by Donna Grant
“Just a moment,” came Fallon’s muffled voice from inside the room. A few seconds later the door opened to show Fallon bare chested and in jeans. He glanced over her attire, and frowned. “Saffron. Is everything all right?”
Before she could answer Larena peeked her head over Fallon’s shoulder and raised her eyebrows. “Wow. You look stunning.”
“I need a favor,” Saffron said. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Especially knowing that Deirdre could attack any moment.”
Fallon’s brow furrowed as he nodded. “What is it?”
“I need you to jump me to Edinburgh again. To the Bank of Scotland. I need to sign some papers.”
“Papers?” he repeated.
Larena gave him a light punch on the arm. “She said it was important, love.”
“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t vital,” Saffron added. When he didn’t respond she knew she had to tell him. “I wanted this kept a secret until later, but if I must, I’ll tell you now. Fallon, I wasn’t jesting when I said I had a lot of money, money my father taught me to use wisely. I’ve set up an account at the Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh with money for everyone residing at the castle.”
Larena covered her mouth with her hand.
“I’ve also made a significant purchase of Lucan’s furniture that I need to have moved into storage once it’s complete.”
Fallon rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “We doona expect any of this from you.”
“I know. What you all have done for the world these centuries cannot be repaid. But I can help. I don’t know if I’ll survive the upcoming battle, but in the event that I don’t, my new will, which I also need to sign, states that half of my fortune will go to the account I set up for you. The other half will go to charities I support.”
“Saffron,” Larena whispered.
Saffron cleared her throat. “Please. I’ve set it up so that the bank will see me early, before it opens for business. We’ll be back in less than an hour. We won’t even be missed, we’ll be gone for such a short time.”
“It could be dangerous,” Fallon said.
She shook her head and said, “I set all of this up yesterday. Only my attorney who drew up the papers and the CEO of the bank knows what is going on. It’s safe.”
“Take her,” Larena urged her husband.
Fallon sighed. “It’ll be quick?”
“All the papers are in order,” she said. “I just need to sign them and then have you sign so you can access the money.”
“I doona like this,” Fallon said as he leaned against the door.
Larena kissed his cheek. “It’ll be safe, my love. If it’ll make you feel better, take another Warrior.”
“There’s no need,” Saffron interjected before Fallon could respond. “Less than an hour. Please.”
After a moment Fallon gave a quick nod. “Give me a moment to put on some clothes.”
He walked away but Larena remained. Her gaze searched Saffron’s face before she asked, “Is everything all right?”
“I’m just anxious about the upcoming battle.” Saffron spoke the practiced lie.
She didn’t enjoy lying to her friends, but she didn’t want them to know what had happened between her and Camdyn. It was bad enough that everyone already knew they had slept together.
“Of course,” Larena replied.
But Saffron heard the doubt in her voice.
“I’m ready,” Fallon said as he appeared next to his wife. He gave Larena a kiss on the lips before he walked out of his chamber and came to stand by Saffron. “I should probably tell Lucan and Quinn.”
“I’ll do that,” Larena offered. “Just go.”
Fallon looked at Saffron. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder and in the next instant she was standing outside the bank. Few people were milling about on the snow-covered streets at the early hour, and no one noticed their sudden appearance.
Fallon had brought them to the side of the bank, and with his hand on her elbow, they walked to the front doors. An armed guard caught sight of them and immediately unlocked the doors.
“Good morn, Miss Fletcher. Daniel said you’d be paying us a visit,” the guard said with a friendly smile.
She returned his smile and glanced at the name tag on his shirt. “Thank you, Angus. Is Daniel waiting for me in his office?”
“Nay, ma’am,” he said as he locked the door behind them. “He knew you’d be in a hurry so he brought everything down here. It’ll be the third door on your right.”
Saffron started to walk to where Angus had pointed when she glanced at Fallon and saw his frown. “What is it?”
