The House Of Gaian

the dark-haired man he assumed was the Baron of Willowsbrook—and Breanna’s brother
    —kept glancing her way, as if to keep an eye on her.
    “Breanna?” Aiden held out the folded paper. “This is for you.”
    Looking puzzled, Breanna studied the blob of sealing wax, then looked at him. “What is it? A song?”
    “I don’t think so. We met up with a messenger heading east. Since I was coming to Willowsbrook anyway, he entrusted me to deliver this to you in exchange for taking messages back to the west.”
    Still puzzled, she turned the paper over—and stared at the writing.
    “Mother’s mercy.” She broke the wax seal, opened the paper, and started to read. Her eyes filled with tears. Then she laughed. “Jenny. It’s from my cousin Jenny. She and Mihail have found safe harbor somewhere in the west. And Tremaine’s sons are with them. They got out. They escaped.”
    As Gwenn slid a comforting arm around Breanna, Aiden saw her brother break away from the other men.
    “Breanna?” he enquired, his voice sharp with concern, his eyes fixed on Aiden with suspicion.
    Laughing and crying, Breanna shook her head. “They found safe harbor. I have to tell Fiona and Gran.
    And Mihail’s wife. Oh, she’s been desperate for any news of him.” She threw her arms around Aiden’s neck and choked him with the hug. “Oh, thank you, Aiden. Thank you.” Spinning around, she almost knocked Liam over as she ran to the house.
    Gwenn and Rhyann hurried after her.
    Aiden looked at the man who continued to stare back at him. “You’re the Baron of Willowsbrook?”
    “I’m Liam.”

    Aiden extended his hand in the human way of greeting. “Aiden. The Bard.”
    Some of the tension in Liam eased as he slipped his hand into Aiden’s. “Breanna has mentioned you.”
    “No matter what she’s said, I’m not taking the dog.”
    Liam grinned as they turned and looked at the small black dog, who was still sound asleep under the tree.
    They watched Lyrra ride up, slow her horse as she, too, looked at the dog and shook her head, and finally rein in when she reached them.
    “I saw Breanna run into the house,” Lyrra said. “What’s wrong?”
    Aiden shook his head. “The letter I had for her was good news. The kind women like to cry over.”
    “And men never shed tears? Ha!” Lyrra shoved the reins into the closest pair of hands—which happened to be Liam’s—and ran to the house.
    “I’ll take those,” Aiden said, holding out a hand for the reins. “You’ve other business to attend to.”
    Nodding, Liam returned to the other barons.
    Well , Aiden thought as he led Lyrra’s horse toward the watering trough in the stableyard, with Minstrel and the barons’ horses following, it isn‘t exactly what Ashk intended when she ’d asked me to smooth things over, but it will keep everyone occupied for a while.
    They ran. There was no need for human speech. A yip, a soft growl, a wag of a tail was all either needed as commentary about the sounds and smells their heightened senses picked up.
    It felt strange to roam the land with another shadow hound, especially another strong bitch. Selena fought against the instinct to surrender more to the animal nature and push a confrontation that would decide dominance. Perhaps because she knew, deep down, that Ashk had lived in this form in ways that she had not, and that experience would win in a fight.
    So she trotted beside the Hunter, pleased with how easily they moved together.
    Then she picked up a strange scent and moved off on her own to investigate. A bad smell. Bitter. Foul.
    The trail seemed to lead to the dead tree among the stand of trees up ahead.
    She started forward, then yipped in pain and surprise when Ashk nipped her flank. She rounded on Ashk, her teeth bared, her hackles raised. But Ashk’s attention was focused on the trees, and the snarl rising from her throat spoke of deadly anger.
    Ashk backed away, her attention never leaving the stand of trees.
    Selena paused a moment to sniff the scent again. When she was in human form, the smell would be much weaker, but she would recognize it again.
    Ashk trotted away, stopping every few yards to look back and study the trees. Selena followed, puzzled by the Hunter’s behavior. When the trees were a field away, Ashk settled into a ground-eating trot that a shadow hound could sustain for hours.
    Finally they reached the top of a rise beyond the village of Willowsbrook. Flat land stretched before them
     
    —grass