by Donna Grant
Godspeed, my daughter. God keep you safe.
May joy and love find their way to you.
P.
Francesca read the letter twice more. Her mother had known of her battle with Nigel, had known and never said anything? She wished she could have been able to talk to her mother about it, but by the time her visions began, her mother was already dead.
She stared at the distant castle through the window. “Godspeed, Phineas. Thank you for everything.”
Francesca rolled the missive up and hurried to her chamber. Drogan would assume she was grieving in the tower, which would give her the time she needed to sneak out of the castle and find the hole in the forest.
With the parchment tucked away in her trunk, Francesca looked down at her dark green gown. It would blend well in the trees. She knew the secret exit near the sea was being watched by Drogan and Grayson. The only other way out was through the postern door in the castle walls.
She blew out a breath and walked from her chamber. She used the back stairs so she wouldn’t run into Drogan and exited through the kitchen. Once in the bailey, it was easy for her to stay hidden with all the knights. Francesca wanted to hurry, but if she did, she would bring notice to herself, and she couldn’t allow that.
She made a turn around the bailey, careful to keep her head down. When she reached the postern door the second time, she stopped and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Then she reached to unlock the door when a voice stopped her.
“What are you doing?”
Chapter Twenty
Francesca sighed and turned to face Adrianna. Grayson’s wife stood staring at her, one blonde brow raised in question.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Adrianna asked. “Drogan wants us to stay in the castle.”
“I know what Drogan wants.”
Drina’s eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer to Francesca. “Did you have a vision?”
The need to tell someone of her vision was too great to ignore. She nodded and pulled Drina close. “I have seen the outcome of this war. We will defeat Nigel.”
“That’s wonderful news. Why haven’t you told anyone before now?”
“Because if there’s one change, however small, it could adjust the outcome. I want nothing more than to assure Drogan his family and castle will survive, but I cannot. Nothing can change.”
Drina nodded slowly. “Which is why you didn’t tell us the size of Nigel’s army or where he was attacking. Grayson is still upset about that.”
“As he should be. I wish I could divulge everything I knew, but it is my wish to see everyone survive.”
“I understand. Is that why you’re sneaking out?”
Francesca glanced at the door. “Aye. I saw Cade get injured and Nigel’s men kill him. I need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“You’re risking your life.”
“He’s risking his for us.”
Drina let out a breath and smiled. “Then I’m coming with you.”
“What?”
“I love Grayson with all my heart, but the man needs to understand war involves women just as much as men.”
Francesca chuckled. “Thank you, but, nay. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m coming, Fran.”
She was wasting time arguing with Adrianna. “Make sure we’re not followed,” she murmured as she opened the door.
Francesca slipped out of the bailey, and Adrianna followed close behind her. With a glance in either direction, they rushed the short distance to the trees.
“Wait here and watch the door,” Francesca said. “It’s our only way back in.”
Adrianna grabbed her hand as she was about to leave. “Be careful. I don’t want to be the one to tell Cade something happened to you.”
She knew Cade cared for her, or more importantly, that she was somehow able to help control the darkness within him. But did he care enough if she was to die?
“Cade...has enough to worry about.”
“Don’t fool yourself,” Drina said. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. There’s desire there, but there’s also something deeper. Love, perhaps?”
Francesca pulled her hand out of Adrianna’s grasp. “You may have been able to beat the curse, but I won’t.”
“You’ve seen it?”
Francesca remained silent.
“And still you give yourself to Cade?”
“I give myself to Cade because I cannot deny what my heart wants. There is no future for us. We both know this.”
Adrianna’s eyes held a wealth of sadness. “Don’t give up hope.”
Francesca gave a quick nod and set out in the direction of the tree in her vision. She didn’t know exactly where it was, but she knew she would be able to find it if given time. Time. Something she didn’t have a lot of.
With her skirts in her hand, she hurried through the trees, searching for the gnarled oak, its thick trunk large enough to hide two grown men.
“There you are,” she murmured when she caught sight of the tree.
Francesca ran to the tree and searched around the base until she found the hole. She knelt beside it to examine it more. The hole was two hands length deep and a span in diameter. Just enough for a man’s foot to slip in and break his ankle or leg.
She rose and looked around for something to put in the hole. Then she spotted a large limb that had fallen during the recent storms. She gripped it and dragged it over to the oak, effectively covering the hole so that Cade would have to walk around it or jump over the limb. Either way, he wouldn’t step in it.
Francesca dusted off her hands, a smile on her face, when something flew by her face to embed in the tree. She turned and saw an axe inches from her face. Someone grabbed her from behind and pinned her against the tree.
“God’s blood, witch. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Cade said through clenched teeth.
Francesca opened her mouth to talk when he silenced her with a look that told her he didn’t want her to answer. Not now anyway.
“Stay here,” he whispered.
She managed a nod before he moved away from her. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her veins turned to ice. She twisted her head to see Cade standing across from her, his feet braced apart and his knives in each hand.
