Page 49 of Druid Cursed

CHAPTER

Rain streamed in rivulets down Kellen’s scalp to his neck, soaking his shirt.

He ripped the sopping garment off and tossed it among the heather at the end of the garden’s pebbled path.

The chill on his bare skin could not worsen the frozen wasteland inside him.

He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the angry, weeping sky.

All he wanted, tauntingly close…and utterly out of reach. After lifetimes of watching, waiting, anticipating the other half of his soul, he had ceased believing she existed. Now he had to let Maggie go and spend eternity without her.

Caedmon would not cease battling Sorcha until his very last breath, would continue seeking a manner to free him no matter how futile, but he could not stand alone for long.

Eventually, he would fall, his bones joining those of their ancestors.

The land they were born to protect would be tormented and poisoned, raped of aught that was good and twisted to suit a witch who sought only her own evil.

Without its druid wardens, the realm and all within it were doomed to darkness and death.

And Maggie would never know how profoundly he loved her. Not due to any twist of fate or witch’s foul spell, but because of who she was. The brave woman he’d come to know.

His chest collapsed, making each breath a symphony of pain. Even knowing ’twas the right decision, it cut him to the marrow and left him bloody.

A spear of white-blue lightning burst behind his eyelids. As thunder cracked through earth and air, he roared his anguish into the storm. The rumble died with his voice, leaving the musical patter of rain on rocks and oak leaves.

With the quiet came the inexorable pull from his prison, hours early.

Kellen sucked in a jagged breath and strove not to panic as pressure crept along his bones.

Samhain and the full strength of the new moon were not until midnight.

He had done naught to impact Caedmon’s counter-spell holding him in the present.

Yet there was no mistaking the familiar, crawling touch of the spell that summoned him back to the standing stones, the entrance to his tomb.

This time, for eternity.

He pulled his mother’s necklace from his pocket and flicked open the locket.

The sketching of Caedmon remained, faded but true.

Maybe, if he held it tight enough, it would be transported with him when the curse finally claimed him, a token to remember the brother he had lost. He clicked it shut and fisted it until his fingers ached.

If only the other side held a sketching of Maggie, a way to keep her close to his heart until he turned to dust.

Power sparked the air, a sign of Sorcha’s building sorcery.

Once again, she had thwarted them. Their success had depended on breaking his curse, freeing him to fight beside his brother.

Alone, Caedmon had no hope of defeating her.

She would slay him, take Ravenwood for herself, and infect the land with her evil.

Mending the locket chain with a murmur of magic and slipping it around his neck, his heart pounded a war-drum beat against his ribs as he commanded his body to face the main hall, the opposite direction of the curse’s pull.

He could not fight the spell long. The pain would arrive in increasingly sharp waves until he could no longer bear it.

He had to find Caedmon, make amends. In some small manner, his brother had been correct in his assessment, that he dared not allow himself happiness for fear it would be ripped away.

And Maggie…

Kellen bowed his head and let the rain pummel his neck, cold and relentless.

What he would not pay to see her sweet face one last time, the lush curve of her lovely mouth, how her eyes sparkled like summer skies when she teased his scowl away, feel her warm hands on his skin, awakening his heart.

Already, details he believed permanently etched into his memory seemed to fade.

He tried to breathe and found he could not.

Stars above, he could not stomach it, losing even the memories of her.

The crunch of steps on pebbles joined the cadence of rain, too light for his brother’s boots, and he lifted his head.

Maggie stopped several armlengths away, a water nymph drawn to land. Her ebony hair hung in drenched whorls upon her shoulders, and her face glistened with raindrops.

Kellen sucked in a rough breath, finally able to do so, and his blood simmered with longing. She was here. For this moment, even with Sorcha’s curse driving nails into his limbs, he could focus on naught else.

She launched herself at him.

He barely refrained from defending himself and staggered as she slammed into him.

Wrapping her arms around his ribs, she clung to him.

