He had mixed feelings. How could he ignore the bad things she’d done? On the other hand, he hadn’t forgotten the good times either.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You don’t trust me yet.”
Her words made him falter, and Huck raced even farther ahead. Rory didn’t try to catch up. He didn’t particularly want Huck to witness this conversation. Nothing about this situation would be comfortable for anyone, so the fewer people involved, the better. “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he said. When Flùranach said she knew what he was thinking, she meant it literally. If people voiced their contemplations internally, she had the ability to hear the words as though they’d said them aloud.
She matched his pace. “This is what I am. I can’t change my magic any more than you can change yours.”
He didn’t answer, but kept his attention on the path. The grassy hill below their feet became white and sandy as they approached a beach. The sunrise over the green-tinged ocean was like nothing he’d seen on the beaches of Scotland. The light here was so much truer, the colours brighter. The deep sand slowed them further. He could just make out Huck ahead, his feet splashing as he ran at the edge of the incoming tide.
“I’m sorry I disappeared. I heard there was an extensive search for me,” she said.
“You don’t owe me an explanation.” He hadn’t been involved in the search nor asked for updates. Of course, he wondered from time to time where she’d gone, but how could he not?
“I owe you so much more than that.”
Rory’s bones ached with weariness. As usual, they’d been up all night, and he wanted to crawl into bed for a few hours. He needed less sleep than he used to, especially since touching the Source Stone, but the events of the last day and finding Flùr again had exhausted him. “Look, let’s put the bonding thing in the past, okay? I want to move on.”
“Do you mean that?” She sounded hopeful.
“I’ve said from the start that we need you. Things went much smoother tonight because you were there. I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t been there. We wouldn’t have discovered the boy was half-fae, for one. She certainly wasn’t eager to tell us.”
“I’m happy to aid the Druid Hall. I’ve always loved you all.” She watched him closely, and he felt the weight of her stare.
He remembered how their lives had been in the beginning. But she’d been a little girl then, and everything had changed since. Even after the time stream transformed her into a young woman, though, they’d had some nice days together. He’d been so attracted to her, so confused by it all. “Why did the keepers hide you?” he asked.
Only then did her intense look waver. She glanced away. “I’m not supposed to talk about such things.”
“Why did Oszlár say you were the key to saving us all? Did he mean faeries, druids, or both?”
She kept silent for a long time. Her expression told him she was torn. “I’m not supposed to talk about such things,” she repeated.
He stopped dead and grabbed her arm, spinning her so they stood toe-to-toe. “You serve the Druid Hall!”
“I do.” She met his eyes and held his gaze. “I will serve you always.” That you was so much more personal than a simple statement of where she was employed.
“So tell me the truth!” he shouted.
“If you command me to break my vow to the keepers, I will,” she whispered.
She stood there, her red lips slightly parted, her fiery hair whipping in the ocean breeze, and he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to slap her. He wanted to shake her and beat her, but mostly he wanted to kiss her. Only willpower held him in place.
She knows, he thought. She knows I want to strangle her and that I want to take her. He imagined her willing him to do one or the other…or both.
He let go of her arm, shattering the intensity of the moment. “No,” he said roughly. “I don’t want you to break your vow.”
Tears glistened in her eyes as he stepped back from her. “Rory,” she said. “I will do anything for you. I’m yours.”
“No,” he said. “You were never mine.”
“I could make you forget the bad things.”
He stood and stared at her, shocked and repulsed. Did she believe he would let her into his mind, allow her to rummage and tinker with his deepest memories and fears? “No,” he said sharply. “Never that.”
“I would never touch your mind if you didn’t ask me to,” she said quickly. “I only want to ease your pain.”
“You can’t fix what’s wrong with me, Flùranach.” He softened his tone. “Look, I know you didn’t mean to, but we both know neither of us can ever bond again because of what you did. You might make me forget being your prisoner, but I’ll never have what all druids want more than anything—a bonded faerie.” You took that from me, he thought.
