Chapter One
Invergarry, Scotland
Summer, 1270
Life had a funny way of turning sharp corners with no warning. Sorin Sinclair thought he had learned to adapt in his search for his mate, but no matter how many times he thought he couldn’t be surprised again, he was.
He stared into familiar hazel eyes and wanted to shout for joy. With a smile and a throat clogged with emotion, he looked at his eldest brother and heir to the kingdom of Drahcir. “Keiran? Is that really you?”
Keiran jerked Sorin against him for a hug, slapping him on his back. “Aye, brother, it’s me.”
Sorin stepped back and looked into a face he feared he might never see again. “How?”
“I doona have time to explain, and it doesna matter anyway,” Keiran answered. “It’s good to see you.”
“I would’ve thought you’d have returned home by now. Have you no’ found your mate?”
Keiran sighed as his smile slipped and weariness settled on his face. “Nay, but no’ for lack of searching. It seems, little brother, there are forces working against us.”
“What forces?”
“I had a visit from a Fae who warned me the Tnargs are looking for our mates. They’re trying to find them before we do so they can kill them.”
Sorin loudly expelled a breath and leaned back against the building feeling as if the wind had just been kicked out of him. As if they didn’t already have a heavy burden to carry in finding their mates and returning to Drahcir with them, now the Tnargs.
The alley was deserted, giving them the privacy they needed. Sorin shook his head in disbelief. The Tnargs were beasts who had one mission—kill any mate of a prince or princess of Drahcir. His brothers had used the scare him with stories of the Tnargs when he was small, but it was the ferocity, the strength of the creatures that made a chill run down his spine.
“This can no’ be possible. It’s damned difficult enough to find our mates and convince them to leave their families behind. And now you tell me the Tnargs are trying to find them before we do?”
“Everyone thought after all these centuries the angered Fae princess would have forgiven – or at least forgotten – our family. It seems she wants to end it all. Aimery tells me the Fae banished her from their realm for what she did. I doona think even Father knows of this latest news. But that isna important. We need to find our mates, brother.”
Sorin ran a hand down his face as he absorbed the news. “Shite. If our mates are killed, we can no’ fulfill the curse upon our family. That’s why the Tnargs are trying to locate our mates before us. The princess sent the creature,” he finished, as he comprehended who was behind it all.
Keiran nodded grimly.
“The Fae who visited you, are you sure you can trust him?”
“Of course. It’s Aimery,” Keiran said. “You might no’ have seen him the times he visited the castle, but I did. He can be trusted.”
Sorin accepted his brother’s word. “Have you seen Elric or Lucian?”
“Nay, but Aimery helped Elric find his mate. I have to assume that our brothers are home.”
“Of course,” Sorin said. “We’ll make it, Keiran. I know it.”
The smile Keiran gave was forced, tight and the barely concealed doubt shown in his hazel gaze. “Aye. Keep your eyes opened for the Tnarg. You willna be able to miss the beast, and it willna hesitate to kill your mate. Once you find her, convince her quickly and get her to Drahcir post haste.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Our time is running thin, little brother, and I’ve yet to find my mate. Be safe. I’ll see you soon.”
Sorin clasped his brother to him, almost unwilling to let him go. It had been so long since he’d seen any of his family, and parting again was torture. He released Keiran, and after one more wave, his brother disappeared into the
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