“I doona know. I thought I’d feel better about us being here alone, but something feels … off.”
“It’s a huge building, and when there aren’t many people it can feel that way.”
He grunted in response.
Saffron adjusted the clutch in her hand as they reached the third door. Inside was Daniel but also another man that looked vaguely familiar.
She didn’t think anything about it since she had been to the bank several times before she’d been taken. “Thank you for seeing me so early, Daniel. Shall we get started?”
Something popped and Fallon clutched his stomach and bent over. Saffron glanced down to see blood seep through his fingers.
Fallon lifted his stunned gaze to her. “Run!”
Saffron looked up to see the man she’d thought looked familiar holding a gun, a sadistic smile on his face. It was then she realized he was one of Declan’s men.
She dropped her clutch and turned to run when a figure stepped in her way. The woman had white hair that fell to the floor and eerie white eyes.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the presence of a Seer,” Deirdre said.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-NINE
Camdyn jerked up in his bed as soon as the feel of Saffron’s magic vanished. He jumped off his bed and was out of his cottage a heartbeat later.
He released his god and ran like the wind to the castle. He leaped over the castle wall in one jump. As soon as he landed in the bailey, he was running for the door of the castle.
The door flew open beneath his hands and he rushed into the great hall to see Larena sitting with Lucan and Quinn at the table.
“Where is she?” Camdyn demanded.
Larena looked from her brothers-in-law to Camdyn. “Who?”
“He’s speaking of Saffron,” Quinn said as he stood. “You might want to come hear what Larena is telling us.”
“Tell me she’s all right,” Camdyn urged.
Larena nodded. “Aye. She’s fine.”
He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding and lengthened his strides to walk to the table. He didn’t sit though. Instead, he stood beside Lucan.
Larena tugged on the braid that hung over her shoulder. “As I was just telling Lucan and Quinn, Saffron came to our door this morning and asked Fallon to take her to Edinburgh.”
Camdyn crossed his arms over his chest so that no one could see how his hands shook. She had left. Saffron had left the castle without a word to him.
But what had he expected? He’d exited her bed in the middle of the night.
“Why?” Lucan asked. “Why was it so important for Saffron to go to Edinburgh now?”
Larena clasped her hands together on the table. “She has set up an account for us as well as changed her will. Those papers had to be signed.”
“Does she no’ think she’ll survive the battle?” Quinn asked.
“That’s my guess,” Larena replied. “Saffron looked … distressed. As if something had happened. She did set up the signing early in the morning so no one would be there. It’s safe.”
“Nowhere is safe for her as long as Declan is alive,” Camdyn said.
“Get Broc,” Quinn told Lucan after a glance at Camdyn’s face. “We’ll make sure she’s all right. It’ll calm
Camdyn, and reassure us.”
Camdyn could no longer stand still. He began to pace, each stride making his worry grow until his stomach was in knots. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t dispel the thought that Saffron was in trouble.
“She’s with Fallon,” Larena said. “If something was wrong, Fallon would jump them back here immediately.”
“I know.” And Camdyn did know it but that didn’t stop the unease.
He looked up when he heard footsteps to see Broc and Sonya rushing down the stairs following Lucan. Camdyn drew in a shaky breath and clenched his jaw shut.
Broc’s gaze landed on him. “Give me a moment. I’ll find Saffron.”
Before Broc could begin Fallon appeared in the great hall. But he wasn’t standing. He was lying on the stones with blood covering him.
“Fallon!” Larena screamed, and rushed to his side.
Camdyn stood behind Larena looking down at Fallon as his brothers surrounded him.
“What happened?” Quinn demanded as they all gawked at the blood.
Lucan suddenly pulled back. “I smell drough blood.”
“Shite,” Broc ground out as he moved so Sonya could get to Fallon.
Camdyn could do nothing but watch. Fallon was fading fast. Sonya’s magic washed through the hall as she used her gift of healing.
