by Donna Grant
But they were her things, things she chose for herself. It was silly to want such mundane items, but it was the first time she had felt like herself. Like the woman she’d been before Declan kidnapped her.
Saffron had thought that woman gone, but maybe, just maybe, she was still somewhere deep inside waiting to come out again.
She pushed off the door and began to pull things out of the numerous bags. It was the first time in a long time that she was glad she had the money her father left her. And it was a massive sum of several million dollars.
Money her mother desperately wanted.
Saffron refused to think about her mother as she sorted through the makeup she had bought. She was putting it away on the shelf in the bathroom when a knock sounded on her door.
“Come in,” she called.
The door creaked open as she put the last bit of makeup down. Saffron walked out of the bathroom to find Fallon standing in her doorway.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m not sure I told you, but I do appreciate you jumping me to London and Edinburgh.”
Fallon smiled and leaned against the door frame. “As Larena said, you needed it. I hope you doona think I’m trying to keep you here.”
“Not at all,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I know you worry about all the Druids. Right now isn’t a good time to be out and about with us getting ready to awaken Laria.”
“And what of Declan?”
She stiffened at the mention of the hated name. “I don’t fear him, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It’s no’. It’s merely a question. He’s out there and a danger.”
“You don’t need to remind me of that. Until he’s dead, until I kill him myself, I’ll always be reminded of him.”
“You intend to kill him yourself?”
She smiled at hearing the surprise in his voice. “You don’t think I can?”
“I didna say that,” he replied, his hands held palm out in front of him. “We all saw what Declan did to Logan and Gwynn.”
“You mean his mercenaries. Where Deirdre had Warriors, Declan has resorted to mercenaries to carry out his unpleasant tasks. He wouldn’t want to get his perfectly manicured hands dirty with such menial jobs.”
“What did he do to you, Saffron?”
She turned away and pulled other items out of the bags to layout on her bed. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Marcail has the ability to take away your pain if you need her to.”
Saffron jerked her head around to pin Fallon with a glare. “I’ve carried this around with me for over three years, Fallon. I can handle it.”
His eyes lowered to the ground for a moment as he nodded. When he next met her gaze he said, “If you change your mind, just come to me.”
Saffron went back to pulling out her new items as the door clicked shut behind her.
* * *
All through Camdyn’s shower he could feel the turmoil in Saffron’s magic a level below him. It made it difficult for him to concentrate as her magic went from contentment to anger to regret to anxiety.
He turned off the water and began to towel himself dry. The shower with the nearly instant hot water was something he had come to love immediately in this new time.
The clothes had been a different story. Giving up his kilt was something he had done willingly to fit in with the new time and culture. But still, he missed seeing the bold red, black, and blue tartan of his clan.
It still felt odd to have something around his legs, but he was getting used to the different pants. He pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a tee.
He padded barefoot out of his chamber, only stopping when he reached the corridor. There was nothing he could do to help Saffron now. Going to her and asking her what was wrong would only let her know that he felt her magic differently.
Instead, he headed to Broc’s chamber for some more video games. Broc’s chamber, however, was on the same level as Saffron’s.
Camdyn walked down the stairs and took a right to Broc’s chamber instead of the left which would take him to Saffron’s. As he neared Broc’s room he passed Ian’s where Dani was trying to explain some game that was on the telly. Rugby or was it soccer? He couldn’t remember.
It wasn’t until he knocked on Broc’s door and there was no answer that Camdyn turned and stared down the long hallway toward Saffron’s chamber.
Most of the couples in the castle were spending time together, alone. Which left as his options Ramsey, Arran, Fiona. Or Saffron. Even Braden and Aiden had taken an interest in Kirsten and rarely left her side.
Camdyn frowned as he thought of the newest Druid at the castle. There was something strange about Kirsten, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Another glance at Saffron’s door and the struggle to go to her or not remained. What would he accomplish if he went? He’d never been good with words, and he wouldn’t do as his body urged and kiss her since he didn’t want to complicate anything. So what was the point?
He shook his head and started retracing his steps back to his chamber. There were a few books he wanted to read, movies waiting for him to watch, and even his iPod Touch was filled with songs.
Camdyn smiled as he walked into his chamber and saw the flat-screen television and other modern accessories that seemed so foreign in the castle, yet at the same time looked as if they belonged.
He wasn’t surprised technology had advanced so much, not after all the magic he had seen in his lifetime. With a click of the remote the telly was turned on.
Camdyn plopped in his chair and tried to concentrate on the movie and not think about the delectable images of Saffron as she stood in her towel, her body still wet from her shower.
* * *
Deirdre drummed her fingers on her beloved stones. Touching the rocks helped to keep her calm, and calm was exactly what she needed now.
She had used her magic to divine where Malcolm was. His task had been easy. Go to Edinburgh, find the Druid posing as a teacher, and kill all the children to flush her out. Then, Malcolm was to bring the Druid to her.
