After having Todd confess his love for her, she only had to wait for his safe return so they could begin their lives together. The thought sobered her.

The beat of her heart stuttered at the thought of him not returning safely.

Lora filled her glass, reached around her in support. “Have faith.”

“They’re going to be fine.” Tara reached for her hand, her smile waning.

Liz had stopped laughing, the jovial mood of the room changed, there was no denying why. “So Lora, is Ian as serious in bed as he is out of it?”

A gasp went up, but her shocking question pushed them back to where they were minutes before.

Candles lit the room, not in the romantic way a lover would prepare for his mate, but in the way of rituals and rites. Michael’s knock on the door, timid and unsure, brought a smile to her lips. She bid him to enter but kept her back to him when he closed it and turned the key.

She heard his uneven breathing. If she could, she would slip into his mind. But he kept her out and that angered her. Then again, if he knew her thoughts, he wouldn’t come anywhere near her.

Before long, she would remind him who was the leader here. Who held all control.

“Pour us a drink, Michael.” Grainna used his given name to set him at ease.

He crossed to the serving table in the room. The red wine in the decanter was warm. He poured it into the goblets, handed one to her. She turned and let him watch as she placed it to her lips.

He lifted his own glass, steadying his trembling hand. He wondered how he would sustain an erection to do as she asked.

He took a deep swallow, and watched her do the same. “Relax, Michael.”

As if on command, he felt some of the anxiety leave his head. He held his goblet and wondered if she had put something into the drink.

Grainna moved to him, put the flat of her hand on his chest and let it slide down, brushing over his body. Her face seemed to soften, while his body responded to her touch.

“What preparation do we need for the ritual?”

“Most is already done. Finish your drink.”

He brought the wine to his lips once again, this time finishing its contents. His head instantly swam.

Yes, she had drugged him. He found the back of a chair for balance and closed his eyes. “What was in that?”

“Something to make the transition easier, trust me.” He opened his unfocused eyes. “How do you expect me to screw you if my mind is in a fog?”

“It isn’t your mind that has to work.” She laughed. To prove her point, she reached out, and groped the bulge between his thighs. It instantly hardened.

“Why is sex part of the change?”

“Joining our bodies, before our blood, gives you the gift.”

“If that’s all there is, why haven’t you given it to me before now?”

She moved away from him, waved her hand around the room, extinguishing half of the candles.

The change in light dilated his eyes and had him squinting to see. “Vanity,” she told him.

He blinked several times. When his eyes focused again, she was naked. Peering closer he noticed the soft peaks of her br**sts and firm expanse of her stomach. Grainna appeared no older than twenty-five. Head aching, he knew she slipped into his mind. Knew she placed a young image for him to see, to react. His concern about how he would perform the task of taking her was forgotten.

Michael licked his lips as his eyes swept over her body. His gaze traveled lower drawn by her hand stroking her own thigh. He sucked in a breath and moved toward her.

“How do you want it?” His smoky words vibrated in the room.

“Fast and hard.”

He removed his clothes at her request and backed her onto the bed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lora stood holding Tara’s hand. They both had their eyes closed in deep concentration. All Myra and Lizzy could do was watch and wait.

The men had ridden so far that by themselves, they couldn’t talk to their spouses, but together their power doubled, allowing them the freedom they had both become accustomed to.

“Where are they?” Myra tapped her foot, pressed forward with her questions. “Are they safe?”

“Shhh...” Lora ordered.

Myra silenced her tongue, and watched a smile crest Tara’s features. They were safe, she knew by the unseen calm that entered the room.

Liz slumped in her chair and waited for Tara and Lora to start talking.

“They are camped outside Lancaster. Todd was sent into the village to find out what he could about Grainna and Steel.”

“Alone?” Myra gasped.

“Your father and brothers would have been recognized, their presence would have required an explanation to the Laird of Lancaster.”

“Did he find anything?”

Tara stole a glance at Lora, their smiles turned, concern wrapped over their expressions. “A woman, young, virginal, left the village without the permission of her parents yesterday, aided by a man matching the description of Steel.”

Glancing out the window, Myra noticed the setting sun. ‘Tis over. “Then it may already be too late.”

“We need to get into her head, see what’s happening.” Lizzy moved out of the chair in a rather uncharacteristic haste and started gathering candles.

“Lizzy, call Simon and have him bring Amber and Cian,” Myra suggested.

Within minutes, they all gathered and the sisters cast a circle.

“Ma, you should come into the circle with us this time. In case we need to contact the men.”

“Are you sure?”

Hunching her shoulders Myra said, “We’ve not tried it, but I don’t think we have a choice.”

“We won’t know until we try, Lora,” Liz told her.

Myra took her mother’s hand and gave it a squeeze before sitting on the cushions and pillows placed upon the floor.

Liz started the familiar chant, but before the words were out a low hum floated over the room.

The air thinned making all of them breathe faster.

Myra sat in the circle, clutching hands with Tara and her mother and staring at the vision of gold, yellows and white hues hovering between them.

“The Ancients,” Lora mumbled under her breath.

A woman, with features of porcelain and glass hovered before them. Her image softened by the glow of the candles, her voice sang like that of hundreds in a choir. “You are the chosen,” she began. “Chosen to fight this war. It will take all of you.” The woman floated beyond the circle to Simon and Cian who watched. “All of you to defeat the plague that will come over this land and time.”