“What if you could?” she asked, her eyes searching his.
His insides went cold. He didn’t have room for false hope. “Each druid can only make one bond in his life.”
“It’s true we will never be able to bond with anyone but each other,” she said, watching him as though waiting for a reaction.
“Then…” Understanding hit him square in the chest. He would never bond another faerie, a faerie naturally compatible with him. However, she implied he could bond with her again, a faerie who’d used a rare talent to force an unnatural pairing. “Never,” he said. Those few days as her slave, he’d been more like a zombie than a man. He’d endured a living hell. He’d wanted to die. He still bore faint scars on his wrists to prove it, despite the attention of talented faerie healers.
She quickly backed off. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s too soon. We aren’t ready.”
She sounded very much like Oszlár. What did the old keeper know about this?
Fumbling over her words as though desperate to smooth over her blunder, she went on. “But now that I have told you, you must know I would say the words first. You would never be in danger of what went wrong before.”
What went wrong? That made the incident sound like an honest mistake. What she’d done had been anything but. “It won’t happen. Get the idea out of your head. I mean it.” Anger flooded through him anew.
“I will earn your trust again.” She actually sounded convinced she would someday change his mind. If he hadn’t been so angry, he might’ve pitied her.
She looked beautiful in the morning light, her hair whipping about her face, but looks weren’t everything. Rory turned away. “Come on,” he said. “We’ve lost sight of Huck.” He broke into a run again and heard her do the same a few paces behind. She stayed just out of his line of sight. For that, at least, he was grateful. His mind spun and her expectant eyes filled his thoughts. She’d broken him. Magically, mentally, emotionally. Didn’t she understand? She’d broken him, and now she wanted not only his forgiveness, but his trust. He couldn’t trust her any more than he could love again. He’d work with her, be responsible for her, and make sure she kept her word to Oszlár. No matter what, though, he wouldn’t hit her or take advantage of her desperation, but most of all, he wouldn’t be her slave ever again.
Chapter 8
When Rory and Flùranach arrived at the Druid Hall mid-morning, the corridors stood empty. The Hall’s head steward, Hon, greeted them at the entry arch.
“Hi,” Rory said as the steward bowed. He squirmed when they acted subservient. “Flùranach will be staying at the Druid Hall. We have a room somewhere, don’t we?”
“Of course, my lord druid. She is…your guest?”
Rory stopped short. The steward was politely inquiring if she was to be put with the druids or in the servants’ hall. Rory didn’t quite know what to do with her either. She wasn’t a cook or a cleaner, but he didn’t want her bunking with him.
“I serve the druids,” Flùranach said. “I will happily stay wherever there is room…perhaps near the kitchens or the washing halls.”
“Of course,” Hon said.
Now Rory felt bad. Although even the men who washed the floors were as haughty as any faeries he’d ever met, putting her with them didn’t seem right. He opened his mouth to suggest one of the rooms set aside for visiting scholars would be more appropriate, but Flùranach didn’t give him a chance.
“Thank you,” she said to Hon. “If you will show me to the kitchens, I haven’t eaten all night. I will prepare a small meal before I take my rest for the morning.” She turned to Rory. “My lord druid, at what hour will we leave for Caledonia?”
“I’m not sure,” Rory said. “Perhaps an hour before nightfall. Depends where Eilidh and Munro are staying. If they’re at Canton Dreich, we could arrive shortly after their first evening meal.”
“If I may,” Hon said. “Lord Druid Munro returned last night. He is taking his morning’s rest.”
Rory raised an eyebrow. He hoped nothing was wrong. He’d expected Munro to be gone longer than one night. “Well, that makes things easier,” he said, but niggling worry ate at him.
Flùranach lowered her head into a bow. “I will wait for you to send for me, my lord druid.”
Rory watched the steward lead her away. He went to his room upstairs and found a plate of food waiting for him. The Hall’s servants always seemed to anticipate what he needed before he asked. They provided whatever without him noticing their presence most of the time. Convenient, but slightly creepy. He ate and lay on his bed, which he’d asked to be modelled more after the human style, four legs and on solid ground. He still hadn’t grown used to those swing things the fae slept in.
