to move all her makeup onto the vanity before taking it back into the bathroom, then finally deciding it should be on the vanity.
Saffron was a ball of nerves, her body throbbing with need. Every sound she heard she found herself looking to the door wondering if Camdyn was going to come back. Even when she knew he wasn’t.
What was it about the Warrior that attracted her so? He was solemn, rarely smiling, and liked to keep to himself. He worked well with others because all the Warriors liked him, but even so, Camdyn was a loner.
Maybe that’s what it was. Saffron was also sort of a loner. She hadn’t started off that way, but as she grew older and discovered people only wanted to be her friend because of her money she began to distance herself from people.
It made it less likely that she would get hurt that way. But it also made life lonely.
She had thought she’d had a few true friends, but even they had dropped by the wayside when she rebelled against her family and gone on a European tour. Alone.
Saffron couldn’t help but wonder if Declan would have convinced her as easily as he had if she’d had someone with her. Most likely, she never would have been in the small southwesterly town of Oban since it was so out of the way. She had been driving to the Isle of Skye, and going to Oban required a significant detour.
But she had heard so many great things about Oban from locals that she decided to see for herself.
Where would she be now if Declan hadn’t imprisoned her? Would she be back home? Married maybe? With a career in her father’s business as he had wanted?
Saffron knew it was pointless to think about what could have been, but it was easier than allowing her memories of the three years prior to pull her under. Which they always did.
She lowered herself in front of the fire and stared into the flames. There was something mesmerizing about a fire and the flicker of the flames.
It pulled her mind away from her tangle of thoughts and let her wander. She didn’t know how long she sat there before she heard the sound of drums and the distant murmur of chanting.
Her magic instantly reached out to it, pulling her with it as the chanting and drums grew louder. It hypnotized her, until her eyes closed.
She could feel the magic swirling faster and faster inside her, growing stronger and stronger each moment. The louder the drums beat the more her magic surged. And the chanting seemed to suddenly come from all around her. Enveloping her. Encircling her.
Enfolding her.
The many visions she’d had over the years zoomed through her mind’s eye. People she hadn’t known and couldn’t help, families she had diverted from disaster. All of them were wound together like a huge funnel in her mind before disappearing.
But some remained.
The visions she’d had of Deirdre, Declan, and anyone else involved in this war now were in the forefront of her mind. She saw them differently, examining every particle of the visions in the hope of finding some clue or missed message.
She felt the visions more than before. Declan’s shouting was louder, and Deirdre’s rages made her quake inside. Everything was amplified so she felt it twenty times more than before.
Her head began to pound, and she tried to pull away. However, the chanting only grew louder, taking away her pain and her fear.
“Who are you?” she asked the invisible force she could feel around her.
“The ancients,” the thousands of voices answered between the chants.
For the first time in so very long Saffron found a place where she could let herself go, where her magic was stronger, and where she could be completely safe.
Somehow, instinctively, she knew neither Declan nor Deirdre would ever be able to reach her where she was. No one would be able to hurt her again.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Declan reclined on his leather couch in his office staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the snow that continued to fall. With one arm resting along the
Saffron was a ball of nerves, her body throbbing with need. Every sound she heard she found herself looking to the door wondering if Camdyn was going to come back. Even when she knew he wasn’t.
What was it about the Warrior that attracted her so? He was solemn, rarely smiling, and liked to keep to himself. He worked well with others because all the Warriors liked him, but even so, Camdyn was a loner.
Maybe that’s what it was. Saffron was also sort of a loner. She hadn’t started off that way, but as she grew older and discovered people only wanted to be her friend because of her money she began to distance herself from people.
It made it less likely that she would get hurt that way. But it also made life lonely.
She had thought she’d had a few true friends, but even they had dropped by the wayside when she rebelled against her family and gone on a European tour. Alone.
Saffron couldn’t help but wonder if Declan would have convinced her as easily as he had if she’d had someone with her. Most likely, she never would have been in the small southwesterly town of Oban since it was so out of the way. She had been driving to the Isle of Skye, and going to Oban required a significant detour.
But she had heard so many great things about Oban from locals that she decided to see for herself.
Where would she be now if Declan hadn’t imprisoned her? Would she be back home? Married maybe? With a career in her father’s business as he had wanted?
Saffron knew it was pointless to think about what could have been, but it was easier than allowing her memories of the three years prior to pull her under. Which they always did.
She lowered herself in front of the fire and stared into the flames. There was something mesmerizing about a fire and the flicker of the flames.
It pulled her mind away from her tangle of thoughts and let her wander. She didn’t know how long she sat there before she heard the sound of drums and the distant murmur of chanting.
Her magic instantly reached out to it, pulling her with it as the chanting and drums grew louder. It hypnotized her, until her eyes closed.
She could feel the magic swirling faster and faster inside her, growing stronger and stronger each moment. The louder the drums beat the more her magic surged. And the chanting seemed to suddenly come from all around her. Enveloping her. Encircling her.
Enfolding her.
The many visions she’d had over the years zoomed through her mind’s eye. People she hadn’t known and couldn’t help, families she had diverted from disaster. All of them were wound together like a huge funnel in her mind before disappearing.
But some remained.
The visions she’d had of Deirdre, Declan, and anyone else involved in this war now were in the forefront of her mind. She saw them differently, examining every particle of the visions in the hope of finding some clue or missed message.
She felt the visions more than before. Declan’s shouting was louder, and Deirdre’s rages made her quake inside. Everything was amplified so she felt it twenty times more than before.
Her head began to pound, and she tried to pull away. However, the chanting only grew louder, taking away her pain and her fear.
“Who are you?” she asked the invisible force she could feel around her.
“The ancients,” the thousands of voices answered between the chants.
For the first time in so very long Saffron found a place where she could let herself go, where her magic was stronger, and where she could be completely safe.
Somehow, instinctively, she knew neither Declan nor Deirdre would ever be able to reach her where she was. No one would be able to hurt her again.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Declan reclined on his leather couch in his office staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the snow that continued to fall. With one arm resting along the
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