A Warrior's Heart (Shields)

by Grant, Donna

  He waved away her words. “I’ve lived with it a long time now. I’ve been lucky enough to have men as close to me as brothers who have gone out of their way to try and help me remember. Even the Fae tried many things. Yet, no memories return. I think maybe it’s better this way.”

  “You could have a wife or children,” she said. “They could be waiting for you.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He stopped and leaned back against the cool stones. “I’d like to think that if I did have a wife or a family that I would feel some sort of...connection...to them.”

  “Possibly. Do you know where you’re from?”

  This was one answer he knew. One answer out of many. “I do know that I’m not from this realm.”

  “How do you know that?” she asked, her head cocked slightly to the side.

  Gabriel shrugged, not yet ready to tell her of his immortality. “Just something I figured out.”

  Suddenly Jayna smiled. “I think you’re not speaking the entire truth.”

  “We all have our secrets, you included,” he said as he pushed off from the wall.

  “Ah, secrets. It is a part of who we are, I think. If everyone knew everything about everyone else, what mystery would life hold?”

  Gabriel chuckled as he continued down the hall. “A philosopher, aye? Secrets or no, you are a mystery for sure.”

  “Do you like mysteries, Gabriel?”

  Maybe it was in the way she said his name, like a whisper of seduction, of knowing his very soul. Or maybe it was because she was a mystery, but whatever it was, he felt a jolt run through him.

  “Why do you ask?”

  She lifted a dainty shoulder and glanced at him through her lashes. “One never knows what a man will like. Some men like innocence, some seductresses, some mysterious, and other men like to be dominated. Which one are you?”

  Gabriel’s heart raced at her words. His blood felt like it was on fire as he tried in vain to forget there was a stunningly beautiful woman walking beside him.

  He finally found his voice to answer, “I like my women honest.”

  She chuckled. “Honesty. How...odd when most men are anything but.”

  Gabriel watched Jayna as she walked a little ahead of him. What was her game? What was she doing at Stone Crest now of all times? And why the hell did he want her so badly?

  Chapter Nine

  Soon. Soon it would be his time again to rule Earth. It had been so long since he’d had a form, human or no. He yearned to be able to look at himself in the mirror again, to taste food, to feel a woman’s body beneath his.

  The small snatches of time he’d been able to gather enough power to appear human were few and far between and they never lasted for longer than half an hour.

  He laughed then.

  They might have taken away his form, banished him to the ends of time, but they never expected him to become so powerful that he was able to destroy realms.

  And they didn’t even know who he was.

  He couldn’t wait for them to see just how he doled out revenge upon the Realm of Nations.

  But until then, he needed to concentrate on Earth. He had assumed it would be easy to destroy, but the Fae had meddled more than they should have and prevented its collapse.

  Yet, he had one surprise the Fae and their special army of Shields weren’t expecting. A surprise that would deal the final blow that would bring down the realm of Earth and the Fae realm with it.

  How he wished he could rub his hands together in anticipation. Instead, he simply existed.

  “My lord?”

  He waited for the creature to come closer. “I’m here. How goes it today?”

  “They think both the Harpy and the Gargoyle have returned,” it said, breathing heavily.

  “Good, good. Ready everything for tomorrow on my command.”

  “Aye, my lord.”

  He waited until the creature departed before he turned his gaze to Stone Crest castle. They thought him gone, hidden away from view, but he was here, waiting. And here he would stay until his plan was carried out.

  Tomorrow would start it all.

  * * * *

  “Well?” Hugh asked as Gabriel walked into the solar.

  Gabriel shrugged. Most of the people and servants had either returned to their homes or bedded down for the night in the great hall. “I didn’t learn anything new. Yet. Give me a few days.”

  “We may not have a few days.”

  Mina tapped her finger on her chin. “I think she likes you.”

  Gabriel was taken aback. “Likes me?”

  “Aye. She flirted with you when she didn’t flirt with any other.”

  He shrugged and glanced at Hugh. “The rest of the men were taken, Mina, though I thank you for the flattery.”

  “She may have something,” Hugh said as he sat back in his chair. “You’ll be close to her in the next few days, and we know that women tend to share their secrets once a man has bedded them.”

  “Hugh,” Mina said in exasperation.

  He shrugged. “It’s the truth, love.” He turned back to Gabriel. “What do you think?”

  Gabriel didn’t want to tell them he thought it was a splendid idea because he wasn’t quite ready to face the fact that he was attracted to Jayna, and only after one meeting.

  “I suppose you might be right,” he answered. “I’ll take whatever opportunities present themselves.” He finally looked around the solar. “Where is everyone else?”

  “To their chambers,” Mina answered.

  Gabriel had seen the many looks over supper. Everyone was worried and frightened, and they were spending as much time together as they could. He looked to Mina and Hugh. “What are you two still doing down here?”

  “We wanted to hear from you,” Hugh said. “But now that I have, I’m going to take my wife to bed.”

  Gabriel grinned as Hugh and Mina smiled at each other as they walked from the solar. Once they were gone, Gabriel sank into the chair Hugh had vacated and looked at the chessboard.

