Echoes of Magic Page 4

  He had almost risen and gone to her when he’d seen the color drain from her face. As he watched, she lifted a shaky hand and smoothed her golden locks from her face.

  She rose to her feet and began gathering bits of herbs from the ceiling of the cart. Her back was to him, so he couldn’t see what she was doing with the herbs, but by her hurried, frantic actions it must be important.

  Sleep pulled at Grayson. He hated being this weak, hated being confined to a bed without his sword near him. Always his sword had been by his side. He even slept with the weapon on the floor by his bed. Not to have it now when he needed it most annoyed him.

  He let his eyes drift shut, unable to fight the pull of the healing sleep any longer. Before he drifted off, he smelled a musky, exotic scent fill the air. Though he longed to stay awake to see what she was about, he wasn’t strong enough to fight the sleep. Just as he gave in, he heard her whisper his name.

  Hours later Grayson opened his eyes and looked around the small cart, but Adrianna was nowhere to be found. He had slept deeply, more deeply than he had in ages. And that bothered him greatly.

  He sat up expecting the usual pain and weakness to plague him. To his surprise, there was only a slight pull from his wound.

  “Oh, good. You’re awake,” Adrianna said as she entered the cart. “Let me check your bandage.”

  Grayson scratched his jaw and felt the growth of his whiskers. He needed a shave, and he needed a bath. His stomach rumbled, reminding him he was still hungry. And just the sweet, clean smell of Adrianna sent his balls to tightening.

  “Give me a moment then you can get some food.”

  “You’ll let me leave the cart?”

  “If you’re able.”

  He wasn’t fooled for a moment. Somehow she’d used her magic to speed his healing, not that he wanted to complain, but he wished she would’ve told him. His eyes closed as he bit back a moan when her soft, warm hands touched his back. Her fingers slowly moved away the bandage and gently touched the skin around the wound.

  “Does it still pain you?”

  Not as much as my cock apparently. “A little, though I’m guessing after your magic it’ll be better on the morrow.”

  “How...how did you know?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  He shifted to look at her. “With the severity of the wound and how close I came to dying, I shouldn’t feel this good two days after you found me. You should’ve told me.”

  “I should have. I apologize. Are you angry?”

  He wanted to wipe away the frown that puckered her forehead, to pull her into his arms so he could kiss the soft skin of her neck. “Nay. I just ask that you inform me next time.”

  Her lips lifted in a grin. “Agreed.”

  Grayson tried to ignore how close she was to him, how the soft fragrance of her skin made him yearn to reach out and touch her or how the desire in her pale blue eyes made his balls tighten.

  “Have you made a decision on whether I can accompany you?” she asked as she went back to examining his wound.

  Grayson swallowed heavily and closed his eyes as he fought the need for her welling inside of him. When he could speak, he said, “Tell me why you want to come.”

  “You’re healing well,” she said and finished putting on a fresh bandage. “As to why I want to go, because you will need me. I’ve already told you that.”

  “Aye, but how will I need you.”

  She smoothed her hands down her dark skirts and moved to face him. “I’m not sure yet.”

  “You’ll have a better chance of living if you stay with the gypsies.”

  “I will admit, I’ve been happy here, but I’m meant to go with you. If you don’t take me with you, I’ll only follow.”

  Grayson swore. She would be safer with him than without until he reached Hawksbridge, and he hated to admit she might prove helpful. But how was he going to handle having her around each day and unable to touch her?

  “I’m going to regret this, but all right. You may come.”

  She smiled, her eyes sparkling. “I think you’ll find you’ll be thanking me soon.”

  He rather hoped so, though he would never tell her that. Mercifully, she walked from the cart leaving him with a need that grew with such ferocity each time she was near that it frightened him.

  There was no way he was going to trek about the countryside with a raging cockstand without first finding a willing woman to ease his lust. And as soon as he was able, he was going to do just that.

  He drew in a shaky breath and flexed his shoulder. He grimaced when the muscle pulled viciously, but Grayson continued to work it to loosen the shoulder until he was satisfied with the progress.

  Adrianna’s magic was strong to have healed him so overnight. He couldn’t wait to see how he felt the next day. If he continued to progress, he would be able to lift a sword very soon, maybe even tomorrow. If he had a sword.

  He tugged on the tunic left on the bed for him. Surprisingly, it fit well. He pulled on his boots and walked from the cart to find his morning meal. The people around the large fire gave him curious glances, and some even offered a smile.

  After he filled his plate with food, he turned and found Adrianna sitting beneath a large oak talking to Milosh. Grayson clenched his jaw at the way the gypsy leader looked at Adrianna, as if Milosh wanted to devour her.

  “She’s a very beautiful woman.”

  Grayson turned to find a man who greatly resembled Milosh. “She is. I would like to thank you for your hospitality.”

  The man motioned for Grayson to follow him and led him to a fallen log. Grayson sat beside him and began to eat.

  After he’d taken several bites, the man said, “I am Yoska. Milosh is my brother, and he has always desired Adrianna as his own.”

