doona need to read his mind to see that. It’s in his eyes.” Galen forgot all about responding to Fallon when he caught sight of Reaghan with Marcail and Sonya. She stood on the castle steps, a smile on her face as she took in everything and everyone.
Her gaze moved over him. In a blink, she jerked her eyes back to him. Her smile widened and her gaze softened. All he could think about was getting her alone and kissing her.
And he was going to make sure that happened very soon.
TWENTY-THREE
Reaghan was overwhelmed, besieged. She hadn’t wanted to depart for MacLeod Castle without Galen. He was her anchor in the storm that was now her life. Without him, she felt adrift.
Lost. Alone.
Fallon hadn’t given her much time to think. One moment she was looking at Galen, and the next she was standing in the middle of a large bailey with people milling about.
Reaghan had seen a bailey before. She knew how they bustled with activity from men training, children playing, and women gossiping as they went about their daily chores.
She knew the sound of a blacksmith’s hammer as it pounded iron. She knew the smell of horses and hay from the nearby stables. She knew the feel of the cool stones beneath her feet as she ran barefoot across the bailey.
She knew there was a door in the castle wall — a postern door — that led outside.
Her world began to spin viciously as her mind rocked from the knowledge. She knew MacLeod Castle because sometime in her life she had been there. The spell she had cast that erased her memories kept her from remembering when and why she had been at the castle.
The voices around her faded as her blood pounded in her ears. Her hands dampened and her stomach pitched to her feet as panic consumed her. Because she was the artifact.
How? Why? What did she know that Deirdre sought? What had been so important that Reaghan would do this to herself?
She stumbled trying to get away, trying to find Galen in the chaos.
“Deep breaths,” said a soft, feminine voice Reaghan didn’t recognize as gentle hands took hold of her arms. “It’ll be all right.”
Reaghan swallowed past the lump of dread in her throat. She focused her eyes on one stone in the bailey wall while she tried to make the world stop spinning. “Galen.”
“He’ll be here soon. I promise. Until then come and sit.”
Reaghan allowed the woman to guide her to the castle steps. She was overcome with fear of what she was and what she had done to herself, but mercifully, the dizziness halted and the world righted itself. She took a few moments and let her gaze take in her surroundings.
The sight that greeted Reaghan was spectacular. She recalled the many times she had looked across Loch Awe at MacIntosh Castle and wanted to see the inside of it.
Now, she was within the walls of one of the most infamous castles in all of Scotland. There was so much to explore, so much to experience at MacLeod Castle.
Her terror still gripped her, but it was the knowledge of where she was and who surrounded her that allowed Reaghan to push the apprehension aside and take everything in.
Reaghan swiveled her head to find a woman with chestnut curls and mahogany eyes beside her. There was a low current of something … energizing. A memory crept up in her consciousness like a twisting funnel of smoke, a recollection of what surrounded, of what beat inside the heart of MacLeod Castle.
Reaghan’s skin prickled with excitement. She was with another Druid. And she could sense her magic.
“I’m Cara,” the Druid said, “Lucan’s wife. Are you better now?”
“Aye,” Reaghan answered. “Much. Thank you.”
Cara waved away her words. “Sometimes jumping with Fallon leaves people light-headed.”
Reaghan remembered Galen had said they called Fallon’s power “jumping.” “I’m Reaghan.”
“Reaghan,” Cara said with a wide, friendly smile. “It is so nice to have more Druids here. I’ll introduce you to the others as soon as you feel up to it.”
Reaghan looked over to find Fallon had appeared in the bailey again, this time with Mairi and three others. Reaghan watched as the people of her village were welcomed into the castle.
“I’m eager to meet more Druids. We thought we were the last.”
“Not the last, but close,” Cara said as she waved a petite woman over. “This is Marcail, my sister by marriage. Marcail, this is Reaghan.”
Marcail winked at Cara, their friendship obvious, as she lowered herself to the steps beside them. “Hello, Reaghan, I’m married to Quinn.”
“Hello,” Reaghan said. She couldn’t stop staring at the numerous small braids which graced the crown of Marcail’s dark head. “I apologize for staring. It’s just that I’ve seen those kinds of braids before.”
Marcail’s brow furrowed as she shared a look with Cara. “Do you know where? In my village, only Druids with the most magic had such a custom.”
Reaghan shrugged as she racked her mind to try and recall where she had seen the braids. To recognize things, but not be able to know why was frustrating. Maybe if she concentrated more she could break the walls of her spell. She smiled as she realized she did have magic. She had to have it in order to cast such a spell. “I can’t remember, but I know I’ve seen such braids before.”
“It’s no matter,” Cara said. “It will come to you later. There are so many people to introduce you to. We have twelve Warriors who live at the castle, well, thirteen if you count Larena.”
“And Malcolm,” Marcail interjected.
Cara nodded. “Malcolm is Larena’s cousin, and the only mortal man.”
“Galen told me.” Reaghan had never met anyone who was so open and welcoming before. These Druids didn’t know of her past, of who she was. She hoped she could become friends with these women. “He also said there were other Druids.”
Marcail pointed to the middle of the bailey. “The woman with the thick braid of red hair is Sonya. She’s our healer.”
“Aye. Then there is also Isla.” Cara looked around the bailey. “Isla is the tiny one with black hair standing next to the blond giant.”
It was said with a smile, and Reaghan had no difficulty identifying Isla. “And you all have magic?”
“We do,” Marcail answered. “Is it not the same in your village?”
Reaghan glanced away and shook her head. “Most have very little magic. I … I have some.”
Marcail stood and smiled as a man bounded up the steps to her side. He had wavy, light brown hair and pale green eyes. She could see a resemblance between him and Fallon, and it didn’t take long for Reaghan to realize the man was the youngest MacLeod.
“Quinn, this is Reaghan,” Marcail said. “Reaghan, this is my husband, Quinn.”
Reaghan rose to her feet and inclined her head. “Thank you for opening your home to us.”
“All Druids are welcome here,” Quinn replied with an easy, sincere smile.
“All Druids?” Cara asked with a smile.
Quinn rolled his eyes as Marcail began to laugh. Reaghan found herself smiling as she recognized they were speaking of Deirdre.
Warmth, like a lover’s touch, spread over Reaghan of a sudden. She knew without looking that Galen had arrived. She turned, searching for him. It was his cobalt eyes that caught her attention as her gaze found him.
He stood with Fallon, Broc, and Logan in the middle of the bailey, surrounded by the Druids from her village. But all she saw was Galen.
