Page 50 of Druid Cursed

CHAPTER

Maggie stared at the spot where the garden path curved into the veil of trees, where Kellen had vanished along with her heart.

She fisted her hands as rain pelted her face, cold and merciless.

None of this was fair, not to her and certainly not to Kellen or Ravenwood itself. She hadn’t found him only to lose him.

She pulled the ring, rock, and key from her pocket and squeezed them together, the sphere ready in her other hand. How did a woman go about conjuring a v engeful ghost bent on destroying the man she loved and all he held dear?

“Listen up, Grandmother,” she yelled into the scudding clouds, her words stolen by the howling wind. “We need to talk. Now.”

“Summoning an ancient witch’s spirit is a bit more complicated than that.” Caedmon strolled near, his black hair plastered to his skull, rain running down his face and soaking his druid cloak. “You need circles and candles and specific chants. It’s all very tedious.”

“Kellen’s leaving.” Simply saying the words made her heart shrivel. How could he be so calm when his brother had minutes before being trapped for eternity?

He nodded, his mouth tight.

“Can’t you do anything ?”

“What I can do isn’t the problem, little sparrow.

” His bland expression strained at the seams, making his mouth hard, a shadow of cruelty on his handsome face.

“After centuries of searching the ends of the earth, I have the spell that will break his curse. We both know why he won’t let me perform it. ”

Her blood. Her life in exchange for his.

“You have two options, Maggie. Honor his memory,” Caedmon said gently.

He slid his hands into his pockets, so casual considering his brother walked to his doom, that the land they both protected and cherished would rot without him.

“Find a man who’s half as decent as my brother.

Have a slew of children. Tell yourself Ravenwood was nothing but a vacation with a few uncanny side trips until you believe it. Never return here.”

Maggie sank onto the stone ledge behind her, numb. No other man could replace Kellen. She might find some satisfaction in her business, in her friendships, but real happiness? Love?

The wind died suddenly, and Caedmon’s voice echoed in the stillness as if from a world far away.

“Jeeves has packed your and Wendy’s belongings.

As we speak, a car waits to take you to the hotel I reserved for you until Samhain is over.

I vow to return Wendy safely so you may both depart for home on the same flight.

There is enough cash in your suitcase to pay off your house and take up whatever business you desire.

At least give Kellen the peace of knowing you will live well. ”

She pushed her fist against her mouth to fight back a sob.

Caedmon was right. No matter what move anyone made, they could never be together.

Even with all her goals within reach, the wasteland that Kellen had described of his prison stretched before her, an echo of her future.

She’d always tried to be enough, but she’d never quite measured up.

After the divorce, she’d switched gears with the hope that independence and a business all her own might be the magic ticket to fill that always-itching space inside.

It may have worked if she hadn’t met Kellen, if she hadn’t known he existed.

But now that emptiness, the longing she’d tried so hard to dismiss as a girl’s fairytale fantasy of a one-lifetime love and dreams coming true became an aching, corrosive burn.

That space belonged only to Kellen. Without him, the void would swallow her whole.

She released a shaky breath. “What’s option number two?”

His eyes deepened, dark as bottomless pits. “I believe you already know.”

Right. Separate Sorcha’s spirit from Wendy. And then the part they hadn’t discussed in detail yet—breaking Kellen’s curse. Her blood for his.

Slowly, she straightened. She couldn’t have a life with him, but she could sure as hell make sure Sorcha’s curse was broken, that he was free. When it came to Kellen, she’d always been enough.

It was her turn to be enough for him.

Maggie blinked the rain and tears from her eyes and met Caedmon’s steady gaze. “What are you waiting for, Ravenwood? We have a witch to defeat and a curse to break. Let’s do this.”

“You’re certain?” He watched her intently, unblinking. “You’ll make whatever sacrifice necessary for your soul mate?”

“For Kellen, anything.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear that.” Caedmon’s smile was angelic, a direct contradiction to the devilish gleam in his blackheart eyes. But if it took the darkest druid and his nastiest spell to save Kellen, she wasn’t about to turn him away.

…

Screaming wind assaulted Kellen as he followed the deer trail leading to the standing stones, where Sorcha had cast her curse centuries ago, the entrance to his eternal prison.

