Return of the Warrior Quotes

“Adara, cease!"

She froze at the sound of a voice she hadn't expected to hear. For a moment she thought she might be dreaming, until she blinked to look up into the most handsome face she'd ever known. She stared at the same blue eyes that made the tenderest of love to her.

Christian.

Her grip went lax and the candlestick in her hand fell to the floor. He was alive!

She threw herself into his arms and held him close as giddy tears replaced her grief-induced ones. At least until her rage took hold again. "Damn you, you worthless, heartless son of a dog!" she snarled, pulling back to strike at his chest. "How dare you make me think you were dead! Don't you ever do such a thing to me again. "

Christian was stunned by her language and actions. "I didn't know you could hear us through the door."

She struck him again on his armor, a blow that no doubt he felt not at all, but it gave her some degree of satisfaction. "Well, think better next time."

Her untoward anger amused him. Wiping the tears from her face, he kissed her tenderly.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“She reached up to place her fingertips to his lips as she stared up at him with a warm, tender expression. "I wish you had come home to me so that I could have helped you."

He pulled the cloth away from her face and stared at her for a hard second. "Had I known what was waiting for me, my lady, I would have."

-Christian and Adara”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Even before I went to the stable to find your men dead, I knew them for villains. (Lutian)
Oh, and what made you think that? The swords in their hands? (Christian)”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Only a fool would be fighting them, my queen, and though I am a fool, I’m not that foolish. (Lutian)”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Speak openly. There is no one I trust more than Lutian. (Adara)
He’s a half-wit, my queen. (Xerus)
Half-wit, whole-wit, I have enough of them to know to keep silent. So speak, good counselor, and let the queen judge which of the two of us is the greater fool present. (Lutian)”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“The bishop was aghast. "You would threaten me?"

Christian didn't hesitate with his answer."For her life, aye."

"You would jeopardize your soul for her? She is a heretic and a witch."

"She is a woman. My woman."

His words only succeeded in angering the bishop more. "I will have you excommunicated for this."

