Then Winnie smiled gently. “Welcome home, Bria.”
Chapter Eleven
A Magical Village
Unexpected Discovery
Bria stared at Winnie, certain she had somehow misunderstood what the woman meant.
“Home?” she repeated softly. “This is not my home.”
Winnie said nothing at first. She merely sliced the warm loaf of bread and placed several pieces upon the table as though the quiet task deserved more attention than the confusion tightening steadily inside Bria.
Finally, the older woman looked at her. “Perhaps not the home you were raised in, but your beginnings likely rest here all the same.”
The words unsettled Bria more than she wished to admit.
“Nay,” she said quickly, almost too quickly. “You are mistaken.”
Winnie’s gaze remained calm. “Am I?”
Bria folded her arms tightly across herself, suddenly feeling exposed beneath the woman’s quiet scrutiny. “I was born in Leighfeld. I have lived there my whole life.”
“That does not mean your blood began there.”
The strange certainty in Winnie’s voice irritated her.
“You speak as though you know me.”
“I know enough.”
Bria shook her head sharply. “Because you felt warmth through a touch of my hand? I am a comfort healer. That is all.”
Winnie’s expression changed slightly then, something between sympathy and disbelief.
“All?” she repeated softly.
Bria bristled. “There are many comfort healers in Leighfeld.”
“Perhaps it is as you say,” Winnie said, “but not many with the power of your birthright.”
The words struck Bria wrong instantly, and yet she could not help but think of what her touch had been revealing to her lately. How she knew or sensed things, like how she knew an item had been stolen or how she knew Tibby feared the man and missed home as soon as he pressed against her leg.
Her shoulders stiffened, frightened yet intrigued at the thought. “I possess no power.”
Winnie tilted her head slightly, studying her with increasing interest now rather than argument. “You truly believe that?”
“I don’t believe it, I know it.”
“And yet I felt it as soon as we touched and for that to happen, you must be powerful, but then you are in Driochmor now. No doubt that increased your powers.”
Bria opened her mouth to protest but found no words waiting.
Winnie continued more quietly. “Tibby must have sensed it as well, which is why he trusted you and sought your help. He fears most strangers. And what about the trees? They speak to you.”
Bria’s breath caught softly.
“The trees?” she whispered before she could stop herself.
