“Of course.” She laughed, stepping aside.
“I saw this and thought you might like to enjoy the last few rays of the Wounded Heart.” He placed the terracotta pot on the table and put his arm around her, pulling her close. Together they watched the light inside the scarlet tendrils slowly dim and fade.
“What did you think when you saw it?”
He shook his head, incredulous. “It is difficult to describe. I had given up all hope. I had lost my love, my best friend, my kingdom and I was about to lose my life. But, when I saw this flower blooming in that pit of despair, everything changed in an instant. Somehow I knew I would get a second chance.”
She buried her face in her hands, weeping softly.
“What is it?” he asked, caressing her arm.
“I just wish my parents could have been here to see all this. You and me, Marcus and Marino. What would my mother have thought about that? She was so sad all those years thinking that her baby was dead, but he’s alive!”
He lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “I wish that my father could have known you,” he whispered softly. “But some things are just not meant to be. This we must accept.”
“You’re right,” she said, sniffling. “You’re always right.”
“We have each other. For that I shall always be thankful.”
“Me too.”
He brushed the hair out of her eyes, kissing her softly.
“Are you ready for your coronation tomorrow?” he whispered against her lips.
“I guess, as long as I don’t screw up any of my lines.”
“You only have two. I do and I will.”
“Then I guess I’ll be okay. But I still wish you were being crowned alongside me.”
“As do I, but we are not married. When we are, then I shall be crowned as well. But only as your token king, I might add.”
She giggled. “Why aren’t we married?”
“You are asking me?” he exclaimed, his eyes widening. “You were the one with cold feet!”
“They’re pretty warm and toasty now.” She laughed.
“As long as you are ready to marry on my birthday, I shall remain a happy man indeed.”
“Hmm—then you won’t ever forget our anniversary either!”
“I shall never forget our anniversary, dearest.”
“Maybe I should get that in writing.”
He moved in closer, but their kiss was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door. He opened it to find Arrie standing there, shifting impatiently. “Your Highnesses, you must come down at once!” He panted heavily as if he had just run up ten flights of stairs.
“What is it, Arrie?” Darian asked.
“Have you—seen Matilda?” he asked, breathless. “She needs to be there for him!” He raced down the hall, banging on her door. “Matilda, come quickly!”
“What’s this all about, Arrie?” Marisa peered down the corridor at him.
“Lord Arrigo, what are you hollering about?” Matilda asked as she opened the door.
“Bruno is alive!” Arrie shouted, unable to contain himself.
“What?” They exclaimed in unison.
“Well come and see!”
They followed Arrie down the corridor steps, through the main vestibule and into the Knight’s Hall. Lifting their skirts to prevent them from tripping, Marisa and Matilda were practically running by the time they got to the Crimson antechamber. Matilda made it there first.
“Bruno!” she exclaimed, seeing his tall, muscular frame sprawled out across the settee. When he didn’t rise to meet her, she ran over and threw herself on top of him, engulfing him in a warm hug. “You are alive,” she whispered, softly kissing his cheek.
“That I am, my beauty,” he said weakly, gazing into her eyes as if she were the only person in the world. “I refuse to allow death to take me away before we have the chance to finish what we started.”
“But—how did you escape?” Darian asked, incredulous.
Bruno shook his head. “It was awful, Your Highness. After the arrow clipped my side, I fell from the horse and rolled off the road into a ditch. I must have blacked out because I awoke several minutes later with a horrible headache and a flaming pain in my side. There was chaos all around me. But the warriors’ first priority seemed to be going after the healthy men who were all trying to escape and, thankfully, they did not notice me down in the ditch.”
Darian brought over a couple of chairs for Matilda and Marisa to sit in. Matilda reached out to take Bruno’s hand as he recalled his harrowing ordeal.
“I knew I was badly wounded, so I lay very still, pretending to be dead. I waited until most of the warriors had gone after the men before moving around to assess the situation. Then I saw three of them fanning out among the bodies, slicing each of the heads off and throwing them onto the wagons. I knew they would find and kill me eventually, so I had to think of something fast.
“There was a pile of headless bodies not too far from me. Then I noticed that the warrior who was closest to me was actually working his way away from me. I knew they would be back around to check and make sure they had everyone’s heads, so, when their backs were to me, I moved toward the headless bodies, burrowing underneath them until only my legs were sticking out. I lay very still, making sure that I could still breathe and was able to see what the warriors were doing.
“Incredible,” Marisa remarked.
Bruno nodded. “By Garon’s mercy, it worked and, although they moved past me several times, they did not discover that I was still alive and still had my head. They were there collecting heads for a long time, at least until after dark and, when I finally heard the wagons rolling away, I waited for a little while longer until I heard nothing but the snow owls hooting in the forest. It was then that I knew it was safe to come out.
“I found a horse grazing on some winter grass and tied him to a tree. After I removed the arrow, I gathered up as many cloaks as I could from the bodies and laid them on the ground in a pile. Laying several more on top of me, I was able to keep warm for the night and even sleep a little, but not much.
