Midnight's Seduction

by Donna Grant

  Because if he told her, if she knew, things would only get worse for him.

  He had to get control of himself. For a hundred years he had lived as a recluse in the forests after Allison’s death. He’d been content with his life. While other men wanted to find a woman to share their life with, Camdyn had been happy being alone.

  Well, not exactly happy, but at peace with his lot.

  What was it about Saffron that drew him like a dying man to water? What was it about her magic that sent his desires to a state that he’d never felt before?

  What was it about her that made him want to be with her always?

  “I knew y’all would do it,” Gwynn said as she walked to them with a huge smile.

  Fallon pounded Camdyn on the back. “Good job. Both of you.”

  Camdyn and Saffron accepted the gratitude of the others. He didn’t need to look at her to know her every move or reaction.

  She was hurting, and it was his fault. He drew in a deep breath and turned to the others, who all stared at Laria as she lay sleeping peacefully.

  Camdyn fisted his hands as Dani wrapped an arm around Saffron’s shoulders and drew her into the large circle they had formed around Laria.

  “She looks like she just lay down,” Cara said.

  Camdyn found his gaze traveling to Saffron. He could tell by the way her lips were pinched and her shoulders tight that she was holding in her anger.

  Just moments before he’d pulled away from her he’d seen her eyes alight with happiness. He’d seen her withdrawn, angry, frightened, furious, and even filled with passion. But he’d never seen her so joyful.

  And he’d ruined it.

  Now that he knew what Declan had done to her, he of all people knew she deserved to be happy. It just proved to him that he wasn’t the person to give her that.

  “Camdyn?”

  He started and jerked his head to Quinn who stood beside him. “Aye?”

  “I asked if you or Saffron touched anything when you came in?”

  Camdyn shook his head. He’d just touched Saffron. A touch that was likely to be his last. “Nay. We unlocked the door and then stepped inside. A few moments later the rest of you arrived.”

  “As much as I’d love to find out what you and Saffron had to go through to get here, I want to awaken Laria and get this battle over with,” Galen said.

  Fallon nodded. “Agreed. Ramsey, it’s your turn.”

  Camdyn licked his lips as he too was eager for Laria to awaken. He’d waited for the moment of Deirdre’s death for too long. It was made even worse when they’d thought they had killed her when they had freed Quinn.

  But Deirdre’s black magic had been stronger than any of them had realized. Her body might have been killed that day, but her magic had allowed her soul to remain. It hadn’t taken Deirdre long to generate another body.

  Ramsey paused beside the huge slab of rock and looked down at Laria.

  “Maybe you kiss her like all the princesses in the Disney movies,” Dani said with a smile.

  There were a few chuckles in response.

  Ramsey glanced at Dani and grinned. “If only it were that easy.”

  “What do you have to do?” Hayden asked the question before Camdyn could.

  Ramsey shrugged as he slowly walked around the slab. “That’s what I’m trying to determine.”

  They grew quiet as they watched him. When Ramsey knelt and touched something on the slab, Hayden produced a ball of fire in his hands and leaned close so everyone could see the intricate carvings that looked part Celtic and part something much older.

  “Those are no’ like any Gaelic writing I’ve seen,” Logan said.

  Broc grunted. “Or Celtic artistry.”

  “These are writings of my people,” Ramsey told them.

  Camdyn was still in awe of the fact that Ramsey was part Druid as well as a Warrior. He wondered if his magic strengthened Ramsey’s power from his god or hindered it.

  “What happened to your people?” Camdyn asked.

  Ramsey lifted his gaze to Camdyn. “I wish I knew.”

  Camdyn looked at the carvings in the stone and wondered what they meant. It was obvious by Ramsey’s furrowed brow that he didn’t know either.

  “The magic around Laria is stifling,” Ramsey said as he wiped his forehead with the back of his arm.

  “We can feel it,” Lucan replied.

  Camdyn became impatient. He knew it was just a matter of time before Deirdre tried to trap them again, although he suspected they were so far beneath the ground her magic couldn’t penetrate.

