Druid Knights 02: Knight of Rapture Read Online Free

casual pace.
    “The last portal to seal. I’m glad.” Doward glanced at Arik. “You told me you didn’t want to seal it. Why the change?” The calm air stirred, the breeze ruffled Doward’s long white hair and tugged at his clothes.
    “The portal has served its purpose. It brought Rebeka back. It has no other use.” The undercurrent of searching for something outside his grasp that had driven him for years was gone. He was content. It was a new feeling for him. “She wants to stay and not to return to her time—”
    “Her time? This is her place, her home. You must recognize that.” Doward’s vigorous outburst startled him. Hadn’t the old druid learned anything about Rebeka? About him? She had to want to stay, to be his wife. He would never force her.
    Of course this was her time. This was her home. Lost to them for fifteen years, four months ago she, in fact, fell out of the twenty-first century into his seventeenth-century arms. The very idea made him grin.
    Nineteen, he had been nineteen when he returned from his druid training and Maximillian announced he would be the next Grand Master. He saw the excitement and pride in his father’s eyes and felt the love in his mother’s touch. Bran and Cay were married at the end of the year and he and Rebeka were betrothed. They exchanged runes. He wore her mark over his heart and she wore his on the nape of her neck. They were happy then and looked forward to the future.
    But the following year when Cay caught the fever, Bran was distraught. Ellyn, Rebeka’s mother, was a great sorceress and healer. She tried everything to help Cay but she got worse. That’s when Bran experimented with Dark Magick. But nothing saved Cay. Bran struck out at everyone and threatened Rebeka. Fearing for her life, Maximillian took her away.
    Maximillian told him they would be back in four years. But four years had come and gone. No Maximillian. No Rebeka. He waited. Six more years and still no word, all the time his memories of her fading until she became a shadow to him. Five more years would pass until she returned.
    “Still reminiscing?” Doward questioned.
    She was here now and wanted to stay. No need to go over the past. He took a deep breath. The scent of lavender and roses floated on the air. Yes, his wife’s home was here with him. “A little.”
    The specter of the Shade moved beside him and warnings flashed in his head. He was on high alert. Something was out of place. Doward must’ve sensed it, too. They stopped and turned in all directions, scrutinizing the area, searching for the oddity.
    “There,” shouted Doward. Off in the distance a small whirlwind spun among the stones. How was that possible? Dark clouds rushed toward them until they enveloped the two druids. Arik shielded his eyes against the swirling debris kicked about by the wind. A sweet, pungent metallic odor swirled around him but it was the whirling wind that held him transfixed.
    “The portal’s open,” Doward yelled over the din. “I. Can’t. Move.”
    “Don’t struggle.” Arik bent into the wind.
    “But how?” Doward’s surprised expression matched his own.
    Arik turned to him. “Bran.” Bile rose in his throat. He wanted to kick himself for not having seen the danger.
    The scent of lavender and rose assaulted him again and cold sweat trickled down his back. Rebeka was near.
    He opened his mind but found no trace of her. The wind tore at him. He bowed his head against its force. He pushed forward. He had to find her.
    Rebeka, her staff in hand, trekked the worn forest path toward the meadow. Patches of sunlight filtered through the trees, creating small pools of warmth in the cool woodland. She slowed her pace and took a deep breath, enjoying the rich, earthy fragrance of the damp ground and delighting in the bright leaves that littered the forest floor. She continued on to where the trees thinned and the trail widened.
    A loud boom shook the trees and sent the birds squawking and