Awaken the Highland Warrior (33 page)

Hurry
. Her voice brushed his mind, and his talisman grew warm against his chest.

She was in there. Druan had locked her in the time vault and it wouldn’t open for a hundred and fifty years, assuming he found the key. Even if he did, he’d be dead by the time she could be released. She would wake as he had, with everything she knew gone, her family and friends dead.

“No!” His roar of anger echoed off the stone. He punched the wall with his fist. Druan had stolen everything else. He would not steal her. Faelan touched the engraved symbols, trying to reach her. He’d take another time vault and get one of the warriors to lock him inside, leaving a note so he and Bree could be awakened at the same time. He didn’t care that it was breaking the rules. He’d face Michael when the time came. Who would do it? Ronan? Faelan’s talisman grew uncomfortably hot.

He remembered the vision of the archangel, the kindness in his eyes, the voice leading him here. Why would Michael bring him to Bree if she couldn’t be rescued? She wasn’t ordinary. She’d saved the world. She’d survived looking at an engaged talisman and destroyed a halfling. The talisman was painful now. He had an idea, but if it didn’t work, he risked killing himself and her, too.

Uttering one last desperate prayer, he readjusted the symbols, setting the talisman to destroy, and aimed it at the lock. The air grew heavy as the words flowed from his tongue. A rumble rolled up through the floor. A flash of white light shot out from his talisman, followed by a loud pop. Colors flashed, blue, orange, and green as Faelan was flung against the wall.

Faelan pulled himself up and stared at the time vault. He grabbed the lid and threw it open. Bree lay inside, her eyes closed, face bruised. A trail of blood ran from her neck, staining her collar. Faelan barely had time to recollect the puncture marks on Russell and the vampires hidden among the demons, when Bree’s eyes flew open, and she screamed. Clawing her way out of the time vault, she shoved past him and ran for the door. Shock dulled his senses. She was halfway through the graveyard when he caught her.

“Bree, stop.” He leapt and grabbed her, pinning her arms when she tried to struggle. They fell over a headstone and crashed to the ground. He rolled on top of her. “It’s me, Faelan.”

She stilled. He eased his hold and leaned back, giving her room to breathe. She lifted her face, but it wasn’t red eyes and fangs he saw. It was terrified green eyes, human eyes that widened with recognition. And he could see the blood was from a gash on her neck.

A tiny sob escaped her lips as she touched his face in disbelief. “You’re not dead. Oh, God, you’re not dead.”

Faelan sat up and pulled her against his hammering chest. She was alive. In his arms, safe. They sat there, clasped together, unable to find words.

“I can’t breathe,” she finally gasped, trying to pull away.

Had the time vault damaged her? Or his talisman? “Are ye hurt?”

“No. You’re crushing me.”

Faelan eased his hold. “I thought I’d lost you.” He patted her face, her hair. “I’m sorry I let you go. I didn’t want Druan to find you. To know how much you mean to me.” His voice was raw, his face damp as he pressed it to hers. Her tears or his, he didn’t know.

“I know.” She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight, then leaned back and gripped his shoulders, panic in her eyes. “Jared is the demon, not Russell.”

“You’re safe now. He’s gone.”

“You destroyed him?”

“I had to. He released the virus.”

Her eyes widened. “He released it?”

“My talisman was already open, or it would have been too late.” She would’ve been the only human to escape annihilation.

“You did it. You saved the world. Wait… what year is it?”

“It’s been only four days.” Four agonizing days.

“What about one hundred and fifty years? And the disk? I heard the guards say Jared hid it in one of the towers.”

“I used the talisman.”

“You aimed it at the vault… while I was in there?”

“It was either that or get Ronan to put me in one, so I could wake with you a hundred and fifty years from now.”

“You can do that?”

“I don’t know. I was going to try. I couldn’t let you go. Did he do this?” Faelan asked, looking at the cut on her neck.

She nodded. “I told him I wasn’t interested in helping him repopulate the world with halflings.”

Faelan remembered Grog and the other body hanging in the castle. Druan’s obsession with Bree had probably saved her life. “Did he… hurt you?”

“I don’t think so. When I woke, someone was carrying me to the time vault. I saw the lid closing and knew I’d never see you, even if you’d escaped.” She looked back at the crypt and shuddered.

Druan had put her inside the time vault awake! Faelan stood and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up. You’ll need rest, and there are things I have to explain.” He swung her up into his arms and carried her across the torn backyard, through the kitchen, and into her bedroom. He put her on the bed and pressed his lips against her forehead. “I’ll be back. I’m going to get a washcloth. I want to clean your wound.”

“I need a shower to wash off this blood.”

“How about a bath after I clean you up a bit?”

She nodded.