For a heartbeat, he remained utterly still, too stunned to react.

Details seeped into his senses like the rain soaking his skin.

The smooth silk of her cheek on his chest. The hint of lily in her hair.

Strong, supple limbs. Her breath, warm on his collarbone.

The world narrowed to this singular moment, this touch, this woman.

Fire blazed in his veins, a volatile sense of possession. Every muscle trembled and tightened, hungry for her alone. He enfolded her in his arms, tucking her close to his thundering heart. “You should not be here, Maggie.”

Her hold increased to crushing, a silent dispute.

“I wasted years on a man whose idea of love and honor was grabbing at whatever short skirt happened by and ditching me with nothing to my name besides a goldfish.” She eased back enough to look up at him, and her eyes gleamed like stars.

“I’m sorry for doubting you, for letting my past and fear smudge the man I know you are. That wasn’t fair.”

Any notion to keep her away, to pretend she did not own his heart so she might find happiness without him, dissolved like dew in sunlight. When it came to Maggie, he could only surrender. “There is naught to apologize for, mo chuisle . I should have been utterly forthcoming.”

“Don’t interrupt my excuses. I’m not done.

” She laid her fingers on his mouth, halting further speech.

“You don’t belong in the same category as any other man.

You protect my heart rather than please yourself.

You shield me from danger in exchange for precious minutes of happiness.

” She kissed a raindrop off his chin. “Did you know that I dreamed of you? Maybe not your face, exactly, but the idea of you, someone meant specifically for me. When the real world kicked in day after day, instead of waiting for you, the intangible dream of you, I gave up. I settled. But I never forgot the echo of you, what I truly wanted and hoped to find.”

His throat was too tight for speech, her words a balm to his aching soul. With trembling fingers, he thumbed a wet lock of hair from her face.

“I don’t care that your scowl scares small children, you growl more than talk, or my heart will implode if my witchy great-grandma gets her way.

” She squeezed him hard. “Whether we have two minutes, two hours, or two million days, I’ll spend them with you.

I love you, Kellen Ravenwood. I love you more than books or brews, and there isn’t a single bygone I’d trade for you. ”

“And I love you, Maggie O’Malley.” His voice broke, raw with emotion. The universe shifted and settled into place with a contented sigh. He slid his hand beneath her hair and cradled the back of her neck.

Her smile brightened the slate-gray sky. “I’m not letting you go without a wicked fight.”

She was so sincere and sweet and fetching, his need for her boiled over, unstoppable.

He crushed her to him and claimed her mouth with his.

The instant their lips met, a wild energy unfurled through every cell, as if the magic awakened between them at the castle flared anew.

She tasted of rain and freedom and dreams brought to life.

At her gasp, a groan rose from deep in his being, all the years of solitude consuming him in a tide of desperate longing.

She kissed him back frantically, her clever fingers tangling in his hair as he devoured her, memorizing the valleys and planes of her curves.

Each touch, moan, and kiss drove her deeper into his soul.

Deeper, and yet not close enough. He scooped her up, and Maggie wrapped her legs around his waist, trapping his hardness securely against her heat in sensual claim.

Fire conquered him, both mind and body. He cupped her perfect bottom with one hand, banded an arm possessively around her back, and surrendered to the storm.

…

Maggie clung to Kellen’s shoulders, needing to be closer, afraid if she loosened her hold, she’d melt into marshmallow crème at his boots.

As his tongue slid between her lips, the silken thrust echoed between her thighs.

Each swirl and stroke blasted velvet lightning deep into her abdomen.

The savage way he kissed her, as if she were his last breath, ignited a carnal fire in her blood.

She’d never been touched by anyone this way, wanted this way. Needed .

She didn’t care anymore about the insanity of the entire situation.

He awakened her very being, erased the emptiness no other man had ever filled.

Screw rationality and caution inspired by past mistakes, the losses in life, and what she did or didn’t deserve.

