Chapter 3
Chapter Three
The Druid quickly jumped to her feet, moving to stand between him and the bairns. As if he would harm the children. Merrill had spent the day tracking her. She hadn’t made it easy, but he had been determined to locate her. Though he wasn’t entirely sure why.
“ What do you want?” Katla asked.
Merrill lifted his hands, palms out. He used to be good at finding the right words. At one time, his brethren had come to him for advice and guidance. Now , words deserted him. He glanced at the bairns once more and remembered how they had gobbled the bird as if starving. That was something he could rectify.
“ I’m hunting. I saw the bairns and thought I could help,” he offered.
The eldest girl perked up as she cut her brown eyes to Katla . The wee lad licked his lips in anticipation. Only the middle child, with her dark eyes, kept her features even. Reserved , just like Katla .
“ Why ?” the Druid demanded.
Merrill never liked lying. It took too much effort to remember each falsehood and keep up. Because once one lie was spoken, more always followed. “ I saw you in the city.”
“ I know,” she replied.
He shook his head. “ Before today. It was in a pub.”
Her brow furrowed slightly, but she didn’t reply.
“ I heard the priests took you.” Merrill tipped his head to the younglings. “ I assume they were taken, as well?”
The lad nodded and scooted closer to the eldest girl. All three children’s faces tightened in remembrance of their time in the tower.
“ No one will harm them again,” Katla declared in a voice laced with warning.
Merrill met her stormy gaze and shook his head. “ Nay , they willna.”
The Druid’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t relax. She had no reason to trust him. And he hadn’t given her one yet. His enhanced senses locked on her, his dragon eyes piercing the growing shadows to see that her gaze remained tempered like steel.
She was strong and resilient, just like the metal.
“ I know what you are,” she said.
“ And I know what you are.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She said nothing, only stared, no doubt calculating her odds if she ran.
Merrill once more searched for words, something that might convince her to let him help. Then he remembered a connection he could use. “ Kora is well. As is Derek .”
“ Were you part of the battle we heard?” the lad asked.
Merrill briefly met the boy’s green eyes. “ I was.”
“ Which side?” the younger girl asked.
Merrill dipped his chin. “ Against Stonemore , of course.”
The lass tipped her head slightly in acknowledgment.
Katla asked, “ Is Villette dead?”
“ Nay . But her sister Miena is.”
“ The brunette with the bright green eyes?”
Merrill straightened from the tree. “ That’s her.”
“ That’s who came to the tower,” the eldest girl murmured.
The lad beamed as he looked at the Druid . “ The one Katla saved us from.”
Merrill met Katla’s gaze once more. “ I can help with food. Allow me to do that for the bairns.”
“ What’s a bairn?” the lad asked.
Merrill grinned. “ It means children where I’m from.”
“ And where’s that?” This from the eldest.
Merrill thought about his beloved Scotland . The Highlands , the moors, the lochs. The land was as much a part of him as he was of it. He ached to walk the glens once more as heather blossomed. “ Somewhere far, far away.”
“ Can we go there?” the boy asked hopefully.
Before Merrill could answer, Katla asked, “ Did they send you for me?”
Merrill tilted his head to the side as he regarded her. “ No one sent me.”
“ Then why did you follow me?”
“ You were out of place in the city today.”
“ So were you.”
“ I’m out of place wherever I go.” He blew out a breath. “ You can ask all the questions you want after I return with food.”
The Druid hesitated and looked back at the kids. Reluctantly , she nodded. Merrill waved at the children and turned on his heel to stride away. He could’ve used magic to create whatever he wanted, but he opted to give Katla some time alone. Besides , it had been a while since he’d hunted.
Merrill crafted a bow and a quiver of arrows and set out. The Ferdon Woods wasn’t as magnificent as the Caledonian Forest in Scotland , but he had to admit it was still beautiful. The realm quieted as night descended. Stars twinkled in the navy sky as the last rays of sunlight faded.
He drew in a deep breath as he wove through the trees. With each step, his tense muscles eased. He paused and opened his hearing to pick up the sounds of animals. After a moment, he turned slightly to the right and began moving slowly.
As a dragon, he had spent all his time in nature, soaring high into the clouds and diving deep into the oceans. Even after becoming a Dragon King , he’d spent most of his time with his clan. It wasn’t until the Kings sent the dragons away that things had changed. They each spent more time in human form than they did in their true ones.
They had lost their connection to the Earth . Or maybe he was the only one who felt that disconnect. So many of his brethren had not only found a way forward but had also found mates. Merrill couldn’t rewind time. He couldn’t change the decisions he’d made. At one time, he had been sure of so many things. He feared he might never find the dragon he’d once been.
He stopped when he saw the deer-like creature. It was smaller than a red deer, its coat tan, and its chest solid white. Merrill nocked an arrow and took aim. The deer’s head jerked up, her big ears twitching. Just before he released the arrow, a fawn stood. Merrill lowered the bow as the two wandered off. About thirty minutes later, he came upon a buck. He took the deer down with a clean shot.
Merrill walked to the slain animal and knelt beside him, placing his hand on the animal’s neck. “ Thank you for giving your life so others may live.”
He removed the arrow and slung the deer over his shoulders as he started back. The children were on the lookout for him. The moment they spotted him, they rushed to Katla , who rose to her feet. She remained by the fire as she watched him enter the camp. Their eyes met before he lowered the buck to the ground.
“ What do we do with it?” the lad asked.
