by Donna Grant
Larena rolled her smoky blue eyes and glared at her husband as she sat on the bottom step of the stairs. “And what about us looking for the spell to bind our gods, Fallon?”
“That’s put on hold,” Lucan said before Fallon could.
“My life has been put on hold,” Larena argued angrily. “I’ve been waiting centuries to have a family. We have an opportunity now to find this Evangeline Walker and see if she knows about the necklace.”
Dr. Veronica MacCarrick, or Ronnie to her friends, rose from her seat at the table and walked to Larena. “I’ve not been a part of the castle that long, and I do understand you want to start a family.”
Larena smiled sadly. “You’ve no idea, Ronnie. None at all.”
“But … if we focus on finding the spell to bind the gods, how in the world will we fight Wallace?”
Larena raised a blond brow. “We’d obviously wait until he was defeated.”
Logan winced at the hard edge to Larena’s voice. It wasn’t like her, but then again, the strain of the constant battles and her need for a family were taking its toll.
“And what if there’s another drough to take Wallace’s place?” Camdyn asked. “It happens every time we kill one. What do we do then if our gods are bound?”
“I don’t give a bloody damn what you do!” Larena yelled as she jumped to her feet.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Fallon walked to Larena and pulled her into his arms. Her silent tears tore at everyone.
“She didna mean it,” Fallon said.
Cara nodded from beside Lucan. “We know. As much as we’d all like to be normal, we aren’t.”
Tara gave an unladylike snort from beside Ramsey. “No, we’re not normal. We Druids have magic that sets us apart from others. Whether we grew up knowing our magic or not, we were never normal.”
Ramsey leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Ah, but I like that you’re so different. I wouldna want normal.”
“But would you if your god was bound?” Reaghan asked. She glanced at Galen and frowned. “Really? With your god bound, no longer would you be immortal or have enhanced senses. No longer would you hear your gods inside you or be able to call up your god. Each of you would be a regular person. How would we, as Druids, fit into your lives?”
“Quite easily,” Galen answered. “I didna fall in love with your magic. I fell in love with you.”
Saffron folded her hands atop the table. “Do any of you remember what it was like before you were Warriors?”
“What are you getting at?” Camdyn asked her.
“Answer it,” she urged.
Quinn gave a slight shake of his head. “My memories of life are there, but I doona recall much else.”
“Memories aren’t the same as living it, feeling it,” Danielle said.
Ian tugged Dani closer. “What’s that mean?”
“It means,” Isla said, “that each of you will feel things differently when your gods are bound. Your gods don’t just give you enhanced senses, they boost your feelings as well.”
Hayden shrugged. “Perhaps, but I know it willna change my love for you.”
Marcail rubbed her finger along Quinn’s torc around his neck. “You may not, but things will change. No matter how much we hope they won’t.”
Quinn’s lips flattened for a moment. “You think we ought to stay Warriors? You want to continue to live in the castle surrounded by Isla’s shield? What about more children?”
Logan’s gaze was on Gwynn, waiting to see her reaction to Quinn’s question. Gwynn reached across the table and took his hand.
“Do you want me to stay a Warrior?”
Gwynn shrugged. “I want to be with you, wherever that takes us. There’s no doubt y’all are needed, Logan. As Camdyn stated, there is always evil that needs to be killed. Who will do that? The Dragon Kings?”
Arran tapped a finger on the table thoughtfully. “As much as I’m enjoying this conversation, it’s pointless to even have such a discussion. We’ve no’ found the necklace that houses the spell.”
“We may never find the spell,” Broc said.
Larena raised her head from Fallon’s shoulder and wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry for … well, everything. The right thing to do is prepare for Wallace.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” Cara said. “We’ve battled evil for over four centuries. We’re allowed to get irritated.”
Tara chuckled. “The correct word is pissy. And yes, we are allowed.”
There was a chorus of laughter, but Logan only had eyes for Gwynn. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. She, Tara, Saffron, Dani, and Ronnie were fairly new to the castle, but that didn’t make them any less aware of what their lives were.
The same could be said for Laura, though she and Charon chose to stay in Ferness rather than the castle.
“We can have children,” Gwynn whispered so the conversation was just between them while others talked around them.
Logan smiled. “That we can, love. Do you want to spend eternity in the castle?”
“Who knows what the next hundred years will bring? We take it one day at a time. As I’ve told you countless times, as long as I’m with you, I can face anything.”
“And the battles?”
She scrunched up her face. “I’ll always worry about you in battle, but you’re a Warrior. Then there’s Britt’s new serum. We’ll get through anything.”
“I can no’ lose you, Gwynn.”
“You won’t.”
Logan swallowed and glanced at the table. “Wallace went after Laura and captured her. He’ll come for you and the other Druids as well.”
“Are you forgetting that Laura was able to get away, and if she hadn’t been able to do it, Charon would have gotten her? I’ve no doubt you would come for me.”
“I’d walk through Hell itself to find you.”
