Moonstone Magic by Jill Gregory

Author:Jill Gregory
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gothic romance, medieval romance, fairy tale romance, medieval fantasy romance, fantasy fairy tale romance, magical fantasy romance, fantasy gothic romance
Publisher: Jill Gregory

Chapter Six

Holding her cloak and hood tightly against the howling wind which threatened to tear the very branches from the trees, Brianne rode amidst Eadric’s soldiers and tried to plan.

Through snow and wind and thick forests they rode, through scraggly hills and barren plains, across Raumerin Cog and beyond. She wondered if Ralf and his army had watched them from behind the low blue hills of the Cog, allowing Eadric’s scouts to go unhindered so that they might advise their leader to ride forward, straight into Ralf’s trap.

Little would the troops of Kerric guess that the ragged-figure amidst the riders was the new Queen of Kerric, she thought, chafing in frustration at her predicament. She felt Ralf must be close by, yet she dared not call out to him or give away his troops’ presence in any way.

So as she and Eadric’s soldiers left Raumerin Cog behind, her heart sank. If only she possessed the power to speak directly to Ralf’s mind—if only she had the moonstone. She could then at least alert Ralf to what was happening. He’d send a rescue party to follow her, and she would stand a chance of returning to him in time to gain the moonstone.

But she must do nothing to endanger him or his army. She would have to face Eadric alone, and somehow find a way to lure him and his army forward quickly into Ralf’s trap. As if that wasn’t enough, Brianne realized that she must somehow accompany them to the battlefield. Perhaps in the confusion of attack, she would find the means to escape Eadric and reach Ralf and the moonstone in time.

They did not stop riding until nearly dark, galloping all the way. But at last they reached a vast encampment hidden away at the foot of a flat-topped hill, bordered by a snowy wood. Beyond the wood, dark barren hills loomed like giant shrouds in the distance.

She heard a woman’s blood-chilling screams coming from one of the tents they passed. The leader, seeing Brianne stare in alarm, growled, “Never you mind. That’s only a wench from one of the conquered lands. The king finished with her, and turned her over to the rest of us. If you’re lying about who you are, you’ll meet the same fate—or worse. Come along, this way.”

She was hurried without further discussion to the king’s tent, the woman’s screams still echoing horribly in her ears.

So this is Eadric of Wen, Brianne thought, shaken, as she studied the hulking, gold-haired man before her. Though her heart pounded with revulsion, she forced herself to stand motionless, with quiet dignity, before him, and said a silent prayer of thanks that she had been carried off by Ralf before this monster could have claimed her.

Eadric’s appearance was as fierce as it was unattractive. He had a thick neck, brawny arms, and the great barrel chest of a young bull. But oddly, in contrast to the rest of his body, which was large and stout, his hands were small and stubby, covered with wiry gold hairs.

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