  The wind howled outside. The storm Hugh spoke of would be here in a day or so. Tomorrow would be a good time to take another look in the woods.

  He released a breath as he thought of Jayna. He would bring her and have her show him her bow and just how well she had hidden it. If she even had a bow.

  The smile vanished as he thought of his brethren. The Shields were all he had, his only family. He could not – and would not – let anything happen to them. As much as his body might be attracted to Jayna, he still couldn’t help but think she might some how be connected to the Great Evil.

  But how?

  What harm could she do? Before, the Great Evil had sent creatures bent on killing, but no matter how Gabriel looked at it, he didn’t see how Jayna could harm them.

  There was always poison, but in order for her to tamper with any of their food she would have to get into the kitchens. And he knew that would never happen. It was a testament to Hugh’s leadership that his people were loyal to him. They would gladly die for him rather than see him come to harm.

  Other than killing each of the Shields off, Jayna couldn’t touch them. Just in case she was aligned with the evil, Gabriel would make sure she wasn’t privy to any information that could harm them.

  He sighed and ran his hand down his face. Jayna had asked many questions about his past and his memory loss. Questions that no one else had dared to ask.

  “Aimery,” he called out softly. “Aimery, please.”

  In a blink Aimery stood before him in his silver tunic, and pants threaded with the same unusual blue that matched his swirling eyes. His long flaxen hair hung straight down the middle of his back, and as usual, he had several rows of tiny braids near his temple. “What is it?”

  “I need to know what happened the night I was found.”

  Aimery sighed and took the chair opposite Gabriel. “I’ve told you this many times.”

  “I know, but I’m looking for anything
that might trigger some memories. I haven’t asked about that night in a very long time.”

  “Aye,” Aimery nodded. “I wasn’t there when they originally found you, but I was called in soon after. You were almost too gone for us to save, but we combined our magic and brought you back from the brink of death.”

  Gabriel nodded, remembering this from previous tellings. “My wounds. What kind did I have?”

  “Too many to count. You were covered in blood. Besides the many cuts along your arms, chest, and face, you had a broken leg and the burn on your palm that you keep hidden from everyone.”

  Gabriel swallowed and fisted the hand Aimery spoke of. There had always been something about the burn that bothered him, almost as though it would speak of an evil past.

  “The cuts must not have been very deep for I have no scars.”

  Aimery studied him a moment. “Some weren’t, but others were.”

  “If I’m immortal, then how was it I was near the brink of death?”

  “Do you forget so easily that though Roderick is immortal, he can be killed? The Fae can also die. Now, tell me, what do you remember?”

  “Nothing,” he answered automatically. Then his mind flashed a scene in his head of several Fae leaning over him. “I...I told you what herbs to use.”

  Aimery sat back and smiled ruefully. “You did. You had a fever and were delirious, and we almost didn’t listen to you. Is this the first time you remember that?”

  “Aye. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

  “I thought you knew.”

  Gabriel leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. “I need details, Aimery.”

  “Why all of a sudden?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “You were in and out of consciousness, Gabriel. The fever that riddled your body left you ranting and mumbling when you weren’t telling us what herbs we needed to use to save you.”

  Gabriel raised his head to look at Aimery. “Did I know what realm I was in?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What did I say during my ramblings?”

  “Nothing that made a lot of sense,” Aimery replied. “Most of the time you kept repeating that you were sorry, but for what we never figured out.”

  Gabriel had hoped questioning Aimery would give him some answers when all it did was give him more questions. “Did I say anyone’s name?”

  “If you did, I never heard it. You think you left someone behind? A wife?”

  “I don’t know. Jayna asked –”

  “Jayna? Who is Jayna,” Aimery asked.

  Gabriel straightened in his chair. “She came to the castle early this morning. Mina and the other women took her in and offered her a place to stay for a while.”

  “Did anyone question her?”

  “Aye, both Hugh and I have. Hugh has asked that I stay near her for the next couple of days while she’s here to see if I can discover as to why she’s really here.”

  Aimery shut his eyes, and for a long moment he was quiet. When he opened his eyes there was doubt shining there. “She’s here for revenge. It beats strong within her, it’s what drives her.”

  “Mina said the same thing. Revenge for what, none of us know as of yet, but I’ll find out what it is.”

  “She’s not a commoner as she claims.”

  Gabriel laughed. “Aye, we all know that for a lie as well.”

  “She’s cloaked her mind, Gabriel. Be careful.”

  “We will.”

  Aimery crossed his arms over his chest. “Now tell me what it is that Jayna said to you.”

  “She asked if I had left a wife or family behind. I said I hadn’t because I didn’t feel them. But that made me start to question myself. Did I leave someone behind?”

  “I wish I could help you with that answer, but your mind hasn’t shut just you out, it’s shut even the Fae from prying into it. Whatever you have locked away, you never wanted to remember.”

  “And that scares the hell out of me. What could it have been?”

  Aimery shrugged. “Any number of things. What makes one man sick with worry, another won’t think twice about.”

  “Have you heard word from any realms with immortals? Have you perhaps found where I’m from?”

  The sadness in Aimery’s unusual swirling blue eyes spoke louder than any words. “Nay, Gabriel. I’m sorry.”

