Heart of the Flame

by Lara Adrian

  Her love meant death now.

  What happened at Greycliff was terrible; what would be visited on Clairmont as payment for her transgressions against the laws of her kind was sure to surpass the most horrific nightmare.

  That unbearable thought urging her on, Haven put her heels to her mount and turned the horse onto the road leading away from Glastonbury Tor.

  She knew not precisely where she would go, nor how long she could ride when every bit of strength seemed sapped from her. The illusion she had effected in the chapel had taken too much out of her. Never had she felt so weak and helpless, so devoid of power.

  She could scarcely stay upright. She did not think she could make it much farther.

  The steady gait of her mount was all she knew, the only sound she could hear. Her head lolled on her shoulders. She was fading quickly now, too drained to continue. Her shoulders began to slump, her spine slowly slackened, too weak to hold her.

  "Kenrick," she whispered, her last conscious thought rooted on the man she loved more than life itself. "Faith, let him be safe."

  And then she was slowly sliding into darkness...falling.

  Falling....

  * * *

  Amid a steady pattering of rain that boded a coming storm, Randwulf of Greycliff put his heels to his mount and sped away from the chapel on Glastonbury Tor. He did not slow, nor did he look back even once. His course was set.

  And so was Kenrick's.

  The palfrey saddled beneath him snorted into the misting spring air as Kenrick turned in the opposite direction of his friend. He looked toward a fresh trail that cut a clumsy path down the other side of the hill.

  Haven was gone, fled on one of the horses down that steep road not long before. She meant to leave him, and the loss hit him harder than any physical blow.

  Kenrick knew what he had to do--even before Rand had pushed him to decide. He was just realizing it now, feeling it more deeply than anything he'd ever known in his life.

  He loved her.

  He loved Haven more than anything else in this world, and before another moment passed, he needed her to know that.

  With a snarl of pure male determination, Kenrick sent his mount in a brisk gallop down the tor.

  Chapter 35

  She came awake fighting.

  The instant consciousness roused, her eyes flew wide open. Every muscle in her body went taut with strain. Under the blanket that covered her body, her limbs bucked with a sudden burst of rage. She twisted violently, her back arching off the cushion of soft bedding that lay beneath her.

  "Easy now, Haven. Be still, love. You are safe."

  She turned her head and looked into an intense blue gaze she knew like her own heart.

  "Kenrick."

  His name was little better than a sigh on her parched lips. Never again did she think to see his handsome face, or to hear the soothing rumble of his voice. It was him, really and truly, gazing upon her with such affection.

  "I have missed you, sweet witch. All of Clairmont has been awaiting your return to us."

  Elation soared within her, then swiftly crashed as a bird on broken wings.

  "Kenrick--" She raised herself up on the bed, her eyes wide with fear. "What have you done! You should not have brought me here. I tried to tell you, it is too dangerous--"

  "Where did you think I should take you?" he said, slowly shaking his head as he smoothed a damp tendril where it clung to her cheek. "When I caught up to you on the road below Glastonbury Tor, you could scarcely lift your eyelids. You needed care."

  "You should have left me there," she said, pushing him away when all she wanted was more of his touch, more of the comfort just seeing him gave her. "You should have let me go. Don't you see? I am Shadow now. The others will hunt me wherever I go."

  "Because of your affection for me?"

  She closed her eyes for a moment. "Because of my love for you, yes."

  "Then it only seems right that I stand beside you, whatever may come." When she turned her head away from him, fearful of that eventuality, Kenrick gently coaxed her back to him with his fingers at her chin. "My arm and my life, lady. Both are pledged in your service."

  "But you don't understand..."

  He did not let her finish, silencing her with a tender kiss. "My arm and my life. And now my heart, if you will have it."

  Haven said nothing at first, afraid to speak for the foolishness that might leap from her tongue. She hardly dared think it. Hardly dared to hope.

  Staring at him in wild anticipation, she could take the wondering no longer. "Your...heart?"

  He gave a deliberate nod. "I love you, sweet witch. I have been waiting for you to wake so I could tell you just how much."

  Haven's breath faltered, a small sob catching in her throat. "You love me?"

  "With all my heart and soul. I was too fool-headed to credit it, until I thought I'd lost you at the tor."

  At first she did not believe she heard him right. But he was looking upon her with such tenderness, such deep emotion, Haven knew her ears had not deceived her.

  The weight of what he was saying--the realization of what it truly meant, in light of what had occurred at the Glastonbury chapel--settled on her like a blanket of warm, downy wool.

  "Oh, Kenrick. It was you," she said, astonishment all but robbing her of her voice. She felt tears well in her eyes--hot, joyful tears that spilled over and ran down her cheeks in twin trails of moisture. "It was you. The wall of fire did not burn us--Calasaar did not consume me as it would any one of my kind--because of you."

  A note of skepticism flickered in his schooled expression. "You give me overmuch credit, my ladylove. What did I do, after all, save put my faith in the power of that accursed Chalice?"

