Read Online Enchanted Warrior by Sharon Ashwood - Free Book Online

right in your area.” Stacy listed off a handful of times, and then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Mom even thinks someone or something stopped time for a moment. No one’s used that kind of magic in centuries. What, by Merlin’s magic wand, is going on in Carlyle?”
    Tamsin sat back in her chair, skin prickling with alarm. “I don’t know. I’m a healer. Sensing the aether was never my talent. I don’t notice an anomaly unless I’m looking for it.”
    â€œSurely you have some idea. Mom might be obsessive and paranoid, but she can read energy from a distance better than any other witch in the eastern covens.”
    Which meant—what? That Gawain was right, and there were evil fae romping through the streets? “I honestly don’t know.”
    Stacy’s tone grew impatient. “You know Dad always thought Carlyle had a significant archive of magical materials. There have to be some serious practitioners out there, and they’re up to something.”
    Tamsin cleared her throat. “There are supposed to be some very special books here, ones I know Dad was interested in, but I haven’t found them. They seem to have disappeared along with...”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œOther things.” Tamsin put a hand to her forehead. She was hot, possibly because her head was exploding. “There are items that should be in the church but seem to have gone missing. I’m trying to find them.”
    â€œMagical items?”
    â€œI dunno. Maybe. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
    â€œOh, Tamsin,” Stacy groaned, sounding pushed to her limits, “hurry up and come home where it’s safe.”
    Tamsin sighed. “I’d better get to work. I’ll call you later.”
    â€œBe careful.” Stacy hung up.
    Tamsin thumbed the End button and sat staring at her phone for a moment as the dark cloud of Stacy’s anxiety faded. Her mother’s observations bothered Tamsin. Something was definitely going on.
    Tamsin needed a break. She grabbed her coat and strode through the cool dimness of the church. Outside, it was bright and sunny, and Tamsin breathed in the air and cheerful, gaudy colors of the theme park. She waited on the porch as an actor rode by in the full armor of a knight, the feathered hooves of his horse clop-clopping on the pavement. Children milled about the beast, who bore the noise and commotion with gentle patience. Tamsin couldn’t help but smile.
    And then she thought of Gawain, which wiped away every trace of lightness. She jumped down from the porch and began to walk briskly through the grounds, using the exercise to take the edge off her nerves.
    The morning’s work had made one thing clear. As a historian, she’d been trained to value meticulous research, but in this case the fae army might overrun the mortal world before she made it through all those boxes of paper. There had to be a way to fast-track a solution to this problem.
    Tamsin was pondering the question when she reached the booth where brown-robed friars sold paper cups of hot chocolate. She bought the largest size and walked back into the church, ready to resume work.
    Except Gawain was sprawled in her desk chair, feet stretched out and arms folded across his massive chest. She started at the sight of him, releasing a sticky dribble through the hole in the lid of the cup. Knuckles smarting from the burn, she set the drink on top of her filing cabinet and licked the sweetness from her fingers.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light despite her suddenly pounding heart. Emotion from last night flooded back—trepidation, anger and, illogically, desire. Somehow the taste of dark chocolate merged with the sight of his big body, sending a burst of need through her synapses. She wanted to touch the stubble on his cheeks to see if it was as rough as it looked—which was utterly