The Winter Witch

by Paula Brackston

  And now Cai and I can be happy, here at Ffynnon Las, porthmon and his wild wife. Of course, our happiness is tinged with loss, for Mrs. Jones is sorely missed. Given the extreme weather we had all been experiencing, no one questioned that she had fallen victim to the cold. We are both doing our best to learn to cook, and often wish she were here to scold our hopelessness. I readily admit, Cai will make a better housekeeper than I.

  I snuggle against him, taking in the beauty of the landscape below, warmed by his presence, by his love for me, and by the comforting happiness that comes from knowing I belong here. That this is my home. Cai puts a finger beneath my chin and turns my face to him. He looks at me with such an expression of tenderness as could thaw the most frozen of hearts.

  “My wild one,” says he. “I love you, Mrs. Jenkins Ffynnon Las. You are aware of this fact, are you not?”

  I look at him and I see the love shining out of him, and know that I am safe and wanted and adored, and that I always will be. I feel the pressure building inside my head, and hear a noise like the winter winds raging through the dark pine trees, and my thoughts and feelings fall forward, tumbling over one another, and my blood, my magic blood, sings in my veins, and I take in a long, quenching breath, and my tongue feels heavy against my teeth and clumsy in my mouth, and my lips part, and there is a thickness in my throat, and I open my jaw, and my heart lifts, and … I … say … “Yes!”

  Y Diwedd

  Also by Paula Brackston

  The Witch’s Daughter

  About the Author

  PAULA BRACKSTON has a master’s degree in creative writing from Lancaster University in the UK. In 2007 she was shortlisted in the Crème de la Crime search for new writers. She lives in Wales with her family.

  Visit her online at www.paulabrackston.com.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

  An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

  THE WINTER WITCH. Copyright © 2013 by Paula Brackston. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.thomasdunnebooks.com

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Elsie Lyons

  Cover photographs: woman © Klubovy/Getty Images; snowdrift © Bronwyn Photo/Shutterstock.com

  ISBN 978-1-250-00131-3 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-250-02258-5 (e-book)

  First Edition: February 2013