  But once they were back on land Deirdre would be waiting. Camdyn just hoped they had Laria awake by then. And then there was Declan.

  So many had put him in the back of their minds, but Camdyn hadn’t. His gut told him Declan could very well join in the upcoming fray.

  Just thinking of that had Camdyn’s gaze moving once more to Saffron. He watched her hand push her hair out of her face and behind her ear in an elegant motion. The exposed expanse of her neck made him wish he had kissed that portion of her skin. It had him wanting to skim his fingers down her neck to touch flesh he knew to be as soft as silk.

  A swell of magic, ancient and strong, suddenly filled the chamber. Camdyn swung his gaze to the altar and Laria. Ramsey knelt at the base of the altar and held one hand over a carving, his head cocked to the side and his eyes closed.

  Like Camdyn, Arran, and Logan, Ramsey still wore his hair long, as it had been in the fourteenth century before they’d time-traveled to the future. Ramsey’s hair hid part of his face, but there was no denying the smile that pulled at his lips.

  There was no warning as Ramsey reached out with his other hand and placed it on another etching. The blast of magic that rushed by Camdyn had him taking a step back, it was so fierce. And he wasn’t the only one.

  Everyone, including the Druids, had been affected by the magic.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Saffron whispered breathlessly, her hand on her throat.

  The chamber began to buzz with magic. Several small white lights zoomed from beneath the altar like small flying bugs. They darted this way and that, over and around Laria so rapidly the trails of their lights could be seen long after they had moved on.

  Ramsey’s head was tilted back, words Camdyn had never heard before falling from his lips. The more Ramsey spoke the faster the lights moved until they were nothing but a blur.

  There was a loud pop and the lights disappeared. The ancient magic, though still present in the chamber, felt different. Almost as if it had been awoken. Roused.

  Revived.

  Camdyn drew in a ragged breath, his god affected by such potent ancient magic it hadn’t felt since it was pulled from its prison in hell.

  He put his hand over his chest as his god raged inside him, urged him to run away. This was the first time Camdyn had felt his god fearful of anything, and it unsettled Camdyn.

  One look at Quinn on one side of him and Arran on the other told Camdyn he wasn’t the only one whose god wasn’t happy.

  “What is going on?” Arran bit out.

  Fallon gritted his teeth and said, “Stay steady.”

  But the longer the magic pushed against them, the more their gods railed inside them.

  Marcail moved in front of Quinn and placed her hands on his chest with her eyes closed. At once Quinn’s body eased. Camdyn looked around to note that each Warrior with a Druid as a wife was having the same process done to them.

  Fallon and Larena, both Warriors, weren’t able to help each other, but Fiona was quick to step in and aid them before she went to Arran.

  Camdyn felt Saffron’s gaze on him and he looked at her. He wanted it to be her that eased him, but he knew he had no right to ask. Not after all he’d done to her.

  To his amazement, she walked to him and softly, gently touched him. At once Sculel quieted, calmed. Camdyn took a steadying breath and opened his mouth to thank her.

  But she turned her back to him and r
eturned to her spot before he could.

  “What did you do to her?” Arran leaned over and whispered.

  Camdyn glanced at the floor. “I was myself.”

  Arran’s lips twisted in a frown, but he didn’t say more. There wasn’t anything more to say.

  Camdyn turned his attention to Ramsey and Laria. Sculel might be calm once more, but the magic had yet to diminish. And that worried him. They needed to be able to fight against Deirdre, but the way their gods had reacted to Laria’s magic might make that impossible.

  Of a sudden, Laria’s chest rose as she took a deep breath and slowly released it. They stood silently as Ramsey got to his feet and looked down at Laria while more of his strange language tumbled from his lips.

  A surge of anticipation filled Camdyn when he saw Laria’s fingers twitch.

  Ramsey’s words grew louder, his magic stronger. Yet the feel of his magic was odd, because mixed with it was his god. It wasn’t as pleasurable as other Druid magic, like Saffron’s, but neither was it distasteful.

  Just … different.

  And then Laria’s eyes opened.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Saffron was busy staring at Camdyn so she didn’t see when Laria’s eyes opened. It wasn’t until Laria sat up that Saffron focused on the Druid.

