A Storm of Pleasure: The STORM Series by Terri Brisbin

Author:Terri Brisbin [Brisbin, Terri]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: historical romance, second sight, magic, stand alone stories, Vikings, curses, Orkney, paranormal romance, gifted, Scotland, faery, emotional, dark, compelling, sexy, Smoo Cave, steamy romance, medival romance
ISBN: 9780998532660
Publisher: Luckenbooth Press
Published: 2018-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

When they approached the crest of the hill, Katla lost her breath. Not from the exertion of climbing up that hill, but from the sight before her. There, between this ridge and the farther one, sat a small, but perfectly circular group of standing stones. She took Gavin’s outstretched hand and walked at his side down the hill toward the stones.

This day, her third with him, had been the first since their arrival to dawn with a clear sky. Haakon had packed food in a sack, and ale in a skin, before they set out. Gavin had kept their destination a secret, telling her only that there would be a surprise to see. It took hours to reach the stones, walking over gentle rolling hills, and even at this distance, they were spectacular.

“How did you find this place?” she asked. The circle was off the path that followed the coast between villages.

“Exploring when I was a boy,” he said. “I grew up and lived near Durness my whole life. One summer my father told me of the stones and so I went looking for them when I could.”

The descent grew steeper now as they made their way down into the valley toward the stones. The sun’s rays flickered off them, sending shiny bits of light into Katla’s eyes. Soon, they reached the bottom and the ground leveled, making walking easier. Gavin held out the ale skin to her, and they paused for a moment.

“Have you visited the other stones?” he asked, wiping his mouth after taking a swallow of the ale. “On the mainland?”

“The ones near the ancient cairns?” she asked. “Aye.”

Standing stones and ancient cairns were strewn across Orkney, the largest on the mainland where the earl lived. The Norse had visited them for centuries, especially Odin’s Stone near the lake at Stenness, where oaths were sworn and promises made.

“These are different,” he declared as he began to walk closer to the seven stones. “Come.”

And they were, for as Gavin and Katla approached the ring, it was clear that each of the seven gray stones was actually cut or had been cleft by wind and rain into three sections. The surface of each glimmered in the sun, flecks of metal or some other kind of stone giving the appearance of silver and gold. Gavin did not walk into the circle—he walked around it, leading her three times along the perimeter before taking her near the ring.

“The rays of the setting sun on the summer solstice make this one appear afire, Katla. It is a sight to behold.”

He reached out to lay his hand on the tallest of the stones, a simple gesture but one that was almost reverent. Gavin paused just before his hand came to rest on the stone, closing his eyes, as though listening for something.

“What do you hear?” she asked. Did his powers connect to something here?

He shook his head, laughing. “Nothing. Though as a boy, I thought I could hear laughter echoing through these stones.

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