Echoes Of The Heather Wind

uched beside Callum Reid, her shoulder pressed against his as they hid behind a stack of burlap sacks, the leather-bound tome resting between them. Its faint warmth pulsed like a hea

o a steady drizzle, but the real

e contact sent a shiver through her, not from the cold, but from the unexpected intimacy of it. She nodded, her practical mind warrin

is a beacon. Surrender it, and we might let the crofter live." The words hung like a guillotine, and Eryn's grip tightened on the fire poker she'd brought do

nd her too, if they can." His eyes met hers, a storm of guilt and

help. Now, tell me more-how do we get out of this?" The tome pulsed again, and she felt that stran

ive with intent. "This is a grimoire," he said, his voice low. "It holds rituals-spells, if you will-that the Order uses to control people. I sto

flashing to the sheep she'd slaughtered for

sh-and a willing participant. The ash disrupts the binding. I

to ward off evil. She'd gathered it before, for teas and charms her grandmother swore

, half-collapsed, ran along the back wall-her father's escape route during a feud decades ago. "This way," she whispered, pulling Callum toward it. The tun

s silhouette loomed ahead, but shadows moved around it-two cloaked figures, their moveme

a rocky outcrop a half-mile off. The wind whipped at them, carrying the heather's scent and the distant bleat of her sheep. As they r

, they were pressed together, his chest heaving against hers, his gray eyes locking with her green. The world narrowed to th

ed the base. The cave was shallow, its walls lined with quartz that caught the tome's light. They pressed against the back, bre

m said, sliding down to sit

e'll need help." Her mind turned to Mairi, her childhood friend who now ran the village inn. Mai

er. She can get us supplies and a safe

Order will watch th

y," she counter

en nodded. "I do.

pushed it down. Survival first. They waited until the figures retreated, then crept out, the storm maskin

ng from its windows. Eryn knocked, and the door opened to reveal Mairi-petite, with a cascade o

let them in. The inn's interior smelled of ale and bread, a stark contrast

m to a chair by the fire. "This is

ome peeking from Callum's satchel. "That

the Order of the Knot-is after me. This tome b

. But I owe you, Eryn. I've got ash from last season's harvest. And I kno

ed smile. "Deal. B

his hand brushing hers. "You've got loyal friends

ot secrets I didn't expect. We're even." The words were light, but

d the Order's shadow loomed closer. Eryn felt the weight of what lay ahead-the grove, the ritual, the