Christian pulled the black monk's robe from over his head and balled it up. "Then excommunicate me. If I am in the wrong for protecting an innocent woman, then God can judge me as He will.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“A tall, well-muscled blond man drew alongside Christian. He inclined his head to them. “Abbot,” he said to Christian in greeting.
Christian seemed pleased to see him. “Falcon. It’s been a long time.”
“Aye. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to greet you yester eve when you arrived.”
Christian offered him a lopsided grin. “’Tis well understood. I heard about your escapade with the butcher’s daughter and your near miss with her father’s cleaver.”
Falcon laughed. “Lies all. ’Twas the tanner’s daughter and her father’s ax.”
Christian joined his laughter. “One day, my friend, you will meet the one father who can run faster than you.”
“’Tis why God gave us horses.” He winked at Christian, then tilted his head so that he could see Adara. “’Tis a pleasure to meet you, Queen Adara. I am Lord Quentin of Adelsbury and my sword is ever at your disposal.”
Christian gave him a meaningful stare. “And your sword had best stay sheathed, Falcon, until you’re on the battlefield.”
“Your warning is well taken into consideration, Abbot, along with your sword skill and horsemanship. Have no fear of me. Your wife is ever safe from my designs. But no woman is safe from my charm.”
Adara couldn’t help teasing the man who seemed of remarkable good spirit and cheer. “However some women might find themselves immune from it, my Lord Falcon.”
“What, ho?” he said with a laugh. “Congratulations, Christian. You have found a woman as intelligent as she is beautiful. Tell me, Your Majesty, have you a sister who is fashioned in your image?”
“Nay, my lord. I fear I am one of a kind.”
He looked sincerely despondent at the news. “’Tis a pity, then. I shall just have to pray for Christian to lay aside his duties and become a monk in earnest.”
Christian snorted at that prospect. “You would have a better chance courting my horse.”
“Then I shall take my charm and work it on a woman who isn’t immune to it. Good day to you both.”
Adara glanced over her shoulder as he fell back into the ranks with the other knights.
“Don’t look at him,” Christian said in a teasing tone. “You’ll only play into his overbloated self-esteem.”
She gave him a meaningful look. “In that regard, he reminds me of someone else I know.”
“Ouch, my lady, you wound me.”
“Never, Christian. I would never wound you.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Looking uncertain, Lutian came forward. Royal protocol aside, Adara hugged him close in relief of seeing him whole and hearty. “Thank the Lord that you are unharmed. I was terrified of what they’d done to you.”
“Methinks they unaddled my noggin, my queen. For the first time in years, I seem to be thinking right again.”
She smiled at him, then placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “We both know there was never anything really wrong with your noggin, Lutian,” she whispered in his ear.
“Aye, but ’tis more fun to pretend that there is.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“The imposter’s dead.”
Adara froze as she heard the unfamiliar male voice through her prison’s door.
“Are you sure?” her guard asked. “Aye. Lord Selwyn identified him himself. He was stabbed straight through his heart.”
Adara felt her world shift at those words. Christian dead? Nay. It couldn’t be. The men outside laughed and began to celebrate.
“Christian,” she breathed, her heart shattering in waves of bitter agony. He couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t. “Open the door. Lord Selwyn wishes to have the queen join him so that they can set a date for her new wedding.” Never! Adara struggled to breathe as she glanced about for a weapon. There was nothing. But when the door opened, her rage took hold of her. “Damn you!” she shouted, then commenced to throwing every object toward the soldiers who entered. She couldn’t see clearly through her tears. All she knew was that she wanted vengeance on all of them. How dare they kill her Christian! How dare they! Sobs assailed her. She wanted to crumple from the excruciating weight of her grief. But she refused. So instead, she vented by pelting them with everything she could lift and launch.
“Adara, cease!”