Kellen was hers, and in his arms, everything was right.

His warmth seeped through her sopped sweater, and she reached up to his hair, the slick, ebony locks sliding in her fingers.

His breath roughened, hot and tasting of rain, and a snarl rumbled in his chest. Supporting her with one hand beneath her ass, he cradled her face with the other and explored her mouth in delicious sweeps.

Desire rushed through her veins in an uncontrollable wildfire.

The sight of him bare-chested in the downpour like a sexy cologne commercial had stolen her focus and narrowed it to the sole need to be claimed, possessed, taken by him again.

She craved more of his taste, his touch, his skin on hers.

As he dragged his fingertips over her throat, she arched her back, pressing her breasts tighter to his chest. The friction was exquisite torture.

Maggie released one hand from its anchor and trailed the ridges of his powerful shoulder and arm, savoring smooth skin over hard muscle.

She drifted along the trembling plane of his stomach.

The subtle rhythm of his hips against hers made it impossible to think coherently.

She reached between them, ran her fingers over his rain-soaked jeans to the hard length of his arousal.

With a guttural growl, he broke the kiss.

He moved his lips to the sensitive spot under her ear, to the frantic pulse at her neck.

Throwing her head back, she shuddered at the wicked stroke of his tongue at the hollow of her throat.

Fiery tingles invaded every nerve. She wanted to strip them both, roll into the heather, and ride out the storm, drowning in Kellen forever.

As if sensing her breaking point, he cupped her face between his callused hands and nibbled her lower lip. He fluttered tender kisses over the tip of her nose, her eyelids, her forehead. His ragged breath brushed warm on her cheek. “My apologies, leannán . When it comes to you, I lose control.”

Maggie sucked a mouthful of air, feeling dizzy as he gently lowered her to the ground. She leaned into him, her knees wobbly. “Control’s overrated.”

“On occasion.” His black eyes sparked, and the flash of his teeth shot a thrill straight through her core. “Other times, control is…” Kellen’s gaze raked over her wet sweater, the hard peaks of her aching nipples distinct beneath the wool. He drew a sharp breath. “Provocative.”

Her entire body throbbed in response. Two million days with him wouldn’t be enough.

Lightning fractured the sky in white-hot forks. Electricity crackled in the atmosphere as thunder shook the earth. Only Kellen’s firm grip kept her upright. Icy wind laced with the scent of holly tore at her eyes and hair.

“I am deeply sorry.” Kellen took her face between his hands again, and the desperation, the grief in his eyes made everything inside her go cold. “Sorcha’s curse calls me back to my prison, and I cannot defy her spell.”

Her heart flatlined. “What, no—”

“There is naught I would trade for these precious moments with you. I will cherish them until I return to the dust of the earth.” He kissed her hard, leaving her breathless, and pressed his forehead to hers. “My heart and soul are yours, Maggie. Always.”

“ No. ” She grabbed his hand as he turned away, her tears mixing with the rain. “I’m not letting you go. She can’t have you back.” Her mouth trembled, her throat strangling her words. “I just found you, Kellen.”

“Maggie—” He hissed and bent over, clutching his abdomen, and his grip on her hand tightened.

He looked up at her through the fall of his black hair.

“The curse is unstoppable. I would stay with you until the end, but I want you to remember me as I was with you. The last moments before returning to the prison are…unpleasant.” He straightened, his breath ragged.

“If you love me as you claim, I beg of you, remain here.”

“I do,” she sobbed. “I love you.”

A battle of joy and sorrow flickered in his expression. “Then flee. Escape Sorcha and live. Find happiness when I am gone. Is ceol mo chroí thú . You, Maggie, are the music of my heart.”

He kissed her once more, slow and soft, leaving her momentarily stunned. A spell, it had to be, maybe the last of his power wasted on her when he should be using it to fight. Then Kellen strode into the trees and disappeared, like all her dreams, gone.