“Later the next morning, I got on the horse and rode back towards Crocetta, but I only made it halfway to Andrésis before I knew I needed help. The wound was becoming infected and I was developing a fever. I came upon a farmhouse and stopped. I explained to the farmer what had happened and he and his wife and daughter took me in and cared for my wound.
“My fever increased and I began to hallucinate. The farmer fetched a doctor who put some arrino root salve on my wound and then it began to improve. My fever went down and I started to feel better, but I was not well enough yet to leave. A few days after that, I was determined to get on my horse and come back to Crocetta, but the farmer wouldn’t hear of it until I was fully healed.
“Yesterday, I was able to convince them that I was well enough to leave and so I did. But, by the time I reached Andrésis, I was ready to collapse. I stayed at the Blue Boar last night and left early this morning. And here I am.”
“Bruno, you have no idea how happy we are to see you back here safe and sound,” Marisa said, putting her hand on his. She looked at Matilda and smiled. “But now I think you need some time alone to rest and recover and you two have some catching up to do.”
“Indeed we do,” Bruno said, grinning at Matilda.
“Glad to have you back, my friend.” Darian took his hand and shook it warmly. “Anything you need, just let us know.”
Bruno gazed lovingly at Matilda. “I have everything I need right here.”
CHAPTER 41
PENANCE
“I just can’t believe he’s alive,” Marisa said to Darian as they entered the Jade Room after dinner. “This makes up for so much of the wrong that has happened during the past few weeks.”
Darian gave her a sad smile, his gaze dropping to the floor. She knew that he was thinking about the friends and comrades he had lost. She moved up close to him, slipping her arms around him and hugging him ti
ght. “I’m so sorry about Luca. I know how much he meant to you.”
“I still cannot believe he is gone. I have lost so many of my friends from my Academy years, but none as close as Luca. He was the brother I never had.”
“I wish I could have gotten to know him better.”
“I am so afraid of losing you that I sometimes find it difficult to enjoy what we have.”
“Don’t say that. If our relationship was able to make it through these horrible few weeks intact, it can withstand anything. If you don’t take the risk, you’ll never take the triumph.”
“That is not what I meant. I know that nothing can ever separate our love again. But I have also learned what life is like without you. And I do not ever wish to live through that again.”
“That’s the control freak talking,” she whispered. “Let it go.”
A mischievous grin crept across his lips. “There is one thing I plan on never letting go.” He closed the distance between them, covering her lips with his own.
As he pressed against her, drawing her ever closer, her body seemed to melt into his. She deepened the kiss, losing herself completely in the love she felt for him. Just when she was starting to think it would never end, there was a firm knock at the door.
She pulled away, laughing. “Oh, no, not again!”
“Are we never to have a moment alone?” Darian asked in irritation. He opened the door, biting his tongue and looking away in disbelief when he saw Savino standing there, his face expectant.
“Uh, I apologize for my intrusion,” Savino began, “but I was wondering if I might have a word with Her Highness?” He glanced over Darian’s shoulder, his blue eyes peering eagerly into the room.
Marisa draped a heavy cloak around her shoulders, offering him a warm smile. “Of course you can, Savino. I was just about to take my evening walk. Would you like to come with me?”
Darian gave her a silent look as if he couldn’t believe she was asking, but in the end, he said nothing.
“Yes, that would be—nice,” Savino answered.
On her way out the door, she kissed Darian on the lips and smiled at him mischievously. “Don’t you go anywhere, young man!”
“Not a chance, woman!” He gave her a devilish grin before tossing Savino a warning glare.
Slipping her arm through her cousin’s, Marisa led him down the corridor and out into the main courtyard. They walked up the stone steps on the western wall, finally reaching the top of the rampart. The cool breeze from the mountains blew through her hair and she felt so happy to be alive.
“I enjoy taking a stroll along this wall. It puts things into perspective when I’m up here, giving me a clear view of the kingdom I’m responsible for ruling.”
He smiled nervously. “Your Highness, I have not yet had the privilege and opportunity to speak with you alone. I am, in fact, very grateful that you are even speaking to me.”
She turned to face him. “Savino, it’s in the past. You are forgiven. That’s a lesson from Eman I won’t ever forget. Neither should you.”
“You are truly a gracious woman. I don’t think I shall ever understand why he did what he did, but I am eternally grateful.”
“It is pretty amazing,” she agreed. “So, what did you want to speak to me about?”
He looked at her sheepishly. “Nothing specifically, I just thought that it would be nice if you could get to know me before you are crowned. Before you become too busy with your royal duties to spare me the time of day.”
She smiled. “I’ll always make time for you.”
“You are most kind.” He looked away, staring out across the expanse of mountains covered in snow. His long, aristocratic nose flared in the cold breeze and his short-cropped, blonde hair rippled in the wind.
“Is something bothering you? I may not know you very well, but I’m sensing that you don’t feel completely at ease with me.”
His gaze turned to hers. “Ah, yes, that is precisely the problem. You do not know me. At least not the real me. And I seem to recall that the last time we were together at Abbadon, you forced me to do all the talking, remember?” His lips curved into a smirk.