  Though Saffron had seen visions of Deirdre, she was unprepared for Laria’s stunning beauty. Her skin was unblemished and as smooth as cream. Her golden locks hung straight down her back to pool around her hips. Her eyes were so bright a blue that Saffron was mesmerized by them.

  Laria’s oval face had the bone structure of nobility, and the beauty of a supermodel. She looked slowly around the chamber until her gaze came to rest on Saffron.

  Saffron grew uncomfortable under her direct gaze. Then Laria spoke in a language that Saffron recognized but didn’t understand.

  “Gaelic,” Ramsey said. “She’s speaking Gaelic.”

  Gwynn sighed. “Then communicating with her won’t be easy.”

  “Fáilte, welcome,” Ramsey said in Gaelic.

  Laria turned her head to him. “Fáilte.”

  “I’m Ramsey.”

  Laria held up a hand and turned her gaze back to Saffron. She motioned Saffron to her with a finger.

  Saffron swallowed uneasily. She didn’t know why Laria was so interested in her, but she was about to find out. Saffron walked to the altar so that she stood across the slab from Ramsey.

  “Doona be afraid of her,” Ramsey said.

  Saffron looked into his gray eyes. “What does she want with me?”

  In answer, Laria put her hand on the side of Saffron’s face. A jolt of powerful magic shot through Saffron, making her cry out from the shock of it as well as the small amount of pain.

  Saffron’s gaze was locked with Laria’s, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Camdyn start toward her only to be held back by Quinn, Arran, and Hayden.

  As quickly as the minor discomfort had begun, it ended. Warmth flooded Saffron. And peace. The same peace she had experienced with the chanting and the drums.

  “Don’t be afraid of me,” said a female voice in her head. “I need to learn your language and your time.”

  Saffron didn’t know how long she stood there as Laria touched her, but when Laria dropped her hand, Saffron knew she would never be the same again.

  She had been touched by magic unlike anything she could have imagined. It was so pure, so potent, that it brought tears to her eyes. And the fact that two of the most formidable Druids she knew—Isla and Reaghan—were standing in the same room with them said something.

  “Thank you,” Laria said, and smiled at Saffron.

  Saffron looked down at her hand upon the stone, which was covered by Laria’s. “Why me?”

  “The labyrinth chose you to find me.” Laria turned away to look at Ramsey. “You are Druid and Warrior?”

  Ramsey gave a slight bow of his head. “No’ by my choosing.”

  “Ah,” Laria said with a small measure of distaste in her voice. “My sister.”

  Saffron couldn’t believe no one was freaking out to hear that Laria had learned their language so quickly. But then again, with magic like Laria’s, Saffron imagined she could do almost anything.

  “Aye,” Fallon said as he stepped forward. “Deirdre must be stopped.”

  “Then let’s not waste any more time.” Laria was helped off the stone slab by Ramsey.

  She took Saffron’s hand and led her through the group. As Saffron passed Camdyn she glanced at him to find his dark eyes creased with worry.

  There wasn’t any time to tell him not to worry as Laria walked toward the stone wall and held out her hand, palm out, as she murmured a spell Saffron had never heard before.

  The stones shifted, and a door slid open.

  “You can talk to stones, too?” Quinn asked her.

  Laria looked at him. “No. That was Deirdre’s gift. The only way out of the labyrinth is through spells only I know.”

  “Wait,” Lucan said, stopping her before she could go through the door. “You should know Deirdre is waiting for us.”

  “I’d expect nothing less from my sister,” Laria said with a smile before continuing on.

  Saffron didn’t know why Laria wanted her beside her. Behind her, Saffron could feel Camdyn’s eyes on her. Each time Saffron slowed Laria would smile and motion for her to hurry.

  “Your man thinks I mean to do you harm,” Laria whispered.

  Saffron frowned. “My man? Oh, you mean Camdyn. He isn’t mine.”

  “Really?” Laria asked with an arch of a blond brow. “He certainly acts as if he is.”

  “He’s only doing that because I made him promise to keep me safe.”

