“Where is my son?”
On her knees in the midst of the garden where she’d been gathering herbs, Lis the midwife looked up at the man on the horse. The sun behind him made him a black silhouette above her, a wild-haired figure wrapped in animal skins. Though she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glare, she couldn’t see his features and that frightened her as much as his words.
Dear Ildred…can it be? How did he learn of Ossian?
“There’s no child here,” she denied, hoping the boy would obey her this once and stay inside the hut as she’d ordered. She got to her feet.
“Don’t lie to me. Tamsin told me she left him with Lis, the midwife of the Lynx village. Do you deny you’re she?”
“You know Tamsin?” Fear surged through Lis.
“I know the wench well.” His laugh was rueful, as well as sardonic.
“How is she?” She’d heard nothing from the girl since she left her son in Lis’ care over two years before.
“Dead for all I know.” His answer was grim. “She gave me four of the happiest months of my life.” His expression told her admitting that shamed him. “Then she ran away. I’ve been seeking her ever since…”
He looked away, not as if shunning her gaze, but rather inspecting the hut.
Lis wondered if it passed his scrutiny. Is it worthy to house your son?
He took a deep breath. “Soon the winter winds will come, so I’m discontinuing my search. I thought to find her, then claim my son, but the gods will it otherwise. I’ll take the boy now. In the spring…” His blue eyes met Lis and in them she saw an abrupt surrender to truth, something she sensed this man rarely did with anyone. “If she lives, I’ll find her and bring her home…to be with me…with us.”
Lis’ fear thickened. She’d promised Tamsin she’d protect the child but if the mother were dead…perhaps he’d be better off with his father.
Nevertheless, before she relinquished the boy, she had to be certain of this man’s identity.
“Who are you?”
“I think you know.”
“Nevertheless…”
“I’m Samric the Mountain Wolf and I’ve come for my son.” He gave the answer impatiently, his temper ready to escape what little control he kept on it. “Bring him to me.”
THE TALE OF TAMSIN THE FOREST WITCH is the 6th book in the GodChosen series, available in Kindle and paperback. Link in first comment below.https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Forest-Witch-Toni-Sweeney-ebook/dp/B0FT1PZWVT/ref