She froze at the sound of a voice she hadn’t expected to hear. For a moment she thought she might be dreaming, until she blinked to look up into the most handsome face she’d ever known. She stared at the same blue eyes that made the tenderest of love to her. Christian. Her grip went lax and the candlestick in her hand fell to the floor. He was alive! She threw herself into his arms and held him close as giddy tears replaced her grief-induced ones. At least until her rage took hold again. “Damn you, you worthless, heartless son of a dog!” she snarled, pulling back to strike at his chest. “How dare you make me think you were dead! Don’t you ever do such a thing to me again.”
Christian was stunned by her language and actions. “I didn’t know you could hear us through the door.”
She struck him again on his armor, a blow that no doubt he felt not at all, but it gave her some degree of satisfaction. “Well, think better next time.”
Her untoward anger amused him. Wiping the tears from her face, he kissed her tenderly.
Phantom cleared his throat. “Need I remind the two of you that we still need to get out of this place before the guards regain consciousness?”
“We are coming,” Christian said, pulling back from her and taking her hand into his. Two men brought the guards into her room and dumped them by her bed before they tied them securely.
“How did you know where to find me?” she asked them.
“Phantom has many unsavory friends who know every machination of Selwyn’s.”
For some reason she didn’t doubt that.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“You’re still awake?”
She turned her head to find Christian drawing near. “Aye. I was wondering if you would retire this night.”
“We had much to discuss.”
Adara didn’t say anything more while he disrobed, then joined her in the bed. As was his custom, he lay beside her and kept his hand on her stomach so that he could feel their baby moving. “He’s active tonight.”
“Aye,” she said with a smile. “He’s much like his father and ever on the move. He has been tossing about for hours now.”
Christian stroked her distended stomach with the tenderest of touches. “I can feel his foot against my hand.”
“I can feel his foot against my bladder.”
He laughed. “Does he hurt you much?”
“Nay, not at all.”
Christian leaned forward at that and placed a light kiss to her stomach before he settled down to sleep.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Christian?”
He paused at Phantom’s call. “Aye?”
“You have been blessed with a good wife. Better than I think even you know. Don’t let the past blind you to the future you could have.”
“It’s not that easy, cousin.”
“I know. Believe me, I do. But you two have made great strides together. I have seen something inside you change with her presence and I would hate to see you cast that away.”
Phantom’s words confused him. “Why would you care, Phantom?”
“Because if a man as good as you doesn’t deserve a blessed life with a woman like her, then what hope is there for someone like me?”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“So that is why you have haunted me all these years.”
He nodded. “I wanted to make sure that you would live to take his coveted throne from him.” Phantom’s pale gaze bored into him. “My father was a good and decent man who loved me and my mother the way your parents loved you. I don’t want to see one man destroy that and get away with it.”
“Neither do I.” Christian held his hand up before Phantom. “I hope that this means you will stay in the light, by my side, cousin. You have lived far too long in the darkness that he relegated you to.”
“I make no promises to that. I personally like the feel of shadows on my face. But I will stand by your side, Christian. Always.” He took his hand and squeezed it.
Christian pulled him into a quick hug, then released him. “Thank you, Phantom, for everything.”
He inclined his head to him.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Adara fought the guards, but in the end she was forced to submit for fear of hurting her unborn child. They grabbed her arms roughly and led her behind the bishop and his priests. The hallway was dismal and horrifying. The screams grew louder. As soon as the priests opened the door to her new cell, the bishop froze.
Adara didn’t know why until she saw knights surrounding them. “Let her go.” Her knees weakened at the sound of Christian’s thundering voice. She looked past the bishop to see Christian in the room with Phantom and Ioan. Never had he been more welcome or handsome to her.
The bishop glared at him. “You’d best remember your place, brother, as well as who you serve.”
“You’d best be warned, Your Grace,” Lutian said in his fool’s voice. “Lord Christian has a mighty sword beneath his robes. Mighty indeed.”
The bishop frowned at Christian. “Monks are forbidden to arm themselves. You should know that.”
