Wed to a Highland Warrior (23 page)

Guilt twisted at his stomach. How could he not empathize with all that she had suffered and help ease a burden he would only add to.

He sat on the side of the bed, and she reached out to him. He took hold of her hand, her slim fingers wrapping around his.

“Thank you for being so understanding,” she said. “But then you have always been an honorable man and a considerate lover”—she yawned and closed her eyes—“a man worthy of being king.”

He sat staring at her as she drifted off to sleep. He laid her limp hand at her side and couldn’t help but recall how often she had made mention of his being king. She had been well aware that of the four brothers, one of them was the true king. She had seemed convinced that it was he.

His da’s words certainly had stirred a hornet’s nest. Suddenly, Leora had seemed different than he had remembered her. He left the room with haste, not wanting to chance her waking again.

Reeve’s bedchamber wasn’t far from his, and he was eager to see his wife and talk with her. He stopped abruptly, two things suddenly heavy on his mind. One, he carried Leora’s scent on him, and, two, he had no doubt his wife already was aware that Leora had kissed him.

Had she seen the whole of it, or had she wondered over it?

He didn’t want to wait to find out, and since she knew of the kiss, the scent would not matter. Or would it? He hurried to Reeve’s bedchamber and eased the door open, not wanting to disturb her if she had fallen asleep.

Trey hurried over to the large bed and stared at it.

It was empty.

Chapter 28

T
rey raced through the keep, searching for his wife. No matter where he went or whom he spoke with, no one had seen her. He couldn’t understand how she could just vanish without a trace. Someone had to have seen her somewhere.

The one person he hadn’t truly wanted to see, though she knew everything that went on in the keep, was his mum. She had an instinct about her and could always tell when he and his brothers were lying. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he wasn’t ready to discuss his problem.

“Have you seen Bliss, Mum?” he asked, entering the great hall as she was leaving it.

“She’s where Dolca settled her in Reeve’s bedchamber.”

Trey shook his head. “I stopped by to see how she was doing, but she wasn’t there.”

Mara wrinkled her brow. “That’s odd. She was so tired that I assumed she’d be fast asleep by now.”

“I thought the same myself,” Trey said, his worry growing.

“Shouldn’t you be with Leora instead of concerning yourself with Bliss?”

When she hooked her arm with his and walked them to the table in front of the hearth, not even waiting for an answer, he knew he was in trouble.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” she asked, pointing to the bench for him to sit.

His mum’s intense stare had him keeping his mouth shut. How he’d get out of this unscathed he didn’t know.

“You may have been shocked to see that Leora was still alive, but you didn’t seem as happy to see her as I expected you to be.”

“It’s the shock of it all,” he said, feeling safe to blame his reaction on it. “I had thought her dead, and here she is, alive. Weren’t you just as shocked?”

“It near knocked me off my feet to see her alive though it was with tears and a hug that I greeted her.” Her brow wrinkled. “It was strange though that she chose to keep to herself while waiting for your return. Leora was like a daughter to me, but now . . .” She shook her head. “She has changed though no doubt not through any fault of her own.”

He seized on her words. “You’re right, Mum, Leora is different, and I think she and I need time to get to know one another again.”

Mara’s hand went to rest on her hip, and she grinned. “Don’t be thinking you can lie to me and get away with it. What’s going on? You were more concerned with Bliss’s well-being than Leora’s return.”

Part of the truth might be enough to appease her. “I’m in love with Bliss.”

Mara’s hand flew to her chest, and her eyes spread wide. “Are you sure?”

Trey smiled. “More sure about it than anything I’ve ever been in my life.”

“What of your love for Leora? You were devastated when you thought her dead. I didn’t think you would ever recover. Now you tell me that, within a few weeks, you have fallen in love with someone else.”

“I cannot explain to you or to myself,” he said. “I hadn’t expected it or planned on it. It just happened.”

“Well, at least you haven’t wed Bliss. It will give you time to see if perhaps you made a mistake and still love Leora.”

He wasn’t about to tell her that Bliss was his wife and would remain his wife. But he did intend to let her know what Bliss meant to him.

“My love for Bliss is not going to change. I am happiest when I am with her and miss her when she isn’t near”—he stood—“which is why I intend to find out where she has gone off to.”

Mara rested her hand to her son’s chest. “Be sure about this, Trey. True love is rare to find, and you don’t want to lose it.”

He took hold of his mum’s hand. “I know, and that’s why I go to look for Bliss.”