Logan had never thought he’d feel so strongly about anyone. Gwynn’s answering smile filled him with peace and happiness. She had changed his life. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
“We are stronger together.” Fallon’s voice carried through the hall. “Remember that. Wallace will try to divide us.”
Logan’s mind began to spin with ways they could protect the castle. “He’ll come here.”
“And I’ll make sure there isn’t a place on MacLeod land he can touch without letting me know,” Isla stated.
Fallon nodded. “Good. The castle itself has been spelled many times with protection, but let’s get on that again.”
“Right away,” Reaghan said.
Quinn looked at Ian. “We need to get Charon and Laura here quickly.”
“Let’s no’ forget Phelan and his Druid,” Ramsey called out.
Fallon pointed to Ian. “Call Charon. Do whatever it takes to get him here. If he and Laura willna come willingly, I’ll go get them myself.”
Ian smiled wryly. “You doona know Charon at all if you think you can do that. He protects Ferness as you protect all of us here. Charon will stay to ensure none of the town is harmed because he wasna there to fight Wallace.”
“He’s right,” Dani said. “We need to inform Charon and let him and Laura make their own decisions.”
Tara lifted her hand in the air. “Laura is still learning her magic, so maybe some of us should go and strengthen the spells in Ferness again.”
“I agree,” Cara said. “We need to set alarms and spells for protection. There are too many innocents there for us not to do something.”
Larena cleared her throat and slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “I’ll let Malcolm know the plan and see what he wants to do.”
“What about Phelan and his Druid?” Arran asked.
Logan caught Fallon’s gaze. “Charon should probably talk to him, but Charon is busy with his own problems. I’ll give it a shot talking to Phelan.”
“Good luck with that,” Camdyn said sarcastically.
Logan igno
red Camdyn. Phelan wasn’t the most agreeable Warrior, but then again, few had had such a life as Phelan. Logan looked at Isla and saw Hayden whispering something in her ear.
Isla wanted Phelan’s forgiveness for her part in his terrible life. Logan wasn’t so sure Isla would ever get it. In the four hundred years since Isla had freed him from Cairn Toul Mountain, Phelan hadn’t wanted any part of the castle or their little family.
“What are you thinking?” Gwynn asked.
Logan looked into his wife’s amazing violet eyes and grinned. “Phelan has a Druid with him.”
“Ah, you think he might have found his mate.”
“It’s possible. It’s happened to each of us.”
“Did Charon say how long Phelan had been with the Druid?”
Logan shook his head. “Nor did Phelan share her name. He’s being secretive.”
“Because Phelan wants her to himself,” Gwynn said with a sly grin.
“As I want you.”
Gwynn laughed as Fallon bade them to begin preparations. Logan watched her leave with the other Druids to being the spells. Already he was counting down the hours until she was in his bed.
CHAPTER
NINE
Phelan watched Aisley pick at her sandwich. He hadn’t had a response to her declaration then, and certainly didn’t now.
“If you could do anything, what would it be?” Phelan asked.
She lifted her gaze to him and simply stared. “What?”
“It’s a simple question,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “If you’re too afraid to answer then doona.”
“I’m not afraid.”
Phelan inwardly smiled. It was so easy to rile her. He shouldn’t get such satisfaction out of it, but anything was better than the melancholy he’d been witness to.
“Well,” he prompted when Aisley continued to sit there.
She licked her lips and looked over his shoulder, a faraway look coming into her eyes. Her midnight locks hung half in her face, but wherever she’d gone made her happy as evidenced by the small curve of her lips upward.
“I always wanted to be a dancer. My mum put me in classes when I was six. There’s always been something about music that allows me to express myself as nothing else can.”
Phelan could hear the longing in her voice, and a place in his chest began to ache for her. “Why didna you continue dancing? I’ve seen you. You come alive with the music.”
She blinked and focused back on him. The small smile vanished. “I thought I wanted something else.”
“What?”
“You’re certainly pushy,” she replied testily and reached for her soda.
Phelan moved his finished plate away. “I’m curious about you. More so because it appears as if dancing was your life. What changed?”
“A boy,” she said. The forced smile that followed was as hollow as her eyes. “I was in love, you see. I did whatever he wanted.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Good question. One my parents asked frequently.”
“Was there an answer?”
She shook her head. “I knew I cared for him more than he cared for me, but I was sure it was love. When my parents wouldn’t stop haggling us, he told me we should move in together. And we did.”
“How did that go?”
“It was everything I thought it would be aside from the run-down place we were able to afford. That lasted all of five months. Then he began to use the money that was supposed to go to rent, food, and bills on alcohol and cigarettes.”
Phelan slowly leaned back in his chair. He had a feeling the story was going to end badly.
Aisley tore off a piece of turkey from her sandwich and popped it into her mouth. “We had gotten notice from the landlord that we were to be evicted unless we came up with the three months’ rent we owed on the flat. He promised me he’d have the money that evening when he came home from work.”
Several minutes ticked by before Aisley raised her gaze to his. “Except he never came home.”
