Rising Fire by Terri Brisbin Page B

enthusiasm about a number of topics.
    Though he found himself staring at her mouth and remembering the innocence in her kiss and the taste of her lips, he held himself in check, for he had said he would not pursue her, and that would cross that line. From her blush, she remembered it as well. Instead he handed her the basket and nodded at the fields before them.
    â€œOne day, you will visit the sea,” he said, somehow knowing it was true.
    â€œI hope so, my lord,” she said. “My thanks for carrying this for me.”
    The silence surrounded them then. He wanted to kiss her with every fiber of his being. He stepped back, breaking the spell, and bowed slightly to her.
    â€œSee safely to your chores this day, Brienne,” he said, turning to leave before he acted on his desires. At this point, he would have given anything just to be able to continue to talk with her.
    â€œAnd you as well, my lord . . . when you remember what your tasks are.”
    With a soft laugh, she walked off, leaving the shade of the forest and entering the open fields where men and women worked, preparing the fields for planting.
    His heart pounded as he realized that, if he carried out the king’s duty, he would oversee his own lands soon. By next spring, he would have fields to plant and a manor of his own. William headed back to the camp on the hill, not wishing to think on the rest of it. For now he would think only about the wonder in her vibrant amber eyes as he spoke of the sea.
    Two mornings later, as he tracked a large group of mounted men riding along the road to Yester, he knew that the time when she would be in danger had just arrived. And when the leader of the riders stopped in front of where he stood hidden by the dense trees and brush and stared in his direction, William knew that Lord Hugh was back at Yester Castle.
    Although he was careful about being out of sight of anyone down in the valley, the helmed man nodded at him, acknowledging his presence. Then heat filled him, and the warrior within pushed against its bounds, forcing William to fight to keep it controlled. He blew hard, like a winded horse, and clenched fists that even now grew larger, barely containing the growing power. The sound that echoed up the hills shocked him.
    Laughter.
    Deep, full laughter traveled through the air, mockingand challenging him at the same time. Struggling against the need to release whatever this power was that now lived inside of him, William practiced his meager control, knowing that the time was coming when he would not be successful in holding it back.
    The time was coming . . . soon.
    *   *   *
    Hugh felt one of them with each passing mile. Opening up his senses as they crossed the last few miles between Gifford town and Yester Castle, he attempted to discern who his opponent was. To determine from which bloodline this enemy had come to face him and test his resolve to free his goddess. Though close, he was yet too far to tell.
    Hugh smiled first, relishing the thought that his plans and those of his creator were under way and there would be no more delays. If one had arrived, others would come. Others who knew not the location of the circles. Others who knew of the prophecy. More of the bloodlines who had no idea of their powers or his.
    But they would learn quickly that he would not be refused. He had perfected the ways to find a man’s weakness and use it to gain their compliance before he destroyed them. All he needed was to open one gateway, and then the goddess would be freed and could destroy the others.
    One.
    Surely two of these ignorant fools, untrained in the ways of the ancients, would bend to his will . . . and to hers. Once the gateway opened and the sacrifice made, they would be useless and he would see to their deaths. They, and anyone who stood in his way, would die, be they serf or king.
    Pulling his horse to a stop, he stared up at the hills that