A Warrior's Heart (Shields)

by Grant, Donna

  “You want me to keep a close eye on her?”

  “Aye,” Hugh said with a half smile. “We all are, but if I ask one of the others to keep close to her, there just might be some jealous wives.”

  Gabriel chuckled. “Nay, I’ll do it.”

  “You’re a good man,” Hugh said as he walked to the dais.

  Gabriel found it quite easy to make his way to a table that he wanted to avoid most days. It was odd to find that he was looking forward to a bit of a mystery to solve. There was definitely something about Jayna that sparked his interest.

  If it was somehow related to his thinking he knew her, or the fact her story had huge flaws in it, he didn’t know. But he most certainly was going to find out.

  * * * *

  Jayna struggled to keep the smile on her face as Gabriel walked toward her. It had been an unexpected surprise to find that she would be seated next to him. She fingered the dagger up her sleeve, the one she would use to end it all.

  She waited for him to recognize her, to call her a fraud and make her attack. She slid the dagger out so the pommel fit into her hand. Her legs were poised to jump up and strike as soon as he opened his mouth.

  “You must be Jayna,” Gabriel said with a polite nod as he took his seat beside her.

  Jayna could only stare. She couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize her. Or maybe he did and he was biding his time, much like she was doing.

  Being this close to him made her remember the Gabriel she’d once known, the Gabriel that she had given her heart to. The Gabriel that had smiled and charmed and wooed her like no other.

  “Are Mina and the others taking good care of you?”

  She blinked at his conversational tone. His deep voice had always made her heart skip a beat, and to her horror, it was doing so again. How could someone she hate so much still affect her in such a manner? It didn’t seem fair.

  “Aye,” she finally answered. “Lady Mina has been an exceptional host.”

  “Mina is one of the finest ladies around. So are Elle, Shannon, and Nicole. Hugh tells me that you might be staying for a few days due to the storm.”

  She nodded and glanced at him before turning her attention to putting the dagger back up her sleeve without him noticing. “Lord Hugh assures me that the storm will be fierce and that neither he, nor Lady Mina, could, in good conscience, let me leave.”

  “I agree with them,” he said and turned so that he half faced her. “Tell me, how have you survived on your own? I find it extremely difficult to comprehend.”

  Jayna inwardly grimaced. She had to say just the right thing without revealing herself, all the while trying to determine if Gabriel was playing her. “Fate has been kind to me, in a way. Women aren’t safe to travel alone, which is why I learned to use a bow and arrow as well as a dagger very effectively.”

  “Impressive. Where are your weapons now?”

  She turned toward him and let her eyes roam over his handsome face. “My dagger is never far. However, I’ve also learned from past experience that whenever I come across a village or castle, they don’t like seeing a woman with a bow and arrow.”

  He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Ah, you hide it before entering a castle or village.”

  “Precisely.”

  “And you aren’t afraid of someone stealing it?”

  “If they find it, let them keep it since they’ve earned it. Yet, I doubt anyone will find them.”

  “That good, are you?” he asked with a quirk of his lips.

  “Aye.”

  He chuckled then. “You’ve spirit, Jayna. I’m surprised that fire within you hasn’t found you a husband.”

  “Who says I want a husband, my lord?”

  He waved away her words. “No ‘my lords’ for me. My name is Gabriel.”

  She nodded her head as she studied his eyes. Gabriel always spoke through his eyes, his expressions there for all the world to see. If someone was looking.

  And she was.

  “How long have you lived at Stone Crest?”

  He shrugged and drank from his goblet. “Not long. Only a week or so. The time before that I was here for a few weeks.”

  “I thought you lived here?”

  “Nay. I also travel.”

  She smiled and found his eyes drawn to her lips. Suddenly a thought took root. If he really didn’t remember her, she could become close to him by seducing him. Women had done it down through the ages. It was the oldest trick in the book, and a proven one at that.

  “Ah, someone who understands my need to see new things,” she said softly.

  “Hmm. The difference is, I don’t go because I want to, I go because I must.”

  “So you don’t get to choose where you venture to next?”

  He shook his head. “I go where I am told.”

  It was difficult to comprehend that Gabriel would take orders from anyone, let alone a lowly lord such as Hugh. “How did you come to be in Hugh’s service?”

  He looked at her with his molten silver eyes as if weighing her to see if she was trustworthy. “Hugh is not my liege lord, he is my leader.”

  “Of what?” Jayna found herself interested. There had been hints of being at war, yet no one had said with who.

  “We are called the Shields. Hugh leads me, Val, Roderick, and Cole. We battle mythological creatures sent here by an evil bent on destroying this realm.”

  The room suddenly spun around Jayna as his words sunk in. She tried to grab hold of the table but found only air instead. Large, warm hands gripped her arms to steady her.

  “Jayna? Are you all right?”

  She waited until the room stopped spinning before she opened her eyes to see his worried gaze on her. She knew then he didn’t know who she was or why she was here. She could kill him tonight, but it wouldn’t be the same unless he really knew who she was.

  “Val,” Gabriel said over her head.

