Iain lay with his face smashed against the rocky incline. Had he slipped on the damp stone? A vague memory stirred. A bramble snaring him around the ankle?

Dizziness. Darkness grabbed at him but he fought back, sucking in air that had been punched from him, dirt particles scrambling up his nose. Sneezing, his face bumped against the rock again. A guttural moan, intense and pained, hummed at his ears. For the life of him, he could not shake the fog that hung heavy, pulling him to a gray space, almost awake, but not quite.

“Iain?”

Twas Cayda’s voice, soft and gentle. He rolled toward it, breathing in the vision of her golden hair, silky and lush, flying around her as she raced to the pond, happy, joyful. So lovely. He was mesmerized by her, his desire churning strong and hot . . . but he could not fight the pull into that murky place where he floated between consciousness and unconsciousness.

“Iain.”

Pressure at his shoulder, shaking.

Harald!

Iain’s eyes snapped opened, his arms rising rapidly to grasp the hilt of his sword. He rolled over, fighting a wave of dizziness, brandishing his sword high.

Twas Cayda.

Iain lay back, his arm slung over his face, light-headedness forcing his eyes closed. “Harald is shackled, his hands and legs. Tis a chain about his waist tethered to . . . tree,” he slurred, confusion flittering about him. “Followed to reassure you . . . safe.” This time, when the dark grabbed him, he readily followed, unable to fight it. At least Cayda was safe.

Memory Keeper is available in print as ebook on Amazon.