Phelan wanted to find the prick who had done this to her and beat him to a bloody pulp. Twice. “What happened?”
“The landlord kicked me out. I barely had enough time to gather my clothes before he tossed me into the street. With nowhere else to go, I went back home. My parents welcomed me for a time.”
“For a time?” he repeated with a frown. “What do you mean?”
Aisley rubbed one of her eyes. “It means I left again.”
“Did they kick you out?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she answered cryptically.
Phelan knew there was more to the story. He was surprised she was giving him as much as she was, so he didn’t push for more. Yet.
“Where did life take you after you left?”
Aisley shifted uneasily in her chair and looked around her as if she were noticing for the first time where she was. “I need my car.”
“I’m sure it’s been towed by now. You were in no condition to drive, and I couldna leave you there.”
She shoved her hair out of her face. “I’ve been here too long. I need to go.”
“What are you running from?” Phelan asked. “It can no’ be me.”
Aisley refused to answer. She had left out more of the story, he was sure. What could have happened in her life that was so bad that it sent her on the run?
“I can protect you,” he heard himself offer.
Phelan wasn’t sure what made him say it, but it seemed the right thing to do. Plus, it would keep Aisley with him. He was sure if he blinked, she’d be gone as it stood now.
“You?” she asked incredulously. “You would protect me?”
He leaned his forearms on the table and smiled. “You’re a Druid, Aisley. You’re meant to be protected at all costs. There are so few Druids now.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew me.”
“You mean if I knew the part of the story you’d left out?” he asked. When she nodded, he gave a loud snort. “Lass, give me a little credit. I see the beautiful woman you are, inside and out. Besides, I know evil. I’ve fought it numerous times, and you are no’ evil.”
* * *
If you only knew.
Aisley didn’t say the words aloud. She was being a coward, she knew. The right thing to do would be to tell Phelan exactly who she was. He would kill her, but it would be quick.
Jason would drag it out for days or weeks before he allowed death to claim her.
She opened her mouth to tell Phelan she was a drough when she remembered that she could make sure Jason was gone for good. If she had the courage. Phelan pushed his chair back and stood. He held out a hand to her after tossing down some money to pay for the food.
Aisley looked from his outstretched hand to his face.
“I’ve given my word I’d protect you. You doona need to fear me.”
But she did. Not just because he was the enemy, but because of the attraction. Aisley welcomed the memories of the past because it had allowed her to forget the thrumming need for Phelan’s touch.
That had only lasted a short time now. He wanted her to get back on the motorbike with him, to wrap her arms around him and not feel the hard muscle beneath.
Impossible.
“Aisley,” he said with a frown. “I doona know what you’re running from but nothing will harm you as long as I’m near.”
It was too tempting of a proposition to pass up. Phelan would protect her from Jason. It would also put her in close proximity to Phelan’s amazing body, piercing eyes, and charming tongue.
How long could she hold out against the desire? How long could she pretend her body didn’t ache for his touch, that her lips didn’t yearn to taste his kisses again?
She put her hand in his, knowing it was a mistake. It was an injustice she was serving him. She knew, and still did it. Because she was tired of running.
Aisley let him pull her to her feet, his rakish smile making her heart skip a beat. She turned in
time to see a waitress slip a piece of paper into his front pocket while winking at him.
“Quite the womanizer, aren’t you?” she said as she walked away.
His deep laugh followed her outside where she watched him discreetly toss the number in a trash bin. “I like women. I’ll no’ deny that. I always have. I see no reason to hurt her feelings however.”
Aisley didn’t want to like him more, but damn, it was difficult. He had helped her numerous times, and now offered his protection.
She hadn’t lied earlier though. She was tired of existing. The day her baby died was the day she stopped living.
And now it was time to cease existing as well.
After she took care of one last thing—Jason.
She was going with Phelan for one night of bliss, one night full of pleasure. Then she would tell him who she was. He would be so enraged he’d kill her immediately. She’d have to talk quickly to convince him to wait until she confronted Jason.
Hell awaited her, but Jason wouldn’t be able to touch her.
“What is it?” Phelan asked as they stood beside his motorbike.
Aisley put his helmet on. “Can you hide me for a day?”
“I can hide you for longer than that.”
“Just a day,” she said. “That’s all I need.”
Phelan’s penetrating blue-gray eyes bore into her. He was searching for the truth, but he’d get it soon enough. Until then, her secrets were her own.
“You think one day will be enough to throw off whoever is on your scent?”
Aisley looked down the road to the south where she should be in England by now. “I’ll never be free of him. There’s only one way out for me.”
“And that is?”
“Death.”
Phelan grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him. “Have you lost your mind, beauty? There is always another answer before death.”
“Is there? Do you have secrets so dear you wouldn’t dare share them with anyone else?”
He jerked back and dropped his hands. “Is that what you have? Secrets?”
“I want my life back. I crave it as much as…” She trailed off right before she told him how much she wanted his kisses.