Draco A Medieval Scottish Roma - Jayne Castel Page 0,60
vengeance upon him, so be it,” she answered honestly. Shaw had ruined things between them when she’d tried to make peace with him—this last insult burned the final bridge between them. “I no longer have a brother.”
Behind them, Cassian cleared his throat. “We need to ready ourselves for the next assault, My Lady … it’s best if you get to safety.”
Gavina turned, her gaze meeting Cassian’s. “Thank ye, captain … I shall.” She shifted her attention to her husband then, discovering that he was watching her under lowered brows. “Draco … can I have a word … alone?”
Gavina led the way into the guard’s mess—the nearest covered space once they’d exited from the wall.
As she’d expected, the hall was empty at this hour. Everyone was on the walls, watching her brother’s siege weapon creep up the defile toward them.
I can’t believe he’d side with the English. Gavina’s belly twisted, as the full impact of her brother’s betrayal hit.
Edward likely would have promised him Dunnottar, once the fortress fell. Longshanks wanted the Wallace. He didn’t care what happened to the castle or the lands on which it stood.
And even though she’d been born an Irvine, fury pulsed through Gavina at the thought of this castle falling to her brother.
“What is it?” Draco asked as she stopped and turned to him. His tone was terse. “I’m needed on the wall.”
“The wall can wait,” Gavina replied, folding her arms across her chest. “But this conversation can’t.”
He stared back at her, his mouth thinning.
Undeterred, Gavina continued. “Elizabeth has come up with an idea … one that might help us—ye.” When he didn’t answer, she pressed on. “There’s a wise woman in Stonehaven … a woman who practices ‘old magic’. Ye and I should pay her a visit.”
“You want us to visit a witch?” Draco’s face screwed up. Her suggestion was clearly distasteful to him.
“Aye. Today.”
His mouth twisted. “And how do you suggest we do that … with Longshanks baying at our gates?”
She held his eye, even if his derision stung. “Ye forget … there’s another way out of Dunnottar. David’s wee boat.”
His brows knitted together. “You’re serious about this?”
“I am.”
“This is pointless, Gavina. Don’t you think we’ve consulted witches over the years?” A shudder rippled through him as he spoke. “None were ever able to help us.”
His attitude rankled, yet Gavina persisted. She wouldn’t let him get to her. “But ye probably never visited this witch,” she pointed out. “Heather and Aila both agree it’s worth a try. What have ye got to lose, Draco?”
They stared at each other for a long moment, time drawing out. And then he shrugged, his face turning to stone. “Nothing at all.” His voice was flat, emotionless.
Gavina stiffened. It was hard to believe that the man before her had made love so passionately, had touched her with such tenderness.
But the tenderness had been a ruse. This was who he really was.
“I’ll have to speak to Maximus and Cassian first,” he said after another pause, turning away from her. “Although they’re so desperate at this point, they’ll try anything.”
The day drew out, the shadows lengthening, when a small party ventured beyond the curtain walls and made their way down the snaking steps to the dungeons.
Maximus, Cassian, and Draco led the way, followed by Heather, Aila, and Gavina. The thunder of battle, the boom of the ‘Battle Hammer’ hitting the gates, shook the damp air. The sun hadn’t shown its face all day—almost as if it didn’t dare. An oppressive atmosphere of doom hung over Dunnottar.
Even out here, on the eastern edge of the cliffs, an ominous air held Gavina in its grip.
Reaching the entrance to the dungeons, where the stairs widened out to a ledge, the party halted.
Maximus peered over the edge, his brow furrowing. “De Keith clearly thought himself an acrobat … that’s quite a climb.”
Gavina’s belly clenched, although next to her, Heather gave a snort. “Aye … but ye don’t have a head for heights, my love.”
Maximus cocked an eyebrow at his wife, yet didn’t contradict her. He took a hasty step back from the edge then, and Gavina realized that Heather wasn’t lying. The strained look on Maximus’s face told it all. The man was so formidable—Gavina had always found the Roman a little intimidating—that this knowledge made her feel better.
She wasn’t fond of heights either.
Draco stepped up beside her then, cutting her a look. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. “I can go on my own.”