“Nelly had moved from one home to another, always shuffled off elsewhere, until someone recognized her dangerous gift—one of the Passionate—and decided she should be the tool for undermining our peace.”
Alexia squeezed his arm. “They used her as a weapon?”
“Intended to.” He smiled sadly. “They did not obtain their goal as the poor dear was apprehended by the Soulless because of her extreme emotions.”
Again her jaw hung. “Nelly was taken by the Soulless?”
“Almost. What they did do effectively was break up this little rebellion, and as I was in ripe pursuit of the other Passionate the Soulless had in their sights, I happened upon the scene.”
“You saved her.”
He cleared his throat, tugging a hand through his hair. “She had been made to use her gift often and in the benefit of her enslavers, frequently to her utter exhaustion. They used anything she cared about against her—which, for Nelly, is pretty much every living thing—especially animals. At the time I carried her away, she had lost all trust, all confidence and tenderness. She lived only in fear, only to punish or be punished. It took decades to win her love.”
Alexia slid her fingers through his. “I can hardly imagine anyone hating you.”
“And yet it happens.” He kissed the top of her head. “I promised Nelly she never need use her gift again, and I have held to that.” Wrapping his arms tightly about her, he whispered into her ear. “She thought to save us all from the Soulless in her selfless act, and we must not forget.”
Seventy-Eight
Going Back
The inn was a welcomed sight, the grounds quiet as when Alexia had first seen them, not the chaos of their recent battle. She breathed easier. She wasn’t certain she could have faced the war-zone without crumbling. But it was too quiet.
She aided Kiren through the door as the others made their way inside.
Regin whistled. “Mae, darlin’, ain’t you still the lassie o’ the lee.”
She waved the sleeper off and hurried forward to the children.
“Where is everyone?” Alexia asked.
“Ethel brought word this morning,” Mae said. “They have returned to their homes, or to rebuild.”
“They, but not us?” Alexia turned to Kiren.
Happiness drained from his eyes. He seized her fingers, studying them individually. He met her gaze briefly, then returned to her hand, twisting her wedding band as he whispered, “One day I will be enabled to return home, and you will go with me.”
“To the kingdom that is lost?”
He bit his lips from the inside and glanced around. He nodded her toward the stairs.
They entered her previous room on the second floor, and she settled him on the bed. He lay back and slid one arm beneath his head. “The kingdom may be lost, but it will always be my responsibility to restore it.”
She sat next to him and clasped his hand in both hers. “And what will that mean for us?”
Shifting onto an elbow, he faced her, his earnest eyes probing hers. “Will you leave with me, Alexia? When that day comes, will you be my queen?”
She slid her fingers through his and averted her gaze, smiling. The decision still lay before her: this dangerous life with her husband, a future king, or going to the aid of thousands to stop the Soulless from becoming. And if she hadn’t succeeded before, what were her chances of doing so this time? Was there a good choice?
He leaned back, apparently satisfied with her physical response and closed his eyes.
“I love you, Kiren,” she said.
Kiren slept. Alexia slipped away, down through the kitchen and into the secret basement. She carried with her a lamp, one that warmed the tiny chamber her aunt had occupied. She sat on the bed, thinking of Sarah, how she had yearned to save her. Perhaps it was better that Sarah was not here, one less thing to hold her back.
If the Soulless never existed, Sarah would never have become one of them. Nor would John. And Miles—what kind of wonderful life would he have, living with his parents rather than running from them?
And Nelly—the kindly cook who cared for poor, estranged Miles, her loud jokes and straight forward manner. Alexia’s heart cried for the loss of so dear a friend, for Nelly’s last gift to them. But perhaps Nelly need not be lost after all?
She rubbed a hand over her abdomen. What of her daughter and Kiren? Would leaving destroy either?
A noise in the hall pulled her around.
Mae shuffled into the room, feeling her way forward. “Never did like coming down here.”
Alexia scooted over, making room for her on the bed.
The woman joined her, head tilted. “It still smells like them.”
Alexia hadn’t realized, but it did. Sarah’s perfume clung to the sheets, almost drowning out the slight hint of decay.
Mae’s hand landed over top hers. “I did everything in my power to save her.”
“I know you did.” Alexia held in the sob that wanted to escape.
“If we’d had the medallion, she would have survived.”
“But we did not.” Alexia closed her eyes. This was what her mother meant—that some people’s fates were sealed, and that she could not save everyone. But perhaps she could. “And what became of John?”
Mae’s lips cut a tight line. “Gone. He buried Sarah and departed.”
Alexia’s fists clenched. “I tried to change it, Mae. I went back and tried, but it was not enough.”
A kindly hand patted her shoulder. “You did not go back far enough.”
“How far back should I have gone?” She turned to study the woman, wondering precisely how long Mae had been waiting to see her.
Mae’s lips twitched upward, pulling down just as quickly. “It was over five hundred years ago when the Soulless came to be.”
“Is that when we first met?”
The lines across Mae’s brow deepened. “It is.”
The breeze in her ears died. Her muscles froze. Stillness settled over the world as she worked to rectify those words.
Alexia rose to her feet. “You are saying I can prevent it, all of it?”
Mae’s mouth twisted and she stood. “I am saying you did go back, and you made a difference.”
Her throat was suddenly too dry. “But if I failed before...”
The woman straightened the sheets they’d ruffled. “You did not fail me, Alexia. Nor did you fail any of the others who depended on you. You are needed.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “You are powerful beyond your own understanding.”
Alexia touched her belly absently. The miracle that would allow her to go may already be in place, and yet how would she provide for a child in another time? What did she know of the thirteenth century after all? And how could she leave Kiren?
“I can tell you everything you need to know,” Mae whispered.
“But my husband...”
The woman stepped around her, clasping her shoulders. “You must do this for him. For us all.”
Seventy-Nine
Separation
The first golden rays of sunset touched the horizon and danced across the clouds, painting them orange. Kiren nodded for Miles to join him on the outdoor bench, his nearly mended leg propped up.
The lad halted next to him, rubbing the back of his neck. “You should send me away.”
Kiren tried to meet the boy’s gaze, but Miles shifted.
“Is there something you wish to tell me?” Kiren asked.
The youth’s nostrils flared. He paced down the porch and back, tearing both hands through his flimsy hair. Kiren turned his gaze back to the setting sun, giving his protégé all the space he needed. This request was certainly due to Miles’s guilt about what happened with Bellezza. He had never taken a life. Kiren had always been so careful, keeping Miles away from the heart of the conflict.
Miles groaned. “I just, I can’t be near you. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Miles fired off across the yard.
Kire
n jerked after him, but halted. The boy’s guilt must be tied to the fact he’d acted to save Kiren, and every moment together would only add to his pain until he reconciled the act. Miles would reach that state, eventually.
Kiren had to trust the boy and let him go.
Eighty
History
Alexia took three months. She rested and watched over her husband, enjoying every second, always weighed by her secret sadness. Everyone made a full recovery and departed except for Regin who flirted ceaselessly with Mae, her laughter frequently echoing through the inn.
Alexia too prepared to leave. She and Mae conferred every day at length, training in linguistics and necessary survival skills such as building a fire, identifying wholesome herbs and plants, cooking, and techniques for building a temporary shelter in the open. She was ready. Despite her unease, she had the assurance she would have one friend on the other side, one who may not know her yet, but whom she could trust.
Kiren watched her through all these efforts—when not called upon by his duties. His silent gaze was filled with sorrow which he attempted to cover by smiling.
It was when he gasped and pressed his ear to her stomach that she knew. She was with child. The time had come. He waited on her, filling her every whim, his sorrow stinted by the wondrous miracle of life and an eagerness to serve her.
She said her goodbyes without a word and finally executed the last part of her plan by asking Kiren to take her back to the woodland haven. He was hesitant but agreed.
They arrived at noon. Leaves littered the earth-grown bed, flowers wilted and dead, a chilly breeze cutting between the trees.
Kiren wrapped his arms around her, warming her against the season.
She turned to him. “I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
She swallowed. This would not be easy. “I need you to let me go.”
His face froze, mouth just barely open, brows low and slightly quirked together. He leaned back, diving into her eyes. She allowed him to see everything, her struggle for the last many weeks, the resolve to leave, and her hopes for a brighter future.
“Not yet,” he wheezed.
She swallowed a lump that felt impossible to move. “Kiren, I have to go.”
He stilled. His widening waves cut across her, their desperate undertow dragging her forward. “Alexia—”
“I have thought this through at length, and I must at least try. You will be able to stop Deiliey because...because my death will not result in yours.”
His shoulders drooped. He reached for her chin but his hand fell limply to his side.
She slipped closer.
A tear spilled down his face, his cheeks twitching with emotion. “I told you I was the most selfish creature. I do not want to let you go.”
His tears loosed her own in a cascading torrent. “I do not want to leave you!”
Catching her face between his hands, he smoothed the hair back and leaned in. His breath curled across her lips. “You are my better in every way.”
“Then you understand?”
He sucked in a breath between clenched teeth. “My head understands. My heart will not.” He kissed her, hard, the world exploding inside her mind. She saw him struggling through the decades, searching for a glimpse of her, lonely and frustrated by failure after failure. It broke something inside of her, and she was no longer certain she could do it.
Kiren pulled back. “I will not stand in your way.”
She searched for new resolve. “Perhaps if—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “You are right, Alexia. You must go.”
“I have to take your pendant.” Tears blinded her.
He nodded. “I have the false one. No one will ever know.”
“I will know!” Her sob broke free and he kissed her, walking her backwards. The back of her knees hit the mattress. She sat and he leaned over her, laying her back. She slid a hand across the chain about his neck, turning an imploring look up at him.
He grunted and lifted it free with one hand, looping it about her neck. She surrendered herself to him, savoring every touch, every shiver of pleasure, every texture and taste, knowing these would be her last.
At last he held her, his nose nestled into her hair, his breath warming her neck. “I wish I could protect you through this. I hate that you will be forced to bear our child alone. I should be there to...”
She squeezed his arm.
“Mae will not be who she is now. You must remember that, but she needs you.”
She pulled his arm tighter around her.
“You will not see many whom you recognize, but be patient with those you do. Recall that they still have five hundred years to become who they are now.”
Alexia rolled to face him.
He wouldn’t meet her stare. “And there may not be Soulless in that time, but there are dangers. You are capable to face them, but you must be wise in whom you trust. I...” His chest rose with a shaky breath. His arms tightened around her, lips finding her ear. “You must watch the sky. It is said the night the Soulless were born, a pillar of light shone. And this land, hold to this land. Where the inn now stands, that is where they were spawned—where life was scorched from the earth never to regenerate.”
She nodded. She could do that.
“Promise me,” he rasped, “no matter what happens, promise me you will return.”
Tears erupted. Although she yearned to give him the comfort he needed, she could not.
He wiped away the tears and kissed away the sadness. An hour disappeared within the protective ring of his arms, and it was not enough. She wanted another. And another.
Alexia waited until his breathing evened out, then slipped from his grasp and off the bed, careful not to look at him. If she hesitated now, she would never go.
Wiping new tears from her eyes, she wrapped trembling fingers around the dull metal charm. Energy buzzed up her arm, a stampeding herd of wild horses, almost knocking her off her feet. She steadied herself on the bedframe.
Opening herself to the sunburst of power, she inhaled. Every cell of her body filled to bursting, saturated with a strength no person should ever possess. She could erupt into flight and leave the jealous earth behind her, borne on the wings of this unexplained force. That, or explode into flame and light the entire earth with her radiance.
But those were not her gifts.
She reached into time, and the line stretched infinitely further than it ever had, like a rope suspended in space that faded into the distance. She pulled it toward her, hand over hand, thumbing over the days, weeks, years, hauling herself into a new century, then another. A glow appeared on the horizon, one that neared with every tug. It was an instant—she knew instinctively—that had changed history forever. It drew her with curiosity, with excitement, as if her very body resonated with the same frequency. Fascination buoyed her spirit.
It was where she belonged.
The moment shimmered before her, just below her fingertips, casting its warmth between her hands, shedding long shadows across her face and dress. It begged her to reach inside and become one with her destiny. Every instinct called to seize the instant.
She hesitated. Glancing back the way she’d come, she gazed through the mounting darkness to Kiren, upright now, his chest heaving, his blue eyes drowning her in their desperation. Her throat closed off, soft tears welling in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.
He was all she wanted. All she’d ever wanted.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to stay. That future was not one she could embrace, not yet. Her path lay in the past. Hers was a duty no other could complete.
His mouth moved, words swallowed in the void between them. I will find you.
She didn’t know if it was possible, if she’d ever see him again, but she hoped. Like the sunrise beneath her fingers, she hoped to one day find her way back to this moment.
“No matter when I am,” she vowed, “I will always be yours
.”
She seized the light.
Epilogue
Miles halted in the road and lifted his head as a chilly breeze trickled across his cheek. He straightened and squared his shoulders, listening to the insubstantial whispers wrapping around him.
One path in exchange for another.
He dreaded that he’d chosen an irredeemable road.
The draft curled over his skin again, launching goose bumps down his arms. He lifted his voice, “Do not make me regret helping you.”
A wicked giggle burst out of oblivion.
Coming Soon
Book 3 of the Maiden of Time series
TIMELESS
Acknowledgements
It’s awe inspiring to see my second book in print, and my first thanks goes out to you, the reader. Thank you for giving me a reason to share my stories with the world. Thank you for demanding a sequel after reading Moonless and all your enthusiasm.
Huge thanks goes out to my editor, Bethany, at A Little Red Inc., for her fantastic guidance and incredible eye.
To my fabulous critique partners, thank you Rachel Hert and Misha Gericke.
My amazing sister, Cindy, thank you for being my second reader and talking me through the rough patches. Mom, for encouraging me even when I wanted to sleep rather than write, thank you.
All my blogging pals, thank you TONZ for helping me spread the world and being your fabulous selves. You rock!
Incredible thanks goes out to my rockin’ Daydreamers Anonymous, WS4U friends, and Write On Build On writers. Your daily support and encouragement has been a life saver!
My amazing kids, I thank you for your patience when you lost Mom to the computer. And lastly, to my amazing husband, thank you for being my creative partner, my best friend, my heart. You are the bestest!
Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) Page 29