She sighed as if in resignation. “You were always a stubborn one.”

“I thought I was the stubborn one,” Reeve said, entering the hall.

Mara laughed. “You do have your moments though your fists usually settle things for you, and since you’re here, help your brother find Bliss.”

“I thought she was in my bedchamber, sleeping.”

“She’s not there,” Trey said.

“Perhaps someone needed healing,” Reeve suggested.

“Then I would have been summoned,” Mara said.

“Well, she couldn’t have just disappeared,” Reeve said.

“Who disappeared?” Bryce asked, Charlotte at his side, as they entered from outside, Odin trotting happily alongside her.

“You’re covered with snow,” Reeve said.

“That’s because it’s snowing out,” Bryce informed him with a grin.

Mara shook her head. “You two wander off at the oddest times.”

“What is that thing?” Trey asked, shaking his head though he didn’t wait for an answer. “By chance, did you happen to see Bliss?”

Charlotte patted the big dog on the head. “This is Odin, my trusty and loving companion. As for Bliss, I saw her walking toward the far end of the village.”

It came to him in an instant, and without a word to his family, he turned and hurried toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Bryce called out.

“Willow’s place,” he answered without looking back.

“I’ll join you,” Reeve offered, coming up behind him.

“The hour grows late.” Trey stopped at the door. “Go see to your wife. I can do this on my own.”

Reeve yanked two fur-lined cloaks off the pegs by the door and tossed one at his brother. “I’m going with you . . . just in case. As for
my
wife,
I know exactly where she is. She’s sound asleep after being well satisfied.”

“Bryce and Duncan are right, you do need a beating,” Trey said, shoving a laughing Reeve out the door.

The village was quiet, the snow falling steadily. There was sure to be a good accumulation by morning. Trey hoped he’d find Bliss at Willow’s place. He didn’t want to think of her having gone off somewhere in the snow, in the dark of night and alone. Or was she alone?

What troubled him the most was that he couldn’t sense anything about her. While they traveled together, he could sense things about her so easily. But at this moment he could sense or feel nothing, and he grew fearful. Had something happened to her?

Trey’s fist came up as he approached the door, anxious to pound on it, gain entrance, and see his wife sitting there safely.

The door sprang open before he even reached it.

Stone stepped out. “Bliss was here, but she left sometime ago.”

“Where is she?” Trey demanded.

Stone shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Look and find her, do what she does,” Trey snapped.

Stone kept his voice calm. “I do not have the power your wife has.”

Trey kept his voice to a harsh whisper. “You know that we are wed.”

“It was easy to sense, and I will guard your secret well. But Bliss’s power comes naturally, passed down from one to another, growing ever stronger in each person. While I inherited some ability, more of it was learned and grew stronger with practice.”

Trey’s fear mounted. Where could she be?

“Call out to her, and she should hear you . . . unless?”

“Unless what?” Trey demanded.

“Unless she shields herself from letting anyone in or . . .”

Trey shook his head. “No, even if she were dead, she would come to me like her grandmother comes to her.”

“So she can sense and see beyond this world.” His smile was one of envy.

“How can I penetrate any shield she erects?”

“You cannot,” Stone said. “But if you both truly love each other, and you continually reach out to her, she will eventually hear you, if only as a whisper. Fate allows nothing to stand in the way of true love.” Stone rested his hand on Trey’s shoulder. “Reach out to her. It is the only way you will find her.”

Reeve followed beside Trey when he turned and headed back to the keep.

“We could organize a search party,” Reeve offered.

“No, I will do as Stone says and reach out to her.”

“I must ask you. Doesn’t her power frighten you? A wife who knows your every thought?” Reeve pretended to shudder. “I love Tara beyond reason, but I would not want her in my head.”

“It’s not like that, and, besides, it eases my worry over keeping her safe to know that she can sense me and I her, though I worry that perhaps her sensing that Leora kissed me is what made her erect the shield.”

“Cheating on your wife so soon?” Reeve chuckled.

“You really do need a beating. I said Leora kissed me; I did not return the kiss.”

“But you did not stop her, did you?”

Trey shook his head. Reeve was right—he hadn’t stopped Leora from kissing him.

“Had to know if you still enjoyed it, didn’t you?”

Trey didn’t answer.

Reeve grabbed hold of his brother’s arm, forcing him to stop. “I had asked Tara if she loved the first man she was to wed. And she did. She had told me that she had loved him and knew she wanted to wed him when they first met. Naturally, I felt jealous, but she told me that with me she felt not only loved but safe, and she hadn’t felt that way in a very long time.

