The Renegade's Heart

THE RENEGADE’S HEART

Released from the captivity of the Fae,
Murdoch Seton wants nothing more than to forget his lost years.
Undertaking a quest to recover treasure stolen from his family
seems the perfect solution - but Murdoch is not counting upon a
curious maiden who holds both the secret to the theft and his sole
redemption.

Isabella is outraged to find her brother’s
keep besieged by a renegade knight - especially one who is too
handsome for his own good or hers. After a single encounter, she
becomes convinced that his cause is just and decides to unveil the
true thief, never imagining that their single shared kiss has
launched a battle for Murdoch’s very soul.

As the treacherous Fae move to claim Murdoch
forever, Isabella seeks to heal the knight who has stolen her
heart. But will Murdoch allow her to take a risk and endanger
herself? Or will he sacrifice himself to ensure Isabella’s
future?

* * *

Dear Reader:

Welcome back to medieval Scotland!

The Renegade’s Heart
is
the first book in my True Love Brides series, which picks up the
story of the Lammergeier siblings from my Jewels of Kinfairlie
trilogy. By the end of
The Snow White
Bride
, Alexander had resolved to let his younger sisters
marry for love and at their own choice. This new series tells those
stories at long last. It has been a few years since I wrote about
Kinfairlie and Ravensmuir, so time has passed for my characters as
well. The older sisters have had children, Eleanor is pregnant for
the second time, and both Isabella and Elizabeth are impatient to
find their true loves.

The Renegade’s Heart
is
Isabella’s story. Although she is younger than Annelise, the
Isabella we already know and love is not one to be shy about
stepping forward out of turn. Murdoch and the injustice he has
experienced makes him the perfect hero for Isabella - while she is
the woman who can set all to right in his world. Murdoch’s
experience is out of the ordinary - he has been the captive of the
Elphine Queen, a Fae monarch, and realizes too late that his
release from her kingdom is just a trick. He resolves to make
whatever time he has in the mortal realm worthwhile and sets out to
correct an injustice done to his family, apparently by the family
at Kinfairlie. He never anticipates that Isabella will not only
help him to succeed, but will steal his heart and save him from the
dark queen’s plans. Their story is that of love conquering
considerable obstacles and it was fun to write.

This book begins as the new series will
continue, with more prevalent paranormal and fantasy elements than
was the case in the Jewels of Kinfairlie trilogy. I always wanted
the realm of the Fae to become more intermingled with the world of
the Lammergeier family - we’ve heard the stories before that
Kinfairlie was a portal to the Fae realm. Now the Elphine Queen is
asserting her power in this neglected corner of her realm and the
portals between the worlds are being kicked wide open. I’m looking
forward to the interactions between the worlds and the conflicts
that will inevitably result.

A series of linked books also gives us a
large cast of characters. That there are eight siblings in the
Kinfairlie family is one thing, but as they marry and have
children, the list of characters becomes more extensive. It even
takes me a few minutes to straighten out who is who each time I
come back to Kinfairlie! As a result, I’ve added a Cast of
Characters for your reference. In this digital edition, it is
linked from the Table of Contents. In the print edition, it appears
at the end of the book.

There is also an excerpt from the next
book in the True Love Brides series:
The
Highlander’s Curse
is Annelise’s book and will be released
in December 2012.

In other news, I will be making a quick
trip back to the future this summer. My Prometheus Project trilogy
featuring fallen angel heroes left one character without his happy
ending. I’ve been worried about Tupperman ever since that series
was completed, and I finally figured out his story. “Halo Not
Required” is a novella set in that dystopian future society and
starring Tupperman. It takes place after
Rebel
, when Tupperman has so lost hope that he thinks
he has nothing left to lose. He takes a dare with Lucifer to
retrieve a lost angel - only to fall in love and realize he has
many reasons to survive, if he can. Look for Tupperman’s story in
August 2012.

That’s all my news for this time! I’ve had a
wonderful time revisiting Kinfairlie and I hope you enjoy
Isabella’s story.

Until next time, I hope you are well and have
plenty of good books to read.

All my best -

Claire

www.delacroix.net

* * *

The Renegade’s Heart

Claire Delacroix

©2012 Claire Delacroix, Inc.

Smashwords Edition

Digital Edition ISBN#978-1-927477-00-7

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* * *

The Renegade’s Heart

Table of
Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Cast of Characters

An Excerpt from THE HIGHLANDER’S CURSE

* * *

The Renegade’s Heart

by

Claire Delacroix

* * *

Prologue

Murdoch Seton rode for home as if he had
escaped the very gates of Hell. The moon was new and his heart was
filled with fear. What would he find on his return to Seton Manor?
He has seen so much since his departure, so much that defied
belief, and he no longer knew what to believe.

Had the Elphine Queen truly released him from
the realm of the Fae?

At what price?

