Dreams of a Dark Warrior

Lothaire?”
    “The vampire fought off Wendigos tonight, allowing all of us to escape here. Chase had to make some kind of bargain with him.”
    “So he cut a deal with an evil leech—”
    “To save
you
. Look, I’m not asking you to forgive Chase. But maybe just try to understand him.”
    “Do you know how many of our friends and allies are on this island? How many died this night? How many lives have been ruined? He’s behind all of that! He believes we’re all animals—including you!”
    “I know this! I just want you to be aware that he made sacrifices tonight. That he’s at least trying to make amends.”
    “What do you want me to do? Get cozy with him—so he can die anyway?”
    “Regin, this is the first time I’ve really been around Aidan since he died. You’ve known him in the past, for however briefly.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “But I’ve always been too late. I saw the knight breathe his last. I was with you when we buried the Spaniard’s empty coffin. I was running for the cavalryman, yelling a warning seconds before he was shot. I just … I want to see what this is like. To have him back.”
    Brandr misses him, too.
    “But he’s not the same,” she said in a softer tone. “You’ll only be disappointed.”
    “Then you can leave him behind after we escape. What could it hurt to wait a few days … ?”
    Even over the storm, Declan heard someone nearing, but he was too bloody weary to bother covering his scars.
    Fuck it. Let everyone see what he really looked like. …
    Brandr approached, his eyes narrowing at the sight. Yet he said nothing, just stalked around the clearing, kicking a rock here, throwing a stick there.
    Colm used to do that whenever he had something pressing he’d wanted to discuss. “Say what’s on your mind, berserker.”
    “What the hell are you doing out here?”
    Sitting in the rain like a fool, wanting to howl fromlosing her.
Though he’d never had her to begin with! Just as he’d known, one look at his ruined skin had made her run. Why had he hoped she’d react differently?
    When Declan didn’t answer, Brandr said, “Did an immortal do that to your chest?”
    “Oh, aye, lots of them,” he snapped.
    “Tell me you killed them.” Brandr’s eyes gleamed in the night. He sounded almost … pissed for Declan.
    He gave a curt nod.
    “This certainly explains why you hate all of us.”
    “I hated you because it was my goddamned job to! And because I never bloody knew there was an alternative.”
    “And what about those, Chase?” Brandr pointed to his track marks. “What are you into?”
    Shame filling him, Declan stared at the puddle deepening around his boots.
    “You’re shaking now. How bad will the withdrawal get?”
    “I’ve gotten through the worst of it.”
Regin saw me through it, and she didn’t even know. …
But he wasn’t free from the symptoms yet.
    “Are you going to stay clean?”
    “That’s the plan.”
    Seeming to make a decision about him, Brandr said, “Regin wants to leave.”
    Declan shot to his feet. “Not a chance—”
    “Unless you are tied up, like a prisoner. I’ve got some exam restraints back at the bunker.”
    How bloody fitting.
“You and I both know I can hit a rage and break any bindings.”
    “And she knows there’s enough time in that short window to take your head.”
    “If I do this, then she stays?”
    Brandr nodded.
    Declan drew on his pullover, then handed Regin’s discarded sword over to Brandr. Wanting his penance, he returned to the bunker, allowing himself to be bound.
    Inside, Thad and Regin were sitting up against a wall together, her head on the boy’s shoulder.
Don’t thrash him. He’s young.
    When Natalya gestured for Brandr to join her, the berserker dropped down on the floor beside her.
    Lothaire was still dozing.
    Declan sat off to the side away from everyone, feeling—as usual—like an outcast. He used all his willpower not to stare at Regin. And failed.
    The dark circles under her eyes and the pallor of her skin were like physical blows to him, redoubling his guilt.
    When their gazes met, he didn’t bother hiding what he was feeling.
I want you so much. I’d give anything to redo the last month. To rid myself of these scars for you.
    Expression brimming with hostility, she turned from him. When Thad put his arm around her shoulders, she curled into his side.
    Declan’s fists clenched behind him as he resisted the urge to break his bonds and snatch her