazed with emotion before he lowered his gaze to her mouth and leaned towards her. Their lips were breaths apart, her heart skidding in her chest when Drogan called her name.
Cade sighed and straightened. Francesca had no choice but to face Drogan.
“Have you seen where Nigel will be?” Drogan asked, his gaze intense and his brow furrowed in concentration.
Grayson nodded. “Aye. If we could locate him and kill him, his army would scatter.”
Francesca swallowed and shook her head. “Nigel is everywhere. And nowhere.”
“I’ve already told you, he’s mine,” Cade all but growled beside her as he took a step toward Drogan.