“They … have…” Fallon tried.
Camdyn’s gut clenched painfully. “Declan has Saffron, doesn’t he?”
Fallon nodded. “Sorry.”
“Let Sonya heal you,” Camdyn said before he turned and started for the door.
He reached for the knob and started to pull it open when a large hand slammed it shut. Camdyn turned his head to find Hayden on one side of him and Ian on the other.
“You go to her now and they’ll kill you,” Hayden said.
Camdyn growled and spun away from the door. “If I doona go to her there is no telling what they will do to her!”
“I can no’ find her,” Broc said, his voice harsh and sweat covering his face. “Saffron is as hidden as Deirdre and Declan.”
Camdyn didn’t try to suppress Sculel when he broke free. Camdyn embraced his god and smashed his hand into the stone wall. His fist plunged through the rock, breaking bone and cutting his skin.
But he didn’t feel the pain.
Everything inside him was roaring its refusal that Saffron was gone. That Declan had her.
“We have to find her,” he stated as he pulled his hand from the stones.
Ian shook his head. “No’ until Fallon is healed.”
“You doona know what he did to her! I do. She told me, Ian, and I willna sit here while he tortures her again!”
Camdyn realized then how quiet the hall had gotten. He shook his head and looked around to find everyone had gathered in the hall and was watching him. All except Sonya, Fallon, and Larena.
He watched the way Larena hovered over Fallon, holding his hand and kissing his cheek as Sonya healed him.
“I have to find Saffron,” Camdyn said again, more quietly than before.
A hand clamped on his shoulder as Ian nodded. “We will.”
“But you willna do it alone,” Hayden said.
Arran nodded. “Precisely. I want my own shot at Declan for hurting a Druid, especially one as special as Saffron.”
“You better include me in on that,” Ramsey said.
Logan snorted. “Besides, you should know that if something affects one of us, it affects all of us.”
“We will do this for Saffron. And for you,” Galen told him.
Camdyn drew in a ragged breath. They had all conveyed to him that he was part of their family, but Camdyn hadn’t understood what that entailed until that moment.
He hadn’t allowed himself to be a part of them because of his past. What had he missed out on because he’d been so stubborn?
Camdyn looked over at Fallon to find the other Druids had gathered with Sonya to add to her magic. Even Laria had joined in. Larena gave her blood to pour into Fallon’s wound, much like he had done when she’d been dying from drough blood. It was several tense moments later before Fallon took a deep breath.
“The drough blood is fading,” Sonya said as she stood.
It was Larena’s smile as she gazed down at Fallon that told them he was going to be all right. After a kiss that made them all look away, Fallon got to his feet.
He immediately headed to Camdyn. “I knew something was wrong the moment we got there. I should have brought her back then.”
“What happened?” Camdyn asked.
Fallon tore off his blood-soaked shirt and gave it to Lucan to toss into the fire. “Nothing at first. We were allowed into the bank by the security guard who recognized Saffron. It wasna until we were inside the bank that something felt wrong.”
“Did you no’ sense any magic?” Quinn asked.
Fallon slowly shook his head, his eyes full of remorse as he gazed at Camdyn. “I should’ve known they would mask themselves and their magic. We walked into the conference room and one of Declan’s men shot me with the X90 bullet. I told Saffron to run, but before she could, Deirdre was there.”
Camdyn tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. “How did they know?”
“It doesn’t matter how they knew. Deirdre has made the first move,” Laria said.
Arran’s face grew dark with rage. “I thought the battle would be here.”
“I never said where the battle would be,” Laria replied.
Camdyn slashed his arm through the air. “It doesna matter where we battle Deirdre. We all knew it was coming.”
“I warned you to keep Saffron safe,” Laria said as she swung her blue eyes to him.
Fallon held up his hands. “It wasna Camdyn’s fault. I take the blame for Saffron being taken.”