  "You put your faith in me, my lord." She lifted his hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to the strong fingers that felt so right wrapped around her own. Now that she was touching him again, she never wanted to let him go. "Don't you see? At that very moment in the tor's chapel, you finally trusted me. You believed in me."

  "Ah, love. I have not been fair to you. I did not want to believe...to hope that what we shared was real. I was afraid to trust my own feelings, and so I barred you from my heart for too long. Will you forgive me?"

  "Forgive you?" She laughed softly through her tears. "Kenrick of Clairmont, my magnificent lord...my forever love. You have saved me. Again. Always."

  "Sweet Haven." He caught her in his arms and held her in a loving embrace. "You have saved me as well. Never doubt it. Together we can face anything...including those of your clan who are fool enough to step onto my domain."

  Warmed by his words, knowing he meant them in earnest, Haven drew back to look at him. "I do not think there will a need. None will seek me here. Not now."

  "But if you are Shadow, I thought--"

  She slowly shook her head. "To love an Outsider is to become Shadowed. That is rare enough. I have never known the cycle to progress beyond that level. To my knowledge, it has never happened to any shifter in all these millennia."

  "If not a Shadow, then what?"

  She had thought the joy that swelled within her knew no bounds, but understanding how extraordinary a gift Kenrick had given her made all previous elation pale. Her happiness soared to new heights as she looked upon the man who had become everything to her. "If one of my kind falls in love with one of yours and is loved in return, with a full and unguarded heart, then the Shadow becomes Shielded."

  "Shielded, as in protected in some way?"

  Haven smiled. "Yes. There is no shifter magic can touch us now. We are truly safe, as is everyone we care for in this keep. You love me. That is the true magic that occurred at Glastonbury Tor. And love is, as any sorcerer can tell you, stronger than the most powerful spell...stronger, even, than the Dragon Chalice itself."

  "I will let nothing come between us, Haven. Never again."

  "My love," she whispered, kissing him and holding him close.

  "I would give you s
omething more, Haven, if you will have it. Something already promised, as I recall, though done with a woeful lack of finesse."

  Befuddled, yet quivering with an excitement she could barely contain, Haven watched as Kenrick slowly dropped down on one knee beside the bed. He took her hand between both of his and kissed each of her fingertips.

  "My truest love. My only love...beautiful, bewitching Haven of Anavrin. You are my heart and my soul, the source of all my faith and happiness. Will you please--I beg you, sweet lady--honor me by becoming my bride?"

  "Yes," she sighed, coming down off the bed to wrap her arms around him. "Oh, Kenrick. Yes. Yes!"

  She was weeping as he kissed her, the salty taste of her tears mingling with the heady sweetness of his mouth. Her heart felt full to bursting, every particle of her being alive with the fiery magic of the passion they shared.

  "Well, this is certainly a happy sight."

  They broke their embrace only slightly to look toward the open door of the chamber, where Ariana and Braedon now stood. The other couple was smiling, Ariana's the delighted grin of a romantic, and Braedon's the wry smirk of a man pleased to see he was not the only one to be snared and besotted by a special woman.

  "Perhaps now we will get the whole tale of what occurred at Glastonbury Tor," Ariana said, delight gleaming in her eyes as Braedon hugged her close.

  "Aye," agreed the dark knight with a slanted look at Kenrick. "This one has said nary a word--indeed, he's not left your side for a moment--these past two days."

  "Haven is all that mattered to me."

  "More than your quest for the Dragon Chalice?"

  Kenrick answered his brother-by-marriage without taking his eyes from Haven. "More than anything."

  Braedon grunted but there was no venom in it. "You see what we have been made to deal with, Lady Haven? All he's seen fit to tell us are the barest facts: Vorimasaar was found, you all barely managed to escape alive, and at this moment, Randwulf of Greycliff is sailing for Scotland to pursue the last of the Chalice stones."

  "God willing, he will find it quickly and destroy the accursed cup before Silas de Mortaine catches up to him," Kenrick remarked. "That was our agreed plan when we parted at the tor."

  Haven could see the concern he had for his friend. And the doubt. Rand was so angry, his heart so full of hatred because of the beloved family he had lost. Haven's guilt for her part in that tragedy would likely never fade, despite that Kenrick at least had absolved her of the unwitting role she had played.

  "God be with Rand," Ariana said quietly, a prayer that was echoed by all in the room.

  When the moment passed, Ariana came forward and bent to catch Haven in a fond embrace. "We are glad you've returned, Haven, and that you are well. I trust we'll have time to talk again and catch up on what has passed."

  "Yes," Haven said, feeling undeserving of the kindness she was enjoying. "I am...Ariana, I am so sorry for deceiving you. All of you. I'm sorry for everything."

  Ariana dismissed her concern with a gentle look. "I have missed my friend and I am beyond pleased to know that I will soon have a sister." She kissed her cheek, then moved to join her husband across the chamber. "We'll talk when you are up to it. If my brother will spare you, that is."

  "In a day or three...perhaps," he said, giving Haven a smile that warmed her from her forehead to her toes. "My bride-to-be and I have a future to begin and I don't plan to delay another moment."

