to move returning by slow degrees. But when I scooted to the edge of the bed, the invisible wall had returned. Apparently, her claim of love didn’t extend to trust. Not that Adelaide Blackmore Cadell had the slightest grasp of true love—the kind of love that would sacrifice anything for the other person.
I sagged against the mattress; the interaction with Addie-Vee had drained what little energy reserves I’d gained after my ordeal. Perhaps I could win Addie’s confidence, let her believe I cared for her, and then stop her once and for all. Even if she took me down with her, the loss of my life would be well worth what Doon would gain.
Eventually, my morose thoughts drifted into a dreamless sleep, and sometime later three knocks in quick succession startled me awake. I responded without thinking, “Come in.” As if I had a choice in the matter.
The door swung wide and Gideon’s bald head caught a glint of the setting sun as he brought a tray of food into the room. He stopped at the foot of my bed, grinning like a jackal, then practically shouted, “Oh, how I love the sight of the powerful Laird brought low!”
I pushed up to a sitting position. “Come to rub salt in my wounds, Gideon?”
The ex-commander of the royal guard nodded, the smile never leaving his disfigured face as he set the tray on a table beside the bed. He glanced over his shoulder and then said in the conversational tone of one discussing the weather, “I’ve no clue how ye think ye’re goin’ to defeat her, when she’s beginning to amass an undead army.”
Straightening, I watched the older man arrange the silverware on the tray. What drivel was he spewing now? He met my gaze, the smile melting into a resolute stare. “She plans ta release them in a fortnight.”
Was he feeding me information? My pulse quickened as I thought back. At the coronation ceremony, when Addie revealed herself, Gideon had jumped to join her side before she could enthrall him. He’d taken young Greta captive at knifepoint, but he hadn’t hurt her. “What are ye tellin’ me, commander?”
He stepped closer, his voice hushed. “A mass grave of Druids near the southern tarn is bein’ unearthed. But I’ve determined she needs souls to feed her power. For every human she drains, she can reanimate at least a dozen cadavers.” His eyes darted to the door. “She’ll need more souls, and soon. The dungeons are near empty.”
I searched his face, a terrible hope growing inside me. “Why are ye divulging this to me?”
Gideon glanced at the still-open door and then dropped into a low bow. When he rose, his hazel eyes burned with fever. “I am loyal to Doon still, my Laird.”
Nearly choking on my surge of emotion at his confession, I swallowed and forced myself to think. “So she’s desperate to find whatever Doonians remain in the kingdom and convince them to pledge to her so she can use them to raise her army?”
“Aye. She’ll herd them and capture those she can without killin’ them. She needs people left to rule, after all.”
I nodded, several pieces clicking into place all at once as I remembered Vee’s vision the night of the Fairshaw cottage explosion. “Verranica sent my brother across the bridge with the others to save them, dinna she?”
“That is my belief, aye.”
“Do we know how many Doonians escaped?”
“Nay. Between the quake and the destruction of the bridge itself, we—”
“What?” I sat straight up.
“Tha’s right, ye didna know.” The old man shook his head. “The witch destroyed the Brig o’ Doon, Laird. Whilst people were attemptin’ to cross it.”
My shoulders slumped. The loss of life could be far worse than I’d imagined. Duncan and Kenna . . . Nay, I had to believe they’d crossed safely, and would someday find their way home. My brother, I could do nothing about, but those left in Doon were a different story. “We need to warn them. I have to get out of here!” I smacked my palm against the invisible shield, and received a sharp sting for my stupidity.
Footsteps sounded from down the hall and Gideon’s eyes darted to the door. Hastily, he turned back, picked up the tray and slid it onto the bed, then withdrew his arm and nodded with satisfaction. “Tha’s what I thought. The spell only keeps you in. But it does no’ keep things, such as weapons, out.”
I returned his grin as another thought occurred. “Report back to