Page 22 of The Irresistible Warrior
Hamish nodded. “Aye, a place most avoid believing it is a place of dark magic, so some say.”
The witch came to mind right away, and Declan wondered if this was her doing. But surely, she didn’t need to hire someone to abduct Aura, she could just work her magic and see it done.
“I posted two guards near her cottage, and I will search the ring of stones myself to see if anyone or anything can be found.”
“Aye, I’ll see that men are gathered to accompany you,” Hamish assured him. “Could be a father who wants you for his daughter.”
“The thought did cross mine and Aura’s minds and seems the most logical explanation, but I want to be sure.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
Declan stepped in closer. “I would say keep this quiet, but that’s impossible with the guards being posted. But do you think someone in the village could be involved?”
“Not likely,” Hamish said, not even taking a moment to consider it. “The clan is too pleased with how you have made sure men hunt for food, cottages get repaired, and more. You are bringing the clan back to life and they are grateful. And though all know your marriage is one of convenience, it still brings themjoy. They would do nothing to harm the peace you’ve brought them.”
“It must be one of the fathers, and when I get my hands on him…” Declan’s hands closed in tight fists.
Hamish studied him for a moment, then softened his voice. “You care for her.”
Declan didn’t answer right away. “She is a good woman who has offered to help me, and I won’t see anything happen to her.”
Hamish’s smile grew as he watched as Delcan strode toward the door. “Well, I’ll be… he’s falling in love with the lass and doesn’t even know it.”
Declan enteredAura’s cottage after receiving no response to his knock to find her seated at the table, her head bent down busy using her pestle to grind dried leaves in her mortar. Her focus was on her chore, even the strand of hair that had fallen in her face was ignored. She chewed at her bottom lip as she worked, plumping it and turning it rosy. Her slim fingers worked with skilled practice and though she must have done this tedious chore repeatedly, she appeared quite content.
“Aura,” he said gently.
Her hands froze and her head popped up, her eyes turning wide.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I rapped at the door, but you didn’t answer.” How was it he hadn’t noticed the touch of glimmer in her brown eyes? It was almost as if the brown color shielded people from its beauty.
He stared at her strangely, but then she was a bit disheveled, having gotten lost in her work.
Her work.
“I thought of some plants to combine to make a brew that perhaps could soften the effects of the wish, but I need certain plants to add to it to make it more potent, which means a trip into the woods.”
“Not without me,” he said firmly.
She smiled and pushed the loose strand of hair out of her face, leaving a smudge of ground leaves on her cheek. “I had the same thought.”
“I’m afraid it will have to wait. Hamish has gathered a few volunteers to go with me to the place where you were to be left. It seems that the ring of stones is a place feared by many. It is believed dark magic exists there.”
Aura hurried her apron off. “The witch. She may be the cause of all this. I am going with you.”
Declan’s chuckle was not one of humor. “Not likely.”
Aura’s eyes turned wide. “Why not? I may spy something there, a plant, a root, an amulet that could help me better understand the cause of your problem.”
Bloody hell if that didn’t make sense, Declan thought.
She hurried around the table and tapped at his chest. “I can see in your eyes that what I said makes perfect sense.”
He muttered beneath his breath.
“This is an opportunity,” Aura said, a sense of excitement in her voice. “We can’t risk losing it. It could mean freeing you of this wretched wish.”
It was an opportunity but not the kind she was talking about. It was an opportunity to ease the ache that had been nagging at him since he entered the cottage and watched her lip grow plumper from her absent-minded chewing. The ache to… kiss her.