“You loved Bliss enough to wed her—” Reeve stared at his brother. “Why did your eyes shift so suddenly? What didn’t you tell us?”

Trey started walking.

Reeve grabbed his arm again. “Tell me, or you’ll be having this talk in the solar with the others.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Trey warned.

“Then tell me what you’re keeping from us.”

“Nothing of importance.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“No,” Trey snapped sharply, and walked on without him. He had no intentions of telling anyone how he and Bliss came to be husband and wife. It would create more strife than it was worth, and, besides, it meant nothing now. He loved Bliss, and that was all that mattered.

He rushed into the great hall, dropped his cloak on the peg, and was relieved to see that no one was about. He didn’t want to delay reaching out to Bliss or delay receiving a response. Their love was true, so she would certainly hear him. Or did he need this to prove the strength and depth of their love?

He entered Reeve’s bedchamber and began pacing in front of the hearth, his thoughts on nothing but Bliss.

Bliss. Bliss. Answer me. I love you.

He repeated it over and over and over.

B
liss woke with a start. “Trey?”

She looked around the room, expecting to see her husband; his voice had been so clear in her head. Roan slept soundly on the ground in front of the hearth, while Langward slept peacefully in the narrow bed. She stretched the aches from her body as she sat up, the wood chair not very comfortable for sleep.

Bliss.

She stilled. That was her husband’s voice, but how. She hadn’t removed the protective shield when she finished working on Langward. She had been so exhausted, and if she hadn’t been able to get some sleep, she would have been useless when needed.

How had Trey penetrated the shield?

Bliss, answer me. I love you.

She gasped lightly, and tears came to her eyes. He loved her, truly loved her.

Had she doubted his love? Did she need this to prove it to her?

She grinned like a fool. If that was so, she didn’t care. His love had the power to penetrate her shield, and that was all that mattered.

She reached out to him.
I’m all right, Trey.

Good Lord, Bliss, where are you?

Langward required healing. I’ll be back in the morning.

I’ll come to you now.

It is late.

I don’t care. I want to be with you. Tell me where you are, or I will not leave your thoughts.

She laughed softly and explained where she was, wanting him there.

I will be there soon. I love you.

Happiness rushed over Bliss, and she shuddered. She couldn’t wait for Trey to get there. She missed him and would be relieved to have him beside her. They truly were one, and nothing, absolutely nothing could tear them apart.

T
rey hurried down the stairs relieved and with a smile on his face . . . until he saw what awaited him in the great hall.

He approached his da and brothers with a confident stride. He had no intention of being waylaid. “Whatever you have to say to me, it will wait until morning.”

“No, it won’t,” his da said.

Trey shook his head at Reeve. “You had to say something. You couldn’t wait.”

“Do not blame your brother,” his da said. “Anything that could possibly put the true king in peril cannot wait.”

“How could my situation be perilous to the true king?” Trey asked annoyed.

“We don’t know, but we don’t want to take a chance,” Bryce said. “Tell us what brought you to wed Bliss.”

“Why did you wish to wed me?” Charlotte asked, entering the hall.

“I thought you were sleeping,” Bryce said.

“I woke, and you were gone, so I came looking for you,” she said, “and I’m waiting for an answer.”

“I love you and cannot see life without you,” Bryce answered and held his hand out to her.

Charlotte smiled and took hold of his hand. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and tucked her against him. “Then don’t you think your brother feels the same about Bliss?”

“Why then did he rush into marriage?” Duncan asked. “We all brought the women we love home to wed. Why didn’t he? And by the way, Charlotte, no one is to know of his marriage.”

“What marriage?” Mercy asked on a yawn as she entered the hall.

“Who got married?” Tara asked, following behind Mercy.

“If we’re not all quiet, Mum will be joining us soon,” Reeve said, drawing his wife into his arms as Mercy drifted into Bryce’s outstretched arms.

“Mum’s already here and has been for some time.” Mara stepped out of the shadows. “Did you all think that when I came upon each of you slinking around the keep, I didn’t know something was afoot?”

No one said a word, and Mara marched over to Trey.

“Can this not wait until morning?” Trey asked, but he already knew the answer.

“No,” Mara said sharply. “I think Bliss is a good woman, and I am forever grateful that she saved your life, but to wed her so fast?”

“You are married to Bliss?” Leora screeched, rushing off the stairs and into the room to fall to her knees a few feet from them all. “No! No! You can’t be.”