Fallon rubbed his hand over his face. Even though he knew Larena’s wounds were healing, he couldn’t let go of her hand. He would stay by her side until she woke, until he saw with his own eyes that she would live.
“By the stars!” Sonya hissed.
Fallon jerked his head to the Druid. “What is it?”
“Her ring.” Sonya pointed to Larena’s hand.
“What about it?” Lucan asked as he rose to his feet. “Is it worth something?”
Sonya’s hand trembled as she ran a finger over the large milky-white oval stone. “You don’t know what this is?” she asked Fallon.
Fallon shook his head. “I know she never takes it off. It goes everywhere with her.”
“You sought information on the Scroll in Edinburgh. All the time she had it, Fallon. She must be its keeper.”
Fallon looked from Sonya to the ring. He rose on shaky legs and peered into the ring. He saw something inside the stone, just as before.
His heart began to pound in his chest as he remembered telling Larena about wanting the Scroll to help get Quinn released. She had known all along where the Scroll was and that it was real. Fallon had bared his soul to her, and she had hidden the very thing he needed for his brother.
“How?” he croaked out.
“Magic,” Lucan said.
Sonya nodded. “No one would think to look for it there.”
Fallon felt the betrayal all the way to his soul. The realization made his head swim. He needed to get out of the chamber and away from her. He tried to turn and ran into the chair. He would have fallen if not for Lucan’s steady hands.
“What is it?” his brother asked.
Fallon couldn’t tell him what a fool he’d been. “Get me out of here. Now.”
Lucan half dragged, half carried him out of the chamber and into the corridor. “You need to rest.”
“Aye.” And he needed wine.
God, did he ever need the wine now. He had known there would be days when the need overtook him, but learning of what Larena had kept from him made that need overwhelming. He swallowed, his mouth drier than ever. The wine would fix that.
Fallon hated himself for his weakness. He was grateful he wasn’t alone. If Lucan weren’t with him and he could stand on his own two feet, he knew he’d search the castle for his wine.
“What happened in Edinburgh?” Lucan asked as he shouldered open a door to a chamber down the hall and walked inside.
Fallon collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Too much. And not enough.”
Despite her betrayal, he grudgingly realized Larena was only protecting the Scroll. He hadn’t explained his plan in full, and in her place, he would have kept silent about the Scroll as well.
He’d been a fool, a complete and utter fool. Larena would never be his no matter how much he wanted it. And that was probably for the best.
Chapter Thirteen
Deirdre tapped her nails on the stone wall of her mountain. She had been waiting impatiently for James and Broc to bring her the female Warrior.
She smiled. A female. Who could have guessed the gods would have chosen a female? Deirdre certainly hadn’t. She wondered if there were more female Warriors. She would send messages to her spies immediately and have them begin to look.
Deirdre glanced to her right to see one of a select few Druids she hadn’t killed. Isla stood unmoving in the corner, so still she could have been mistaken for a statue.
The girl and her sister had been so innocent when Deirdre had captured them. Isla had eyes that could pierce right through you, and their color, so pale a blue they almost looked colorless, left men speechless.
She had used Isla countless times to break men. And kill others. While Isla’s sister had come in handy as aseer. Deirdre considered sending Isla to Quinn, but thought better of it. Quinn was hers. She didn’t want another female anywhere near him.
Just thinking of Quinn brought a rush of longing to her limbs and dampness between her legs. Ever since Deirdre had first seen Quinn she had coveted him. She had sensed the reckless power inside Quinn, seen the fury that consumed him. He was the perfect partner to rule beside her and fulfill the prophecy.
And she would convince him.
Deirdre leaned her face against the cool rocks and closed her eyes.
She relaxed shoulders she hadn’t realized were tense. The stones had a way of soothing her as nothing else could. It was one of the reasons she didn’t leave her mountain. Why should she when she had her kingdom all around her?
Deirdre whirled away from the stones and faced the doorway. This was twice her Warriors had returned without her prize. First, it was Cara, and now Larena Monroe.
James’s tall, thick body filled the doorway. He paused and bowed his head before he moved into the light. The candles from the chandelier that hung from the ceiling shed its golden light on his pale green skin.
“Where is she?” Deirdre demanded.
“Ask James,” Broc said as he entered the chamber.
Deirdre shifted her gaze to the blue-skinned Warrior. She longed to touch his wings as his cock filled her. Maybe tonight she would take him to her bed. “Tell me,” she demanded of James.
“She fought back.”
Deirdre raised a brow. “And you expected she wouldn’t? I told you she was a female Warrior. Didn’t she transform in front of you?”
James gave a nonchalant shrug. “She’s quick.”
Deirdre blew out a breath and turned to Broc. “Tell me what happened.”
“James cut her with the claws he dipped in
Rage consumed her. How could James have been so stupid? Deirdre raised her hand, her magic rushing through her, and James slammed against the stones with the force of her power. None of them knew just what kind of dark magic dwelled within her. Maybe it was time they learned.
“Bind him,” she ordered the mountain.
James began to scream as the stones moved to lock around his arms, legs, and head. When he was secure Deirdre moved to stand in front of him. He dangled a few feet off the floor as he continued to try to jerk free of the rocks.
“The only way you’ll get loose is if Larena lives. If she dies, James, the torture I have for you will last for centuries.”
The Warrior swallowed and lowered his eyes to the floor. Deirdre turned away and tried to rein in her anger. The Warriors were hers because they couldn’t control the fury inside them, and that wrath sometimes prevented them from bringing her what she wanted.
“Broc, where is Larena now?”
The winged Warrior shrugged and crossed his arms over his thick chest. “We know Larena and Fallon have been spending time together. There is the possibility that he took her back to his castle.”
“Find out,” she demanded. “I need to know whether Larena is alive. I need her in my army, Broc. Do you understand?”