  Jayna felt rather than saw Val turn towards them. “Is something amiss?” Val asked.

  “It's Jayna. I think she’s sick.”

  She shook her head and pulled her gaze away from Gabriel’s. “I’m fine. It must be the wine I drank on an empty stomach.”

  For a moment she didn’t think the men would believe her, then Val turned back to his wife and Gabriel released her.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked as he turned to face the table.

  She couldn’t very well tell him she did when she hadn’t seen anything at Stone Crest. He really would be suspicious then. “It’s rather difficult to believe something like that without seeing it for yourself.”

  “Unfortunately, you just might get the chance.”

  “That’s why you’re defending the castle as if some lord was about to invade?”

  “Aye,” he said as their food arrived. He looked at her as she eyed the food and said, “It’s the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

  Jayna barely tasted the food as she tried to formulate a new plan of attack for Gabriel. She needed to know why he didn’t recognize her. For her revenge to be complete he needed remember her.

  They ate in silence while down the table was full of laughter and much talk. By the time the meal ended, Jayna decided more questions were the way to go.

  “I apologize if I offended you,” she said softly and shyly looked at him. Her act paid off as he turned toward her.

  “You didn’t.”

  “I’m relieved. Would you then tell me more about the...Shields did you call them?”

  “Aye, the Shields. It’s the name the Fae gave us.”

  “Fae?” She shouldn’t be surprised to know they were involved. After all, if all the Great Evil had told her about the Fae were true, they were very protective of Earth.

  “They really do exist, Jayna. I know all this is hard to believe, but I speak the truth.”

  She nodded woodenly, her heart thumping wildly. “There are many myths and legends that roam these lands, and like most people, I love to hear grand tal
es but they are hard to believe unless I see them for myself.”

  “Pray you don’t, because if you do, you’ll have found yourself in the middle of this war,” he said solemnly.

  She sat back and clasped her hands in her lap. “You asked me about my family, but don’t you have family that needs you? A wife and children?”

  He chuckled again, the sound rich and full. “Nay, no wife and children. There isn’t time.”

  “Your brethren seem to have found the time,” she pointed out.

  He looked down the table, and she was amazed to see a hint of sadness in his silver depths. “Aye, they have, but those women aren’t just any women. They’re special and will help us end the Great Evil once and for all.”

  “Great Evil?” she asked, hoping he didn’t detect a hint of fear in her voice.

  “Aye,” he said and drank deeply from his goblet. “He has already destroyed Cole’s realm. Roderick’s realm has been fighting the evil for a while, and we’re all hoping we can end it before Thales is destroyed.”

  Jayna swallowed hard. She didn’t like what she heard. Surely Gabriel was mistaken. She knew what she had aligned herself with was evil, and she even knew he fought the Fae on several occasions. But the rest...the rest she knew nothing about.

  She focused on Gabriel, on luring more information out of him because the end was near for her and she couldn’t wait to see him lying dead on the ground.

  Chapter Eight

  Gabriel thought he detected a moment of panic in Jayna’s beautiful hazel eyes as he spoke of the evil and realms being destroyed.

  “That’s what we’re here for,” he reassured her.

  “What?”

  “To fight the creatures the Great Evil sends to destroy villages. That’s how it starts. He lures someone with the promise of power, and he gives them an unusual blue stone about the size of a child’s fist and smooth as silk.”

  “What do they do with it?” she asked, edging closer to him.

  He shrugged and glanced around the hall before returning his attention to her. “They call up the creatures with the stones. Whoever has the stones controls the beasts.”

  She scrunched up her face, her large eyes filled with doubt. “A small blue stone controls creatures released to annihilate the world?”

  He grinned. Not many commoners would know such words, yet he said nothing regarding her speech. Instead he said, “Aye. Outlandish isn’t it? We learned early on that if we destroy the stone, it kills the creatures. However, sometimes it’s harder to find the stone than it is to discover who controls it.”

  “Hmm,” she said softly and ran her finger around the top of her goblet. “Why lure someone with the stone? If this Great Evil is so powerful, why can’t he release the creatures himself?”

  “Good question. That is one we haven’t be able to answer, though we do know he likes to pull people to him, to bind them so that they’ll never be free. Men are weak creatures when it comes to power. Most want it so badly they would do unspeakable crimes to attain it.”

  Jayna nodded. “I’ve known some women like that as well.”

  “Aye. I’ve never understood why the thought of power held such sway over a person.”

  “It doesn’t you?”

  He shook his head, wondering if the piercing way she looked at him held more meaning than just her words. “There are some men who are natural born leaders, such as Hugh. Men sense that he can be trusted, that he can, and will, lead them out of any fight. Men willingly die for leaders like Hugh. But natural leaders most often don’t seek the power that could be theirs.”

  He glanced down the table and saw Hugh give him a penetrating look, one meant to let Gabriel know he needed to delve deeper into Jayna’s past to see what he could discover. Unfortunately, that meant spending a lot of time with her.

  Gabriel both looked forward to it and worried over it. There was something about Jayna that told him he knew her. It was the how of it that went unanswered. Yet she didn’t appear to know him, so maybe he was wrong.