“Someone looking for a fight?” he taunted.
Two men came at him at once, their swords long and broad. Cade easily leaned away from one and ducked underneath the other. As the two men passed him, he reached back with his knives and sunk them into the men’s backs.
They slumped to the ground forgotten as Cade faced his next attackers. Francesca turned toward the tree and grasped the bark. It bit into her hands as she clung desperately to it, watching Cade wield his weapons with deadly skill.
He never missed, and he moved with the agility of a cat, the brawn of a wolf, and the annihilation of a dragon. But it was his face, a mask of determination and death, that set him apart from the others. He had no fear, no misgivings over what he was doing. He used his skill with his blades to cut down each and every man.
When he was the last one standing, she counted twelve corpses. Her gaze rose to him to find his eyes once more black as pitch. He threw his knives into the ground and stalked toward her. Blood splattered his clothes and hands as he spun her around until her back was pressed against the tree once more.
The darkness had taken him again, but she didn’t fear him. Deep down, she knew the man inside fought against the evil, an evil he had let loose to protect her. She reached up and wiped a spot of blood from his cheek. His mouth covered hers, hard, demanding as he kissed her. Yet it didn’t repulse her—it set her blood aflame.
Her arms wound around his neck, holding him close as he yanked up her skirts before lifting her so that her legs wrapped around his waist. Her body burned for his touch, to feel his rod thrusting hard and deep.
Cool air met the heated folds of her sex a heartbeat before Cade rubbed the head of his cock against her. She moaned and gr
ound her hips against him. He guided his arousal to her entrance, and in one thrust, buried himself.
He groaned into her neck, clutching her hips. He held still for one heartbeat, two, before he began to plunge hard and fast. Francesca could do nothing but hold onto his shoulders as he brought her body to a heated frenzy of need.
Again and again he slammed into her, touching her womb and grinding against her pearl until she was mindless with desire.
Cade couldn’t get enough of his witch. He wanted to mark her, brand her as his so no other man would dream of taking her away.
Each time he sunk into her, he could feel the darkness move and give away its hold on him. When her hands plunged into his hair and she whispered his name a moment before she stiffened in his arms, Cade gave into the need to mark her and bit her neck as his seed burst from him.
Her back arched, and she gasped, her arms tightening for a moment. Finally, Cade lifted his head and braced his forehead against hers. Shame washed over him for what he’d done.
“Don’t you dare apologize,” she said.
“I was a beast.”
A smile pulled at her lips. “You were wonderful.”
“I hurt you.”
“Nay.”
He wanted to believe her, to believe that she desired him as much as he desired her.
“I can still feel you inside me,” she whispered.
The passion in her voice stirred his cock. He could have gotten them killed by taking her in the woods. He wouldn’t be that careless again.
Cade pulled out of her and released her legs. While she straightened her skirts, he fastened his breeches. “Now tell me what you were doing out here. Alone.”
“I’m not alone.”
“Really? Who’s with you?”
“Drina.”
Cade cursed. Two witches. Alone in the forest. Grayson was going to have his head. “Where is Adrianna?”
“Near the castle, watching the postern door.”
“Tell me why you came out here? What could be so important that you would risk your life?”
“You.”
That pulled him up short. He searched her tawny eyes and saw the truth of it. “Me?”
“I had a vision of you stepping into the hole beneath the limb and breaking your leg. Nigel’s men were upon you in a moment.”
He didn’t know what to say. He fingered the end of her braid and wondered at the emotions swirling inside him. “You could’ve told me.”
“I had to be sure the hole was covered,” she said with a shrug. “How did you know I was out here?”
“Lilacs,” he murmured, becoming lost in her eyes.
“Lilacs?”
He nodded. “I followed it to you.”
“And you let the darkness take over.”
Aye, he had, and he would do it again if it meant he would save her. She’d become more precious to him than the salvation of his soul. “I would do it again.”
Her hands cupped his face, a slight curve to her lips. “Thank you.”
Unable to help himself, Cade drew her against him and claimed her lips. This time the kiss was slow, sensual and held all the dreams of a future he wished he could have with her. His body, still pulsing with desire, heated at the merest touch from her.
She moaned into his mouth, and his balls tightened. If he didn’t get control of himself, he would take her again, regardless of who might come upon them or the danger that surrounded them.
He ended the kiss, and she laid her head on his chest. Cade rested his chin atop her head, content to just hold her. He had shared more with her than any other person in years. It was a good thing he was going to die, because he wouldn’t be able to go a day without seeing or touching his witch.
“Phineas is dead,” she murmured.
Cade felt the anguish in her words. “I’m sorry. I know how much he meant to you.”
“He died sometime after midnight.”
“Was he ill before you left?”
She shook her head. “He was in decent health for a man his age.”
Cade stroked her back. His death must have come as quite a shock to her. He wondered how Drogan was handling the news. Phineas had been a father figure to Drogan as well, especially once Drogan’s father died.
