“Nay,” Ramsey whispered to himself. He couldn’t envision the man that had become more a brother than a friend doing that to him.
He waited for half an hour to see if his friend would appear before Ramsey turned on his heel and raced to the castle to check on Larena’s progress.
Fallon laid Larena on his bed in the master chamber. Lucan had proclaimed it Fallon’s the moment they had returned to the castle, but Fallon hadn’t wanted it. The chamber reminded him too much of his parents. Lucan had insisted, however, saying Fallon was his laird after all.
Fallon tried to swallow as he looked at Larena’s pale form on the large bed. Just a few hours earlier he had held her in his arms and revealed things he hadn’t even told his brothers. He had made love to her sweet body, kissing and caressing her soft skin. He had heard her cries of ecstasy and filled her with his seed.
He glanced at her wound to find the blood had been reduced to just a trickle, but with all the blood that was on her clothes and in her chamber back in Edinburgh he was surprised she had any left.
The door opened and Sonya and Cara entered. Cara came to stand beside him as Sonya moved to the other side of the bed.
“Please. Help her,” Fallon said. He was prepared to beg if necessary.
Sonya looked up at him and nodded. “I will do my best.”
He prayed that would be enough.
Cara tried to get him to sit, but when he refused, she took his hand in both of hers. Fallon wanted to pull away, he should have pulled away, but he needed the strength Cara gave him.
He waited in the silence of the chamber as Sonya examined Larena’s wounds. For the most part, Sonya kept her face passive, but Fallon caught her grimaces. His gut clenched each time. He could feel his world falling apart again, and this time, he knew, he wouldn’t survive it.
With Larena he had tried to be the man he’d always wanted to be, had put the past behind him and looked to the future. Now, all of that was fading away, as it had the day his clan had been destroyed.
The need for a bottle of wine was so fierce he shook with it. But he wouldn’t leave Larena.
Sonya placed her hands over the wounds and closed her eyes. A few moments later Cara joined her. Fallon shifted from one foot to the other as the two Druids poured their magic into Larena.
An eternity later Sonya opened her eyes to look at Fallon. Her face was lined with worry and stress from using so much of her magic. Sonya wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and blew out a breath. “She’s lost too much blood to heal herself. All the magic in the world won’t help her now.”
“Then what will?” Fallon asked.
Sonya shrugged. “She needs blood.”
Fallon stepped to the bed and jerked up the sleeve of his tunic. “Use mine.”
“And mine if needed,” Lucan said behind him.
Fallon looked over his shoulder to find Lucan standing in the doorway. His brother gave him a nod of encouragement. Fallon returned the nod, and then looked at Sonya. “What are you waiting for?”
“It could take a lot.”
“I doona care,” Fallon stated. “Just do it. Every moment we waste arguing is putting her closer to death. I cannot lose her, Sonya.”
The Druid took a deep breath and reached for the blade in her boot when Lucan stepped forward.
“Let me,” Lucan said as he extended a claw and held it over Fallon’s arm.
Fallon met his brother’s gaze a heartbeat before Lucan sliced open his arm. The slash was quick and went deep. Fallon clenched his teeth together and kept his gaze on Larena’s face. The small amount of pain he suffered was worth it. The blood that seeped from his cut was dark and fell in a rush. Sonya moved his arm so the blood would flow over Larena’s wounds.
It didn’t take long for his wound to begin to heal. Lucan quickly scored his flesh again and again and again. Sonya held his arm steady so they didn’t waste any of the blood.
The chamber began to swim and Fallon swayed on his feet. Lucan was there to steady him with an arm around his back.
“It’s not going to be enough,” Sonya said. “Lucan, we may need you.”
“Nay,” Fallon said. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. “My blood. Only my blood.”
“You’re going to kill yourself,” Lucan said in his ear. “Be reasonable, Fallon.”
But Fallon shook his head. He didn’t have his brother’s strength, but he wanted Larena to have whatever potency was in his blood to make up for nearly getting her killed. “She’s mine to protect, Lucan. She’ll only have my blood.”
Fallon’s knees buckled before he finished speaking. Lucan held him as Cara rushed to get a chair. Once the chair was beneath him, Lucan let him slump in the seat. Fallon leaned on the bed and reached for Larena’s hand with his good arm.
He glanced at Sonya to find that she held his other arm up for him. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep, but that was a luxury for later.
“My cut is closing,” he told Sonya.
She looked at Larena’s wounds before she spoke. “Let’s see if this will be enough before you slice yourself again.”
Fallon was glad Lucan was there. He had missed his brother dearly while he had been gone, and there was so much he wanted to tell Lucan. Fallon hated that he hadn’t accomplished his goals while in Edinburgh. Yet, he had found Larena.
Or rather, she had found him.
He tried to squeeze her hand, but his strength was rapidly departing. His gaze lifted to her face to find the color was returning, but slower than he wanted.
“Fallon.”
He felt Lucan’s hand on his shoulder. Always the rock, the steady one. It should have been Lucan who was firstborn. He would have known what decisions to make, and he wouldn’t have neglected his brothers for a bottle of wine.
“You’re about to pass out,” Lucan said as he came to kneel in front of Fallon. “You arna going to do Larena any good if you’re dead.”
Fallon didn’t disagree with him on that score. Though he wanted to be the one to save Larena, he knew it was selfish not to allow Lucan to help. “If she needs more…?”
“I’ll help any way I can,” Lucan said before Fallon could finish. “You know that, brother. You shouldna even have to ask.”
But Fallon did have to ask. He needed to prove to everyone, including himself, but most especially his brothers, that he was the man his father had taught him to be. A leader. A man who considered all possibilities and made the wisest decisions.
“Her wounds are closing,” Sonya said into the quiet of the chamber.
Cara clasped her hands together. “Thank God.”
Fallon cradled his cut arm against his chest once Sonya released him. All that was left of the last gash was puckered pink skin that would fade in the next few moments.
Sonya laid her hand on Larena’s forehead before moving her fingers to Larena’s neck. “She doesn’t have a fever and her heart is beating faster. I think she’s going to make it, Fallon.”
“Thank you,” he said to the Druid. “I don’t know how to repay you.”
Sonya smiled and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. “You’ve given me a home. This is the least I can do. Now, Cara and I used some magic to help speed up the healing. With the blood in her now, within a few hours she should be healed.” She paused for a moment. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
He shook his head. Sonya couldn’t heal the wound inside him, the cut that had nearly broken him in half at seeing Larena all but dead. Only time would help him. Time and Larena back in his arms.
“As you wish.” She took a strip of cloth and dunked it in water. She wrung it out and began to clean the blood off Larena’s arms and face.
Cara walked to the door. “I’ll go see if I can find our new guest something to wear.”
