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Lying back, he shuddered, wiping a shaking hand down his face, his body clammy with sweat. A niggling thought teased the edge of his mind. Something he should remember. Something important that had only come to him in his sleep.
A woman’s voice broke the silence, clear and sharp like a stone upon a sword, and the ghost of a thought vanished.
Do we blame the eagle for killing the hare? The wolf for bringing down the deer? We say it is their nature and accept. So it is with the soldier and his war. He does what is in his nature to do.
Scathach.
The warrior-woman stood at the window, arms clasped behind her, her black hair free and rippling down her back. She turned, and he realized by the expression on her face that her words came from within. She’d spoken to him mind to mind.
He flung himself forward, the room tilting, the pain in his head like a fork to the brain. “Where’s Morgan? Is she safe?”
He’d risen halfway before she took him by the shoulders, eased him back onto the mattress, her grip like steel. Or he was a hell of a sight weaker than he thought.
Once he was back in bed, her inhuman gaze held him there. “She is with the young ensign. And she is well. We worried over you.”
He tried remembering in reverse order.
The never-ending walk through town, Morgan’s weight in his arms easy compared to the feeling that his body disintegrated with every footstep.
Back to the shocking intrusion of the giant in their room.
Back to—
He closed his eyes, groaned in disgust. Had he really been caught with his hands down Morgan’s breeks? Talk about the disaster of the century.
This whole working as a team thing was going so well to begin with. Why not add some meaningless sex to the mix? Make it really enjoyable.
“How long have I been here?”
“A day only. When you did not wake, Morgan grew worried and summoned me.”
“So you know about…”
“She has told me everything.” And he swore she smiled as she said it.
He took a deep breath, letting the slow expand and contract of his lungs calm his racing thoughts.
“You have hurt Morgan once, Colonel Sinclair,” she said. “Who can say you will not do so again?”
This was definitely not the conversation he wanted to be having. And not now. There wasn’t a point on his body that didn’t ache. His head, especially, felt fragile as an egg. “I never meant to. And I’d make it up to her if I thought she’d listen.”
She raised a surprised brow. “You’ve told her this?”
“She’s been too busy telling me what a bastard I am to listen to anything I have to say.”
A serene smile tipped the corners of her lips. Lit the inscrutable black of her eyes.
He met her gaze, refusing to be intimidated, though she was the most intimidating woman he’d ever met. His hand went to the cross at his neck as if it could ward her off.
“Your God has no fear of my power,” she said indulgently, her voice soft with laughter, “yet neither do I fear him.” Her face grew stern, the cold perfection of every feature almost painful. “Morgan will move on if she’s given no choice. No encouragement.”
“You think I encouraged her?” He started up, the throbbing stab in his head bringing tears to his eyes.
“Your presence is encouragement enough to one as volatile as Morgan.” She moved toward the door like some great black cat, pausing to turn back before she left. “Just bear in mind, Colonel. She leads with her heart. It is a great strength, but it leaves her vulnerable to great pain. Betrayal—whether it be by friend or by lover—cuts her deeply. That is why this mission preys upon her so. For now, she is confronted by both.”
Alone again, Cam was bothered by his earlier jangled senses. What had he missed? What had he discovered? It lurked at the corners of his brain, fading each time he reached for it. If he relaxed, thought of something else, mayhap the memory would clear. He lay back. Thought of Scathach. The idea that he’d encouraged Morgan. Hell, she’d done everything but beg for it. A few more uninterrupted minutes and—his mind jumped to the attack. To the muscle-bound giant with the power to strip Cam to bones. Skipped forward, clicking piece by piece into place like a p
uzzle. What had Scathach said? Betrayal by a friend. A warrior who commanded magic. One who’d called Morgan by name.