Yet, somehow, Malcolm had ended up in Glasgow. Without the Druid.
No one, not even Malcolm, could botch up a mission and not be punished for it. She had been waiting nearly three days for him to return, and her patience was growing perilously thin.
The screech of a wyrran behind her told Deirdre someone had come. She kept her back to them as she looked out over the vast cavern that had held hundreds of wyrran and dozens of Warriors before Declan had pulled her forward in time.
“The MacLeods got to the Druid,” Malcolm said.
Deirdre gripped the stones with both hands as rage boiled within her. First they killed her spy, Charlie, and now they got to the Druid first. The MacLeods had been a thorn in her side since the day she unbound their god.
She had thought to keep them in her mountain, but she hadn’t counted on their strength. Before she knew it, they had escaped.
Then they set about killing her pets, the wyrran, and recruiting other Warriors and Druids in their bid to kill her. She had gained a leg up when she had captured Quinn. Quinn had always been the one she wanted, the one she had wanted by her side to rule. The one she wanted to father the child of prophecy. A child of both her and him.
But Quinn’s brothers, Lucan and Fallon, and the rest of the Warriors at the castle had stormed into her mountain. All because Broc had betrayed her.
They even managed to kill her body, but her magic had been too strong and her spirit remained until she was given another body by the Devil.
“Deirdre.”
“I heard you,” she said, and whirled around to face Malcolm. Her white hair, which hung to the floor, swirled around her, twitching with her anger. “It was a simple mission I sent you on. You said you had no problem killing children.”
“I didna, nor do I. The MacLeods, along with Broc and Isla, were already in Edinburgh when I arrived. They had found the Druid before I did,” Malcolm
said.
“So they have her.”
“Nay.”
Deirdre perked up at hearing this. “Really? Where is she?”
Malcolm shrugged, his expression bored. “She’s gone, and Fallon dumped me in Glasgow. Find another Druid.”
“There are so few!” She clenched her jaw as she fought to keep her rage in check.
One side of Malcolm’s lip lifted in a sneer. “You have powerful black magic, Deirdre. Use it.”
She glared at him, wondering not for the first time if she had made a mistake unbinding his god. Malcolm had a strong tie with the MacLeods since his treasured cousin, Larena, was married to Fallon MacLeod.
Deirdre had used that connection between Malcolm and Larena to lure him to her side. She had used her magic to erase the ugly scars on his face and right side of his body. Even though it had been her order to her Warriors that had given him those scars. But that was before she realized he could house a god.
It was Malcolm’s need to keep Larena safe that kept him from doing as she commanded. Since she no longer had the Warriors that used to fill her mountain, Malcolm was her strength.
“Where’s Charlie?” Malcolm asked. “Should he no’ be here by now?”
“My same thoughts. I found him by using my magic. He’s dead.”
Malcolm didn’t even blink at her comment.
Charlie had been her only other Warrior, but he’d allowed himself to be caught spying at MacLeod Castle. All he’d had to do was return to her with the artifacts. Which he should have done easily.
She’d have punished him for taking his time returning to her if he wasn’t already dead.
If she had those artifacts no one would ever be able to awaken Laria. And Deirdre could once more focus on ruling the world as she had longed to do.
As she had been promised would be hers by Satan.
But now everything had changed. Now the MacLeods had the artifacts. And they were set on waking Laria.
CHAPTER
NINE
It was past ten that evening when Saffron left her room to go for a walk. She had been sitting in her room with the lights off, which was easier on her eyes.
During her shopping trip, she purchased five pairs of sunglasses so she’d never be without one. But even they didn’t always help her eyes adjust to the sun or some bright indoor lights. And flashing lights were another matter entirely.
The lights inside the castle and other places could hurt her more than the sun. To give her eyes a rest and to help the pounding that had begun in her temples, she’d sat and listened to her iPod for a couple of hours.
She had spotted the moon out her window and couldn’t get outside quick enough. She had always loved the moon, thinking it used to follow her when she was a child.
The stars fascinated her. For her eighth birthday she had requested a telescope and astronomy books. From that first look through the telescope to see the moon she’d been hooked.
She gobbled up anything and everything to do with the stars, the solar system, and astrology. Her telescopes became larger so she could see farther.
As Saffron bundled up in her new wool coat and stepped out onto the battlements she wished she had a telescope with her at the castle. Maybe on her next trip she’d purchase one.
She lifted her face and smiled when she saw the blink of stars through the clouds drifting lazily over her. How she had missed them. Back in Colorado, she would lie in the yard and spend her evenings staring at the sky.
The moon hung just shy of being full, its light making the snow look as if it were glowing. Saffron ran her hand over the stones of the battlements.
She had been on the battlements several times and learned the shape and size of them with her hands. But she had never seen them.
With a slow, measuring look, she took in the gatehouse, bailey, and even part of the castle. In the darkness of night the stones looked dark gray, but nothing could hide the magic inside them.