“I’ll turn the Jacuzzi on.” He picked up the phone by the bed and took it with him, punching in the numbers as he walked. “I’ve found her,” he said, when Ronan answered. “She’s alive.”

The whoop of joy on the other end made Faelan’s ear ring. It was a welcome change from Ronan’s silence. The entire clan was somber, but Ronan’s reaction was puzzling, as if it were his fault. Faelan had been too busy searching for Bree to find out what disturbed his friend. Faelan found washcloths and first aid supplies while he listened to Ronan yell out the news.

“Where was she?” Ronan asked.

“The time vault.”

“Inside? How the…
What
is she?”

Faelan wasn’t sure himself. “Call off the search. Let Sean know, so he can get word to the other clans. Everyone should get some rest. I’ll catch up later.” Faelan knew Ronan wanted to ask questions, but they would have to wait. Faelan hung up and turned on the Jacuzzi, adjusting the water. He hurried back to her. “I called to let everyone know you’re safe,” he said, brushing her hair from her face. “They’re all here, Ronan, Declan, Duncan, Niall, all of them. Even Cody refused to leave.”

“My mother?”

“She doesn’t know. We wanted to wait…” He’d planned to wait until he knew for certain.

“Did we lose anyone in the battle?”

“Only Angus.” A fact that was remarkable in itself. Faelan cleaned the edges of the gash, cursing Druan when Bree bit back a cry. He wished he could bring the demon back for five minutes. “I’m sorry it was Jared. I know you cared for him. I should have insisted on meeting him.”

“We were so sure it was Russell. How did you get out of the dungeon? I went back, but you were gone.”

Faelan washed off the worst of the blood. “Conall followed you there. He found me.”

“It must have been him trying to get in the secret passage. Is he upset with me?”

“He’s too busy playing the hero.” Faelan grinned, the first in many days, then grew serious again. “I’d be dead if not for both of you. Druan had been waiting all this time for me.”

“He told me he’d been watching the place, and my family, for generations. He killed my grandmother because she wouldn’t let him dig. And Frederick.”

“He killed my father and Ian as well. And Alana’s first son.”

“Oh, Faelan.”

“They didn’t want to tell me until after Druan was gone, but I found my father’s pocket watch in your bedroom.” Faelan checked to see if the cut needed stitching. Probably not, but it might leave a scar.

“The only pocket watch I have belonged to… McGowan. He was—”

“My father.” Faelan swallowed. “He used the name so he wouldn’t be recognized.”

“That’s why he spent so much time in the graveyard, to be near you. Then it was your brother who found him. Remember, Isabel said he was so sad, and she thought she’d seen him somewhere.”

“It must have been Tavis. He looks like me. And Isabel did see me, a few days before I was suspended. When I met Grog at the tavern, Isabel, Frederick, and another man, probably Samuel, were getting out of their carriage. Isabel dropped her handbag. Which, by the way, was nearly as big as that thing you tote around. I helped her gather her things. She had the journal with her.”

“You met Isabel? Why didn’t you tell me? What was she like? What did she say?”

She would drive him mad with her curiosity, but God, he loved her. “I wasn’t paying much attention. I was too worried about Grog. Your bath is ready.” He carried her to the bathroom and helped her undress, feeling guilty for how her naked form affected him when he should be satisfied she was alive. He eased her into the bubbling water, soaking himself in the process. He took off his wet shirt and sat on the side of the tub, tempted to climb in with her. She didn’t need that now. She needed to heal. He discreetly adjusted his sporran and reached for her hand.

“There are things I need to say.” How did he explain what he felt for her? It was too big for words. More than just wanting to make a home with her, see dark-haired babies at her breast, and grow old with her. His very soul was connected to hers. But what if she didn’t want him? This was a different time. Women wanted more than a father for their children and a home. How would he survive if she turned him down? He took a breath for courage and spoke. “I can’t go back to my own time. I wouldn’t, even if I could. I belong here. With you. I know you’re… independent, and I’ll have to change the way I think about some things, but you’re mine. I mean, I’m yours. We belong together.”

“But what about mates?”

“You are my mate. I knew it the minute I saw you, but I didn’t trust my feelings, since you weren’t from my clan. Or my time.”

“You saw it in my eyes, like Ronan said?”

Faelan frowned. “Why were you talking to Ronan about mates?”

“He and Coira were explaining how it works.”

“I did see it in your eyes, but I thought it was the time vault messing with my senses. Then I got the mark on my neck. A mate mark. It didn’t seem possible.”

“What about the whole related-to-the-clan thing?”

“That’s where it gets interesting. I found Isabel’s journal. I’m sure you’ve read the genealogy chart in the front. Samuel Wood, his name was really Samuel Ellwood.”

