Crown of Thorns (Legends and Lovers)

Another of Mom’s tales was about the circle of life. How the strong preyed on the weak. How I had to be strong if I didn’t want to be prey. Did that have anything to do with what she wanted me to remember? The whole circle of life story had been a segue into her explaining reproduction and how important that was to continued life. What did it all mean for me now?

I struggled for an answer as I journeyed on. Just before I considered turning around, I saw a horse treading water. It was a gorgeous creature. The coat and mane were as black as night. It shifted its gaze at me, and I thought of the kelpie statue. They were both beyond perfection.

One of the things I’d longed for as a child was a horse. I quickened my footsteps and hoped not to spook the magnificent creature.

“Hey there,” I called out when another part of me warned for caution. It moved toward the beach and me.

I loosened my hold on my bag and shifted it over one shoulder. That freed my hands so I could hold one out. The desire to just have one touch, even a quick one, became my absolute purpose in life. Though I knew better, having just remembered to listen to my gut, there was a pull I couldn’t fight.

“Are you a pretty boy?” I crooned as it was now within feet of my path. I didn’t know if it was male or female, but instinct had dictated my words.

The horse looked away but stopped right in front of me. That was all the permission I needed to slide my hand over its coat. I got within an inch of touching it when a man called, “Stop.”

I turned and at the same time the horse reared up on its back legs. I leaned back so as not to get trampled and lost my balance. On my way down, I saw the most stunning man I’d ever seen in my life. Too bad that as soon as my head hit the sand, darkness overtook me.

Three

I awoke staring at the sky overhead, it was darkening from a beautiful spring blue to twilight. Apparently, I was still stuck in the dream.

“Don’t,” the man said, but not to me. His accent was thick, even in that one warning word.

I blinked and tried to shift my head, but pain stopped me.

“She’s mine. She came to me,” another said, sounding petulant.

“You must not give in,” the other, more reasonable-sounding man said.

“What would you know? Maybe this is what I need to break me free. Her death could bring me life.”

“It could also strengthen the curse.”

The word “death” forced me to move my limbs regardless of any lingering pain. I rolled to my side and spotted a wide opening in a sculpted hedge. The cliffs were no longer in view. Perched on a hill above was the castle from the picture I’d seen at the airport.

“She wakes.”

At first, I wasn’t sure who’d spoken. I focused on getting to my hands and knees.

“Cináed.” I was sure that was the more reasonable man. I faced away from the pair and couldn’t be sure if the handsome man who had graced my vision before I’d fallen was the man who wanted my death or was trying to prevent it.

“Duncan,” the other mocked.

That name was the name of the man I sought, but I couldn’t risk staying. I got to my feet, grateful my bag still hung by the crook of my arm. When I faced them, the horse was gone and two gorgeous men stood there. If not for the fact one of them had unnatural glowing eyes, like those of a devil, I might have stayed.

“Don’t run,” he said, his Rs rolling like thunder over his tongue.

But run I did because he had to be a monster. Human eyes didn’t glow. Worst yet, the sun was setting fast. I needed to get to the castle before nightfall. I ran for the hedges opposite the beach. They would afford me cover, as they were taller than me and the towering men.

“Aye, a chase.” I was pretty sure that was Cináed.

“No, Cin.”

Then the sound of metal broke the moment of silence. Again, I hadn’t seen a blade, but I felt that was the barely above a whisper sound I’d heard over my racing heart.

“You will kill me for her? A stranger?” the petulant one called.

“I don’t intend to kill you. But I will stop you to save you from a fate worse than death.”

It was then that I broke through the opening in the hedge. I didn’t hear whatever was said next as I was busy trying to decide left or right.

Right. It wasn’t as if it was a better choice by the look of things. It was my gut. I ran down a narrow path. It cut left and though I slowed as best I could, my momentum threw me against the prickly wall. Stems tore at my clothing and scratched exposed skin on my hands. I pushed on until another split. While making a decision left or right, I heard the pursuit behind me.