The eldest stepped forward. “ We skin it.”
“ First ,” Merrill said, straightening and looking around for a tree, “we hang the deer to drain the blood. Who wants to help?”
The boy jumped up and raced toward him. “ Me .”
Merrill held out his hand. “ I’m Merrill . And you are?”
“ Perick ,” the lad answered with a bright smile.
Merrill noticed Katla clutching her hands as if she wanted to grab Perick and pull him against her. He shook the lad’s hand. “ Nice to meet you.”
“ I’m Aven ,” the eldest girl said as she stepped forward.
Merrill nodded at her. He slid his gaze to the remaining child.
She wrinkled her nose. “ I’m not getting anywhere near blood.”
“ I wouldna dare ask it,” he replied with a grin.
The girl stood beside Katla . “ My name is Maely .”
“ I’m pleased to meet all of you,” Merrill replied.
Perick jumped around. “ Can we hurry? I’m hungry.”
“ Ugh . You’re always hungry,” Maely muttered.
Merrill reached behind his back and called some rope to his palm. He then handed it to Perick . “ Can you hold that for me?”
The lad eagerly took it. Aven grabbed one of the deer’s legs and dragged it after Merrill as he searched for a tree. He found a good location and held out his hand for the rope. Perick handed it to him. The boy attempted to reach for the end after Merrill tossed it over a limb, but Aven beat him to it.
In no time, Merrill had the deer hoisted off the ground. Blood was already draining from the wound. Aven moved to stand beside him, her gaze expectant. He used magic again to create a dagger and sliced the deer open. Aven didn’t hesitate to reach in and gut the animal.
“ I used to help my dad,” Aven said. “ Before we were forced to relocate to Stonemore .”
Anger twisted Merrill’s gut. He fought against it, refusing to let it take him. Not when the bairns were nearby. He concentrated on skinning the deer. Aven helped, but she didn’t speak any more about her family. It took far longer than Merrill liked to get his ire under control. Each time he thought he had, he saw Aven and thought about how Villette had conquered villages, burning them to the ground and forcing the people to an already overcrowded city.
By the time he’d situated the deer to cook over the fire, he had finally gotten control of his emotions. For now. But it became harder and harder each time. He looked up to find all three bairns sitting around the fire, licking their lips in anticipation.
Merrill , however, found his gaze returning to Katla as he buried what remained of the deer. She was the only one who seemed uninterested in the meat. She barely even looked at it. Merrill straightened and turned toward the sound of burbling water. He didn’t have far to go until he reached a stream. It flowed slowly, the shore dotted with rocks worn smooth.
He stopped at the edge and watched the flowing current for a moment. Then he knelt and plunged his hands into the cold water to scrub away the blood and dirt. Soft , unhurried footsteps approached. He splashed his face before sitting back on his haunches and looking over his shoulder at Katla . She stared at him, wariness in her gaze.
Merrill swung his head back around to look across the stream to more trees. He hadn’t been sure what to do or where to go for weeks. His time in the forest had given him some clarity.
“ Why are you here?”
The Druid’s voice was rich and warm as it washed over him. He liked the sound of it. Even if he didn’t like that she didn’t believe him. “ I’ve already told you.”
“ The children are innocent.”
“ I know.” He wiped his hands on his pants and got to his feet to face her.
A small frown puckered her brow. “ Let me get them somewhere safe before you take me.”
“ Take you?” he asked in confusion. “ Take you where?”
“ To the Kings .”
He studied her, his bewilderment growing. “ Why would I do that?”
“ To punish me.”
Now , he understood. He should have realized that she would construe his arrival. “ No one sent me. And there has been no talk of punishment.”
Gray eyes raked over him slowly, much as she had done at Stonemore . “ Do you know who I am?”
“ Aye . Kora has been searching for you.”
“ Then you don’t know who I am. If you did, you wouldn’t be so willing to help me.”
Merrill ran a hand through his hair to shove it out of his face. “ You’re a Druid who no’ only got the bairns out of the city but also destroyed the temple in the process. And you’ve taken on the duty of looking after the children. That’s enough for me.”
“ I’ll go peacefully if you only allow me to take the children somewhere safe. That’s my only stipulation.”
He studied her for a long moment, noting her unease and the tension radiating from her. Nothing he said or did eased her, and he was beginning to believe that nothing would. “ If I had come for you, I would’ve taken you at Stonemore . I’m no’ here to mete out whatever justice you think the Kings demand.”
Irritation flashed across her face. “ You expect me to believe that you came to bring food?”
“ I honestly doona know why I came. I offered my assistance when I saw the bairns. You have magic. Why no’ use it to get food?”
Katla wound her arms around her middle as she turned her head away. “ The children can’t return to Stonemore .”
Merrill shifted his weight to his other leg. “ I agree.”
“ They need somewhere safe.”
He thought about Iron Hall . The underground city in Raynia Canyon was where his brethren looked after other bairns saved from Stonemore . Merrill almost mentioned it to Katla , but she hadn’t believed anything he’d said up to this point. And he doubted that would change anytime soon.
“ Thank you for the food. The children were sick of berries.”
“ What about you?”
She frowned as she looked at him. “ What about me?”
“ Are you sick of berries?”
Her face shuttered. “ I like them fine.”
“ But no’ the meat.” The smell of it hung in the air, and his mouth watered for a taste.
“ Merrill !” Perick shouted as he came running toward him. “ I’m starving. Is it ready?”