“I didn’t know Phineas, but Drogan spoke very highly of him,” Cade said. “Drogan often wondered how two men of the same blood could be as different as his uncle and his father.”
She sighed. “I never really knew Drogan’s father, but Phineas was a good man.”
Cade wondered if she would say the same about him. She might have said it to him before, but was it something she said to make him feel better? Did she think highly of him to tell others he was a good man when he was gone?
He wasn’t sure why he was so concerned about it. It shouldn’t matter. Yet he found he wanted her to think he was a good man. He wanted her to respect him, to love him. His fingers jerked. He wasn’t sure where that thought had come from, but once it had been let loose, he found he desperately wanted her love.
Do you love her?
He cared a great deal about her. He had never worried over someone like he did her. He craved her touch, her nearness. He dreamt of her and of a future they could have had together if things were different.
He yearned to see her belly swell with his child, to stand with her through the years as their children grew. He wanted to see her fiery locks turn silver. He wanted her eyes to be the last thing he saw before he took his final breath.
Whether that was love or not, he wasn’t sure.
“I need to get you back to Adrianna before she becomes worried,” he said into her hair.
Francesca lifted her head and looked at him. “I hate saying good‐bye to you. These past two days have been awful. Please, come to the castle. Let me see you, be near you. Eat with us and lay your head upon a feather pillow instead of the hard ground.”
It was tempting, especially since he knew being around her calmed the darkness and gave him peace, but he couldn’t chance hurting anyone.
“I cannot.”
She blew out a breath and stepped out of his arms. “You’re a stubborn man, Cade.”
“I know. Come. Let me take you back to Adrianna.” He held out his hand for her.
When she placed her hand in his, a small thrill went through him. How such a small touch, so simple a gesture could affect him so, he didn’t know. But he was glad of it.
Chapter Twenty‐one
All too soon, Cade led Francesca to Adrianna. It had felt so good, so right to have him hold her. Francesca hadn’t meant to tell him of Phineas, but her pain was still too new and raw to be held back. Cade’s arms had tightened a fraction, squeezing her close so she knew he understood her pain. Being with Cade, for however short a time, gave her added strength.
He had given into the darkness, again. For her. To save her. He had jeopardized his desire to battle Nigel by letting the evil out, unsure if he could pull it back in again.
Drina rolled her eyes when she spotted them walking towards her. She didn’t say anything, just raised her brows.
“No more sneaking out of the castle,” Cade said to her before he glanced at Adrianna. “If you have another vision, I’d rather you come to me than to attempt something like this again.”
Adrianna gasped. “There’s blood on you, Fran.”
“It’s not mine,” she hurried to assure her.
“There was an attack,” Cade explained. “Nigel sent scouts who happened upon my witch.”
Francesca bit her lip to keep from smiling. My witch, he’d called her. Aye, she was most certainly his. For now and forever.
“Are you hurt?” Adrianna asked.
Francesca shook her head. “Cade arrived in time to save me.”
“Which is why there cannot be anyone else leaving the castle.”
Cade glanced back the way they had come. “Nigel will arrive soon. Very soon. I feel it in my bones.”
Francesca a
greed with him, but she kept silent.
Adrianna looked around the woods. “We need to get back, Fran. We’ve been gone far longer than we should.”
“I’ll keep watch until you’re through the wall,” Cade told her. “Now go.”
Francesca leaned up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. “Stay safe.”
In an instant, a magic haze surrounded her eyesight. Just like when she dreamed, she knew magic had taken her. She saw Cade, the sun shining upon his golden head. He turned and looked over his shoulder and smiled at someone. In his gaze, she saw desire and...love.
She released him and stumbled back. His hands caught her, steadying her.
“What is it?” he asked.
Francesca swallowed. Never before had her visions come to her when she was awake, but she knew she was seeing Cade’s future. She should be happy that he would survive Nigel’s attack. Why, then, did it hurt so desperately to know he was with someone else?
“Witch?”
She blinked and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just weary.”
She turned and hurried past Adrianna before she gave in to her heart and stayed with Cade. She was shaken to her very core at what had happened. Her magic had grown. Drastically. Nigel would arrive in days, and there were things she had to get in order first. She could feel Cade’s eyes on her, could still taste him on her tongue, could still feel him between her legs.
She dreaded Nigel coming, but at least once he arrived, she wouldn’t have long to agonize over Cade and what could have been.
“Fran,” Drina whispered as she rushed to catch up with her. She took Francesca hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. “What happened?”
“Too much. Not enough.”
They reached the postern door, and when she pulled, it came open. Francesca glanced at the woods to find Cade watching her, an unreadable expression on his face. She lifted her hand in a wave. She knew in her heart it would be the last time she saw him.
As soon as he raised his hand in return, she walked through the door. Once in the bailey, Adrianna shut and bolted the door.
Francesca leaned against the castle wall. “I never saw Cade in my future.”