The Highlander put him down, and fear crept over the lad. It was one thing to look the mighty warrior in the face, but standing beside him, the top of the lad’s head was level with the top of his chest.
This Highlander warrior was the tale of legends that his father had told him about. Suddenly, his hunger didn’t seem important, and he choked back tears. He had to find his father and set him free. His father had told him not to worry about him, to run and stay safe, but he was his da, and he loved him with all his heart. He had raised him alone since he was barely five years, his mother having passed in childbirth along with the babe. He was a good, loving father. He would never leave him to suffer the king’s torment. He would find him and set him free and then together they would go as they had planned to join those who supported the true king’s return.
“I’ll feed you,” the Highlander said, casting an anxious glance over the marketplace grounds. “We’ll get what we need and be gone. I don’t trust the soldiers. They’ll find more of their kind and be after us soon enough.”
The Highlander was right about that, and the lad had no problem with filling his belly and then taking off on his own. He had a mission to accomplish, and he intended to see it done.
“Don’t wander off,” the Highlander warned. “Stay close to me.”
The lad stuck to his side as the warrior made a hasty round of the market, slipping the lad a hunk of cheese he traded for. He ravished the piece in seconds and hungered for more, but didn’t ask. They would be done soon enough, and soon he’d be feasting, the Highlander having gathered more than enough food.
The lad had a feeling that the warrior was acquiring more than simply food. Whispers and mumbles were exchanged at most every place he stopped. Something was afoot, and the lad wondered if perhaps the Highlander was in some way connected with those warriors who fought to see the true king take the throne. A prophecy has been circulating for some time now about the true king, the king who possessed the inalienable right to the throne of Scotland. It was a prophecy his father had recounted many times to him until he could recite it by heart.
When summer touches winter, and the snow descends, the reign of the false king begins to end, four warriors ride together and then divide, among them the true king hides, when he meets death on his own, that is when he reclaims the throne.
His father had believed strongly in the prophecy and had claimed that the true king would one day appear, and his reign would bring peace and prosperity. Perhaps if the warrior was connected with those who fought for the true king, he could help the lad rescue his father and see them settled in a safe place.
Suddenly, the lad was glad for his near brush with danger, for it had provided him with an introduction to the Highlander and a better chance to free his father.
The Highlander dropped a sack to the lad with a warning. “Eat, but do not show your hunger. It demonstrates vulnerability.”
The lad understood, and, though anxious to devour what food staples were in the sack, he reached in and tore off a hunk of bread. With hunger that crawled up and out of his mouth, the lad managed to eat slowly as he walked beside the Highlander, taking two, sometimes three steps, to the Highlander’s one.
“Your name, lad?” the Highlander asked, as they approached the end of the marketplace.
“Charles, sir.”
“Call me Bryce.”
“Thank you, Bryce, for helping me,” Charles said.
“Help you? I bought you, lad.”
Charles stumbled, and Bryce grabbed hold of his arm. “Watch your step.”
The Highlander kept a firm grip on his arm until the market was far behind them, and they entered the woods lush with fresh spring growth.
What a fool he was, forgetting that the Highlander had purchased him. He was now the warrior’s property. And the strength of his grip had only served to remind him of the invisible shackle that duty-bound him to Bryce.
Questions assaulted the lad’s mind and spilled rapidly from his lips. “What do you want with me? How long am I beholding to you? Where will you be taking me? Will we be going far from here—”
“Stop!” Bryce snapped. “You’re a bit of a thing that not only needs feeding but help in growing into manhood.”
“And what?” Charles halted in his tracks. “You expect to make a man out of me?”
Bryce peered down at him. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
He kept walking, and Charles had no choice but to follow, with only one thought in mind.
There was no way this mighty Highlander would ever accomplish making a man out of Charles. And for a very good reason.
Charles was actually Charlotte, a woman!
About the Author
Part of the fun in writing, DONNA FLETCHER admits, is doing the research. But it is with her characters that she has the most fun. She loves giving life to fresh characters and feels their excitement as they face the pleasures and pitfalls of falling in love.
Donna’s own adventures have taken her to England, Ireland, and Scotland. She has walked the fields where battles were fought centuries ago, toured haunted castles, stood where beheadings were commonplace, explored the mystic mounds of long ago, and collected a plethora of memories and research that will live long in her heart and mind. She also loves exploring and photographing old abandoned homes, and she often takes long walks in the woods with camera in hand. She feels her life is rich and full, having three terrific sons, two fantastic daughters-in-law, an endless supply of friends, a loving dog, and a crazy, black, one-eyed cat named Bear.
www.donnafletcher.com
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Loved By a Warrior
Bound to a Warrior
The Highlander’s Forbidden Bride
The Angel and the Highlander
Under the Highlander’s Spell
Return of the Rogue
The Highlander’s Bride
Taken By Storm
The Bewitching Twin
The Daring Twin
Dark Warrior
Legendary Warrior
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LOVED BY A WARRIOR. Copyright © 2011 by Donna Fletcher. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Excerpt copyright © 2012 by Donna Fletcher
EPub Edition JULY 2011 ISBN: 9780062092335
FIRST EDITION
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
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
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Excerpt from the next book in the Warrior King series
About the Author
By Donna Fletcher
Copyright
About the Publisher