Echoes of Magic (19 page)

She mentally shook herself. “I will. We just
need to gather information today. We shouldn’t be there more than a
few hours.”

“
Aye. Taking our noon meal
here will give us reason to have a look around. I’ll be sure to
visit the stables. I want to see what kind of horseflesh they
have.”

Adrianna grinned. “I suppose you want an
accounting of servants.”

“
Oh, aye. As much
information as you can get. Everything is pertinent. Remember
that.”

As she looked at him, she longed to wipe the
frown from his face, to see him smile and his eyes light up with
laughter. She had been given a glimpse of what he would have been
like last night. The easy way he smiled and shared his body with
her had told her more than words ever could.

His hand squeezed hers.

“
What is it?” she
whispered.

When he didn’t answer, she glanced around as
they neared the massive gate that was being raised. All eyes were
on her, as if they weren’t used to seeing many women, especially
ladies.

“
I shouldn’t have brought
you,” she heard Grayson mumble beneath his breath.

At the moment, she happened to agree with
him. The men made her uncomfortable and, if it weren’t for Grayson,
she would have turned her horse around and rode back to the inn. As
it was, she refused to let anyone, even Grayson, know how uneasy
she was. She raised her chin a notch and kept her gaze forward.

As the gate slowly rose, she looked into the
bailey. The size of the bailey was larger than she had ever seen
before. Several more knights stood on either side of the gate’s
entrance, watching them.

She glanced at Grayson before they followed
the knights through the gatehouse. A shiver raced down her spine
when her mount’s hoof touched the stones of the bailey. She just
prayed her herbs and magic would hold off the evil until she and
Grayson had departed Hawksbridge.

Adrianna swallowed past the lump of fear
that clogged her throat. She began to doubt venturing inside the
castle walls, especially when the gate banged closed.

“
It’ll be fine,” Grayson
whispered.

How she hoped he was right, but as she
looked around the bailey she wasn’t so sure. People stood in rags,
many with no shoes on their feet. Their eyes were lifeless, as if
all hope had vanished from their lives.

She passed a young girl, who sat on the
ground and looked up at Adrianna with sad dark eyes. Adrianna
wanted to pick the child up and run. The child needed laughter and
joy, but she would get none of that at Hawksbridge.

And then Adrianna was
awash in warmth, as if tiny bubbles popped over her skin. She knew
that feeling. It alerted her another
bana
‐
bhuidseach
was near.

She searched for the source of the magic so
strong, Adrianna felt as if she were drowning in it. Her horse
halted the same time Grayson released her hand. She scanned the
bailey as Grayson dismounted and walked to her.

“
What is it?” he asked as
he lowered her to the ground.

She opened her mouth to tell him when she
spotted the woman on the steps of the castle. Her long black hair
streaked with gray blew in the breeze.

Adrianna’s gaze snapped to Grayson.

His brow furrowed as he
watched her. “Drina?”

How could she tell him everything he sought
stood not twenty paces from him?

Then his head turned. He
caught sight of the woman and stiffened.

Chapter
Twenty
‐
Two

Grayson couldn’t believe his eyes. It
couldn’t be.

But it was.

“
Grayson?” Adrianna said as
she gripped his arms.

He wanted to answer her, to
tell her he was fine, but the truth was, he was far from it. He
felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. His gaze met his
mother’s. In all his years of dreaming of finding her, he had
imagined all sorts of scenarios, all with her running into his
arms, telling him how much she loved and missed him.

But in none of his dreams had he ever
imagined his mother so stricken to see him.

Adrianna’s soft hand touched his arm again,
and he latched on to her as if she were the only thing keeping him
afloat. Her presence was comforting, shouldering him as he
struggled to accept what his eyes had already seen.

It didn’t go unnoticed by him that the
entire bailey was silent, watching as he and Adrianna walked to the
castle steps. His mother took a deep breath and erased all emotion
from her face.

Grayson wanted to shake
her, to make her tell him why she hadn’t come looking for him? All
along she’d been at Hawksbridge. All those years he had suffered,
starving and alone until he had found a home at
Drogan’s.

His legs felt stiff, as if he bent them, he
would fall on his face.

“
We can leave.”

He looked down at Adrianna. Her pale blue
eyes held a wealth of worry. For him. It humbled him, how she stood
beside him no matter what. No other woman ever had.

“
Nay,” he said as they
began to climb the stairs. He stopped about mid way and
waited.

There was no welcoming smile from his
mother, no warm hug. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

Grayson was so taken aback that he couldn’t
answer. Didn’t she know why he was here? He was looking for
her.

Fortunately, Adrianna answered for him.
“We’ve been traveling and seek your hospitality as we rest
ourselves and our mounts.”

“
You’d be better served
leaving here immediately,” his mother answered in a hushed
tone.

“
Be that as it may, we
cannot,” Adrianna said in the same quiet tone. Then she smiled and
raised her voice. “Why thank you, my lady. We would love to dine
with you.”

Grayson might have laughed if he hadn’t been
so shocked. He glanced over his shoulder as he followed Adrianna
and his mother to find the knights watching him with interest. He
knew then he wouldn’t be able to leave Hawksbridge without a
fight.

Once inside the castle, he closed the door
behind him and surveyed the great hall. Several tapestries hung on
the walls depicting battle scenes from history. The frayed edges of
the tapestries told Grayson just how old they were.

Candelabras hung from hooks on the walls
where wax from the candles dripped around them. As ill cared for as
the people of Hawksbridge were, he had expected the castle to be in
the same disarray.

Instead, the rushes were new and clean. Even
the few hounds lying near the hearth and staring at him with
baleful black eyes looked clean. They had nearly reached the dais
when his mother whirled around, the skirts of her gown getting
caught in his legs.