“I’m not a monk,” Christian said as he came forward. “And you will not interrogate my wife for a crime she did not commit.”
The man curled his lip as if the idea of any man telling him what to do were the most repugnant action he could imagine. “I have the backing of the Church for what I do.”
“And I have the backing of an army who will lay waste to every man here if needs be, should you not heed my words.”
The bishop was aghast. “You would threaten me?”
Christian didn’t hesitate with his answer. “For her life, aye.”
“You would jeopardize your soul for her? She is a heretic and a witch.”
“She is a woman. My woman.”
His words only succeeded in angering the bishop more. “I will have you excommunicated for this.”
Christian pulled the black monk’s robe from over his head and balled it up. “Then excommunicate me. If I am in the wrong for protecting an innocent woman, then God can judge me as He will.”
He handed the robe to the bishop, then pushed past him to Adara’s side. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come for you sooner,” he said to her.
“I will have you killed for this!” the bishop screamed.
Christian gave him an angry glare. “Then I will see you in hell.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Suddenly a group of the bishop’s knights entered the tent.
“What is this?” Christian demanded.
“We’re here to arrest the witch.” Christian felt the color fade from his face. “Then you’ve come to the wrong place. There is no witch here.”
Without hesitation, they moved to take Adara from his side. Christian came off the bed at the same time Ioan, Lutian, and Phantom entered. He staggered, but refused to fall. “Release her!”
“Nay, we are under the order of the Church. The witch is to be tried for her crimes.”
“What has she done?” Christian and Ioan asked at the same time.
“According to her accuser, she summoned the devil to save you. You, by all normal rights, should be dead.”
“That is ludicrous!” Christian snarled. “There is no devil here.”
“I have done nothing,” Adara said.
“Silence, witch.” One of the knights drew back his hand to strike her. Christian grabbed the man and, even while near death, he shoved him away from her. “You lay one hand to my wife, and there’s no power on this earth or beyond to save you from my wrath. None. If you want a prisoner, then take me.”
“Bishop Innocent wishes to interrogate her himself for the charges against her.”
“It will be all right, Christian,” Adara said. “I am innocent. You rest and I will be back soon.”
But he knew better. He’d studied the Church’s laws extensively. He knew firsthand the devices they would use to wrest a confession from her. “You tell the bishop that he is not to go near her until I speak with him.”
The knight laughed at him. “The bishop doesn’t speak to heathens who are in league with witches.”
Before Christian could move, they had dragged her from the tent. Christian sat back on the bed, too weak to stop this travesty.
“What do we do?” Ioan asked.
Christian looked to Phantom. It would take too long to get to the pope. By then, Adara would most likely be condemned and executed…that is, if she survived interrogation.
“Follow them and see where they take her.”
Phantom left immediately.
Christian went to his trunk to pull out his monk’s robe.
Ioan put his hand out to stop him. “You can barely stand, Christian.”
He shrugged his friend’s hand away. “You know as well as I do what they’ll do to her. I cannot allow this.”
“If you go to her defense, they could label you a witch as well.”
“Then I will die.”
Ioan shook his head. “Fine. We die together, then.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“The leech didn’t stay long. Only long enough to check his bandages and proclaim this the most miraculous recovery he’d ever witnessed.
“I’ll let the others know,” Phantom said.
Adara nodded as she returned to sit on the edge of Christian’s bed. He had yet to speak with words. But his loving gaze told her volumes. “Welcome back to the world of the living, Christian.”
He swallowed, then coughed.
“Easy,” she said, afraid he might tear the stitches in his chest.
“I’m sorry, Adara,” he said, his voice raspy and strained. His words baffled her.
“Sorry for what?”
“That I disappointed you.”
Her tears started anew. “You are never a disappointment to me, Christian. Never…unless you die on me. That would make me dreadfully disappointed, and then I should have to kill you for it.”
The corners of his lips lifted a tiny bit.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven: A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.

