Chapter Fourteen

He burst into the tent in a frenzy, ripping the whip from the Englishman’s hand. “I shall destroy you.” Without waiting for any defense from Walstone, for what could what defense could the man offer for the way he had treated Cameron’s mate, Cameron shifted to the dragon and soon dealt with Walstone.

The knight would pose no further risk to his mate or his people. When he was finished savaging the man, blood was splattered everywhere, covering his naked form, for he had charged into battle in the traditional way. He spared no time to wipe it away. Instead, he rushed to Brenna and scooped her into his arms. As he ran from the tent, he was aware of the fighting continuing around him, but he caught Ian’s gaze, and his brother nodded at him.

Cameron was certain Ian understood he was taking Brenna back to Agnes in hopes she could do something to fix his mate, and his brother was taking over command for the moment. As much as he hated to abandon his warriors, Brenna needed immediate help if she was going to survive.

He let out an anguished roar as he shifted to his dragon-form, and a plume of dragonfire shot from his mouth in the process. He couldn’t bear the idea of surviving without her now. His old rage seethed and burned inside him, and for a moment, he surrendered to it as he turned to the line of tents and unleashed a long blast of dragonfire that quickly consumed the temporary structures.

There were shouts of agony below him, but he put it all behind him as he jumped into the air, clutching her in his claws carefully while he flapped his wings as quickly as possible. The entire war party had flown to the English encampment as rapidly as they could, and then they had battled, so he should have had some loss of stamina, but he was compelled by the need to get her to Agnes before it was too late, so he pushed on, barely aware of any exhaustion or personal discomfort until they reached the keep almost an hour later.

He laid her down gently on the ground at the bottom of the steps before shifting back. Then he lifted her into his arms, staggering for a moment as he realized his strength wasn’t at full capacity either. He summoned the will to keep going, clutching her in his arms while he climbed the rest of the stairs. Her sister rushed out to meet them, and Agnes was right behind her.

“Lay her on the table in the Great Hall,” said Agnes. Clearly, she didn’t want to waste time by taking her up the many flights of stairs to his mother’s chambers.

He did as she instructed, laying her out on her stomach, since her back and sides had borne the majority of the whip’s lashes.

Agnes already had her bottles assembled, and she quickly poured several potions over the deep and gaping wounds on his mate’s back. Rage like he’d never experienced before exploded in him as he saw the true damage Walstone had inflicted upon Brenna. He wished he could rip him apart again, and he was glad to have had that pleasure to call upon to soothe him slightly as he paced, cursed, and waited for Agnes to tend to Brenna.

He wanted to press her for an update, but he couldn’t afford to distract her. Instead, he and Lianne stood nearby, both clearly desperate for answers, but Agnes paid them no mind.

When he couldn’t bear it any longer, he stepped forward. “Well?”

“I think she will live, but I want ye to bite her. Yer venom will help her heal in conjunction with a potion I’m going to administer. It’s ancient magic. Bordering on dark. Blood magic,” she said with a hint of warning. “It will bind ye forever.”

“I’m already bound to her forever.” He didn’t hesitate as he bent his head, looking for a section of her body that wasn’t marred. Her back was too torn up for him to feel comfortable biting her there, so he gently turned her to reveal her right shoulder. The mating mark was as clear and vibrant as ever, and no slash of the whip had touched it.

He bent his head and kissed her there gently before his fangs emerged, and he bit through her skin. Copper filled his mouth, along with the buzz of her magic and that unique taste of cinnamon. He injected his venom until Agnes tapped on his shoulder. He withdrew his teeth and looked up at the apothecary. “Yes?”

“I believe that is enough.” With those words, Agnes dumped an entire vial of something bubbling and dark red over the spot he had bitten, and it temporarily obscured the mating mark. A pang of agony emanated from his own mark, and he gasped as a tingling sensation filled him. It must be because of the ancient blood magic Agnes was using. It soon eased to a manageable, but noticeable, level.

A miraculous thing occurred then. Brenna’s eyes fluttered open, and she seemed fully aware. She cried out, obviously in pain, and he quickly said in a soothing tone, “Do not move, lass. You’ve been badly treated, but Agnes will fix you.”

“You are alive?” She sounded weak and shaky as she asked.

“Aye, I live, and so do you. Walstone does not.” He would tell her later to whatever detail she liked about the man’s passing, not sparing her a blistering, bloodied detail if that was her heart’s desire, but it was sufficient for now for her to know her greatest enemy and his nemesis was dead, never to harm her again.

She closed her eyes for a moment in relief. “I saw you. Thought you were hallucination…” She trailed off as her eyes closed again, and he couldn’t tell if she had fallen back into unconsciousness or slipped into a more restful state of sleep.

“Ye may take her to a room now and have her cleaned up, Laird Balfour,” said Agnes decisively. “I have done what I can for now, though there will be more doses required. I’m confident she will survive, and I know ye will look after her until she has recovered.”

“I shall look after her for the rest of my life,” said Cameron as he gently lifted her into his arms, gingerly holding her back before deciding the best way to carry her was with her stomach over his shoulder. It certainly wasn’t the most gallant way, but it would keep him from touching her back as much as possible, and though Agnes had powerful magic, she didn’t have the ability to heal Brenna instantly. No one in the clan had that kind of power.

He carried her up the stairs gently, not letting go until she was in his chambers. He lowered her carefully to the bed, positioning her on her stomach and tucking her head onto a pillow. As he bent over to brush a kiss against her forehead, she opened her eyes briefly and said, “I love you, Cameron Balfour.”

His heart sang at the words, and it was the first time she’d admitted it, though he had known for a while how she felt. He brushed her hair off her face, kissed her temple, and whispered, “As I love you, Brenna Balfour.”

As he pulled away, there was a strong sense of contentment filling him, though it was still tempered by worry for her current state and the healing process. If Agnes believed she would live, it was quite likely she would, for the apothecary wasn’t one to give false hope. Instead, she would’ve braced him for the greatest loss of his life, and he tried to console himself that if Agnes had faith, he must as well. It was only a matter of time until Brenna was whole and healthy once more.