Lured to the Night (The Brotherhood 4)

Lachlan’s voice disturbed her musings. “You saw him draw his last breath?”

The marquess nodded. “An iron spear pierced his heart. A steel sword separated his head from his shoulders. The sun reduced all evidence to a pile of ash. The man is no more. Of that I am certain.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. Isla imagined they were all picturing the macabre scene. Various questions filled her head. Had the marquess killed Nikolai to save the woman he clearly loved? Would Lachlan have done the same for her if she had not convinced him of her desire to marry a scoundrel?

“I know it sounds rather cruel and ungodly, but I am not sorry he is dead.” A peaceful wave rippled through her body. “I feel a modicum of pleasure knowing he suffered, just as he has made me suffer these last few years.”

“We have all been affected in some way.” Lachlan’s tone was sombre. Did he speak of their dashed hopes and dreams? “But I do have a question to ask you if I may.”

“You may ask us anything you wish, and we will answer as honestly as we can.” With a wave of his hand, Leo gestured for Lachlan to continue.

“Something bothers me about the whole situation.” Lachlan cast her a sidelong glance before continuing. “Isla married a man she did not love. He had nothing to recommend him, no obvious fortune or elevated status, yet everyone who met him pandered to his desires and pathetic whims. Indeed, I too complied with his wishes, behaved in a way I deeply regret.”

Ivana gave a smile of recognition. “I think I can provide the answer you seek. Whilst the blood affliction causes many debilitating conditions, it also gives the infected person certain powers most people crave. Namely, Isla now has the ability to compel us all to do her bidding, and we will have no choice but to obey.”

Isla sat forward. “I can persuade people to do whatever I say?” There had been a few times over the years where she had lost her temper with Malmuirie and in a bout of frustration had told her to leave her be, told her not to speak about certain things. Her maid always obliged without question. Of course, that was what servants were supposed to do. But anyone who knew Malmuirie knew the woman struggled to hold her tongue.

“Are you saying Nikolai compelled Isla to marry him?” Lachlan asked.

“Yes.” Ivana nodded. “It was how he controlled events to suit his purpose.”

Isla suppressed a gasp. Nikolai had used some sort of mind manipulation to force her to marry him. It all made much more sense to her now. “I have been able to hear fragments of people’s thoughts, get a sense of what they are feeling.” Isla tilted her head to the side and shrugged. “Well, I can when I am in a mind to concentrate. I did not know I had the ability to alter other people’s opinions, or change their behaviour. ”

Lachlan stared at her, his eyes wide, his brows arched. “Can you hear my thoughts?”

She did not need to read his mind to know what he was thinking. “I haven’t tried.” She suppressed a smile as she watched him exhale with relief. “Although I knew you were lying when you told me you wanted to rent the mine.”

Isla sat back in her chair and pondered the notion of being able to use her newly discovered talent on Lachlan. She could use her magic to make him love her again. She had no husband and so they were free to marry; everything could be just as they’d always intended. Their lives would be blissfully happy.

“The irony is that everyone wishes they could possess such a gift,” Ivana’s comment disturbed her pensive musings, “yet in truth, it is a curse. It is a curse that brings nothing but mistrust. If you are a cold-hearted devil like Nikolai, then it is of no consequence. But no one wants to build a life upon a web of lies and deceit.”

Isla felt foolish for giving the idea merit. Could Ivana read her mind? Did she still have the ability to reach inside and pluck the thought from her addled brain? She wanted Lachlan to love her on his own terms, to see a genuine look of longing in his eyes once more. Besides, she had something far more pressing to consider.

“You mentioned you both suffered from infected blood.” Isla felt the familiar cramps flare in her stomach at the mere mention of blood. It had been hours since she had last taken sustenance. Running so frantically through the forest, coupled with the violent attack on Ivana in the bailey, had served to deplet

e her strength. She needed to drink, and soon.

Leo took his wife’s hand and squeezed it. “There are others like us too, other friends who have taken the elixir to cleanse their blood. Using the notes detailing the process, I have managed to replicate the cure.”

“And you have brought this elixir, this cure with you?” Isla held her breath as she waited for confirmation. There were still many questions she wanted to ask. The most prominent in her mind being how they knew where to find her.

Leo jerked his head towards the door. “Yes. We have the cure. We brought it with us from Bavaria. It is in our carriage, nestled safely inside a mahogany box. All you need to do is drink it, and you will walk in the sun again.”

Chapter 8

Lachlan sat back in the chair and followed the conversation regarding the cure with some trepidation. Only a few hours ago, he had stood in the Great Hall trying to quell the wealth of emotion that surfaced upon seeing Isla again. He could cope with her jibes and taunts. Guilt often made people react in such a way as to see blame cast on another. Anger was nothing more than a mask. Given a few more years, he could learn to live with all he had lost. But the evening had brought one shocking revelation after another, and he was not sure where to begin when it came to analysing his feelings.

He sucked in a breath and pondered what it was that disturbed him the most. Surprisingly, her deformed features: pointed fangs and eyes bulging with ugly red veins, did not affect him. Many people suffered from debilitating illnesses. Of course, her condition was somewhat feral and unconventional. But her wild, spirited character is what he loved about her.

No. What he struggled to accept was that Nikolai had compelled her into submission. And he had done nothing to assist her. Resentment had festered, forcing him to ignore his instincts, forcing him to leave her at the mercy of a hound.

He silently cursed.

“So how did you come to know of the cure?” Isla’s sweet voice disturbed his reverie.

Lachlan straightened, keen to hear the answer to her question. If Isla insisted on taking the cure, he wanted to know everything about it, every intricate detail no matter how small or irrelevant.

Leo cleared his throat. “Nikolai worked with a great scholar, a man with a vast knowledge of plants and herbs, a skilled alchemist and geologist. Years of research and experiments finally led him to discover a potion that worked to cleanse the blood. We must assume that Nikolai compelled him to find a cure for the affliction.”