-Christian's thoughts”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Are you all right, my queen?” Lutian asked as he drew near her
“I am crushed, Lutian. Crushed. There’s nothing to be done for it, I fear. Christian has broken my heart.”
“What has he done? Say the word and I shall go and…well, he will beat my posterior all the way back to this tent. But I shall muss his clothes for the effort and bleed on him for spite.”
Adara smiled at his noble words. “I told him that I’m with child and he wasn’t happy to hear my news. Should he not be overjoyed?”
She never expected Lutian to disagree with her. “Perhaps not, my queen.”
“Excuse me?” Lutian looked a bit sheepish. “’Tis quite a burden to place on any man. Even I would be fretful over it.”
“Why should one baby be worth fretting over when he leads hundreds of men? You don’t see me fretting, do you?”
“Actually, my queen, I do.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “What is it with you men, that you take up for each other on such a matter? May you roast for eternity, too!”
Adara immediately reversed course and left the tent, only to run headlong into Phantom. She glared at him. “Out of my way, male, and to the devil with you and all of your ilk.”
Phantom arched a single brow as she pushed past him. Completely amused, he watched her walk away.
“My queen!” Lutian said as he left his tent.
She didn’t pause.
“So when is she expecting the child?” Phantom asked.
Lutian paused. “How did you know she’s pregnant?”
“An emotional outburst for no apparent reason, in which she curses all men? Pregnant, no doubt.” He shook his head. “Poor Christian. I pity any man who has a pregnant wife to contend with. They can be most irrational.”
“As would you if you had something kicking you every time you moved.” They turned to see Corryn behind them. She gave both men a chiding glare. “You should both be ashamed of yourselves. ’Tis a fearful time when a woman finds herself in such a condition. Know either of you how many women die in childbirth?”
That sobered both men instantly. Phantom felt his gullet knot over the realization and he wondered if the same thing had occurred to Christian.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Christian growled in anger at his wife’s unreasonable temper. “Fine, Adara. Whenever you decide to grow up and act responsibly, I shall be in our tent.”
“Me, irresponsible? You’re the one who wants to run away. So go. Leave. Creta. Au revior. Bon voyage. Auf Wiedersehen. Vaarwel. Arrivederci… ”
Christian glared at her even though she wasn’t even looking at him. “I understood you the first time.”
“Then why are you still here?”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“A few minutes later, Phantom returned with a gown. “’Tis not fancy, but it will suffice.”
They left Adara alone to dress. Corryn ran off to wait with the men downstairs while Phantom and Christian waited in the hallway. “If you want, I will go to the jail and kill them before we leave,” Phantom offered.
It was tempting, but not realistic. Not even Phantom was that talented. “You can’t do that.”
Phantom laughed evilly. “Trust me, I could get into their cell and have their throats slit and be out again before even they knew it.” There were times when Phantom almost scared him. He didn’t know what disturbed him more, the fact that Phantom offered or the fact that he seemed so willing to spill their blood.
“Adara says to leave them be.”
Phantom shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what Christian had said. “She’s an incredible lady, isn’t she?”
Christian nodded. “Her strength amazes me.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Are there any who don’t heal?”
Christian’s throat tightened at her question—that she would be so compassionate, when any other lady of her stature would be demanding the lives of the men who had assaulted her. It was something his mother would have done. “Unfortunately, aye. There are always some who can’t adjust. Some kill themselves once they arrive home. A few have gone mad, and some, such as the Scot, live in perpetual torment and seclusion from the world.”
She reached up to place her fingertips to his lips as she stared up at him with a warm, tender expression. “I wish you had come home to me so that I could have helped you.”
He pulled the cloth away from her face and stared at her for a hard second. “Had I known what was waiting for me, my lady, I would have.”