Or was this merely an illusion, a jest made
at his expense? No man escaped the Fae once he had been claimed,
not after he had gazed into the fathomless eyes of the Elphine
Queen.

Was Murdoch an exception, or a pawn? He knew
well enough how the Fae loved a jest, particularly one played at
the expense of a mortal.

Each step, each day, made his release seem
more plausible. He scanned his surroundings for evidence that he
was actually in the mortal realm. The hills rose just as high as he
recalled and the sky overhead was as vivid a blue. The forest was
devoid of laughing faces, strange lights, and sounds that had no
mortal source. He could not see the dead, even in the darkness and
solitude of deepest night.

Could the Elphine Queen have kept her pledge?
He had offered to trade her any thing in exchange for his freedom,
and had been stunned when she had simply returned his belongings.
His steed, Zephyr, was none the worse for wear from their time
among the Fae, and his armor had been well–tended.

His leg was still healed.

It all seemed too good to be true.

How long had he been gone? He could not say.
It felt like the blink of an eye, but he knew the tales of those
held captive by the Fae well enough. It could have been a year. A
decade. A century. The possibilities were terrifying. What had
changed in his absence? A river’s reflection had revealed that he
did not look any different, save perhaps for a new wariness in his
eyes.

But that might have been the ripple of the
wind on the water.

He would know when he arrived home, for
better or for worse.

Finally, the road bent ahead of him in a
familiar curve and Murdoch’s chest tightened in anticipation. His
home and family should lie around that bend. Would his father
welcome him back? Would all be as he recalled? Or would his
existence have been forgotten? Murdoch’s suspicions redoubled, for
this should be the moment that any Fae trick was revealed. He
almost could not bear to look.

But he had to know.

Murdoch dismounted and walked his horse. It
could not be a mile to the keep where he had been born and
raised—if it was there. His pulse was racing. Indeed, if this was a
trick, if the Fae leapt from the shadows laughing from every side
when he saw the truth, Murdoch feared the disappointment would kill
him. There had long been a hollow ache where he felt his heart
should be, and he was terrified that his sojourn had changed his
life forever.

Home. It was all he had yearned to see
again.

Indeed, he had never wanted to leave. And he
did not return with the wealth he had hoped to gain, the wealth
that would have ensured the survival of the holding he loved. Would
his father cast him out as a failure? Would he be spurned? That
last argument rang in his ears, tormenting him with their sour
parting.

Uncertainty made Murdoch stop just before the
tower should come into view. Zephyr nickered, stamping a foot with
impatience. He watched the beast sniff the air and flick its ears.
The palfrey behind, lightly loaded, was alert and unafraid.

Murdoch chose to trust.

There was a lump in his throat when the keep
came into view and he was unwilling even to blink. The high square
tower was there, as solid and tall as he recalled, and Murdoch
stared in wonder.

Seton Hall was
exactly
as it had
been.

Even though he was not.

He studied the scene, greedy for details,
seeking clues that it was an illusion. Smoke rose from the roof,
undoubtedly smoke from the fires in the kitchens. There was a
bustle in the village clustered against the outer walls of the
keep, and more than a few fires burning there. He could hear the
clanging from the blacksmith’s shop and wondered whether old
MacCarthy was as opinionated as ever. Murdoch could smell bread
baking and fish curing in the sun, and hear the millstones grinding
steadily in the distance.

The lake glimmered like a mirror behind keep
and village, reflecting the perfect blue of a clear sky. Beyond
that and to the left was the spring long rumored to be a source of
healing waters.

The winter sunlight touched the stones of the
tower with gold, making his home look as precious in truth as it
was to Murdoch. In reality, he knew it was less than a rich
holding, but it was home as nowhere else could ever be.

To his relief, there were no Fae. There were
no ghosts. No shadowy dead paused to stare at him. It seemed the
Elphine Queen had kept her word.

Murdoch still feared trickery. But even this
glimpse was more than he could have expected, more than he could
have hoped to gain. There were tears in his eyes as he strode
closer, and his step was lighter than it had been in years. Home!
He dared to hope that he had not lost much time.

Zephyr tossed his head and pranced with new
vigor. The palfrey quickened her pace, perhaps sensing a warm
stable and a good brush, and cantered alongside the stallion.
Murdoch laughed and broke into a run, his pace matched by the two
beasts.

A man crossed the road ahead of him, heading
from village to castle, and paused to glance back at the sound of
the horses’ hooves. Murdoch couldn’t believe his eyes. It was
Stewart, one of his father’s most trusted men–at–arms, grey of
beard but still hale and ruddy.

Stewart froze and stared, as if Murdoch were
a ghost.

The older man’s expression gave Murdoch a new
fear. Surely, he was not the one who was dead? Had she taken his
soul? What if Murdoch had become one of the shadows that could only
be seen by the Fae? He had time to panic, then the older man
laughed aloud.