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?
Chapter Seventeen
Captured
Vines That Bind
Bria woke slowly, warmth lingering around her from where Kaelan had held her through the night, though it was soon replaced by that empty feeling she was growing more familiar with when she and Kaelan were apart. She turned, though knew what she would find. She was alone in bed and casting a quick glance around, she was also alone in the cottage. But she had known that as soon as the ache settled in her chest.
She saw that the fire in the hearth had burned low during the night, leaving only faint warmth drifting through the cottage. Pale gray light slipped through the small window, but no rain tapped at it.
Bria rose quickly, anxious to find Kaelan. She splashed cool water upon her face from the basin near the hearth, then hurriedly braided her hair over one shoulder, grabbed her cloak, and stepped outside.
