A terrifying test. If Niamh, favored daughter of the king, fails to withstand the lure of dark power, she could destroy all that she has struggled to protect, including the only man she’s ever loved.
A choice of loyalties. Fergal’s vows to his king and his steadfast heart are put to the test when it is not the strength of his arm and sharpness of sword and axe, but his forbidden love for the princess that may be the only weapon capable of saving them all.
Hunted Hearts Series
Conall’s Huntress – Book 1 – Available Now
Meara’s Hero – Book 2 – Available Now
Fergal’s Enchantress – Book 3
Aoife’s Dragon – Book 4
Darach’s Mermaid – Book 5
Treasa’s Pirate – Book 6
_____________________________ ~*~ _____________________________
~ Excerpt ~
A subtle prickling ran his skin and nerves, blood and bone, eerily sensual and pleasantly disturbing. His breath caught. She was coming. Honestly unready to see Niamh again, he patted the pup, the simple motion steadying.
“Fergal?”
As always, Niamh’s soft voice wrapped around his heart and mind, pure, calm, regal.
The dog bounded off to her mistress.
“This is a surprise.”
Fergal straightened, bracing his heart, waiting a beat to raise his gaze.
Niamh. Her pale green eyes were grave, her expression cool and controlled. So lovely that his heart ached. More beautiful, if possible, than when he’d last seen her twenty-five years ago. Her hair, the same shining red as her father’s, fell in two long, smooth braids. A simple gray linen dress draped her lithe body and delicate breasts, adorned simply with embroidered ribbons, and green and brown smudges at the knees showed she had been working in the garden, and her feet were bare and dusty. She’d always loved tending her plants.
The polite greeting he’d practiced fled. How could she stand there so unmoved? As if they’d meant nothing to one another. As if they were polite strangers?
“How can you live like this —” he snarled and waved his hand at the absurd ordinariness about him. “Unguarded, unwarded, unprotected?”
She raised a serene censorious brow. “I have my own wards and guards aplenty here. I am content.”
He snorted. “I encountered none. A wooden gate, handful of kittens, and a gangling puppy do not proper safeguards make.”
Only because he’d been watching her like a starving man watched his next meal did he catch her flash of puzzlement before she shrugged casually. “Baibin is a good dog, sweet and loyal, exactly what I require in a companion.”
A burn of anger flared in his chest. Had she just compared him to a dog? She questioned his loyalty? His? She was the one who’d run.
_____________________________ ~*~ _____________________________
Want to be notified by email on the day Babette’s books are released? Sign up for Babette’s mailing list.
Come fall in love
All rights reserved. No part of this webpage may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever w/o written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
babettejames.com 