  But his instincts had never been wrong before.

  “Did you have a chance to explore the castle today?” he asked.

  She smiled shyly and shook her head. “I admit I was intimidated and stayed in my chamber.”

  “Would you like a small tour now so you can get your bearings?”

  “Aye, that would be nice. Thank you.”

  Gabriel stood and held out his hand to help her rise. It was another test. If she didn’t take it, she could very well be a commoner who was a great actress that had picked up a good vocabulary. But if she did take it, she was a born and bred lady.

  His grin widened as she placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her rise. Her skin was cool and soft in his. Her long fingers were slim and her nails cut short.

  He admired her curves in the form-fitting bodice of her gown. She stood nearly to the top of his chin as she held herself regally, waiting for him to lead her.

  “This way,” he said as he led her around the dais and toward the solar.

  Her steps were graceful, smooth and unhurried. Gabriel found himself admiring her until he remembered that she could very well be a spy from the Great Evil.

  “Tell me something of yourself. Something of a time before you joined the Shields,” she suddenly requested.

  Gabriel guided her to the right. “That is the solar. It’s Mina’s favorite chamber, and it’s also where she set up Hugh’s chessboard. It’s one of his favorite pastimes, so if you cannot find him anywhere else, look here.”

  She nodded and glanced at him before turning her attention forward as they walked. “You aren’t going to answer me, are you?”

  He shrugged and walked farther down the hall. It wasn’t until they had left the laughter and conversations of the great hall that he spoke. “I don’t have any memory of anything before the Shields.”

  “What?”

  Gabriel was confused at the surprise and a hint of anger that shown in her hazel eyes depths.

  “You recall nothing?”

  He shook his head and moved forward. “The Fae found me by one of their doorways. I was wounded and near dead, but through their magic and healing abilities they were able to save me.”

  “In return you felt obligated to join the Shields?”

  “Nay. I wanted to do something, something worthwhile as I tried to regain my memories.”

  She was silent for a moment before she asked, “And how long has that been?”

  “Too long,” he answered and steered her into the armory.

  He felt her stiffen beside him.

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  Gabriel turned and looked at her. “All that I told you tonight is the truth. We Shields have fought and died to keep the Great Evil from destroying Earth. Too many have perished and too much has been sacrificed for us to lose now.”

  “What are you trying to say?” she said as she took a step back. Her face was devoid of expression, but her gaze held his.

  “I’m saying that if you’re here to spy for him, or if you’re here to prevent us from succeeding, you have two options. You can leave now, and no harm will come to you. Or. You can stay. But once we discover you’re in league with the Great Evil, your death will be swift.”

  If he frightened her, she was good at hiding it. Gabriel watched her carefully for any signs that she had come to Stone Crest other than the reason she had given.

  “Since I’m having a rather difficult time coming to grips with the fact of all you’ve said regarding this...Great Evil...I can assure you, I’m not here to prevent the Shields from their mission.”

  For some reason, he believed her. Maybe it was the conviction shining in her hazel eyes, or maybe it was because he wanted her to be innocent. Whatever the reason, he simply nodded and held out his arm for as they walked from the chamber.

  “Why the armory though?” she asked as he closed the door behind them.

  “I wanted you to see the extensive wea
pons Hugh has gathered at Stone Crest. There’s a weapon for nearly every person.”

  She said no more as he moved down the hall to the stairs. He let her walk ahead of him, his gaze straying to the gentle sway of her hips as she glided up the steep stairs.

  “To the right,” he said as she neared a landing. He motioned down the hall once he stepped beside her. The hall was lit with the occasional torch while the shadows grew as the sun sank lower into the sky.

  “The castle is easy to navigate once you learn the layout. Down this hall you will find Hugh and Mina’s chamber, should you need her. The rest of the Shields are placed throughout the upper floors.”

  “Where is your chamber?”

  He turned his head to look at her, but her face was hidden in shadow. “On the floor above us.”

  “Mine is in the east tower.”

  He swallowed and tried to remember that she wasn’t telling him this because she wanted him to visit her tonight. But then, why did she tell him?

  He glanced at her again as they slowly walked down the hall. A torch cast her face in amber light and he saw her watching him. Her mouth was slightly parted and her eyes...inviting.

  Gabriel took a deep breath and forced his gaze forward. He was seeing things that weren’t there. It might have been awhile since he’d relieved the ache of his cock, but it had never caused him to act like this before.

  To want like this before.

  And he didn’t even know her.

  “You said you were wounded?” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

  He knew she spoke of when the Fae found him. “Aye.”

  “Did someone attack you?”

  “I wish I knew,” he said after a moment. “I’ve been told my mind has blocked the past because something painful must have happened.”

  “Such as?”

  He shrugged and clasped his hands behind his back. “Could be anything. Losing my family, seeing someone I loved killed, or a betrayal.”

  “I could see how those events would traumatize someone,” she said with a small nod. “I’ve never encountered anyone who lost their memory before. Forgive me if I pry too much.”