She smiled, remembering. “Yes, I guess I did.”
“All joking aside, I should very much like to get to know you—the real Marisa.” His blue eyes twinkled as he spoke. “I find you a very fascinating woman and am quite eager to hear about this other world that you have been living in.”
As she listened to him speak, she had to remind herself that it was Savino. He was so different from the madman she had known over the past few months and it was difficult to believe he was even the same person. Matilda was right. The real Savino was nothing like the arrogant, selfish man who had ruthlessly wound people around his finger.
“Savino, you and I have a lot in common. Our mothers were sisters and the same blood runs through our veins. I’ll never be too busy for you and I want to get to know you—the real you.”
“You do not know how happy I am to hear you say that, cousin,” he drawled. “It shall take a long time before people place their trust in me again. Just look at Darian.”
“Darian is just being cautious. He wants to forgive, but, at the same time, he’s afraid that you’ll fall back into your old ways.”
“I am determined never to let that happen to me again.” His eyes glazed over as he remembered the unspeakable terror. “I was in a living hell. Those horrible beasts controlled my mind as their evil coursed through my veins. My body obeyed their every command while my mind was powerless to stop it.”
“Don’t.” She covered his hand with her own. “You’re protected now by the power of Eman. You won’t ever go back to being that—that, thing you were.”
“No, I shall not.” His gaze dropped. “However, one curse remains that shall plague me for the rest of my life.”
“What curse?”
He pulled his hand away from hers and moved over to the stone wall. Leaning over it, he stared down at his intertwined fingers with a pained expression. “Wherever I go, I shall always be remembered for the awful things I have done. And rightly so, I suppose. Perhaps, I deserve to never be forgiven for the pain and suffering I have caused. I cannot retrieve what has been lost; nor can I remove the condemnation from people’s hearts. I am destined to live a solitary life, I fear.”
“You don’t know that. Where I come from, we have a saying, ‘time heals all wounds.’ In time, people will forget and move on.”
“No.” He shook his head sadly. “They will not. And, more importantly, history shall never forget. By the time my awful deeds finally start to fade from people’s memories, I shall be an old man.”
“Savino, what are you saying?”
“I know that I do not deserve it, but I still wish to find love. But the tragedy is that I shall never find a woman who can love me for who I am without knowing what I once was.”
She touched his arm. “That’s not true! You’re smart, witty, and remarkably handsome. I see great potential in you.”
“Yes, but do you not see that I cannot go back to being the man I once was before I became Savino the monster? Even if I should find a woman who could love me, no father will let his daughter near me ever again.” As he gazed at her with clear blue eyes as beautiful as a tropical sea, she knew that she was seeing the real Savino.
She took his hands in hers and closed her eyes, choosing her words carefully. “If there is one thing that I have learned over this past year, it is that everyone, no matter who you are, no matter what horrible things you have done—everyone gets a do-over with Garon.”
“Do-over?” He looked at her, puzzled.
“Yes. It means that you have been given a second chance. Eman has forgiven you. Garon has forgiven you. I’ve forgiven you.”
He shook his head sadly. “I could never be forgiven for the things I have done. They are too horrible—too unforgiveable!”
“No! Don’t you see that you must believe Garon is willing and able to
forgive you or you will never be free? It’s time for you to forgive yourself.
“I do not know if I can.”
“Savino, listen to me now,” she pleaded, cupping his face gently in her hands. “You are free. But you must accept that freedom yourself. I cannot accept it for you.”
She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply before opening them again to focus on him. “Don’t allow the future you think you are doomed to have ruin the one that could be better than you could ever possibly imagine.”
He let out a short puff of air but said nothing as his eyes welled up with tears. And when she saw the expression of relief in his face, she knew that these words were the exact ones he needed to hear.
“Cousin, this is your do-over,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. “You will never be given another chance like the one you have just been given today. So honor that gift by going out there and making the most of it.”
She stared at him in earnest, and what she saw in him made her eyes mist over. He pulled her into a tight embrace that touched them both down to their very souls. This was the man whom had brought her to the depths of hatred and back again, but she was able to forgive him. Overcome by powerful emotions that were being exchanged in that one hug, she began to sob into his chest. He stroked her hair gently, and in that moment, the two of them reached a deep understanding that needed no words. They were family and were bound by blood, but now they had been bound by something even deeper.
They were bound by forgiveness.
“Arghh, now you’ve got me crying again,” she said, laughing through tears. “I swear that I’ve never cried as much in my life since I’ve come to Carnelia!”
“Tears are a good sign, Your Highness,” he remarked softly. “It means that you care. Never confuse tears with weakness.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” she said, wiping her eyes.
He smiled at her. “You remind me so much of your mother. Queen Elyse was so beautiful and strong. And she had a heart of gold. I shall never forget the kindness she always showed me.”
“That’s what Darian says. It’s so strange to hear you both talk about her when I hardly even knew her.”
The Carnelian Tyranny: Savino’s Revenge Page 38