Thoughts of Flùranach filled his brain and danced around frantically. He couldn’t relax, even though exhaustion weighed him down. He’d never felt so mixed up in his life. Long ago, he’d given up the idea of bonding with a faerie and all the benefits that would bring, like longer life and access to deeper levels of magic. He was stronger and faster than a normal human, sure, but he wouldn’t reach his potential without a faerie partner. Over time, he’d come to terms with the loss. Now she came back and reminded him of what would never be…without her.
Flùranach had manipulated him too many times, coercing him with her astral talents. She’d thrown him to the floor and ripped his clothing like tissue. In all his years, he would never forget the wild, animalistic hunger in her eyes when she’d attacked him. Her features contorted into something primal and terrifying. He’d been paralysed, unable to resist when she compelled him to say the words that locked him into bondage. Even his mind hadn’t been his own. She knew his thoughts. He hadn’t even been able to pretend. Her face hovered over his and she held him down with unnatural strength. He responded as she demanded, in spite of his fear, even as his mind screamed no over and over.
Rory sat up with a sudden shout, his chest covered in sweat and tears streaming down his face. Had he fallen asleep? His heart hammered against his ribcage, and his hands shook.
HIs nightmares hadn’t been so bad in a long time. Oszlár was right. He wasn’t ready. Why hadn’t he listened?
He staggered into the small room just off his bed chamber. Stripping off the clothes he’d fallen asleep in, he lowered himself into the round marble bathing tub inset into the floor. Scrubbing himself with the sparkling crystals provided, he let the gentle fizz wash away the bad dreams.
The dark memories retreated into their hiding place by the time he descended to the druids’ workshop. He found Huck and Munro already there, chatting. How long had he slept? It only seemed like seconds.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“It’ll be dusk in Caledonia in about two hours,” Munro said.
Rory sank heavily into a sturdy armchair, yet another replica of a human design.
“Rough day?” Huck asked.
When Rory didn’t answer, Munro said quietly, “Huck told me about your trip to Amsterdam…and Flùranach. Is everything okay?”
She wants me to bond with her again. “Yeah, I’m fine. So, you think Eilidh will help? We can’t take Demi through the German borderlands if she’s running from Konstanze’s brother, so we’ll need to go through Belgium.”
“You’d need to travel to England, not Belgium. The Belgian gate is unstable, according to Prince Estobar. It’s not worth the risk, at least until we verify his claims. I think Eilidh will help, though. We’ll need to find her before to get her official permission, though. She’s gone to visit the Andenan altars with Griogair.”
“She what?” Rory said, sitting up. “They’re trying to have a kid?”
“What? No,” Munro said. “No,” he repeated. “They didn’t go to make a sacrifice. They’re checking out the new borderlands, to see the new territory and greet the fae who are part of her kingdom now.”
“Oh, okay,” Rory said, glancing at Huck. “Sorry. I didn’t know faeries ever went to altars except when they wanted a baby.”
Huck sighed. “How long will it take to find her? We promised Demi we’d only be one day. She won’t wait around.”
“Eilidh’s a queen,” Munro said. “She can hardly eat a fig without a thousand people hearing about it. Besides, I can locate her through our bond.” An uncomfortable look stretched across his face. Rory suspected he was imagining walking in on her and Griogair unannounced. What if they were trying to have a baby? It was none of Rory’s business, of course, but he was curious about the three-sided arrangement. Once, Aaron had asked Rory if he thought all three of them ever got it on, to use Aaron’s expression. Sometimes he wondered. Their situation wasn’t exactly traditional. Aaron joked that Griogair would be up for anything if Munro was, but then, Aaron had a juvenile sense of humour.
“There’s ferries every day from Holland to England,” Rory said.
