Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Bria,” he said, slipping his fingers beneath her chin to lift her head. “You told me you trust me. Why then do you keep something from me?”
She looked at him confused. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“Aye, I stood that close to the beast,” he said. “Now answer mine.”
“And it didn’t attack you? Nor did you kill it.” She shook her head. “Why?”
“The beast caught me off guard. I had no weapon. Now answer mine.”
She dropped back against the mattress exhausted, her thoughts twisting so badly together she no longer knew where one fear ended and another began. The beast, the vision, the strange connection she shared with Kaelan, his love for her, and now the possibility that somehow, she could be tied to the Wise. Everything seemed to circle endlessly around her until she could scarcely breathe from the weight of it.
Her gaze drifted toward Kaelan sitting beside her on the bed watching her closely, concern and frustration both lingering in his expression.
If she trusted him, why not simply tell him what Winnie revealed?
The answer came far too quickly.
Because Kaelan loved her. Not a passing affection. Not desire alone. He loved her deeply enough that she had felt the force of it with her own hand pressed against his chest.
And if Winnie spoke true, if somehow Bria truly carried blood ties to the Wise, then Kaelan would place himself directly in danger protecting her.
She did not doubt it for a moment.
The king hunted the Wise, wanted them eradicated. If her connection to them became known, Kaelan would never willingly leave her to face such danger alone. He would stand beside her no matter the risk, and the thought he could lose his life protecting her tore an unbearable pain through her heart.
She barely understood what was happening to her own life. How could she ask him to carry such a burden alongside her?
Nay. Not yet. Not until she understood more herself, could she speak the words aloud to him.
“You cannot trust me if you take so long to answer,” he said, drawing her out of her troubled musings.
Bria did not need to force a smile. It came easily, knowing her decision protected him.
“I have already shared with you what I have told no one,” she said, relieved she was able to speak the truth since she had said nothing to Winnie. She had known there was more than comfort to her touch. “I feared letting anyone know that sometimes when I purposely concentrate on an object, I can sense something connected to it, something that happened in the past.”
“And you did that with the handle of the pitcher. Why?”
Her brow knitted suddenly. “Nay, I did not. I simply went to fill my tankard with cider, my mind heavy with what you revealed to me.”
“And that has never happened before now?”
“Nay, never,” she said, the thought unsettling. “What do you think that could mean?”
Kaelan took hold of her hand. “I don’t say this to upset you but to make you aware, make us both aware. Being here in Driochmor could have wakened something inside you.”
Bria shut her eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by all that was happening.
“Bria,” Kaelan said, his voice soft yet a command in it.
She opened her eyes.
“Driochmor holds answers for you. We will find them together.”
“What if the answers prove…” She couldn’t finish, didn’t even want to think what it might mean.
Kaelan leaned down, resting his brow to hers. “Hear me well, Bria. I will be by your side always, whether you return my love or not. And if it proves unsafe for you here in Scotara, then I will take you home to Northland where you can live safely and in peace.”
“You cannot—”
He brushed his lips across hers, silencing her. “Aye, I can and I will. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
Thunder struck and Bria shivered, thinking that Kaelan had pledged an oath that Driochmor had heard and confirmed.
Kaelan was unaffected by the noise. He was too busy removing his boots, then to Bria’s surprise he removed hers. He then got into the bed settling himself behind her and draping the blankets over them.
His arms came around her waist to draw her back firmly against him. “You are safe and will sleep well tonight, my love, for I will keep all monsters away.”
Bria rested her hand on his arm and sighed. Feeling his love wrap gently around her, she calmed and easily drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Not so, Kaelan.
With his connection to Bria so strong, he knew she was not being completely truthful with him and that concerned him. But then he was yet to be completely truthful with her.
The time would come when secrets would need to be revealed. Would Bria still feel safe in his arms once she learned the truth?