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Fern jumped to her feet with a sharp scream, falling backwards and scrambling away from the edge.
“Calum!” she screamed into the darkness, watching as his body disappeared with the bean-nighe under the surface of the water.
The wind was so strong that Fern couldn’t stand, forcing her to crawl towards the stream. She couldn’t see any splashing or bubbles coming up from its shallow depths. The bean-nighe and Calum had disappeared.
“Calum!” Fern screamed again, preparing herself to jump into the water. Her eyes were flooded with tears, and she could feel the clearing’s magic pulsing through her veins.
Dunino Den was revolting against their presence. She could hear the runes singing again, taunting her.
‘Leave, leave, leave. Wicked witch, Pictish witch. Leave, leave, leave. Foul prince, dethroned prince. Leave, leave, leave.’
The wicked song rang in her head until she clamped her hands down over her ears. It threatened to drown out her senses, reverberating in Fern’s body until something in her bones rose to meet it.
It was like she was holding onto a live wire—every previous pinprick of magic she had came alive, buzzing through her blood as it cried louder than the forest’s song.
The only thing that Fern focused on was Calum, the feel of him when he sat near her and that pull that existed in her chest towards him.
Fern’s eyes screwed shut as she screamed his name, her vision blurring gold until it condensed to a single point.
Fern was on all-fours and fell to the soft ground with a sharp moan. She summoned the last of her strength and screamed his name into the trees like an offering. Whatever magic she had snapped from her body with sharp cracking noises.
The last thing that she saw was Calum’s body breaking the surface of the water.
Chapter Fifteen
Fern blinked her eyes open. It was still dark, and the rain had increased to a downpour, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. She shivered and realized that her entire body was one enormous bruise.
What happened to me?
“Fuck,” she cursed and tried to push herself to her feet.
“Easy, easy there.” Suddenly, there were warm hands at her sides, and Calum’s low voice cut through the din of the storm. Fern hissed sharply as she let him help her onto her back. Her eyesight was still fuzzy as she tried to focus on Calum’s face. All she could see was the dark mass of his body above hers.
“Can you stand?” he asked gently. There was a sense of urgency in his voice that put Fern on edge.
“I’ll be fine.” She forced the words out, shocked by how hoarse she sounded. Calum supported her as she shakily made her way to her feet, biting her tongue to keep from making another pained sound.
Calum muttered something under his breath as he watched her face contort in discomfort. Fern swayed, and her tenuous grip on consciousness faltered.
“We’ve got to move quickly.” His voice was at her ear now. “Can you walk? We need to get out of the forest now.”
The forest. Fern’s eyes flew open as everything came rushing back to her.
The bean-nighe. Calum. They disappeared under the water…the storm…the magic…
“Calum!” Fern nearly shouted as she turned to look at him clearly for the first time. “Are you okay? What happened? Did you—” A massive, booming roll of thunder cut Fern off. The rain was torrential, and it stung Fern’s skin as it pelted down from the sky.
“We need to go!” Calum snapped again, all the gentleness gone from his voice. “You promised to obey me in the woods, and now is one of those times!” His voice escalated to a shout as he struggled to yell over the sounds of the storm.
There was a piercing crack, and an oak tree crashed to the ground, barely missing them. Fern jumped and Calum grabbed her hand, taking off at a run towards the tree line.
Fern forced herself to keep up, willing her feet to move forward. One after the other. Left, right. Left, right. The wind threatened to knock her to the ground, but Calum’s grip on her was tight as he guided them through the wicked storm.
Time seemed to go on forever, but they emerged from the woods. Fern wanted to fall to her knees. Calum turned back to face her, giving her hand a squeeze as he shouted over the wind.
“To the church!” He pointed at Dunino Parish Church. The tiny building looked even more ominous, backlit by lightning. Fern didn’t respond and only nodded, releasing a shaky breath and following Calum.
