Kaelan’s pulse hammered wildly as he carried her to the bed and lowered her carefully onto it, one hand cradling the back ofher 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 quicklyhelping 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?
