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HEART OF THE HIGHLANDS: THE ROSE
Protectors of the Crown Book 5
BY APRIL HOLTHAUS

BLURB

Abigail “Abby” Sinclair grapples with the burden of her seer’s curse. Though her visions are both a gift and a curse, one ominous truth looms over her fate – she must never fall in love, for it will lead to her ultimate death. Destiny, however, has other plans when a mere glance into the eyes of a mysterious man changes everything.

Thrust into the role of laird following his grandfather’s death, Aiden McKeirnan faces an ultimatum – marry and produce an heir or risk losing his clan’s legacy. As time nears his deadline, Aiden is no sooner at finding a wife than he is finding the woman from his dream who had stolen his heart.

With so many missed connections and a twist you won’t see coming, following Abby and Aiden’s story of love and sacrifice.

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HEART OF THE HIGHLANDS: THE ROSE
Protectors of the Crown Book 5
BY APRIL HOLTHAUS

Excerpt

Abby gazed intensely at her target, her arrow at the ready. The light wind blew her hair into her eyes, but she did not let it distract her. Distraction, Leland had taught her, was the difference between survival and getting killed.

With her elbow raised high and her hand near her cheek, she released the string she had held tight between her fingers. The arrow buzzed through the air, hitting its mark.

“Well done,” Leland praised. “Yer dedication has paid off.”

“Enough to join the Guardians of the Crown?”

“Where did ye hear that name?” Leland asked, his voice filled with suspicion.

Abby cocked her head as if he should have known her long enough by now to know that Abby has a talent at finding things out long before she should have.

“Ye were eavesdropping again, weren’t ye?”

No one said eavesdropping wasn’t a talent.

“Oh, come on, Leland,” Abby’s voice cracked with desperation, her hand flailing in exasperation. “Ye have been training me to be a warrior long before I could e’en hold a sword! I’m no’ meant for the convent life like Ava and Isla. Do ye know what happens to unmarried women when they reach a certain age? They become servants and,” she stopped abruptly, eyes wide. “Spinsters, Leland,” she blurted out. “Do ye know what they do? They sit around all day knitting socks and brewing tea. Do ye know what that does to a woman’s sanity? I am meant to fight. Or at least get good at throwing knives while pretending to pray.”

Leland could not stifle his laughter.

“Ye’ve always been a wild one, lass. But I dinna think joining forces is what this is really about, is it?”

“I dinna want to talk about it.”

“Did he compromise ye?”

Abby’s head shot up; her eyes wide. “Nay, of course not.”

“Cause if he did…”

“Nothing happened. This has nothing to do wit’ him.”

Leland scratched the scruff on his face with disbelief in his eyes. He walked over to a fallen log and took a seat. Abby joined him.

“Abby, ye’ve been like a daughter to me and though she is my wife, I dinna always agree wit’ yer sister, Alys. She can be a stubborn one. I know ye look at yer gift as a curse, but from what I have seen o’er the years, yer visions have always been helpful. They’ve never brought on devastation, ne’er put anyone in harm’s way, in fact, ye’ve saved many lives, including mine. What I am trying to say is, what if yer vision of death, is no’ what it seems? We’ve misinterpreted them before, but they’ve always led ye on the right path. It pains me to see ye hurting, but yer no’ really living. E’ery day, I see ye going through the motions, but I dinna see ye really happy. And if it’s love ye seek, then maybe it’s worth exploring. Dinna give up on yer heart, Abigail. He’s a good man.”

Abby could taste the salt of her tears as they fell from her eyes. His words pulled at her heartstrings, causing an ache and emptiness to fill her heart, more than she’d felt before. She was certain she had done the right thing, pushing him away. Running and hiding is all she had ever done for fear of being hurt, fear of her vision. But perhaps, Leland was right, and what a fool she had been. Maybe she had it all wrong, and now she committed the worst sort of crime. Betrayal to both her heart and Aiden by pushing him into Bella’s arms. Her stomach churned as if she had received a crushing blow.

Oh my God! Bella!

“They’re getting married tomorrow!” she gasped, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Without a second thought, she sprang to her feet and dashed back toward the keep, her heart racing as she willed her legs to move faster than ever before. She had to stop them!

“Leland, quick,” she hollered, urging him to follow. “We must make it to Inverness by sunrise before it’s too late.”

About Author April Holthaus…

Links to April’s websites, blogs, books, #ad etc.:

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/3Yhab7m

Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/April-Holthaus/author/B00FG76R9U?r