  Behind them Isla snorted. “Saffron, he’s protecting you because he wants to, not because you made him promise. I give you my word on that.”

  Laria shared a look with Isla before she nodded at Saffron. “She’s right. A Warrior, but most especially a Highlander, doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

  Saffron didn’t know how to respond to that. They hadn’t been alone with Camdyn. They hadn’t tasted his kisses and felt his passion.

  Or experienced his rejection.

  Then she didn’t have to answer because Laria slowed as they reached a set of steps that were cracked and weathered by time. “I can feel Deirdre,” Laria said softly.

  She turned to look at those around her, meeting each of them in the eye. At Fallon, she paused. “Deirdre will be focused on me. Give us room for our battle, but above all else, keep your Druids safe.”

  “It will be done,” he answered.

  Camdyn glared at Laria. He didn’t know why she wanted Saffron with her, but he didn’t like it. If Laria was going to battle Deirdre then Saffron needed to be with the other Druids, not in the line of fire.

  Laria’s eyes shifted to him then. He narrowed his gaze. It was difficult to look at her and not see Deirdre. Though Laria’s hair was blond and not white, and her eyes blue and not white, they were still the same.

  Same build. Same mannerisms. Same voice.

  “Don’t worry, Warrior. Saffron won’t be in any danger.”

  “She better no’.”

  In response to his threat, Laria simply smiled. Laria then gave a small sweep of her hand and the ground above the stairs began to move.

  Camdyn and Arran hurriedly moved ahead of Laria. Camdyn looked at her and said, “We’ll draw Deirdre out for you.”

  He blinked against the glare of the setting sun as they reached the top of the steps. A second later and a wave of drough magic slammed into him and tossed him backward into one of the standing stones while being held immobile above the ground.

  Camdyn saw Arran had also been held. There was a smile on Deirdre’s face as she stood about fifty paces from the steps leading out of the maze.

  “I knew you would fail in awakening my sister,” Deirdre said with a laugh.

  “Oh, but they d
idn’t.”

  Camdyn began to laugh as Deirdre’s smile faded at the sound of Laria’s voice. Laria’s head appeared, and with it, a blast of magic aimed at Deirdre.

  Almost instantly Camdyn and Arran were dropped. Camdyn didn’t waste another moment as he rushed to where he saw Saffron beside Dani and Ian as they exited the labyrinth.

  Camdyn spotted a wyrran running toward Saffron. He let out a roar and called for the earth to answer his power. The ground rolled beneath the wyrran before swallowing the petite yellow creature.

  Camdyn reached Saffron and Dani in time to help Ian battle six wyrran. Dani and Saffron were using their magic against the wyrran, but it wasn’t enough for Camdyn.

  His god bellowed for blood and death, and Camdyn was in complete agreement. His body ached from his need for Saffron. This battle was a perfect release for him.

  Saffron winced as a wyrran shrieked near her ear, but it was nothing compared to Camdyn’s roar of rage. It was a Warrior’s call to battle, a signal to the others that it was time for death, time to exact vengeance with blood.

  Three years ago she’d have been horrified by what she was witnessing, but now she stood in awe of the way Camdyn moved. He was fleet of foot, quick of body. His claws had deadly aim. And once his gaze had pinned an enemy, there was no escape.

  Saffron forgot about using her magic against the approaching wyrran. She was too riveted by the sight of Camdyn in his Warrior form with his deep brown skin. Around them were the other Warriors from MacLeod Castle each with their gods unbound and using their vast array of power.

  “Saffron!”

  She heard Camdyn’s yell the same moment she felt the wyrran’s claws in her leg. Saffron reacted instantly and shoved against the creature while her magic shot from her.

  The wyrran went tumbling backward. Before it could gain its feet Camdyn stood upon its chest with one foot and severed its head with his claws.

  Camdyn’s head swiveled to her. He had spatters of blood on him, and his hands were covered in it. Gone was the sun-bronzed skin she knew, replaced with the deep brown of his god. His claws flexed, reminding her they were his weapons. And his fangs gleamed in the sunset.