Echoes of Magic (29 page)

“
Grayson?” Nigel called.
“Give me what you have promised.”

He dropped his arms and walked until he was
between Nigel and Adrianna. Only then did he raise his gaze to
Nigel’s. “You want my soul?”

“
I demand your
soul.”

Grayson took a deep breath and focused on
the magic as his father had instructed. To his amazement, he felt
it move within him. It swirled, gathering strength until he felt it
touch every part of him.

“
Then take it,” he
challenged Nigel.

Nigel’s hand extended to him. Grayson sucked
in a breath as he felt the pull of his soul shift. He let his magic
hold him, guide him. Again and again, Nigel tried to take his soul,
and again and again he failed.

Grayson laughed. “You don’t have enough
power to take my soul.”

“
You gave it to me freely,”
Nigel bellowed.

“
I didn’t, and you know
it.”

“
You’ll pay for
this.”

As soon as Nigel took a step toward him,
Grayson withdrew his sword and flung it at him. The tip buried in
his helm. Nigel roared and stumbled backwards, his hands struggling
to pull the sword from his face.

Grayson turned and lifted Adrianna in his
arms. He rushed to his father who held their horses and quickly
mounted.

“
What of Nigel?” Drogan
asked.

Grayson smiled and gave a nod. Drogan lifted
his sword, and his men charged Nigel, each of them piercing him
with their weapons. Grayson wanted to watch, to see Nigel die, but
he had to get Adrianna to Hawksbridge.

He nudged the grey into a gallop and raced
for the castle. When he pulled his mount to a stop in the bailey,
his mother waited for him.

“
Is she hurt?”

“
I don’t know,” he said as
he carried Adrianna into the castle.

His mother turned him to the left. “To the
solar, Grayson.”

As he entered the solar, Adrianna sighed in
his arms. He looked down to find her eyes fluttering open. He never
felt such joy as he did when her pale blue gaze met his.

“
Hello,” he
said.

She smiled. “Hello.”

“
Are you hurt?”

“
I don’t think so. What
happened?”

Grayson set her down as his mother brought
in a goblet of water. “Nigel tried to take my soul, but my magic
was too strong.”

* * * * *

Adrianna watched the sun sink in the sky. It
had been an interesting day full of fear, joy, death and love. She
grinned as she recalled how she’d seen Leoma and William holding
hands as they walked to their chamber.

“
What has you smiling
so?”

She turned at Grayson’s approach. “Thinking
of your parents. Are you still upset?”

He sighed. “I think it’ll take me awhile to
really understand the depth of what they did.”

“
What they did is give up
their years together in order to keep you alive. Your father was
never far from your mother. He was always here, always watching out
for his people.”

Grayson nodded and looked to the stones at
his feet. “You’re right of course.”

She touched his face, wanting to give him
whatever comfort she could. “They didn’t abandon you. Their magic
kept you safe, Grayson.”

“
I know.”

“
You have them now, at
least.”

He shifted and turned his gaze to her. “I
do, but it isn’t really what I want.”

“
What more could you want?”
she asked with a laugh. “You defeated Nigel, you brought your
parents back together, and you won over your people. You’ve claimed
what has been yours since the moment of your birth.”

“
Aye. But I don’t have
you.”

Adrianna dropped her hand and moved to turn
away, but he stopped her.

“
Please,” he begged. “Don’t
go. You cannot leave me now, not when I’ve finally realized I love
you.”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She had
waited her entire life to have a man tell her of his love. It was
made all the sweeter because of her love for Grayson.

“
The curse,” she
started.

“
Nay. If my parents and
Drogan and Serena can break it, so can we. Don’t give up on us, on
our love, because of some curse.”

Adrianna blinked. “They did. Your father
never left.”

“
And he’s
a
bana
‐
bhuidseach
, which means I am as well. Think of the future we could
have, Drina.”

She would be the biggest
kind of fool to walk away from what he offered. There was a chance
to break the curse. Why wouldn’t she take it?

Without a word, she walked into his
arms.

His arms tightened around her, his chin
resting on her head. “Tell me that is an ‘aye’.”

She laughed and tilted her head to him. “It
is.”

“
Then you’ll marry me?
You’ll be mine?”

“
I’ve always been yours,
Grayson. Always.”

Epilogue

1 month later...

Adrianna smiled, too content for words. She
was now Lady Adrianna of Hawksbridge.

“
You know every time I find
you in this tower I feel the need to take you.”

She smiled at Grayson’s words and turned to
face him. “Why do you think I come up here?”

“
You’ve become quite
naughty.”