  Gabriel rose to his feet and blew out a breath as he began to slowly walk around the solar. “I’ve gone this long without answers, I’ll survive longer.”

  “You might survive, my friend, but I know how much you want the truth.”

  “I used to want to know everything. Now I’m not so sure. Like you said, my mind has blocked my past for a reason.”

  He heard a sigh behind him and then the creak of the chair as Aimery rose. Gabriel turned to face the Fae commander.

  “I planned to visit tomorrow,” Aimery said as he moved away from the chess table. “However, I’ve learned what I needed to tonight.”

  “Jayna?”

  “Nay, though I’m glad to know that as well. I know of the Harpy and the Gargoyle. I must report to the king and queen. My army is still standing guard around the castle and Hugh’s lands. They’ve detected evil.”

  Gabriel nodded. “The creatures?”

  “I suspect it’s more than just the creatures. It’s time to finish this once and for all. Be vigilant, Gabriel.”

  “I’ll let Hugh know.”

  “If I’m able, I’ll return on the morrow.”

  And with that he was gone.

  Gabriel slowly walked from the solar and up the stairs to his quiet, lonely chamber.

  It wasn’t until he undressed and crawled into bed that he found himself thinking of a certain golden-haired beauty with tempting hazel eyes.

  Chapter Ten

  Jayna yawned as she stretched beneath the warmth of her covers. The coolness of the chamber moved over her skin as she raised her arms over her head. She slipped out of the covers and rose from the bed. Her feet meet the icy stones on the floor as she pulled a blanket around her shoulders and padded to the hearth to stroke the fire to life.

  Once that was done and heat once again began to fill her chamber, she turned to dress and found another gown hanging beside the one she wore the previous night. Someone must have come into her chamber during the night or early that morning.

  She glanced out the window to see light already brightening the sky. She never slept past dawn, and she never allowed anyone to sneak up on her. Yet both had occurred. Whoever had come into her chamber hadn’t wanted to hurt her, but what if they had? She’d be dead now instead of eyeing a new gown.

  What was wrong with her? Was she letting the supposed safeness of the castle, the warm, soft bed and the companionship of a few women yank down defenses that had pulled her through a catastrophe that would have killed most women?

  Jayna vowed not let herself get dragged into complacency while she was here, because it would end as soon as Gabriel was dead.

  She still couldn’t believe he didn’t have any memory of the past. He spoke of injuries, but the last time she had seen him, there were no injuries.

  Just thinking of that awful day left her sick to her stomach. She had pushed aside those hideous images long ago, yet she drudged them up now.

  Jayna didn’t like the direction of her thoughts. She quickly dressed in the dark blue gown left for her. Once she was clothed, she pulled the comb through her long tresses as she sat before the fire.

  She hadn’t wanted to face the truth last night, but she had learned a hard lesson during her life – it was better to face the truth at the beginning than at the end when mistakes were made.

  So, she admitted to herself that she had enjoyed Gabriel’s company yesterday. She hadn’t known what to expect when he had sat beside her, she most certainly expected him to recognize who she was. But once he hadn’t, she let herself go, let herself be something she had
n’t been in so very long.

  She flirted and talked, but it had been so she could seduce him to make him remember just what he had done.

  But...as they had walked among the dimly lit corridors of the castle she might have forgotten, just for a moment, who she was and why she was there.

  Her longing for her old life, the joy and happiness she had felt before Gabriel destroyed everything, was stronger than she ever knew. If she were a weaker woman, it might frighten her, but she had seen horrors people only dreamed about. And that made her stronger than most. It also allowed her to face her fears and her wants head on.

  “Don’t go, Jayna. If you seek your revenge on Gabriel, you’ll only succeed in becoming what he is. Let it go. Live your life,” her mother said.

  “I cannot. He must pay for what he’s done.”

  “Oh, child. If you leave, you’re sentencing yourself to death.”

  Her mother had been right, but even now, she wouldn’t change things. Killing Gabriel, she would sentence herself to death, but she was ready for it, welcomed it actually.

  Hurt, long buried, rose up to choke her. Jayna blinked away the moisture that gathered in her eyes, making the fire swim before her. She concentrated on combing out the tangles in her hair to keep from thinking of her mother and the life she had left behind.

  Try as she might to ignore the memories, she could still recall her mother’s warm brown eyes and they way they would light up when she laughed.

  Jayna finished plaiting her hair and sighed. She had come this far, she couldn’t fail now. Not when she was so close to finishing.

  A soft knock on her door brought her out of her reverie. “Enter,” she called out, not wanting to leave the warmth of the fire.

  “Did you sleep well?” a deep, smooth voice asked.

  She turned her head to see Gabriel leaning against the door, a fur-lined cloak of black around his shoulder and something dark draped over his arm.

  “I did, thank you,” she replied as she climbed to her feet. “I was just about to go down to the great hall.”

  She felt his gaze as she walked toward him, but she couldn’t quite meet his eyes this morning. At one time, she had thought he was the man of her heart, a man who she could trust and would be by her side forever. She had thought she was prepared to face him, prepared to feel any memories that crept up on her.