Pain pulsed along his bones in cadence with his collapsing heart.

If he had kissed Maggie for a second longer, he would have stayed by her side until the agony stole all his senses and left him a bellowing, mindless animal dragging himself over the ground and crawling to this location to escape the madness.

She did not need to know what Sorcha’s curse cost him.

This time, the cost was far more than he could bear to pay.

He wiped at his eyes. Infernal rain.

The forest opened into a circle of sheltering trees, where a bonfire sizzled against the storm, the flames dancing between the gaps in the stones.

Caedmon had planted birch trees and erected a dolmen at the center in the hopes it would impede the effects of the curse, without result.

He had left the failed stone table where it stood, two sturdy rocks for legs and a capstone across.

Imagining Maggie there, her blood mixing red with the rain, made his stomach revolt.

A renewed surge of agony stabbed through him, and his legs gave way.

He dropped to his knees and planted his hands on the slick grass, drawing in shallow breaths, his hair a wet curtain in his face.

By all that was good and green, he was not ready to go.

Not without making amends with Caedmon, not while Sorcha gathered her power to slay his brother and steal Ravenwood, not while leaving Maggie behind to live without him.

Vile magic rippled through the ground, vibrating beneath his hands, and the land groaned in protest. Lightning flared with a crack of thunder. The sky darkened to a violet haze despite the midday hour. Ozone burned the air.

He fisted the grass until his fingers went numb.

Already, Sorcha poisoned the realm he had sworn to protect, and there was naught he could do to stop her or aid his brother.

Never had he felt so helpless, so useless.

The only thought that kept him from falling on his face was Maggie escaping Sorcha.

As long as she remained in the world, he could face his grim future.

The wave of sorcery ended, as did the curse-driven pain, a temporary reprieve. Kellen sat back on his heels, panting, trembling with cold. His vision blurred with sweat, rain, and tears. As he blinked the wetness away, Caedmon strolled into the glen…with Maggie at his side.

An icy shiver stole through him, sinking into his bones. Only one reason would drive Caedmon to bring her here. Despite who she was to him, despite his own wishes, Caedmon intended to sacrifice her anyway.

Cacamas . He was going to destroy his brother.

Maggie gave him a shaky smile a heartbeat before she collapsed. Caedmon caught her without breaking his stride, smoothly swinging her into his arms, as if he had anticipated it.

The ground shuddered beneath Kellen at another surge of magic, stronger this time, the darkness of it leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

Agony again spasmed through him, and he somehow managed to remain kneeling.

He glared through the rain, all thought of making amends with Caedmon gone. “Take Maggie and go.”

“Kellen,” she said in a dreamy tone. She stretched one hand for him as Caedmon carried her by without stopping, beyond his weak, grasping reach. Her eyes were sleepy, her expression languid as Caedmon entered the standing stones and laid her on the dolmen.

An innocent sacrifice to the storm.

“You forget how well I know you, brother.” Caedmon slid a stone bowl from beneath the dolmen.

“Your honor prevents you from accepting what you need. Luckily, I’m the unscrupulous twin.

Maggie made a generous proposal we can’t refuse.

” He leaned close to Maggie’s ear. “Tell him, little sparrow. He needs to hear it from you.”

Maggie curled onto her side like a princess preparing for slumber, and her sweet sincerity cut him deeper than the curse’s claws. “Whatever you need from me is yours.” Her words slurred. “’Cause I’m yours.”

“What did you give her?” Kellen crawled closer, acid pouring in his veins. He dared not enter the standing stones. Doing so would transport him directly to his prison, leaving Maggie at the mercy of his brother’s untoward whims.

“Protection charm,” Maggie said, blinking slowly.

“In part. I added a delayed calmant to the potion.” Caedmon stroked Maggie’s hair from her eyes, almost lovingly, his long fingers gleaming with raindrops.

“She won’t feel a thing, I promise. It’s the least I can do for her.

” He bent and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.

“I hate that it has to be you, mhuirnín .”

Maggie patted his hand. “S’okay.”

“’Tis not okay. ” Panting, Kellen dragged his resisting body closer, the pain blinding.

“It’s the only way,” Caedmon snarled back. “And I’d never do this without her consent.”