-Adara & Christian”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“The men are ready to ride,” Ioan said as he came up the stairs behind him.
Christian nodded. “Knowing Adara, I’m sure we’re already packed as well. I just need to don my armor and I, too, will be ready.”
Ioan was about to leave him when they heard something shatter inside Christian’s room. A heartbeat later, Adara screamed.
Terror, panic, and anger descended on Christian as he swung open the door to find her in the room with two other men who were trying to hold her down. “I’ll make you pay for that, bitch,” the one holding her said as he tore open her gown.
Christian flew across the room, ready to kill them both. He grabbed the one holding his wife and knocked him against the wall, then turned to knock the other one back. But when the one who had touched her came back to swing at him, he lost all control.
All he could see was the man ripping Adara’s gown, the terror on her face. He slugged her assailant repeatedly, then grabbed his head and banged it against the floor until he felt Ioan pulling him back. “Christian, stop! You’re going to kill him.”
Enraged beyond reason, he slammed the man’s head against the floor one last time, then turned on the other, who was pushing himself up from the floor. His lip was busted as he stared at Christian in disbelief.
“Go see to Adara,” Ioan snapped, pulling him away from the other attacker. Needing to make sure she was all right, Christian went to her. She was huddled on the floor, weeping. “Shhh,” he said soothingly as he pulled her into his arms. She looked up at him, her lips quivering, to show him her battered face. It was more than he could stand. Rising, he went after her attackers again, only to find Ioan blocking his way. “Get out of my way, Ioan, or I’ll thrash you, too. I mean it.”
Ioan refused to budge. “Let the sheriff handle this.”
“Why are you so angry?” the taller attacker asked. “You are one of us. ’Tis only fair we take a Saracen whore—”
Christian shoved Ioan away from him as he lunged for the man and cut his words off with a vicious backhand. “That is my wife you speak of, you bastard. My wife you attacked.”
The color faded from the man’s face.
Suddenly Phantom was there, pulling him back as Ioan came forward. “Let go of me!” Christian shouted. “I want justice.”
“I can’t let you hurt them, Christian,” Ioan said apologetically. “They are the ones who have just come back with Agbert and Dagger. They spent the past seven years in a Saracen prison.”
Still, he fought against Phantom’s hold. “It doesn’t give them the right to attack an innocent woman, and most especially not mine.”
“Nay, it doesn’t,” Ioan agreed. “I will see them into the sheriff’s custody.”
Far from appeased, Christian finally succeeded in shoving Phantom away from him to return to Adara’s side.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Has the Second Coming come and I missed it? If so, I need to find a priest quickly.” Adara looked up from her food to find Corryn watching her from a short distance away. As always, Corryn was dressed as a bony man in a white tunic and brown leather breeches.
“Nay. Why do you ask?”
Corryn shrugged as she drew near to take a seat across the table from her. “You look as if it came and passed you by.” She pulled a piece of bread from the loaf on a wooden trencher near Adara’s elbow. “So what has happened to cause you to look so miserable?”
Sighing, Adara set down her knife. “I was merely trying to understand why it is that my husband runs from me as if I’m a leper.”
Corryn swallowed the bread she was chewing and gave her an arch stare. “Are you?”
“Nothing’s fallen from me yet.”
Corryn laughed as she reached to share Adara’s wine cup. “Men are ever woman’s bane. ’Tis a pity they look so delectable in armor, otherwise I would say good riddance and be gladly done with them.” Her outspokenness was startling to Adara, who would never speak of such things…Of course, she might think it, but she would never say such. Then again, Corryn spent a great deal of time in male company.
“Does Ioan know you think in this manner?”
“Ioan?” Corryn asked with a laugh. “He still thinks I’m ten-and-three in age. Would you believe he told the men that the reason they can’t ever let me see them naked is that I was once a prisoner in the Holy Land and that the Saracens…” She paused as if trying to think of a way to phrase her thoughts. “Well, please don’t be offended, but that my male member was cut off for spite and that if I saw any of theirs, it would either devastate me or cause me to go insane and kill them while they sleep. More like, Ioan would kill them while they slept, but he would blame me for it nonetheless.”
“Are you serious?”
“Aye. The man is most mad. He claims ’tis also the reason my voice is so high and unchanged.” She rolled her eyes as if even the merest thought of Ioan were too much to bear. “But let us return to your problem with Christian. I think you should tie him down until he learns not to flee from you anymore. From what I hear of our men, a lot of them like that.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Why does the Dragon hate Phantom so?” she asked as she washed her face while Christian placed a small trunk of personal items beside their bed.
“Basically everyone hates Phantom, Adara. He was never one to go out of his way to make a friend.”
“Yet you befriended him. Why?”
He shrugged. “No one deserves to be alone. He needed a friend, he just didn’t know it.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Dragon’s eyes narrowed on him in instant hatred. “Phantom. Stab anyone in the back lately?”
The look on Phantom’s face was one of pure evil. “Never, Dragon. I only stab from the front so that I can see the expression on my victim’s face while he dies. Care for me to demonstrate?”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“She tore a small bite of bread and offered it to him. His eyes never leaving hers, he leaned forward to feed from her hand. He took her fingers into his mouth and gently nibbled them before he pulled away. He swallowed the bread. “Are you seeking to tame me, Adara?”
“Nay, my prince. I seek only to claim you. I don’t mind your wildness in the least.”
He was struck dumb by her playfulness as she stepped past him to join Corryn, who was ordering a group of men about. Christian took a deep draught of the wine she’d neglected.
“You’d be better off to pour that down your breeches,” Phantom said as he joined him.
“What say you?”