“I’ll go with Demi,” Huck said. “Once you talk to Eilidh, meet up with us on the other side of the Channel. Even if it takes you a few days to get to Eilidh, Demi will be much happier if we get her out of Amsterdam right away.”
Rory nodded. “I’ll tag along with Munro,” he said “but Flùranach should go with you. She can disguise Demi and her family, assist if there’s any trouble at the border, plus she can help you find us at the meet-up spot.”
“Which is where exactly?” Huck asked.
“If you take a train from Amsterdam down the coast from The Hague, you can catch a ferry to England at the Hook of Holland. It lands about fifty miles north of London, in Essex. There’s a hotel right next to the port,” Munro said. “With any luck, we’ll meet you there before you even have to stay a night.”
“The trip will be slower with a kid and a grandma in tow,” Huck said. “I don’t know how fast any of them can move.”
“They’ll be fine,” Munro said. “If she’s successfully evaded a fae prince for four years, she’s a smart one. If she can make wards as powerful as you’ve suggested, she knows things even we don’t.” He paused and scrubbed his hand through his hair as he contemplated. “Did you ask about her sphere of power? Or the kid’s?”
Huck frowned. “I didn’t think to ask. Does it matter?”
“No,” Munro replied. “I was just thinking that with my stone, your fire, and all the others being water, would be nice to meet an air druid. Would round out the set. Get us closer.”
“To what?” Huck asked.
Munro shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t know.”
∞
Huck walked back and forth in the workshop, going over the plan in his mind. Rory sent Hon for Flùranach, and Munro went to grab a few things. The sun would set in the Netherlands soon, and Demi would be waiting. She’d insisted she wouldn’t stay more than one day, and he believed her. He admired everything about her, from her fierce determination and loyalty to her family to the courage she showed in defying one of the fae.
“Would you stop pacing?” Rory said.
“I can’t,” Huck replied. “We need to leave…now. I wish we hadn’t stopped to sleep. We should have taken her to England right away.”
“You heard her,” R
ory said. “She wasn’t going to leave right that second anyway. She needed time to pack her things and get her family together.”
“She was stalling. If her grandmother really had been anticipating the move, I’d bet they were ready in an hour. I should’ve stuck around.”
“Seriously, mate, she didn’t want you there.”
“What if something happens to her?”
“Ulrich doesn’t know where she is, and even if he did, she has wards to protect her. If Flùranach couldn’t get past them, I doubt any faerie could. Demi will be fine. You have to let her do things her way. She’s scared, and rightly so.”
Huck stopped his striding and looked at Rory. Was he actually afraid? Was that why he was so rude to Flùranach? Everything that happened between them was before Huck’s time, and he didn’t really understand. If a faerie like Flùr wanted to bond with Huck, he’d say yes in a heartbeat. Things had gone wrong when Flùr and Rory bonded before, but she apologised and was willing to try again. How could Rory not even think about it, especially considering he could never bond with anyone else? Huck’s Otherworld-enhanced hearing had picked up a lot of their conversation on the way through the Ashkyne territory the night before. She’d practically been begging. That girl shouldn’t beg any man for anything. Huck had sped up when the other two stopped to argue, relieved when he’d finally gotten out of earshot.
“What took you so long?” Rory snapped when Flùranach entered the room.
Her eyes widened, but she masked her surprise quickly. “Forgive me, my lord druid,” she said, dropping her gaze to the floor.
A look of shame and disgust crept over Rory’s face. Was he angry at her or at himself? “Forget it,” he said. “Are you ready to leave?”
She nodded with a frown.
“What’s wrong?” Huck asked her.
“I’ll admit I’m not eager to return to Caledonia. Queen Eilidh may have a few words for me. I may even face trial for my crimes.”
“Don’t worry about that. I want you with Huck,” Rory said. “I’ll talk to Eilidh about you. If she won’t grant you passage, you can return to the German gates. I don’t see any reason why Konstanze’s Watchers would stop you if you’re on your own.”
Caledonia Fae 04- Druid Lords Page 9