“Yes. Samuel’s father, Nigel, was murdered, and his mother shortened the name to Wood. We assumed it had something to do with her husband’s death. I’d hoped Isabel would mention something more about it in her journal.”

“Nigel Ellwood was a Watcher from my clan. He disappeared before I was born.”

Bree gasped. “Isabel’s grandfather was related to you? That means I’m related to you.”

“Distantly,” Faelan said, feeling like his smile would touch his ears.

“This is incredible.”

“Aye. It explains a lot of inexplicable things. You remember asking what I was thinking of in Alana’s portrait? I don’t know how, but I was thinking about you, even before you were born. I suspect I had been, all the time I waited for you to free me.”

“Oh my. But what about Sorcha? I thought there was something—”

“Sorcha’s a cousin. That’s all.”

“I saw you go into her room.”

“She’d dreamed about you. She was afraid you were in danger. That’s why I sent you away. I thought you’d be safer far from me. Then, when I saw you in bed with Druan in the castle, God forgive me, I thought you were working with him. Sorcha’s the one who made me realize Druan was playing a game.”

“I… I was in Druan’s bed?”

“He did it to torment me.” At least he hoped that was why. “I know how foolish it sounds, now, but all the coincidences… I’m sorry. I betrayed your trust. I doubted you. If you can’t forgive me, I understand, but know that I love you with all my heart, with all my soul, and I always will. If you’ll have me, I’ll get a job. I can raise horses, and I’ll finish the house for you. Or we can move somewhere else.” Sean had offered him the castle in Scotland, and told Faelan there was much to talk about. But Bree would most likely want to stay here. Where Bree went, so would he.

Her eyes glistened, but a smile teased her lips. “Well, I hear you’re rich.” She rubbed a finger over his arm, leaving a wet trail.

“I am?” he asked, confused.

“Ronan said your money’s been invested all this time, and Nandor was a busy stallion.”

“You’ve been talking to Ronan a lot. Why didn’t he tell me?” Ronan had pointed out, in painful detail, every mistake Faelan had made with Bree.

“You’ll have to ask him, but I suspect they didn’t want you distracted.”

Money had been the least of anyone’s worries over the last four days. He didn’t care about being rich, but it would be a relief to take care of Bree for a change, fix her house, repay her for the clothes and food, buy her gifts—starting with a wedding ring, he hoped—provide for however many babies she would give him. Assuming he could father children after more than a century in the time vault, and that Bree would have him. She still hadn’t said.

“I’m kidding. I don’t care if you don’t have a penny to your name. I love you. I think I’ve loved you all my life.” She raised a wet hand, placing it over his heart. He felt that odd tingle he sometimes got when she touched him. “‘
God grant this warrior’s aim be as true as his heart. Bend time and bring forward, his mate beside him, not apart,
’” she said, moving her hands across his battle marks as if reading Braille. “That’s me. Not even time could separate us.”

“Don’t tell me you read my battle marks. No one can read battle marks.”

“Maybe something happened to yours in the time vault, like with your talisman.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my talisman. Destroying Druan proved that. It must have been Michael.”

“The warrior?” She frowned.

“The archangel.”

“As in the Archangel Michael?” Bree blinked. “That’s the Michael you were talking about?”

“He commands the warriors, gives us our orders.”

“You’re kidding! Michael’s my favorite angel.”

Most women had favorite books or dresses. She had favorite graves and angels. “He’s the reason I found you,” Faelan said. “I went to look for your earring, which I have here.” He patted his sporran. “Michael showed me that you were in the time vault.”

“Michael told you I was there?” She pulled in a quick breath. “He knows me… wait, does he kind of… glow?”

“Aye. He’s very bright.”

“He must be my shiny man, from my dreams. He was there when I was locked in the crypt.”

Faelan stared at her. “You saw Michael?”

“When I was a kid, in my dreams, or whatever they were, he told me I was destined to find something great. In the crypt, he told me my father had died, but he’d sent me another protector. He showed me your eyes. Then, you were there in one of my dreams with him. Druan was there too.”

“Damnation. You wrote a letter and hid it underneath the floorboard where I found the necklace.”

“Yes. But I didn’t remember any of this until Scotland. I guess I blocked it out after the crypt. Michael must be the one who told me what your symbols mean. I know what the symbols on the time vault say, too, or some of them.
What lies within cannot be, until time has passed with the key.
”

“How the…?” He didn’t often shiver, but he did now. She’d done things no one in the history of the clan had ever done. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Then use those lips for something else and kiss me.”

She loved him. He’d figure the rest out later. He dropped to his knees beside the tub, as she’d done days ago. “Yesterday was my
twenty-eighth
birthday.”