Donna Grant: Forbidden Highlander

Ramsey’s Warrior bronze eyes held hers a moment, the silence filling the cottage. “Fallon and Hayden went to slow the attack.”

“Just the two of them?” Her heart dropped to her feet. Oh, saints .

Malcolm grunted as Ramsey lifted him in his arms. Larena looked to her cousin’s face to find him watching her. He nodded his head, and Larena knew what she had to do.

“Go with him, Sonya,” Larena said.

Ramsey turned to her. “What are you planning?”

“I’ll make sure you get Malcolm and Sonya to the castle. There’s no time to argue, Ramsey. Go!”

When he didn’t move, she called forth her goddess and sighed as the tickle of release stole over her skin a heartbeat before she changed.

She pushed past Ramsey and ran out the door into the village. The shrill cries of the wyrran could be heard, but it was the vicious roar that gave her pause. She knew without seeing him that it was Fallon who had given that bellow.

A shiver of dread and anxiety raced through her. What was approaching them wasn’t the occasional wyrran she would fight and kill. These were hoards of wyrran and Warriors who were coming to take her to Deirdre.

“Never,” Larena vowed as she flexed her claws.

She flicked one of her fangs over her lower lip as she walked from the village to stand between it and the castle. There was movement from behind her and she turned her head to see Galen, Logan, and Camdyn, all transformed with their gods, on either side of her.

“Make sure Ramsey gets to the castle with Malcolm and Sonya,” she told Logan.

Logan glanced at the approaching attack. “I’ll be back,” he promised before he ran after Ramsey.

Larena’s heart pounded in her chest while her blood drummed in her ears. She wondered where Fallon and Hayden were and if they were all right.

Please, God, keep Fallon safe .

Deirdre wanted Fallon, so there was a chance Fallon had been captured. Larena’s blood ran cold at the thought. If Deirdre had somehow managed to imprison Fallon, Larena would do whatever she had to do to ensure he was freed. Whatever it took.

“Are you ready for this?” Galen asked from her right.

Larena shrugged. “Ready or not, it’s coming.”

“I’ve been itching for a fight,” Camdyn said. “Let them come.”

“Aye,” she agreed. “Let them come and try their worst.”

Galen grinned at her and shifted his shoulders. “It’s going to be a bloody night.”

No more words were spoken as the wyrran came into view.

Larena had never seen so many at once. For a heartbeat, she thought about running. And then she remembered who she was — what she was — and she stood her ground as her goddess came alive within her.

A glance over her shoulder showed her Ramsey and the others had gotten through the castle gate. She let out a sigh and faced the horde before her.

She joined Camdyn and Galen as they let out a roar. With one swipe of her claws, she beheaded the first wyrran that got close to her.

Larena pivoted and ducked a meaty fist she saw aimed at her face. When she straightened, she brought her own fist up between the Warrior’s legs and punched him in the groin.

The Warrior cupped his hand around himself and fell to his knees. Larena took the opportunity and kicked him in the face. She reared back with her claws, but before she could behead him, Galen’s arm came out of nowhere and did it for her.

“Behind you,” he shouted.

Larena whirled around in time to catch a wyrran as it leaped at her. She fell back, the fall slamming her head onto the ground. The plunge momentarily stunned her, but it was enough for another wyrran to join the first as they began to use their claws on her.

Pain ripped through her as her chest and stomach were torn to shreds. She jerked her knee up and knocked one of the wyrran over her head. The second she grabbed by its arms and pulled, yanking the arms from the sockets with a loud pop and making them useless. She then rolled over on top if it and broke its neck.

Just as she stood, the first wyrran tried to attack her again. This time, Larena held out her claws and the creature impaled itself on them.

She flung the dead wyrran away and turned around. Only to find Fallon and Hayden now fighting with them. Fallon turned his head, his gaze meeting hers. Time slowed as awareness sizzled around her. With Fallon by her side she could face anything.

To her surprise, she saw Hayden using fire. That shock was short-lived as the earth trembled beneath her. She cast a look around to find Camdyn calling up the ground around them and using it as a weapon.

The wyrran and Warriors sent by Deirdre stopped in their tracks, staring at the wall of earth that separated them from Larena and the others.

“I cannot hold this forever,” Camdyn shouted. “They are using their powers to break the wall.”

Fallon’s lungs felt as though they were on fire. He glanced at the Warriors around him, noting their wounds and the blood that coated them. His gaze came to rest on Larena last. Her tunic was torn and barely hanging on her shoulders. Her iridescent skin shimmered like a beacon in the darkness, and all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and make sure she was all right.

“We cannot win this,” he said. “There are too many of them.”

“Malcolm is in the castle with Sonya,” Galen told him.

Fallon nodded. “Good. We’ll hold them as long as we can here.”

“So they don’t get the Druids,” Larena finished.

There was a whoosh of air, and then they heard the flap of wings. Fallon looked up to find Broc hovering above them.

“This attack wasn’t to kill,” Broc said. “It is to capture as many of you as we can. Especially the Druids.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Fallon demanded.

Broc glanced at the castle. “They are my reasons, MacLeod. I cannot tell you more.”

Fallon’s mind raced as Galen cursed. He waited until Broc had flown away before he ran a hand through his hair. They were outnumbered, and it was only a matter of time before someone was taken.

“We need to hide,” Fallon said. “Camdyn, can you hold the wall for a little longer?”

The Warrior nodded, his focus on the wall of earth before him, his hands raised in front of his face. “I’ll make sure it holds.”

“What do you plan?” Galen asked.

“We need to hide, and not in the castle. Somewhere they won’t expect to look,” Fallon answered.

Hayden moved to stand near Camdyn. “Do what you need to, Fallon. I’ll stand with Camdyn and ensure that any wyrran or Warrior that tries to break through this wall is burned.”

Fallon turned to Larena, intent on taking her first, but she shook her head, her glorious iridescent locks moving around her.

“Nay. I have my own power, Fallon. I’ll stay invisible if I have to. Get the others.”

Fallon cursed. She was right, of course, but that didn’t mean he liked leaving her. He grabbed her and planted a swift kiss on her lips. “Stay safe.”

“I will,” she promised.

With a sigh, Fallon turned to Galen. “You first, Shaw.”

“Shite,” Galen murmured, and clenched his jaw.

Fallon didn’t give him another moment. He flashed himself and Galen into a cave in the cliffs. As soon as they were there, Fallon jumped to the dungeons of the castle.

“What’s going on?” Lucan asked, his brow furrowed.

Fallon shook his head. “No time. Will explain later. We’re leaving.”

He needed to take more than one at a time, but he was afraid he’d fail. Yet, there wasn’t a choice. He gathered Malcolm in his arms and nodded to Sonya. “Put your hand on me.”

As soon as she did, he jumped them to the cave. Galen was there to take Malcolm and then Fallon was gone again. It took a matter of moments to get Lucan, Cara, Ramsey, and Logan to the cave, but it felt like an eternity.