Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
A Strange Encounter
A Promise Made
Kaelan remained outside only a short while longer before the rain strengthened once again. Cold droplets struck steadily against his face and cloak while wind stirred through the trees surrounding the village. Yet none of it cooled the restless thoughts churning inside him.
He had to let it go. He had a mission to complete. Besides, it rested with Bria now. It was her decision to make.
He turned his head, hearing something from inside the cottage. Had Bria called out? He didn’t waste a moment. He shoved the door open so hard it struck the wall behind it.
“Bria,” he called out, fear hitting him when she didn’t answer him.
The sharp scent of spilled cider reached him then and he saw her. She lay motionless beside the shattered pitcher, pale against the stone floor.
For one terrifying instant, Kaelan could not breathe. His heart slammed hard against his ribs. He crossed the room in seconds and dropped down beside her, glancing over her quickly. With no sign of harm, he hastily slid his arms beneath her, lifting her against him.
Limp. Her body was completely limp in his arms.
Kaelan’s pulse hammered wildly as he carried her to the bed and lowered her carefully onto it, one hand cradling the back of her head while the other brushed trembling fingers across her cheek.
“Bria.” His voice came rough now. Frightened. “Wake.”
Still no response.
His chest tightened painfully as he tapped her cheek gently, then more firmly.
He raised his voice. “Bria.”
Still Nothing.
He pressed his forehead briefly against hers, listening for breath, relief striking sharply when he felt the faint warmth of it against his skin.
Kaelan forced himself to calm down and think clearly as he normally would in such a situation. The problem was this situation involved the woman he loved.
That thought did nothing to help him and he shook his head to clear it.
There was no scent of blood, no wound he could see, so what happened? The question turned his attention on the room.
The shattered pitcher that lay near the table and cider pooling on the stone floor.
He dropped his head back and groaned deeply. She had touched the pitcher to pour herself a drink and felt something. Nay, saw something that frightened her so badly it caused her to faint.
And his hand had been the last one to touch the pitcher.
A slight movement caught his attention, and he looked to see her stirring slowly.
“You are safe, Bria. I am here with you,” he encouraged, worried the image might still linger.
Her eyes fluttered until they finally opened and seeing Kaelan there, she grabbed his arm.
“I saw the beast. It was there right in front of me, so close I could feel its breath. You have been that close to it?” She struggled to sit up, Kaelan quickly helping her with a hand to her back.
“I have found that my comfort touch goes beyond just comfort. Some items I touch show me things that have previously taken place.” She paused a moment, her brow narrowing.
“But that only happened when I purposely concentrated on the object. This came without any thought. How could that be?” Burdened by the thought, she lowered her head trying to make sense of it.
“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?