“Nay,” Camdyn said. “It is my fault. Had I no’ left Saffron while she slept she would’ve taken me with her. I vowed to her that I would protect her, and I have no’ done that.”
Laria walked in a small circle as she looked at the Warriors surrounding her. Camdyn narrowed his gaze on her, wondering what she was up to.
“All is not lost,” Laria said.
Beside him, one of Ian’s brows rose. “And how is that?”
“Deirdre knows we will come for the Seer.”
Camdyn let the growl rumble from deep within him. “They willna let her go easily.”
“Nay,” Laria said softly. “If they release her at all.”
He refused to acknowledge those words.
“But if Deirdre is dead surely Declan willna try to hold Saffron,” Ramsey said.
Camdyn squeezed his eyes closed as Laria’s gaze dropped to the floor. The fact that she didn’t reply was answer enough.
But Camdyn had no intention of giving up so easily. He would do whatever it took to free Saffron, even if it meant his own life.
He’d feared allowing himself to feel for Saffron because she would grow old and die as Allison had. He’d never thought she’d be taken by Declan again.
Camdyn could still hear the terror and distress in her voice as she had told him what Declan had done to her. Saffron had survived, but barely. Would she again?
He refused to think along those lines.
His heart was already heavy with the knowledge that she was gone, possibly from him forever. It was enough to make him wish he could turn back time and stay with her instead of sneaking out of her chamber while she slept.
It was enough that he admitted, if just to himself, that Saffron meant more than he had ever thought a woman could mean to him.
He rubbed his chest as the ache, which had begun when he knew she was gone from the castle, increased. It pushed against him, clawing at his insides so that he felt as if he were bleeding from the inside out.
Nothing in his very long life had ever felt so dreadful, so horrific.
Everything he was, everything he had become since meeting Saffron, began to fade. It was as if with her absence the light t
hat had begun to fill his life was leaving.
He’d thought he was a broken man before. Now, he knew he would shatter into a million pieces if he couldn’t have Saffron back in his arms again.
CHAPTER
FORTY
Saffron groaned and tried to put her hand to her head, but was halted, the sound of chains making her eyes fly open.
“No,” she whispered as she found herself in Declan’s prison once more. “No, no, no, no, no.”
The deep chuckle came from the shadows outside her cell door. And with the sound came the terror. Her lungs seized, her heart pounded.
And her soul withered.
“Did you actually think you could escape me?” Declan asked as he shifted into the light.
Saffron tried to swallow, but all the moisture had left her mouth. There was no use in even bothering to answer him. If she fought him, it would only provoke him. If she tried to reason with him, he would only retaliate another way.
Silence was her best option.
“Robbie, I do think the cat has her tongue,” Declan said.
Saffron began to shake as Robbie appeared next to Declan. Robbie balled one fist up and punched it into his other hand. How many times had Robbie’s fists hit her? How many times had his laughter rung in her ears until she had passed out?
There was more movement and Deirdre came into view. She walked to the bars and wound her fingers around the metal. “I had a Seer once.”
Saffron watched a lock of Deirdre’s long, white hair lift and reach for her. It extended, lengthening before her eyes. Saffron turned her face away and pressed herself as close to the wall as she could. But she was trapped.
She’d heard what Deirdre could do with her hair, but when it touched her, the strand merely caressed her cheek.
“Seers are very important,” Deirdre said. “Especially to us. Join us, Saffron, and I’ll free you from those shackles.”
“Never,” Saffron said with as much force as she could despite the tremor in her voice.
Declan chuckled again. “Oh, but Saffron, you should know better than to try and fight me. Remember what happened to you last time? Though I see your eyesight has returned.”
“No thanks to you,” Saffron said through clenched teeth.
The door to her cell swung open with a wave of Declan’s hand and he walked inside. His smile held a sadistic lilt as he squatted in front of her. “I can make this easy, or I can make this hard. The choice is yours, Saffron.”