“The look of you says it all. You’re aching to taste her again.”
Outwardly, Christian scoffed even though he knew that attitude for the lie it was. “You are mistaken.”
Phantom paused beside him. “Nay, Christian. Lie to yourself if you must, but never to me.”
Christian frowned at him. “Why are you still here? It’s not like you to travel with a group.”
“You offered me land.”
“Which I know means nothing to you. Not really. Why have you always been at my back all these years?”
“I respect you, Christian. You should be king, and if you are determined to seek your throne, then I am determined to help you.”
Christian couldn’t have been more stunned by his words. “What has gotten into you?”
“I wish I knew. Promise me that should I discover what it is, you’ll exorcize it.”
Christian laughed. “I wish the same promise from you.”
Phantom looked back at Adara, who was busy castigating her fool. “I know what plagues you, my brother, but from that I hear there is no cure.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“thank you for the gifts. They were most welcomed and unexpected.”
He looked at her sheepishly. “But there is one missing.”
“There is?” Adara frowned as he pulled up the hem of his robe to reach his purse.
“There’s one last thing that you should have.” He took her left hand into his and slid a large ruby ring onto her third finger. Adara’s throat tightened at the sight of it there.
A wedding ring. A real one.
Without thinking, she walked into his arms and kissed his lips. He seized her fiercely and crushed her to his chest as he gave her a hot, exhilarating kiss.
“Should we leave your tent intact for a bit longer, since you seem to have found your missing manhood?” Ioan asked as he passed by them.
Christian pulled back to glare at his friend. “My patience runs thin, Lladdwr.”
“As long as the steel to your sword is as thin, I have nothing to fear, eh?”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“She walked over to Ioan. “And for your information, my lord…” She lifted his hand and put his index and middle finger upright. “I assure you that there is nothing wrong with Christian’s technique or prowess.”
Corryn, who had paused beside the group after Christian had lunged at Lutian, broke into laughter.
Ioan hissed at her. “What are you laughing at?”
“I was just thinking of why we can’t go to Scotland anymore. Someone should tell Christian about your little problem.” She held up her pinkie and wiggled it, then burst into laugher.
“You’re not supposed to know anything about these matters!”
Corryn rushed off before her brother could grab her.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Wanting to thank him for his gifts, she left the tent to find her husband. He was in the middle of the camp, with knights all around him. She paused as she saw him there. He was again garbed as a black-robed monk, but he had taken time to shave this morning. There was no sign of the sword she knew he had strapped to his hips and she could barely catch a glimpse of his mail-covered leggings beneath it. He was handsome, her prince. More so than any man in the group. He, Phantom, Ioan, Lutian, and three men she knew not at all were standing in a circle as they discussed some matter. Her heart light, she approached her husband from behind. Ioan was speaking. “You know, Abbot, I hear wormwood helps with that problem.” He held his hand up and crooked his finger down as if it were suddenly limp. All the men save Christian laughed, while Christian glared murderously at Lutian.
“Look to the good of it,” Phantom said as he sobered. He appeared to be imparting grave advice to her husband. “I hear all men have trouble from time to time with their sexual performance. Mind you, I have no personal experience with that, but…” His voice trailed off as he looked past Christian to see Adara glowering at him.
Struggling not to strangle the men who mocked him, Christian turned to see what had disturbed Phantom to find Adara standing behind him. His groin jerked awake at the vision she made in her finery. She was beautiful. The gown fit even better than he had hoped. Unlike her peasant garb, this one laced in the front and at the sides, pulling the cloth into a perfect fit that showed every lush curve of her body. The only thing that sparkled more than her jewels were her brown eyes.
“Thank you,” she said softly before she kissed his cheek. “I had a most wondrous night.”
Christian was too dumbstruck by his lust to even respond.
Lutian bristled at her actions and if she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was jealous. “Nay. Tell me this isn’t so. Why are you kissing him, my queen? It was me. Me. I’m the one who told him what to do. He had no idea how to please you. None. He was lost and confused when he sought me out. He didn’t even know how to do the most basic thing. It was me, all me.”
Every man there gaped at Lutian’s words.
“Christ’s toes, Christian,” Ioan said in disbelief. “Are you a monk in truth? Don’t tell me you had to take advice from the fool on how to please a woman? You should have come to me. At least I know what I’m doing.”
“You can’t be a virgin,” Phantom said. “What about that Norman tart in Hexham? Surely you did more than talk to her when the two of you vanished to her room?”
“Nay,” another knight said. “I saw him drunk in Calais with two women.”
“Aye,” another knight began. “I was with him in London when he vanished for three days with a widowed countess.”
Christian ground his teeth as this conversation quickly degenerated, while Lutian continued to take credit for instructing him on how to please Adara. Lutian still held Adara’s attention. “I’m the one who got him—” Enraged, Christian lunged for the source of his current humiliation.
“Christian!” Adara snapped as he seized her fool. “Don’t hurt Lutian.”
He wanted to do much more than hurt the fool. He wanted to tear the man’s head from his shoulders. Growling in frustration, he let the fool go.
“Thank you, my queen.”
“’Tis my place to hurt him.” She glared at her fool and smacked him on his arm. “I fully intend to take this up with you later.”
She walked over to Ioan. “And for your information, my lord…” She lifted his hand and put his index and middle finger upright. “I assure you that there is nothing wrong with Christian’s technique or prowess.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Arthur’s motto was that might should never make right. Right should make right. The duty of knights and men is to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves."

