Legendary Warrior (Warrior 1)

She did not go far when she ran into Brigid, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. “Thomas does care for me.”

“You heard,” Reena said with joy. It was better she heard from Thomas himself than from someone else. His own words would have more impact, and they certainly had.

Brigid wiped at her wet cheeks. “He cares for me, I cannot believe it.”

Reena shook her head. “He more than cares for you; he loves you. Did you not hear him say he would treat you like a queen and love you with all his heart?”

Footsteps on the stone staircase caught their attention, and they could detect from the raised voices that it was Magnus and Thomas who approached. A bark alerted them that Horace followed.

Brigid attempted to wipe away her tears, but she was not fast enough. Thomas immediately saw that she was upset and hurried to her side. Reena had to brace herself against the stone wall to allow the large man to pass by in a rush.

“What is wrong?” he asked, his arm going instinctively and protectively around her. Horace snuggled against her leg as if he understood she needed loving.

Brigid attempted a smile, and it settled naturally on her lovely face. “Nothing, I was merely concerned with Reena’s well-being.”

“She is fine,” Thomas assured her.

He looked to Reena to confirm his words and ease Brigid’s worry, and her heart went out to the large man with the many scars. He had a big heart, and he had given it to her dearest friend.

“I feel wonderful,” Reena said and threw her arms wide, though when she caught the look on Magnus’s face she wondered how long her wonderful feeling would last.

“I go to bring the food for the men,” Brigid said, her glance set on Thomas.

The couple left without a word to Reena or Magnus, Horace close behind, the word food having caught his attention.

“Tell me,” Magnus said, walking over to Reena and bracing his hand on the wall beside her head. “Do you ever get to your destination without a challenge arising?”

She turned a smile on him that stunned his heart. “Challenges make life interesting.”

He pointed down the steps. “To my solar, where challenges will definitely prove to be interesting.”

She took the steps without trepidation. Magnus would tell her of his mother or he would not. The choice was his, though she knew that a secret long kept carried burdens that often needed lifting. He could trust her with any secret, for she would take it to her grave if he asked.

She went to the hearth, bright with flames, and reached her hands out to warm them. Magnus closed the door and walked up behind her. To her surprise, he slipped his arms around her waist.

He would touch her in ways that surprised and pleased her, a simple touch to her arm, holding her hand, a hug that brought them close, a gentle kiss, a brush of his cheek against hers and a kiss that stole her breath. And it had her growing all the more confused with him and her own emotions. What developed between them? Was this mix of confusing emotions love? Was the indecisiveness of how to handle it all part of love, or were her own doubts interfering? And was now the time to be thinking of such matters when she was eager to hear about his mother?

“Silence is not something I often find you practicing.”

“I wait for you to speak.” She placed a warm hand on his arm, more out of instinct, since of late she reached out to him without thought to her action. “Though I do offer my apologies for reading a page from your mother’s journal. Had I known it belonged to her I would have respected her privacy.”

“And what if I confide in you? Will you keep the information private?”

“Have no doubt of it. I would breathe a word to no one.”

He moved away from her, though he grasped her hand for a moment before walking past her and bracing his hand on the mantel. He gazed at the fire, the flames casting a soft glow on his handsome features. His hesitation spoke louder than words. Did he trust her? Or did the secret remain his?

Reena watched him and saw the hurt in his eyes grow and spread, and she felt when anger took over and consumed him, followed by regret. Memories could prove powerful allies or horrific adversaries, and at the moment Magnus struggled with both. Reena wanted to rush over to him and hug and kiss him and tell him that everything was all right. She refrained; he was, after all, her lord, but then he was also the man she believed herself falling in love with.

“My mother kept journals from when she first learned to write.” He kept his gaze steady on the flames. “An uncle who was a cleric who fell from grace with the church taught her to read and write just before she wed my father. She told me often that she feared if she did not continue to read and write she would lose the skills.