Echoes of Magic Read Online Free Page A

any
man.”
    “ Is that what happened to
you?”
    For a long moment Adrianna stared at the
warrior sitting opposite her. She had shared her tale with Serena,
but not even the gypsies knew of it. Yet, there was something about
Grayson that told her she could trust him. .
    “ Actually, nay. I opened my
heart, willingly accepting my fate when I grew with child. As
predicted, he left.” Adrianna couldn’t hold his gaze any longer. “I
wasn’t prepared when my son died a month later.”
    A large, tanned hand
covered hers. She lifted her eyes and found Grayson at the edge of
the bed, his silver gaze watching her. “I’m sorry.”
    She inhaled deeply and shrugged. “Such is
life.”
    “ It’s pain no woman should
feel.”
    She happened to agree with
him. The loss of her lover she had accepted into her heart and body
had hurt, but it was nothing compared to having to bury her
child.
    “ Do the males also carry
magic?”
    Adrianna was grateful for the change of
subject. She didn’t like thinking of her son for it only brought
her into a deep depression she had a difficult time crawling out
of.
    “ Nay,”
she answered. “Only females are able to carry the magic. Most of
the bana ‐ bhuidseach will have females over males. It is a way to carry on our
magic.”
    He tapped a finger on the edge of the bed.
“No wonder you were excited to learn of Francesca.”
    “ Knowing there is another
of us out there is joyful. When I came across Serena, I almost
couldn’t believe she was one of us.”
    Grayson laid down, a hand behind his head.
“I understand the curse, but I also know Drogan. He loves her.
There is nothing that could take him away from Serena. Never would
he ever leave her.”
    “ Sometimes the men leave on
their own accord. Other times, death takes them.”
    “ Drogan is a powerful
knight. It would take much for death to bring him down.”
    “ The evil nearly did
it.”
    Grayson couldn’t dispute that. “Aye.”
    “ Did you see the
evil?”
    “ Briefly,” he admitted. “He
was in armor, and Drogan knew him. I thought him a man, but no man
could have survived what Serena did to him.”
    “ What happened?” Adrianna
asked.
    “ The evil and Drogan had
been fighting, but the evil had the strength of twenty men. As
skilled as Drogan is, he couldn’t combat that.”
    “ And?”
    Grayson rubbed his eyes with his thumb and
forefinger. He wished to God he hadn’t seen the battle. He wished
he didn’t know.
    “ Serena rushed out to save
Drogan, but the evil didn’t take her bait and plunged his sword
into Drogan’s chest.”
    “ Nay,” Adrianna whispered,
a look of pure horror on her face.
    Grayson grinned wrly.
“Serena had given Drogan an amulet, which apparently was protected
by magic. It saved his life but, in the process, Serena was
injured. She lost much blood before Drogan got her back to the
castle so Francesca could heal her.”
    “ And the babe?”
    He narrowed his eyes on
Adrianna. How had she known of the babe? “Serena still carries the
child.”
    Adrianna sighed. “Thank the saints.”
    Grayson turned his head and looked at the
ceiling of the cart. Herbs of all sorts hung from above, drying. He
hated talking about the evil, but worse was not knowing why it was
after him.
    Unless it had something to do with his
mother.
    “ Grayson?”
    “ Aye?”
    “ Do you know why the evil
is after you?”
    “ Nay. I knew the men who
attacked me weren’t quite...normal.”
    She licked her lips, drawing his gaze again
to her full, dusky pink mouth he couldn’t stop thinking about.
    “ Did you attack the
evil?”
    He shook his head. “Not once. Only Drogan
and Serena had any contact with him. Are you sure it’s the same
evil?”
    “ I’ve no doubt,” she said
and wiped her hands on her skirts. “The same stench I smelled the
night I met Serena, I smelled on the arrow we pulled from your
back. I’m sorry, Grayson, but it is him.”
    Wonderful. He was a good fighter and could hold his