  True to his word, Kenrick hardly waited for Ariana and Braedon to say their good-byes before he gathered Haven into his arms and pressed his lips to hers.

  It was magical, his effect on her, an enchantment she submitted to willingly, wantonly.

  In his arms at last and forever, Haven's old life fell away like an empty shell she no longer needed. She knew only the love of this man, and the passion that leaped to life like fire between them.

  And as he slipped in beside her on the large bed, she knew that their future--and the strong generations they would create together--had already begun.

  About the Author

  LARA ADRIAN is the New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author of the Midnight Breed vampire romance series, with more than 2 million books in print in the United States and translations licensed to more than 17 countries. Her books regularly appear in the top spots of all the major bestseller lists including the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Indiebound, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc. Her debut title, Kiss of Midnight, was named Borders Books bestselling debut romance of 2007. Later that year, her third title, Midnight Awakening, was named one of Amazon.com’s Top Ten Romances of the Year. Reviewers have called Lara’s books “addictively readable” (Chicago Tribune), “extraordinary” (Fresh Fiction), and “one of the best vampire series on the market” (Romantic Times).

  Writing as TINA ST. JOHN, her historical romances have won numerous awards including the National Readers Choice; Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice; Booksellers Best; and many others. She was twice named a Finalist in Romance Writers of America’s RITA Awards, for Best Historical Romance (White Lion’s Lady) and Best Paranormal Romance (Heart of the Hunter). More recently, the 2011 German translation of Heart of the Hunter debuted on Der Spiegel bestseller list.

  With an ancestry stretching back to the Mayflower and the court of King Henry VIII, the author lives with her husband in New England, surrounded by centuries-old graveyards, hip urban comforts, and the endless inspiration of the broody Atlantic Ocean.

  Connect online at:

  www.LaraAdrian.com

  www.MidnightBreedSeries.com

  www.facebook.com/LaraAdrianBooks

  www.twitter.com/lara_adrian

  www.goodreads.com/lara_adrian

  www.pinterest.com/LaraAdrian

  A note from the author

  Dear Reader,

  While you may know me best as the author of the Midnight Breed series--dark, sexy contemporary vampire novels with a gritty, urban fantasy edge--I actually got my start as a published author writing medieval romances. Years before Lucan, Dante, Tegan and the rest of the Order’s warriors first stormed into my imagination with fangs bared and guns blazing, there was Gunnar and Cabal, Griffin, Braedon and a few more dark knights in not-so-shiny armor who’d leapt from my keyboard and into my heart.

  As a midlist author in the late 1990s and early 2000s, my print runs were very small, which meant my books were extremely hard to find in stores, even during their first weeks on sale. And when readers can’t find your books to buy them, small print runs eventually dry up and those books disappear forever. At least, that used to be the case. Now, thanks to the Internet and independent publishing, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to resurrect my original releases and offer them to my readers with beautiful new cover treatments and great indie ebook prices, too!

  Starting with HEART OF THE HUNTER, the first in my Dragon Chalice paranormal medieval series, I will soon be reissuing all seven of my historical romances (written under the name Tina St. John). If you like my Midnight Breed series, I think you’ll find much to enjoy about the Dragon Chalice books in particular. Centered on a quest for a mythical cup forged of dark secrets and hidden powers, the Dragon Chalice series allowed me to infuse my dark medieval romances with the mystique of mythical kingdoms, dark magic and dangerous shapeshifters.

  All of my books, no matter their settings or time periods, feature strong alpha heroes who are dark and dangerous on the outside, but loyal and true when it comes to the woman who eventually scales his forbidding emotional walls and conquers his heart. I’m excited to bring you these long out of print titles from my backlist, and I can’t wait to introduce you to all of the other new characters and stories still to come in my future releases.

  To stay informed of upcoming releases, please visit www.LaraAdrian.com and sign up for my private email newsletter. You can also find me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LaraAdrianBooks), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/lara_adrian), Goodreads (http://ww
w.goodreads.com/lara_adrian) and Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/LaraAdrian).

  Thank you so much for reading my books!

  All best,

  Lara Adrian

  Tina St. John

  If you enjoy dark paranormal romance,

  don’t miss

  HEART OF THE HUNTER

  the first title in the

  award-winning

  Dragon Chalice series

  HEART OF THE HUNTER

  Ariana of Clairmont would risk anything to save her kidnapped brother, a quest she knows is fraught with peril. Her only ally is Braedon le Chasseur, a formidable knight with a mysterious past, whose scarred face and brooding nature mask a soul filled with pain. Ariana fears this dangerous man and the secrets he strives to conceal--but Braedon’s touch is pure seduction, his kiss a potent lure that tempts her into a passion she is powerless to resist.

  Once called The Hunter, now haunted by a dark legacy he struggles to deny, Braedon lives in a world of shadow and isolation--until he is thrust together with an innocent beauty in need of his protection. Embarking on a journey that will lead them to a legendary treasure, Braedon will be forced to confront old enemies and the stunning secret of his true nature--or lose Ariana and the only happiness he has ever known. . . .