Laura Jo Phillips by The Gryphons' Dream: Soul Linked#5 Read Free Book Online

throat at the thought of her mother.  She blinked away the sharp sting in her eyes and crossed the room toward the garden doors, throwing them open and stepping outside in an effort to escape her memories.  She took a long, deep breath of fresh air, putting her mother firmly from her mind.
    “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Karma asked from her doorway a few yards away.
    “Yes, it is,” Aisling replied.  “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    The sound of doors opening on the other side of the garden caught their attention and they both looked up to see Olaf stepping out into the garden opposite them.  They watched as he walked toward them, stopping when he reached a large circular pavilion in the center of the garden. There were a lot of flowering bushes and shrubs between them, but they were all carefully pruned and clipped so that they had no trouble seeing each other.
     “I know that we have only just arrived, but if you ladies have no objection, dinner is ready,” he said. 
    “Sounds good to me,” Karma said, turning to close the doors to her room.  Aisling did the same and they joined Olaf in the pavilion near a large table with chairs set all the way around it. 
    “I would offer to have dinner served out here, but it is a bit chilly for that now,” Olaf said as he watched Aisling run her fingers over the back of one of the chairs. 
    Aisling pulled her hand back as though caught doing something wrong, and Olaf bit back a sigh.  The woman raised all of his protective instincts, and he had no idea why.  It was a mystery, and, like all gryphons, he believed that mysteries are meant to be solved.
    He turned and led the way back to the house, passing by the living room doors he had come through, entering another set of wide glass doors instead.  Aisling paused in the dining room doorway, taking in the big round table loaded with steaming dishes, the fire crackling in the stone fireplace, the soft light of the setting sun shining through the glass giving the room a warm glow. 
    “Come,” Rand urged her, waving her toward a seat at the table.  Aisling smiled at him, unable to help herself.  The room was so warm and welcoming that she felt herself relax and let her guard down, just a little, almost against her will. 
    Rand’s breath caught in his throat at the first smile any of them had ever seen on Aisling’s face.  He had thought she was pretty, what little of her he had seen.  She always wore baggy clothes and kept her head down, her hair hiding her eyes and face so much that none of them were really certain what she looked like other than the color of her hair and eyes.  Now, he saw that her eyes were not just olive green, but that there was a thin ring of gold around the iris that shone like soft sunlight when she smiled.
    Her face was oval, her features delicate, her pale skin clear and smooth with an undertone of warm peach.  Her full lips were a deeper shade of peach and Rand couldn’t help but wonder if they would taste as sweet as the fruit they reminded him of. 
    It wasn’t until Aisling’s smile faded that Rand realized he’d been staring at her.  He could have kicked himself for his bad manners.
    “I apologize for staring, Miss Aisling,” he said with a short bow. 
    “It’s all right,” she said, though he couldn’t help but notice that the wariness was back in her eyes.  He glanced up at Olaf and knew by the expression on his face that his elder brother had seen Aisling’s smile too, and had been just as enchanted by it. 
    “The food smells wonderful,” Karma said, breaking the awkward silence.  “Did you guys cook?”  
    “No, though we enjoy cooking, we rarely have the time for it,” Olaf said, grateful to Karma for the distraction.  He took his seat in between Aisling and Karma as Rand and Rudy took their seats on the opposite side of the table. 
    “A Terien woman named Krista cooks for us,” Rand said.  “She has been with us for many years