Dragon Laird's Witch

Brenna did her best to keep running, trying to ignore the stitch in her side. It had been with her for at least several miles, and she was aware of her pace slowing, so she focused for a moment and tried to infuse some of her magic into stamina. It didn’t seem to work, and she wasn’t really surprised. She had one main gift, and that was the gift of Sight. Some witches had a multitude of talents, but many were like her, with just one area of expertise.How she had cursed her Sight over these many years. It had led to permanent separation from her family when she was just nine years old, after Sir Frederick Walstone had heard rumors of her talents. He’d taken her from her family, and he’d held her captive eleven years now.At first, he hadn’t trusted her at all, and she’d made several escape attempts. Only as the years passed, and she learned to temper her impulse to flee, had he started to take fewer precautions. By this point, he believed her to be a well-heeled pet.She grinned in sa

“Will ye stand up, lass?” asked the older woman with a kindly smile.Trembling, Brenna got to her feet, leaving the Maclaren plaid on the bed as she walked over to stand in front of the apothecary. She’d been treated a few times by Walstone’s apothecary, and she dreaded some of the techniques the man employed, including bloodletting.She braced herself for whatever the woman might do, but she was surprised when all Agnes did was run a hand from the top of her head down to her feet before standing up again. “Ye appear relatively uninjured, save for a strain in yer side. A little rest will resolve that, though I recommend a hot bath to help as well. I shall order one for ye.”Brenna frowned. “Why are you being so considerate to me?”The woman tilted her head slightly. “I’m sorry, lass, but I cannae understand yer English so well. I have a sense of what ye are trying to tell me, but it is not one of my better gifts. Can ye speak more slowly?”Brenna nodded and repeated the question in a

Chapter FiveBrenna shifted on the chair as she stared at the laird, savoring the warmth that was filling her. “I know not, Laird Balfour.”He seemed to be considering her for a long moment. “What skills have you besides Sight? There must be something you know how to do now that talent is closed to you.”She swallowed a lump in her throat and then cleared it with a small cough. “I used to work with my mother in the kitchen.” She didn’t bother to share she’d only been nine the last time she had done so, and though she had learned a great deal about how to care for a small family, that didn’t mean she could competently work in the kitchen of the keep.“In that case, I shall see if Dolag can use you. She heads the kitchens. I will ensure you are assigned quarters, and you will not be swept from them again, I assure you.”She nodded her head in thanks. “I do appreciate everything you have done for me, Laird Balfour.”His expression softened for a moment, and he seemed on the verge of sayi

Chapter SevenLong after the loving, Brenna jolted upright with a scream trapped on her lips. She could still see the vision of Cameron standing in his naked glory, his body smeared with blood, and shouting in what sounded like agony. She shuddered, wishing she could convince herself that it had simply been a dream, but she knew the difference.“Brenna?” He sounded stupefied, and she realized he was still half-asleep. Struggling to control her racing heart, she took a few deep breaths and laid down beside him. “It is nothing. A bad dream.”“Would you like to speak of it?” The words were issued in a sleepy voice.She managed a small smile in spite of the terror consuming her. “It would matter not, for I fear you would not remember what I spoke by morning.”“Nonsense,” he mumbled. “I am perfectly awake.” Seconds later, a small snore shook his frame.Brenna suppressed a giggle as she snuggled closer to him, soaking in the warmth of his body. His arms went back around her, holding her tig

Chapter NineBrenna had been waiting for their return, having seen the vision of Cameron falling from the sky as it was happening. When Ian had first returned with his brother in his claws, she’d been afraid Cameron was dead, but there had been a sense of urgency about Ian, and when he called for help, she’d been able to breathe again.She’d remained at the periphery, hoping no one would notice or challenge her right to be there as she followed them up the stairs into his bedchamber. Only when she heard him calling for her had she managed to break her paralysis and stop hovering on the fringes so she could approach him. When she had taken the seat beside him on the bed, it felt like coming home.Now, several days later, it still felt like that as she held his hand and watched him sleep. It was a far more restful sleep than he had enjoyed for the first forty-eight hours after being brought back with a magical poison coursing through his veins. Agnes had never faltered in her conviction