MIDNIGHT CONQUEST: Book 1 of the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles Read Online Free PDF

fetch it.”
    Davina tugged on Rosselyn’s hand with all her might, yanking her friend back. “Nay! I cannot face him again! I shall surely perish from…from…”
    Rosselyn rubbed Davina’s shoulders as if to warm her. “Do not fret so! I will fetch it for you. Come with me and stay behind the wagon so he won’t see you.”
    They crept alongside and peered around the fortune teller’s wagon. Amice seemed to study the teacups, tilting them to and fro. Broderick emerged from the tent and Davina clutched Rosselyn, pulling her back out of sight.
    “And just what are you up to, Amice?” The sound of his deep voice made Davina’s knees buckle and she dared to peek around the wagon with Rosselyn.
    “A little tea leaf reading,” she said in French, keeping her eyes trained on the tea leaves.
    Rosselyn turned to Davina and shrugged, as Rosselyn did not speak French. Davina indicated she would tell her later and switched places with Rosselyn to better hear their conversation.
    “From the two young girls?” he asked.
    “Aye.” Amice smiled. “You have her heart forever, my son.”
    The giant cocked his eyebrow curiously. “Which one?”
    “The sweet Davina,” Amice said, waving one of the cups in the air as she eyed the other. Davina nearly fainted from the rapid pounding of her heart.
    “Nonsense, the girl will not remember me when she finds herself a husband.” He chuckled. “Her open admiration for me was very flattering, though. She’s pretty now, but she will be the one stealing hearts when she grows to womanhood.”
    He thinks me pretty! He thinks me pretty! Davina spent all her energy not jumping up and down like a flea. She bit her curled index finger to silence a heady giggle.
    “ Your heart is the one she will steal, my son.” Amice handed him the cup, and Davina opened her mouth in awe.
    He peered into the cup, frowned and gave it back to Amice. Shrugging, he grinned and handed her Kehr’s wrapped gift. “Well, since she’ll return to be my true love, give her this.” Amice at last diverted her attention from her cup-gazing to eye the package. “She left in such haste, she forgot to take her fardel with her.” Shaking his head, he turned and went back into the tent. Amice sat smiling, reading the tea leaves.
    Davina gripped the side of the wagon, her mouth still hanging open. Seeing Broderick gone, Rosselyn stepped forward, quickly made her excuses and retrieved the wrapped boot knife. Ushering Davina away from the wagon, she spoke when they were out of earshot. “What did they say? You seemed ready to faint!”
    Davina stumbled forward as if in a trance, her mouth open and her body numb. The faintest smile appeared on her lips.

Chapter Two
    Stewart Glen, Scotland—Summer, 1513—Eight Years Later
    “I beg you to forgive my son, Parlan.”
    Davina Stewart-Russell halted at the sound of her father-in-law’s voice and stopped short of the doorway she was just about to walk through to the parlor of her childhood home. The quick glance into the room, before she stepped back to hide, afforded her the moment she needed to see the scene. Her father, Parlan, stood before the stone hearth built from the jagged rocks of the local area, his arms crossed and his back to the room. Munro, her father-in-law, stood to the right side of the hearth, his hands clasped and resting on the hilt of his sword, addressing her father. Her husband, Ian, stood further back and between the two men, his head down and shoulders hunched in a very uncharacteristic position of submission. All of them had their backs to Davina, so didn’t see her approach or her hasty retreat. Peering around the doorway and staying hidden behind the partially opened door, she peeked through the crack at the hinges.
    Munro continued his petition for his son, talking as if Ian wasn’t in the room. “As you and I have both discussed at length, this position of responsibility isn’t sitting well with Ian. I appreciate your patience and your