Page 149 of Forbidden

On the shoulder of Dominic’s black mantle, the eyes of the Glendruid Wolf gleamed as though alive, infused with ancient wisdom.

“Do you know me?” Dominic asked.

Duncan’s only answer was a feral snarl.

“You have been bewitched,” Dominic said. “We are your friends, yet you have no memory of us.”

A shudder coursed through Duncan.

“Nay, I was but ill,” he said hoarsely.

“Do you remember the time before you came to the Disputed Lands?” Dominic asked.

“No.”

“Do you know that man?” Dominic asked, pointing to Sven.

Duncan looked. A expression of strain came to his face as he tried to rip shadows aside to get at the truth beneath.

“I…” Duncan’s voice faded to a hoarse whisper. “I have no memory.”

“Do you know this woman?”

Dominic stepped aside, leaving Meg alone in a shaft of sunlight. Her loosely bound hair blazed like fire. Her matchless eyes were an intense, burning green given only to Glendruid women.

Duncan made an odd sound.

“Don’t you know me, Duncan?” Meg asked gently. “Once, we chased butterflies together.”

An agonized expression crossed Duncan’s face. Memories glittered like moonlight on disturbed water.

“You taught me to ride,” Meg continued, her voice soft, relentless, “to hunt, and to cast the lure for a falcon. We were betrothed when I was but nine.”

Abruptly memory flowed together—a face, a name, a childhood stitched through with a girl’s laughter.

“Meggie?” Duncan whispered.

A smile transformed Meg’s face.

“Aye, Duncan. Meggie. Of all the people in Blackthorne Keep, only you call me that.”

The mention of Blackthorne Keep made shadows within Duncan swirl and churn. He turned and looked at Simon.

“You talked of Blackthorne Keep when we fought.”

“Aye. ’Tis how I defeated you,” Simon said.

“Blackthorne…”

A shudder tore through Duncan’s powerful body. More fragments of memory touched and wove together.

“Lord John,” Duncan said, looking at Meg. “My…father?”

“Your father,” she agreed. “Though he wasn’t free to wed your mother.”

Duncan made an odd sound. “Somehow I remembered that.”

“John?”