between them. Instantly, William calmed.
Quinn rolled his eyes at how easily William did as she bade. He didn’t even balk at being dragged away by two guards. Quinn knew that one day he would kill the Warrior, and he would enjoy it immensely.
“Now,” Deirdre said, gaining his attention. “It’s time you followed me.”
As much as Quinn didn’t want to be around her, he needed to know everything he could so he could tell his brothers and they could kill the evil bitch.
Deirdre didn’t say a word as she led him out of her chamber and down several hallways until they came to an archway that held a set of double doors.
The doors swung open as Deirdre neared. Quinn stepped over the threshold and looked in revulsion and wonder at the woman that hovered over the floor, surrounded by onyx flames.
“Isn’t she magnificent?” Deirdre asked.
Quinn wasn’t sure what he was looking at. “Who is she?”
“She was a Druid, a
“As in seeing into the future?”
Deirdre shrugged. “Of sorts.”
“And you are using her ability?”
“Of course.”
Quinn moved closer to the woman. Her eyes were open, but they stared unseeing at the opposite wall. Her long, black hair floated around her as if she were in water, and her gown proved that she had been held for several centuries, if not longer.
There was something about the woman that looked familiar, as if he had seen her before. She was young, her skin fair and unblemished. Her arms hung by her sides while the black flames, which almost didn’t look real, licked at her skin.
Quinn lifted his hand to touch the fire.
“Don’t,” Deirdre warned.
Quinn jerked his gaze to Deirdre. “What are the flames?”
“My magic, Quinn. Strong magic. It holds her in a state of being so that I may use her seer abilities to my advantage while keeping her alive as long as I want.”
He was disgusted with how little Deirdre valued life. “How long have you had her?”
Deirdre smiled. “Not nearly long enough. Does she look familiar to you?”
“She does,” he admitted carefully.
“She is Lavena, Isla’s sister. I imprisoned both of them as well as Lavena’s daughter years ago.”
Quinn ground his teeth at the mention of the child. “And what has become of the child?”
A door opened suddenly and in walked a child with hair so black it shone blue, just as Isla’s and her mother’s did. Ice-cold blue eyes stared at Quinn.
“I thought you said you took them years ago,” Quinn said as he stared at the child of no more than eight.
Deirdre nodded. “I did. Grania will stay this age forever.”
Quinn glanced at the child and saw the same malice in her that he did in Deirdre. He was going to have to use the cunning his father had always commended him on very carefully if he was going to survive the evil around him.
Twenty-five
The slamming of the door still echoed in the Pit long after Quinn had departed. The distress and melancholy that had taken Marcail was hard to break through. Quinn was gone from her again. This time she knew it was for good.
Deep in her heart, she understood the reasons Quinn had given himself to Deirdre were good ones born of love and devotion to the people he cared about. Yet she found herself angry at his brothers for not coming for Quinn before now so he wouldn’t have to give in to Deirdre.
But his brothers weren’t there.
Arran and Duncan had not left Quinn’s cave since he left. Marcail knew they were guarding her, but she didn’t care anymore. Nothing mattered without Quinn.
Marcail blew out a breath and focused on doing the one thing she could to help Quinn and all the Warriors — remembering the spell to bind their gods.
But no matter how long she searched her mind, how many times she thought back over all her grandmother had taught her, Marcail couldn’t find the spell.
She rose from her place on the slab and began to pace the width of the cave, anything to keep from going insane. Her mind was on Quinn, on the sacrifice he had made for all of them, and how she pined for him. It stunned her to realize she missed him more than she missed her family or her grandmother.
“You care for him very much, doona you?” Duncan asked.
Marcail swung her head around to find the pale blue Warrior watching her. “I do. Very much.” More than she ever imagined possible.
Duncan nodded. “It is obvious he cares for you as well.”
“Quinn feels protective of me, aye,” Marcail said. “He cares because he needs to keep me safe so I may help end all of this.”
Duncan snorted and shook his head slowly. “Believe that if you will, Druid, but I’ve seen Quinn and how he watches you. He cares.”
Marcail wanted it to be true, to the very depths of her soul she prayed it was true, but she knew the reality. She was nothing more than someone who had given Quinn comfort in a dark, evil place.
Quinn had awakened something within her she hadn’t known she had. She craved his touch, his kisses, his body. She loved the way his pale green eyes looked at her. She loved the way his brown hair was too long and tended to land in his face. She loved the way he commanded such power and authority that every other man near him knew Quinn could best them. She loved the way he put himself in harm’s way just to protect her and the ones he loved.
She loved…him.
Marcail grabbed the wall as the truth hit her. Love? She had never thought to know what it meant to fall in love with a man, and it had happened without her even knowing it.
“Marcail?” Arran said as he came toward her. “You’ve gone pale.”
“I love him,” she whispered. “I…love him. And I’ve lost him.”
Duncan’s large hand took her arm as he was careful to keep his claws from cutting her gown. “You need to sit.”
“I’ve been doing too much sitting,” she said and pulled her arm from his grasp. “I need to do something. Anything.”
“Then remember the spell,” Arran said. “It’s the only thing that will help Quinn now.”
Marcail shook her head. “I’ve been trying, Arran. I don’t know what my grandmother did, but it’s buried deep. Too deep, I’m afraid.”
Quinn searched Grania’s face for any of the innocence that always surrounded children, but all he saw was the taint of malevolence. “Were you so desperate for a child that you had to keep her this way?” he asked Deirdre as he pointed to Grania.
Deirdre laughed. “Now come, Quinn. You know I only do things that benefit me. I had my reasons for keeping Grania this age, and those reasons haven’t changed. In fact, I doubt they ever will. Grania is…well, let’s just say she keeps certain people doing as they should.”
He knew she meant Isla. It was the only explanation. “Have her leave.” He couldn’t stand to look at the child