The towers, four that she could see, but she knew there were six, rose high above her. The bailey now held SUVs and cars when it had originally seen nothing but horses and people.
As her gaze raked over every stone, she saw the remnants of burns. Saffron squatted down on the battlements and ran her hands over burn marks.
She knew the story of how the entire MacLeod clan had been murdered by Deirdre while Fallon, Lucan, and Quinn had been away meeting Fallon’s intended bride. By the time the brothers returned, everyone was dead and their home burning.
Saffron wondered how the MacLeods had been able to live after that, especially with their god unbound and giving them powers. But then again, the brothers had stayed holed up in their castle for several centuries before Cara came into the picture.
As she recalled Cara’s story of slipping over the cliffs before Lucan caught her, Saffron stood and turned to the sound of the waves.
No matter how hard Saffron looked, she couldn’t see the waves crashing into the beach from her vantage point. But she was able to see the vast sea stretch into the horizon and she saw sheer cliffs on either side of the castle that descended far below her.
“Is it what you thought it would be?”
She whirled around at the sound of Camdyn’s voice but couldn’t find him. She searched the shadows until he finally stepped out of them. The darkness clung to him, as if it didn’t want to let him go.
She drank in the sight of him beneath the blue light of the moon. His eyes were hooded, his face set in hard lines, yet his voice had been soft, questioning. “It’s more stunning than I could have ever imagined.”
Camdyn nodded as he came to stand beside her. He wore no coat over his thin, short-sleeved tee. “There is a path to get down to the beach, but I wouldna suggest trying it out the first time at night. It’s rather steep.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Were you no’ happy with what you saw of yourself when your sight returned?”
Though he didn’t look at her, she knew he was aware of her every action. Saffron stared at his profile hard before she answered. “No. I wasn’t. The face I saw staring back at me wasn’t the person I used to be.”
“Nay. And the person looking back at you in the mirror three years from today willna be the same either. People change, Saffron.”
“Not the way I have,” she muttered before she thought better of it.
“Will the new clothes and hairstyle help?”
She turned to face him, resting her hip against the rock. “Everything I’ve been wearing since I was brought here has been handed down to me from the others, which I greatly appreciate. There was no reason I couldn’t buy my own clothes so the others could have theirs returned.”
“You know they doona care about clothes.”
Finally he turned his head to her, and she was caught in his deep chocolate eyes, trapped in the interest she saw in them. Her stomach flip-flopped as she became all too aware of the very virile, very attractive male before her.
“Maybe not, but I did. I wanted, no,” she said with a shake of her head, “I needed something that was mine.”
“Clothes willna help you find yourself. You’re no’ lost, you just are no’ looking in the right place.”
She blinked. Twice. She had been so desperate to be the person she used to be, that she hadn’t looked at the person she was.
“I like the hair, by the way,” Camdyn said.
She was so taken aback by his compliment that she didn’t see him move toward her or his hand rise to her face until his finger softly caressed near her eyebrow as he pushed aside a strand of hair that had been caught in her eyelash.
Her skin sizzled from where he touched it, and Saffron found herself leaning toward him. It had been so long since she’d been kissed, since she’d felt desire, that she was drowning in the emotions.
She yearned to close the distance between them, longed to lift her face and place her lips on his. To be desired, needed. To be lo
ved.
The ache began in her chest and shifted lower, between her legs. Her breaths became shallow and she struggled to form a coherent thought. Which is when she realized he had complimented her.
“Thank you,” she mumbled.
Her heart skidded when his eyes lowered to her lips. He was close enough that she could feel his heat, could practically taste the power within him.
It was a heady combination, especially mixed with the surging need rising within her. She licked her lips, and for a moment she thought she heard a growl.
“You shouldna be out here alone,” Camdyn said. His voice had lowered, became more gravelly.
“I’m safe here.”
His dark gaze lifted and caught hers. “You were caught unawares once. Doona let it happen a second time.”
The mention of what had happened when Declan took her was like being doused with a bucket of ice water. Saffron took a step away as need was replaced with fury.
“How dare you,” she ground out.
Camdyn’s eyes narrowed. “How dare I? I’m trying to keep you from making the same mistake twice.”
“You have no idea what happened. So don’t be a jackass and pretend you do.”
She whirled around and stormed back into the castle. She slammed the door shut with a hard shove, only there was no answering bang.
Saffron didn’t need to look behind her to know that Camdyn had stopped the door. It had been childish of her, she knew, but she was mad, and she was so tired of having that anger inside her.
She made a beeline for her room, wanting only to be alone. But when she tried to slam that door as well, nothing happened. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised to find Camdyn’s large frame filling the doorway when she turned to look.
“What do you want?” she demanded as she jerked off her jacket.
“Had you no’ stomped away, I would have told you.” He paused and looked around the room as if suddenly aware they were in the dark. “Why are the lights no’ on?”
“Then tell me what you want now so you can go.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped the toe of her boot on the floor as she refused to answer him.