-Phantom”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior

“Adara felt her jaw go slack as she turned back to look more closely at the approaching knight. That was her husband? Mercy, the man needed to discard his monk’s robes more often. She didn’t fully believe it until he reined his horse before her and his blue eyes seared her with heat. She’d known her husband was a handsome man, but this… This was unbelievable.
He buried his banner into the ground beside his horse. His gaze never wavering from hers, he slung one long, well-muscled leg over his steed before he slid to the ground. She didn’t move as he approached her. She couldn’t. The sight of him had her completely riveted to this spot on the ground. Adara wasn’t sure what he had planned, but when he dropped to his knee before her, she was dumbfounded. He struck himself on his left shoulder with his fist as a salute to her, then bowed his head. “My sword is ever at your disposal, my lady.”
Laughter rang out from the men around her. “As is mine,” someone called out.
Christian ignored them as he looked up at her like something out of her dreams. The moment seemed surreal. Truly, it was a fantasy come to life.
“What has possessed you, Christian?” she asked.
“Your beauty. It has…” He paused as if searching for the words. “Your great beauty has possessed my soul and…”
More laughter and taunts rang out. Her husband’s eyes flashed angrily, but still he stayed there. “I would be your champion, Adara, and—”
“Simpering milksop,” one of the knights finished for him.
Christian dropped his head and shook it. “This is not who or what I am,” he muttered before he looked up at her again. “I’m sorry, Adara.”
“For what?” His answer came as he rose to his feet. With a determined stride, he went to the men who had been tormenting him. He struck the first man he reached so hard that he was knocked to the ground. “Milksop with an iron fist,” he snarled. “And you’d best remember that.”
The knights attacked. Even wounded, Christian fought them off, then drew his sword to keep them back.
“Cease!” Ioan’s Welsh accent cut through them all. He pushed his way through his men to see Christian in his finery. Ioan looked at him, blinked, then burst out laughing. “Abbot? Since when do you dress like a woman?” His expression hard, Christian tossed his sword into the air, where it twirled around. He caught the hilt upside down in his fist and in one smooth motion sheathed it.
Christian paused beside Ioan and glared at him. “Be glad I carried you out of the Holy Land on my back. That fact, and that alone, is all that precludes me from hurting you. For both our sakes, don’t try my patience and make me kill you after such a sacrifice.”
Ioan’s eyes twinkled in merriment. He leaned forward and sniffed. “My God, you even smell like one. What happened to you?”
Christian let out a tired breath and headed for the tent they had pitched for him.
Phantom tsked in her ear as soon as Christian was out of his hearing range. “Only a woman can make a man sacrifice his dignity on the altar of humility. Tell me, Adara, did Christian just sacrifice his for naught?”
Nay, he didn’t.”
― Kinley MacGregor, Return of the Warrior