Midnight's Promise by Donna Grant

been wounded, and still bore the scar, when Wallace thought she might leave. In this last battle Wallace had brought forth an image of what Aisley’s daughter, who died just hours after her birth, might look like. That alone had nearly killed Aisley.
    What would Wallace try next? Phelan wasn’t sure he wanted to find out, but neither could he hide his head in the sand and pretend nothing was going on.
    He was a Warrior, and whether the droughs who first dragged up the gods from Hell had known it or not, it would be Warriors who ended the droughs .
    “Have either of you spoken with Malcolm?” Charon asked.
    Phelan growled his frustration and looked away. But not before he saw Ramsey frown.
    “Why?” Logan asked.
    Charon rolled his eyes. “Can you no’ just answer the damned question?”
    “That would be too easy,” Logan said with a grin. “Besides, I like to rile you.”
    Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest. “Nay, we have no’. Have either of you?”
    “In a way,” Charon answered.
    Logan grunted in irritation. “What the hell does that mean?”
    “It means he answered my text,” Phelan stated. He faced the two Warriors to find their gazes locked on him. “I called Malcolm over a week ago when I was with Aisley and trying to figure things out. We were both looking for Wallace, and I checked in with Malcolm on occasion. He did the same.”
    “And now?” Ramsey asked.
    “Now I get a text saying he’s fine.”
    Logan drained the whisky and moved to pour himself another. “That’s more than Larena or Fallon have gotten. Consider yourself lucky.”
    Phelan hoped the topic would be dropped, at least until he knew more of what was going on with Malcolm. But as usual, Ramsey heard more than just the words.
    “You’re worried for him.”
    Phelan glanced at Aisley who gave him a small nod. “Aye,” he admitted with a sigh. “I want both of you to swear what we say here about Malcolm goes no further.”
    “Agreed,” Ramsey stated.
    Logan stared at Phelan for a long moment before he said, “I give my word.”
    Phelan lowered himself into the nearest chair and braced his elbows on his knees while he plunged his fingers into his hair. “I think Malcolm is distancing himself.”
    “Larena has suspected that for some time,” Logan said. “It’s why she and Fallon kept trying to find ways to bring him to the castle.”
    “It’s no’ enough now. I saw it in Malcolm’s eyes during battle. If he passes that point, there’ll be no returning for him.”
    Ramsey dropped his arms. “Then we find him.”
    “Easier said than done,” Charon said.
    “Broc isna the only one who can find someone. His way is easier and quicker, but no’ the only way,” Ramsey stated.
    For the first time in days, Phelan realized there just might be a way to help Malcolm after all. “After we find him, then what?”
    “That’s the tricky part.” Ramsey looked around the room, his gaze meeting each of them. “There was a time Hayden stood on the same knife’s edge. He didna know it at the time, but it was Isla who pulled him back.”
    Logan choked on his whisky. “Are you telling me we need to somehow find Malcolm a woman?”
    “There has to be another way,” Laura said, a frown marring her forehead.
    Phelan lifted his head and grinned. “There is. We make him know he’s needed. No’ once has he failed to join us in battling the droughs . Forget about finding him a woman. Give him something to kill, give him a reason to keep focused on helping us.”
    “I like it,” Logan said. “I doona suppose you have a plan in mind?”
    Ramsey took the glass in Logan’s hand and tossed back the contents in one swallow before pinning Phelan with his silver eyes. “You want to go after Wallace.”
    Phelan nodded. “It’s the only way.”
    “Didn’t we just talk about this?” Laura asked Charon before looking at Phelan, her English accent getting thicker as her anger rose. “I’m pretty sure we decided that attacking