“
No thanks to
you.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “You smile
as if you hold some secret.”

Adrianna licked her lips. She hadn’t wanted
to tell him. She’d wanted to wait until later that night. “Wouldn’t
you rather wait and find out later?”

“
Nay, wife. I’d rather know
now.”

She stepped back and put his hand on her
stomach. His brow furrowed, and he looked from her to her stomach
and back again.

“
Are you...? Did
we...?”

The excitement and fear in his silver eyes
was so incredible. She nodded through her laughter. “Aye, Grayson.
We’re going to have a child.”

He gave a shout of joy and pulled her
against him, kissing her eyelids, lips, and cheeks.

“
A bairn,” he said when he
had finally calmed.

The joy was gone from his voice. “What is
it?”

“
Nigel. Just like at
Wolfglynn, he disappeared when we were sure he was
dead.”

Adrianna cupped his face. “You know where
he’s going next.”

“
Aye. Cade.”

“
Where is Cade?”

“
I don’t know. Neither does
Drogan, but I suspect he’s at Wolfglynn watching over
Drogan.”

Adrianna took a deep
breath. “Some of the
bana
‐
bhuidseach
have been able to locate
people with their gifts. I’m not able to, but your mother or Serena
might.”

“
Or Francesca.”

She had forgotten about
the other
bana
‐
bhuidseach
who lived on the isle near Drogan’s castle. “Aye. She
might.”

“
It’s worth a try,” Grayson
said. “I want Nigel gone for good before our child enters this
world.”

“
Then we better
hurry.”

One side of his mouth lifted in a wicked
grin. “I’ll send a courier shortly. Right now I’ve other matters
that need seen to. Like these.”

Adrianna sighed as he cupped her breasts. He
always knew how to touch her, how to bring her the most exquisite
pleasure. As she opened her mouth for his kiss, she felt his magic
mix with hers, felt it infuse their child.

She would beat the curse, she had no doubt.
For she had Grayson. She had his love. And she had their child
growing in her.

Echoes of their magic would
linger in the stones of Hawksbridge centuries after they were
gone.

SHADOW MAGIC

The first book of the
Sisters of Magic
trilogy

Available in ebook

With a past soaked in sin and darkness slowly
closing in around him to claim his soul, Drogan only wants to live
his life in solitude. Years in the king’s service and his numerous
deeds directed by the crown have left Drogan with horrendous
nightmares and immeasurable guilt…

Serena is a witch, cursed and forever alone.
She accepts her future. Until she meets Drogan. With Drogan a
passion deep and unyielding awakens inside her. She is willing to
sacrifice herself for his love, but can he put his past to rest and
embrace the future?

DANGEROUS MAGIC

The third book in the
Sisters of Magic
trilogy
out

December 27, 2011 in ebook

Never tempt magic…

With the darkness holding firmly to his soul, Cade
knows he’s destined for Hell. Men like him don’t perform the deeds
he has, regardless if they came by order of the king, and not elude
the darkness…

A loner, Cade takes what the land
provides and vows to keep the two men he thought of as brothers
alive from the great evil after them. He knows his time is short
and the evil is looking for him, but there’s just enough humanity
left in him to aid his friends. When the flame-haired witch finds
him, Cade is instantly spellbound by her beauty. He can either
forget her – or give in to the reckless, impossible love that could
destroy her…

Author Bio

Donna Grant is the
award
‐
winning
author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of
romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel,
paranormal and erotic.

She was born and raised in
Texas, but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her
throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and
Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun
side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life, while her
Texas roots gave her two
‐
steppin’ and bareback
riding.

Her childhood dream was to become a
professional ballet dancer and study under the amazing Mikhail
Baryshnikov. Though she never got to meet Baryshnikov, she did make
it to New York City, where she performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving
Day Parade. Later, Donna’s love of the romance genre and the
constant stories running through her head prompted her to write her
first book. Once that book was completed, there was no turning
back.

Donna sold her first book
in November 2005 while displaced from Hurricane Rita, a storm that
destroyed portions of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since then, Donna has
sold novels and novellas to both electronic and print publishers.
Her books include several complete series such as The Druid’s Glen,
The Shields, The Royal Chronicles, the Sisters of Magic, and her
award-winning, bestselling series, Dark Sword from St. Martin’s
Press.

Despite the deadlines and
her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two
young children, three cats, and one long
‐
haired Chihuahua. She’s blessed
with a proud, supportive husband who’s learned to cook far more
than frozen chicken nuggets.

You can visit Donna at her
website:
http://www.donnagrant.com
.

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