  The bread was halfway to Grayson’s mouth when he paused. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because it will be up to you soon to keep her safe. Adrianna is strong willed. When she feels she is needed, she’ll do what she must to see that she has done her duty.”

  “I’d prefer her to stay.”

  Yoska’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “That she cannot do. The men that hunt you will return, will they not?”

  “Aye, they will.”

  “And Adrianna knows your secrets.”

  Grayson sighed. “She knows enough that the men would take her. As I said, you should have left me to die in those woods.”

  “It isn’t her way,” Yoska simply said.

  “Nay, it isn’t,” he agreed. “Will you be able to avoid the men?”

  Yoska shrugged. “We know nothing. They will realize that soon enough, I believe. Then they will be after you once again.”

  Grayson looked into the Romanian’s dark gaze. “I would never willingly put innocents in harm’s way.”

  “I believe you. How is your wound?”

  “Much better. I would be able able to protect her and the rest of you if I still had my sword.”

  Yoska shrugged and rose. “You’ll come across another soon I’m sure.”

  Grayson watched the big man walk away before he glanced at Adrianna and Milosh. Milosh’s gaze was on Adrianna, but Adrianna looked at Grayson. He gave her a small nod and went back to his meal.

  Yoska’s words reverberated in his head. He didn’t like knowing those men would find the gypsies, but the less the gypsies knew, the better off they would be.

  Despite Yoska’s words that Adrianna was strong willed, Grayson wondered if Milosh would let her go that easily. It was clear the leader wanted Adrianna and, if Grayson were in his shoes, there would be nothing that stood between him and the woman he claimed as his own.

  At one time he had briefly thought to take a wife, but that notion soon left him. Too many secrets, too many unanswered questions filled his past for him to have any kind of future, much less one with a family.

  Nay, Grayson was destined for only one thing, and that was to find out what happened to his mother. It m
ight be the last thing he ever heard, but it would be enough.

  His mother’s frightened gaze, her scream as she stretched her arm to him as the men dragged her away had haunted him since that fateful day. He didn’t know if she were alive or dead. He had no idea who the men were or why they wanted her, but God help anyone if they harmed a hair on her head.

  They took for granted the boy who disappeared into the throng of people would forget and leave well enough alone. But they were wrong. Vengeance could drive a man to do things previously impossible, and that’s exactly what Grayson would do.

  Not even Drogan knew his secrets. It had been imperative that Grayson remain hidden until the time he could seek out his answers. It was times like these he wished he had a sibling or father to turn to, but he had no one. It had been only he and his mother, of that he knew for sure. Everything else was a blur in his memories.

  “If I could look into your past, I would,” Adrianna said as she sat beside him.

  Grayson shrugged. “I’m not sure that’d be wise. Some memories are better left forgotten.”

  “But you aren’t forgetting yours. You’re reliving them.”

  It amazed him how intuitive she was. Was it her magic? “Reliving those memories helps me remember my mother.”

  She ran her finger over the bark of the tree. “What did she look like?”

  “I remember she was very beautiful,” he said. “I know all children think that of their mothers, but to me she was.”

  “I’m sure she was. Tell me more,” Adrianna urged.

  “I recall sitting before the hearth while she embroidered and putting my finger through her curls. I would stretch the curl out then release it and watch it spring back into place.”

  Adrianna grinned. “Sounds wonderful.”

  “It was. Her hair was as black as midnight, and she had the most amazing dark eyes. She loved to hum as she embroidered.”

  He hadn’t thought of his mother and their quiet moments in front of the hearth in years, mostly because it was too painful to recall such happy times and not know where his mother was.

  Adrianna turned her face toward the group of gypsies around the fire. “I would like to have met her.”

  Grayson looked at her profile. “She would have liked you.”

  She smiled as her eyes shifted to him. “How do you know?”

  “Because I like you.”

  For several heartbeats they simply stared at each other before Grayson broke eye contract, praying his blood cooled enough for him to think clearly. “Tell me of your mother.”

  “There isn’t much to tell, I’m afraid,” Adrianna said. “She tried to keep her bitterness from my father leaving hidden, but I saw. She would cry at night sometimes.”

  “That must have been difficult for you.”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “It was for a while. Until I realized exactly what she was crying over. She was lonely. She had loved my father dearly. I think it might have been better had he died instead of leaving. At least then she wouldn’t have still held out hope he would return someday.”

  Grayson frowned. “Do you know where your father is now?”

  Pale blue, cold and hard, eyes met his. “He’s dead.”

  Chapter Seven

  Adrianna shifted. She always became uneasy when she spoke of her father. “He died a year before my mother. When she received the news of his death, I think she gave up. Every last shred of hope withered and died. It was lucky for us I inherited the magic of our people, so she had something to turn her mind to while teaching me.”

  “You mean not every female has your abilities?” Grayson’s eyes widened, his surprise clearly visible.

  “Nay. Before the curse, and even some time afterward, the bana‐bhuidseach would marry another bana‐bhuidseach, but when the men began to leave or die very young, the women thought if they mated with non‐magical men they might have a chance at happiness.”

  “Not so,” he guessed.

