Highland Grace
Page 32
The sounds of attack now silenced, Branwenn went directly against the captain’s orders and, after slinging the long strap of her satchel, which held her dearest possessions, around her neck and over her shoulder, went topside.
The brigands’ much smaller vessel slipped away into the darkness on thievish feet and in moments, the monks’ galley was once more alone on the sea. Unfortunately, it had sustained quite a bit of damage in its hull and the vessel began to take on water. In minutes, it lurched to its side, sending anything that was not nailed down slamming against the railing. Branwenn had barely stepped two paces away from the stair leading below deck when she was sent flying against the railing herself. She only had time to grab hold of a stray plank of wood before she was swept off the ship and into the dark, cold, unforgiving depths of the frigid, briny water.
Tho’ the wood acted as a buoy in the violently tossing sea, she was still buried beneath the crashing waves, forced down, down, down, into the unrelenting dark chasm. She held tight to her anchor in the storm, and, after long, terrifying seconds, she was finally thrust back up, like some volcanic spew from an island mound, until she at last broke free of the surface of the abyss and was once more able to draw breath into her burning lungs. When her mind and vision cleared, she realized the tide had propelled her much too far from the vessel to be seen or heard.
Holding tight to her plank of wood, she allowed herself to drift, fearing that if she fought the tide, she’d only end up at the bottom of the sea. For the next few hours, she could do no more than wait. Wait for the light of dawn and keep her mind occupied with any thoughts other than the terrifying ones that niggled at the edge of her mind. Nay, she refused to think upon what sea monsters might even now be skimming under her and around her dangling feet. Nor would she think upon what she would do if she did not find land soon. Instead, she filled her mind with happy thoughts, dear remembrances of the merrier times. Like dancing—dancing for the very first time—around the Hogmanay fire this past winter. How gleeful she had been then. Until, of course, that pompous man, Callum MacGregor had spoiled it for her. Nay, she would not think of him. Instead, she forced her thoughts back to more pleasant aspects of that night. Aye, had not the hall been lovely, with the mistletoe, holly, and hazel adorning the trestle tables, and rowan branches above every door? And the scents! Of roasted swan and berries, of juniper, of ale. Aye, that was a happy time.
At long last, dawn arrived in a mist-shrouded glimmer of mauves, pinks, and blue-greys. As the sun came up over the horizon and lit the world around her, Branwenn studied her surroundings. Her heart pounded with joy in her chest, for there, in her sights, was land! And she was near enough to the shoreline—of whose sovereign soil, she knew not—to paddle the rest of the way inland.
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~ End of Excerpt ~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K.E. Saxon is a third-generation Texan and has been a lover of romance fiction since her first (sneaked) read of her older sister's copy of "The Flame and the Flower" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. She is a member of the West Houston Chapter of Romance Writer's of America and is a devoted subscriber to the Romance Divas online forum. She has two cats, a 24-year-old cockatiel, and a funny, supportive husband. When she isn't in her writer's cave writing, you can find her puttering in her organic vegetable garden or in her kitchen trying out a new recipe. An animal (and bug) lover since before she could speak, she made pets of all kinds of critters when she was a kid growing up. Her mother even swears that she made a pet of a cockroach one time (but K.E. doesn't believe her). She likes to write humorous, sexy romances.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
Glossary
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
HIGHLAND MAGIC EXCERPT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR