Lia checked the girl over from head to toe with delicate touches.
"Is she all right?" Caer asked.
"I think. He drugged her with a sleeping draught. She'll sleep for the next day or two and have a headache when she does wake up. She won't remember any of this, thankfully."
Lia sat back on her heels, head bowed, face pale with exhaustion. "Gui was a bastard and a complete failure as a father but he was her parent. How am I supposed to tell her he's dead? That she's an orphan?"
She kept her face cast toward the floor but a tear slipped past her lashes and left a track along her cheek. Caerwyn's stomach tightened with a helpless twist. He slid his hand into her hair and leaned forward to brush the tear away with his lips before resting his forehead against hers.
"First, Tanis is as resilient and durable as her aunt," he whispered against her skin. "Second, she's not an orphan. She still has you and a strong, supportive family in the valley. She's young and very much loved. You'll help her through this and she'll be fine."
Lia tilted her head back to smile at him. Along the moon-bond, something opened and warmth rushed through it to engulf him. He was drowning in it. Wanted to revel in it. Wanted more. Wanted it like nothing he'd ever wanted before.
The soft clatter of footstep had him on his feet, hand on his sword and body between Lia and the door in a heartbeat. All while swearing at himself for getting so caught up he lost sight of the fact that they were still in a hostile situation.
Then Ran and Phelan appeared, and he let his shoulders relax and his fingers ease away from the hilt at his side.
"Anything?" Caerwyn asked.
"Nothing," Ran answered. "Whatever cowards survived ran with the sorcerer. We're alone here."
With nothing else to go on, they turned to the pile of scrolls and books and paper scattered across the table. But it was what was under the debris that was most interesting.
The map was detailed and huge, folded over on itself to fit on the table. The fortress they stood in was marked clearly. As was the Circle of ruins in Lia's valley. And all four of the Milesan treasures on their individual islands. And the Island of the Druids. The island itself wasn't even drawn on the map, but the spot in the middle of the ocean, fifteen miles northwest of the Council Island, was circled in red.
The location of the Milesan's ancient, most sacred site was a secret only a handful of Milesan holy men and nobility knew.
"He's hunting power sources."
It wasn't a surprise but to see it laid out on the map was a chilling reminder of how incredibly dangerous Hafgan was. When they unfolded the map, more places in the eastern kingdoms were marked as well as a handful of scattered spots within the lands of the Thousand Tribes.
"This is what we need to show the Council. When they realize he's targeted not only the treasures but the Druids as well, they'll have to take steps. I have to get this back to them before the Solstice."
A tremor hummed along the bond. It echoed in his own heart when he realized getting to the Council in time meant he would not be in the valley during the full moon.
For the first time, something, someone, had become more important to him than revenge. But with this new information, it was no longer about his personal vendetta. No one in the Milesan Isles was safe from Hafgan. From the look of the map, no one in the world was safe from his greed.
He locked his eyes on Lia, trying to find the words to explain but her face was smooth and unconcerned. The tremor of trepidation no longer pulsed and he had to wonder if had been only him, after all. He swallowed back the moment of hurt along with the explanation and simply said, "I have to go. Hafgan has to be stopped."
-11-
The air was thick with all the things left unsaid. Lia's whole body was tight and leaden, ready to break under the weight of the slightest move. Wyn's foster brothers stood at attention, eyes carefully averted to look at anything and everything, but the tautly wound couple not speaking in the center of the room. Lia's gaze remained riveted on Wyn. She watched him shift his weight, saw his eyes, edgy and conflicted, before they shuttered completely. Saw his lips part and she knew, whatever he was about to say, she didn't want to hear it.
So Lia put on her brightest, I don't give a damn smile and lifted her chin. "You're right about Hafgan. He needs to be stopped before he destroys any more places like this."
Lia had no idea what the magic of the area had been like before the bastard had gotten his hands on it, but the sickly, pale imitation of her own Circle made her both sad and angry.
Wyn's mouth snapped shut and the uneasiness around them ratcheted up. A single gesture to his brothers and the three blonds left the room in a silent parade.
"Lia, maybe—" he tried again, but she knew this conversation would not make her happy. Wouldn't make it any easier, for either of them.
"Wyn, we both have responsibilities and priorities we need to get back to."
Lia watched him flinch. More, she felt it snap along their bond when he leaned away. Her heart thrummed with the need to reach for him so, instead, she twisted her hands together to keep them from wandering. She wanted to ask him to stay. Wanted so many things she couldn't have. Sometimes in the last few days, she'd caught a glimpse of something in his eyes or a tug along the moon-bond that made her think he wanted that, too. Neither of them, though, could make the choices that would allow them to have it. Neither of them could deny the weight of the past they each carried.
So Lia ignored the sinking, sucking, needy feeling and tightened her control on the bond. She didn't want him to feel her disappointment. Didn't intend to let the ache slide through and echo between them. With a deep breath, she pushed it all aside and focused strictly on what needed to be said, instead.
"There is no maybe. We can't. I can't. I can't leave the valley. You can't stay. The moon-bond is already weakening. When we don't…" She swallowed around the lump of words caught in her throat. Words that refused to be spoken. "The bond will fade completely in a couple of weeks."
Tanis stirred in her sleep, whimpering a little at whatever dark dream plagued her.
Lia scooped up her niece, cradled her close and reminded herself why she couldn't take what she wanted.
It wasn't only about duty. There was enough of the romantic rebel left in Lia to say to hell with responsibility. To make a grab for happiness and damn the consequences. This was about family and promises and love.
"I have to get Tanis home. We better go."
She moved toward the door and the first steps of goodbye. His hand reached out, barely brushing along the bare skin of her arm when she passed him. The both paused, breath held and bodies frozen in a moment that should never have been.
Then the world began again.
It was the only goodbye they allowed themselves as they escaped the monstrous fortress in silence.
*****
Caerwyn walked out of the Council Hall with a strut of satisfaction. After seven years, his people finally understood the threat Hafgan represented to the Isles and to the world. They were finally willing to take steps.
The satisfaction, however, was hollow. It brought him nothing. His parents were still gone. The man responsible still beyond his grasp at the moment. Standing in the bright sunlight, he watched the rest of the Council and their various clerks and retainers file past him. It didn’t take long for the crowd to make their way down to the pier and the boats waiting to ferry them home.
Home. He had a small island to return to. Not much bigger or more inhabited than Lia's valley. His brothers wouldn't be there. They would be returning to the mainland to spearhead the hunt for the sorcerer.
Caerwyn had spent so much time fighting for this day. Searching and scraping for answers. Now that it had finally come, he was at a loss. The driving need that had been a hunger in his belly for years had washed everything else away. With it sated, he had nothing left inside. Nothing but a gentle tug he'd been doing his best to ignore since he'd watched Lia walk into her manor house
without even glancing back at him.
Turning abruptly away from the pier, he headed down a path next to the Hall and scrabbled over the crumbling stones until he reached the rocky beach. A large boulder on the edge of the water served as a perfect perch to stare at the steel-grey sea as it ebbed and flowed against the horizon.
It didn't take long until Caer heard the faint sounds of someone following him down the treacherous path. Eventually, Maddyn plopped on the rock beside him without a word.
No doubt, Ranulf and Phelan stood guard at the top of the trail to give them privacy.
It took longer than Caerwyn expected for Madd to get around to talking, though.
"What are you going to do, now?"
"Go back to Alwyn, I guess. Wait to hear that you've cornered the son-of-a-bitch so I can be there to finish him off."
"What are you going to do on the island while you wait? Being idle has never been your strong suit."
"Figured it was time to take up a hobby. Maybe gardening. I've neglected mother's garden for too long. It deserves better than that. She deserves better than that."
"Gardening? Really? That's what you want to do with your time? You can't think of anything else you'd rather be doing? Anyplace else you'd rather be?"
His shoulders rose and fell. He thought of chestnut hair glinting in another garden. A soft laugh and a sharp smile. That had been replaced, though, with the placid, indifferent looks he'd received on the hell-bent ride from Hafgan's lair to the valley. The memory of a ramrod straight spine disappearing into the house without a glance back or a wisp of emotion across the bond. He'd seen the flicker of hurt in her eyes when he'd announced he had to return to the islands. But it was gone so quickly, he had to believe he'd imagined it.
He shrugged again and straightened to ease the pressure along his ribs. "Nope. Not a thing."
The sound Madd made was closer to a growl than anything human. "What about Lia?"
"What about her? She can't leave the valley. I have responsibilities to my island."
"Bullshit."
Caer was used to his foster brother's bluntness but usually, Madd didn't take that sharp, derisive tone with him. He just raised an eyebrow at the Hound.
"You've always had those responsibilities and yet you spent more time away from Alwyn than you have on it."
Caer wanted to protest, wanted to deny the accusation. But he couldn't. Not when it was true. Guilt he'd buried for years under layers of anger and hate clawed its way into his gut and gnawed at his conscience. He'd spent so long fixated on Hafgan and the vengeance he felt was his due, he'd all but ignored the legacy his parents had left behind.
He choked on the realization, his heart spiraling into grief. Maddyn cuffed him on the back the head.
"Knock it off. That's not what I meant. Think back. Father wasn't any different. First, the wars. Then he and Mother searching the world for healing plants. The stories of your grandfather's multitude of adventures aren't much different, either. Milesans are a hardy people. They need, and want, only nominal leadership. If you return to the island now and start throwing your weight around, they'd probably toss you back into the sea before the week was out."
"But… I don't…" He thought again about Lia's indifference in the hours it took to see her safely home. The anger and irritation she'd felt at his deception. Mostly, though, he thought about the warmth and the acceptance they'd found with each other for way too short a time.
Maddyn stared out at the sea, speaking quietly, like he was thinking out loud to himself.
"We still have to find Hafgan before we can even think about bringing him to justice. Be nice to have someone central to report to. Someone on the mainland, who could coordinate, sort and distribute information and messages." Finally, he looked at Caer with unblinking eyes. "Your parents would want you to find happiness wherever you could. Their true legacy was the love they gave freely and fostered in everyone, not some patch of dirt in the middle of the ocean."
He was right. Caer knew Maddyn was right and hope flared then dampened when he once again remembered Lia's disappearing back.
"I don't know if she'll forgive me. And the full moon rises two nights from now. It's a two day trip from here."
"Then you'd better get on a boat and hurry."
*****
Lia dressed slowly, accepting each adornment from Nel's helpful hands while she prepared for the upcoming ritual with careful attention to detail. Inside, though, she was screaming and throwing things and begging to run away. For the first time, the pull of the moon brought no joy.
She'd been in the Circle two days before to greet the sunrise of the solstice and it had been bittersweet. Memories of Wyn ghosted across every inch of the tumbled ruins. Now, she had to go back, under the full, bright light of the Goddess's moon and accept she'd never see him again.
Not that it mattered whether she went to the Circle or ran all the way to Daen's kingdom. When the moon set, their bond would be gone and Wyn would be nothing but a wistful memory. One the valley would be relieved to be rid of. After Gui's betrayal had cut the heart out of her people, they were even more wary of her ties to an outsider.
Behind her, Nel paused in her bustle of activity and stepped up to place comforting hands on Lia's shoulders.
"It's for the best, dear. The valley needs to heal," she said as if reading Lia's thoughts. The housekeeper could probably see the pain and wistfulness scrawled across her face. "After tonight, the pull will ease. We can get on with life."
Lia swallowed against the tightness and ignored the spiking glitter of tears at the corners of her eyes. The bond would be gone, but she doubted the ache in her heart would ever go away. Her feelings for Wyn had started before the night in the Circle. She had no doubt they would linger long after her visit there tonight.
She forced a smile to reassure her hesitant friend though it faltered a little when Nel handed her the rune covered blanket. There was nothing left untouched by the memory of Caerwyn, Lord of Alwyn and Lia was going to have to learn to live with the ghost of her feelings for him.
The walk through the forest was long and dark, despite the bright glow of the moon lighting her path. Everything felt darker lately.
The bond twinged along with her melancholy and she wondered if she'd feel it after, like the phantom limb of some old soldier long after the leg was lost. The closer she got to the Circle, the closer she felt to Wyn. Was it the magic of the place where the bond was created?
Then a shadow moved, disengaging from one of the standing stones and a voice she'd never thought she'd hear again whispered her name.
Familiar voice, familiar warm tingle of heat, familiar rush of emotion flowing along the bond.
Wyn stood outside the Circle, features shadowed by the trees that filtered the bright silver light. She watched him in silence until he shifted from foot to foot, hands curling and uncurling at his sides.
The longer she remained silent, the more he fidgeted until he finally stepped forward into the light and spoke. "I know you weren't expecting me back here. We never talked about what to do with the moon-bond."
"That's why you're here?" Lia asked, when she finally found her voice. "To talk?"
"Not exactly." He took another uncertain step forward and Lia swayed. She wanted to move closer to him even knowing she should step away. Instead, she remained rooted in place.
"I don't want this, us, to end," he continued. "For years, vengeance has been the driving force in my life. But that changed when I came here. And I didn't even notice it. Until I left."
Wyn sighed and he pushed his hand through his hair.
"You were right about the pull of the moon-bond fading with distance. It didn't drag at me, the way I expected. The way it did in the beginning."
A sharp inhale followed the pain spiking through her. Lia knew he was right, but it hurt to hear it all the same.
"My heart did, though. And so did my body. You were like a lodestone, pulling my attention every second I was a
way from you."
Another step brought him so near all she had to do was reach out her hand. She'd be able to touch him. To hold him. To pull him close.
But she couldn't. There were so many reasons why she couldn't have what she wanted. A valley full of reasons. They hadn't changed just because her feelings had.
"We can't… The people are even more wary of outsiders now…they won't accept… I can't…"
It was Wyn who did the reaching out, his hand brushing back her hair, sliding along her jaw to cradle her face with feather-light tenderness.
"You said the Goddess let me into the Circle the first time. If she does it again, if she blesses our bond, there's not much those miserly farmers can say. Not one of them would gainsay the wisdom of the Goddess."
Lia closed her eyes, trying not to let want bolster the hope he was kindling in her heart. She couldn't help turning her face into the soft caress even as she tried to argue.
"What about Hafgan? He's still out there."
"The Hounds have been tasked with the search. This would be a perfect place to coordinate and plan while they hunt."
"But Alwyn. Your people…"
"I'd have to visit a few times a year. It would probably be the most time I've spent there since my parents died. Maybe, once Tanis reaches her maturity, we could split the year. Part here, part there."
He turned then, moving her so she was closer to the ruins and then he took a step back, hands resting at his sides. His voice, though, strained with tension.
"Invite me into the Circle, Lia. Invite me into your life."
She held her breath, a thousand conflicting thoughts, questions, reasons rattled through her head.
Then a glimmer of something golden rose and bloomed. Calm rippled out from her center as indecision fell away. The Goddess guided and Lia relaxed into the embrace when she stepped back into the Circle.
*****
By Vengeance Guided (The Lost Shrines Book 1) Page 16