  Adrianna shook her head. “Every time a bana‐bhuidseach mated with a non‐bana‐bhuidseach it diluted our magic until a woman never knew if her daughter would have the magic or not. All males stopped having magic all together.”

  “I think that’s sad. Your people have so much history, so many wondrous abilities. I’d hate to see them gone.”

  It was more than sad. It was horrific, but she wouldn’t go into her worry over her people. As far as she knew, there were only three bana‐bhuidseach left in Britain. It would only be a matter of years before there was none.

  “Have you tried to end the curse?” Grayson asked.

  Adrianna rose and looked at the clear, blue sky. “I think every bana‐bhuidseach who has ever married has prayed they would be the ones to break the curse. Spells were cast, futures looked into, and even reverse curses, but nothing has stopped it. Nothing.”

  She heard him stand as he moved behind her. His heat surrounded her, and she had the urge to lean back against his strong chest and have his arms wrap around her comforting her, protecting her.

  Her breasts swelled and her sex throbbed with need every time he was near. It was driving her insane, but the need, the hunger, only made her want him all the more. But she couldn’t allow herself even that small measure of weakness.

  “What are you thinking of?” he murmured, his voice low and husky. He was only inches from her, challenging her resolve with every heartbeat.

  “Happiness,” she finally answered. “Some people dream of riches and titles. I dream of happiness.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever find it?”

  She briefly closed her eyes. “Nay. Happiness has eluded my people for generations. Maybe it’s best if we die out. Our magic will be gone, but we might be able to rest instead of carrying such a heavy burden.”

  Large hands gently turned her to face him. “I think happiness is what you make of your life. Have you been unhappy with the gypsies?”

  “Not at all. There is a difference in what I’ve had with the gypsies and what I could have if the curse never was.”

  “I’m not disputing that,” he said softly. “I’m merely stating that you can choose to be happy, or you can choose to be melancholy and lament over what you don’t have.”

  She laughed. “You make it sound so simple. How I wish it were. Tell me. Have you made the most of your situation, Grayson?”

  One side of his mouth lifted in a wry grin. “I’d like to think so. Part of it was because I was keeping who I was a secret, but another part of me realized I only have this one chance at life. Why not make the most of it while I can?”

  Adrianna swallowed. His words reverberated in her head like a drum, making her wish for...him. How she wanted to throw caution to the wind and give in to her temptation to step into Grayson’s arms.

  She knew exactly where it would lead and, though she liked to think she was strong enough to survive anything, the truth was, she wasn’t sure. She would be left with another child, but would that be enough? She somehow knew deep in the pit of her soul that one taste of Grayson would never be enough.

  “You speak such grand words, yet you are willing to ride alone into evil and sacrifice yourself.”

  He chuckled. “I’m a warrior, Adrianna. What can I say?”

  “Aye. What can you say?” She walked away from him before she said something she might later regret.

  As she made her way to the stream, out of the corner of her eye she saw Milosh watching her. In her quest to aid Grayson, she was hurting a man who had offered her shelter, a family. Yet, she could find no way around it.

  “Stay close, Drina,” Yoska cautioned as he passed her.

  Adrianna gave a nod that she heard him and grabbed her soap from the cart before she continued on her way to the water. The gypsies always tried to camp near water, though sometimes it wasn’t possible. When they did, Adrianna took full advantage of her opportunity, and she wasn’t about to let one pass by.

  Her feet quickened as she heard the gurgle of the b
rook. She had unbraided her hair by the time she reached the water’s edge. It took her no time to remove her clothes and step into the stream.

  She sighed and glided into deeper water. The stream wasn’t large and could barely be called a river, but it was deep enough for her to be able to enjoy a nice swim before she bathed. The water was cool and the sun warm as Adrianna dove beneath the surface. The water current pushed against her, making her body strain as she swam.

  She broke the surface with a laugh. A swim always managed to revive her and clear her head, much as walking among trees did. Since she knew Milosh and Yoska would come and check on her soon, Adrianna lathered the soap and began to scrub.

  * * * * *

  Grayson managed to borrow a knife from Yoska so he could shave off his irritating beard. He had taken off his bandages since he planned to bathe, but he was sure Adrianna would scold him for it.

  He shrugged out of his tunic and tossed it on a low branch of a tree before he bent down to tug off his boots. It wasn’t until he began to unfasten his pants that he glanced at the water and saw her.

  His body stilled as every ounce of blood rushed to his cock. Even breathing became difficult when Adrianna lifted one slim arm from the water and watched the droplets trail down her arm.

  Her wealth of golden hair was slick back to her head and floating around her like gold in the dark blue water. She dove under, giving him a view of her shapely bottom before the water claimed her.

  Grayson turned and put his back to a tree, his chest heaving as he struggled to calm his racing heart. If he watched her any longer, he would join her and be damned the consequences. He shifted his aching rod and vowed as soon as they found a city he would relieve this need that had taken over his thoughts—day and night.

  He didn’t move, not even when he heard her leave the water and begin to dry off. With his eyes squeezed shut and his hands fisted at his side, he remained still as stone, afraid to even breathe lest he give in to the hunger. Only when her footsteps faded as she walked back to the gypsies did he let out the breath he’d been holding.