“
We haven’t much time,” she
whispered. “There is a secret door I can take you to. If you leave
now, you can get far enough away.”

“
For what?” Grayson
asked.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes, there was worry and fear in their dark
depths. “You know what, or you would never have come.”

“
I’m not
leaving.”

“
Grayson,
please.”

He snorted. “So you do remember your own
son.”

She took a step back at his harsh tone.
“Don’t.”

“
Don’t what?” he asked.
“Don’t wonder why my mother let me wander alone and starving? Don’t
wonder why you never tried to find me? Don’t wonder why you never
loved me.”

“
That isn’t
fair.”

“
It’s more than fair. What
do you expect me to think? Give me some answers.”

She shook her head.

“
Then give me some,”
Adrianna said. “What are you doing with Nigel? You know what he
is.”

His mother’s gaze shifted
to Adrianna. “There are so few of us left. What’s your
name?”

“
Adrianna.”

“
I’m Leoma.”

Grayson ran a hand down his face and sank
onto the nearest stool. His heart ached. How could he have
remembered things so wrong? His mother hadn’t been taken from him.
She hadn’t wanted him.

Adrianna watched the anger and resignation
pass over Grayson’s face. She wanted to go to him, to wrap her arms
and legs around him and make him forget everything but her.

“
Why have you come?” Leoma
asked.

Adrianna faced Grayson’s mother. Grayson had
her large, expressive eyes. Even his long, thick lashes resembled
his mother’s, as did his midnight locks.

“
Why do you think?”
Adrianna answered. “He came seeking answers about you.”

“
He shouldn’t have. It’ll
bring his death.”

“
I know,” Grayson ground
out. “I was prepared to die as long as I could gain my
answers.”

Leoma turned her back to them. “You don’t
want those answers.”

“
How long until Nigel
returns?”

“
He’ll be here by
nightfall.”

“
That gives us plenty of
time then,” Adrianna said.

Leoma laughed, the sound mirthless, as she
faced Adrianna. “You don’t understand. Once you came through those
gates, there is no leaving. Nigel has had his men scouring the
country for Grayson.”

Grayson rose to his feet
and walked away. Adrianna ached to comfort him in some way. She
narrowed her gaze on his mother. “How can you be so hateful? He’s
your son.”

“
Why do you think I let him
go? It was either watch Nigel kill him or give him up.”

Adrianna gripped the edge of the table near
her. “Dear God.”

“
Nigel makes sure he gets
what he wants.”

Adrianna glanced at Grayson to find him
pacing the solar. They couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t battle
Nigel’s knights on his own. They were as good as dead.

“
Make him leave,” Leoma
begged her. “Grayson needs to leave now.”

Adrianna shook her head. “He won’t. All he’s
ever wanted was answers as to what happened to you.”

“
I’d rather not share those
answers.”

Somehow, Adrianna wasn’t surprised. At least
she knew where Grayson got his stubbornness from. There was so much
she wanted to ask Leoma, but she didn’t know if she was on Nigel’s
side or not.

Leoma handed her a goblet of wine. “You look
as though you need this.”

She accepted the goblet
with a nod. Everything was unraveling at such a fast pace, Adrianna
didn’t know what to do. If she had made Grayson stop so she could
look into the future, she might have seen what was to come. Even
then, she knew he would have demanded they come.

“
You know of the curse?”
Leoma asked her.

“
I do.”

“
And still you chose to be
with Grayson?”

Adrianna thought of the
beautiful, pleasure
‐
filled night she and Grayson had shared and nodded. “Without
a doubt. He’s an amazing man.”

“
He’s like his father,”
Leoma said softly. “The same strength, the same power. The same
determination. Even the way he moves is like his
father.”

“
What happened to your
husband?”

Leoma shrugged and looked away. “He rode out
one day to battle and never returned. Nigel taunts me that he
killed William.”

“
You don’t care about my
father either,” Grayson stated flatly.

Adrianna jumped, not realizing Grayson had
approached. “Grayson.”

“
Nay, Drina. Don’t. She’s
proven how cold hearted she is.”

“
She hasn’t proven anything
other than the fact she’s alive,” Adrianna argued. “You need
answers before you condemn her.”

His jaw clenched. “Her actions condemn
her.”

“
Maybe,” Leoma said. “Maybe
not.”

“
Then tell me, Mother, what
are you doing at Hawksbridge?”

“
It’s my home,” she
answered. “It’s yours as well. It has been in your father’s family
for generations. At least until Nigel took over.”

Adrianna had to sit down. “You willingly
stayed?”

“
I had no choice,” the
older woman answered. “My husband hadn’t returned, and I had a
small child who Nigel threatened to gut in front of me. What would
you have done?”

“
Found another
way.”

“
I saved him!” Leoma
shouted.

Adrianna fisted her hands in an attempt to
remain calm. “Aye, but at what cost? He could have died.”

“
I used my magic. It was
the only thing Nigel couldn’t control. I shielded Grayson as best I
could until I sensed he was safe and no longer needed
me.”

Grayson let out a deep breath. “You almost
sound believable. Almost.”

The pain and anger in his voice brought
tears to Adrianna’s eyes. “Maybe we should go, Grayson. We cannot
do this alone.”

His silver gaze swung to her. “I’m tired of
running. If this bastard wants me, I’ll be waiting here for
him.”

Before he could tell her to leave, Adrianna
stepped toward him, her hand on his chest. “You’re going to need
me.”

“
I’ll always need you,” he
whispered near her ear.

Chills raced over her skin. She wished they
were alone so she could explore him at her leisure. “What do we
do?”

“
There’s nothing else to do
but wait. And prepare.”