by Diana Bold
To his relief, it appeared as though his brother had foregone his usual evening entertainment. Simon sprawled on his back across his massive bed, his heavy snores filling the chamber.
Holding his breath, Sebastian opened the passage door, wincing when the once well-oiled portal groaned loudly. Simon stirred, then let out his breath in another snore.
Relieved, Sebastian crossed the room to his brother’s side, picking up a jeweled knife from the bread plate on the table next to the bed. Knowing better than to let his brother get the upper hand, given their last encounter, he placed the blade carefully against Simon’s throat.
“Hello, Simon,” he murmured.
With a whuff of surprise, Simon woke. His eyes widened in obvious shock when he saw who had dared to enter his chamber, but he remained still and watchful, aware of the knife at his throat.
“I am not here to hurt you,” Sebastian told him. “That was never my intention, brother.” He released the pressure of the knife fractionally so Simon could answer him.
Simon drew in a deep breath, then let it out in soft laugh. “My God. I thought you were dead. I have been mourning you ever since I returned from the coast.”
Simon’s lack of anger took Sebastian aback, but he wasn’t foolish enough to trust it. “Seems odd to mourn someone you killed.”
“Is it? I have watched you mourn for those you killed these many long years.” His gaze met Sebastian’s with entreaty. “Sometimes duty forces us to make choices we abhor. I did not relish shooting you; you have to know that. You left me no choice.”
Perhaps Simon had a point, because God knew the ghosts of his own past haunted him, but they had too much else to talk about. “Well, as you can see, I have made a full recovery, thanks to the skilled healers of Rhoswen’s people.”
“You have been there?” Simon asked, obviously startled. “They are so close, then?”
Now it was Sebastian’s turn to laugh. “You would never believe me if I told you, and I do not have the time to explain it all. Suffice it to say that you were right when you called her fey. I need you to trust me when I say neither Rhoswen nor her people are any threat to us.”
Simon held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded slightly. “I will trust you in this, for I do not think you would have returned if you were lying. May I get up?”
After only a moment’s hesitation, Sebastian pulled the knife away and let his brother sit. Trust worked both ways. He couldn’t expect his brother to give it without getting some in return.
“What happened to the other prisoner?” Sebastian asked. “I have come to secure his release, if it is not too late.”
Simon rubbed his throat, keeping a careful eye on the knife. “He disappeared while I was hunting you. We have sent out many patrols, but have not found any sign of him.”
The blankets next to the hot springs suddenly made sense. Why had it not occurred to him before? Trevelan was the only one who would have known how to find the hidden passages. He had obviously made his escape through Old Halcyon. But if that were true, why hadn’t they passed him on the way?
“Stop looking for him,” Sebastian suggested. “You have done him enough harm already, and I can assure you that all he wants is to go home.”
“Is that why you came back?” Simon asked curiously. “Are you doing this for the maid?”
Sebastian sighed. “In part, I suppose. But the main reason I came back was to give you this.” He handed over the small bundle of medicine, and a folded sheet of Halcyon’s exquisite paper. “This is medicine to help the people in the village, along with detailed instructions.”
Simon stared at the bundle for a long moment before taking it. “A miracle cure?”
Sebastian shook his head in regret. “I am afraid not. Nothing can stop the plague completely. But with this, administered in a timely manner, we can cut the death rate in half, at the very least.”
“This is why you left, is it not? The girl told you about this medicine.” Simon’s tone was full of self-recrimination. “I am so sorry. I should have known.”
“How could you?” Sebastian countered. “I should have said. But I did not think you would believe me, was not even sure I believed it myself.”
“Thank you for this,” Simon murmured. “But in the end, the sickness was not as bad as we imagined. Only a handful died, and no one else has fallen ill.”
“Thank God.” Sebastian shook his head, realizing that he could have stayed in Halcyon.
Simon pushed off the bed and clasped Sebastian in a fierce embrace. “You are not coming back, are you?”
“No,” Sebastian replied, touched by his brother’s unusual display of affection. “Even if I cannot stay with Rhoswen, I doubt I will return to Hawkesmere. It would not look right if you took me back in now, after everything that has happened.”
Simon released him, but did not offer any protest to his last statement, which spoke louder than any words. “I will miss you.”
All in all, the meeting had gone much better than Sebastian had ever expected. But much as he loved his brother, he was eager to get back to Rhoswen. He did not want her to worry any more, could already imagine the happiness on her face when he returned to her.
He embraced his brother once more, then made his way back out through the passageway.
* * *
Rhoswen paced the narrow width of the tunnel for hours, until exhaustion and worry sapped her strength and she collapsed in a defeated heap near the pool. She’d checked her timepiece a hundred times already, knew it was too soon for Sebastian to return even if things had gone right.
She refused to think about things going bad.
Wrapping herself in the blankets they’d brought along, she stretched out and pillowed her head on her arms. She had no hope of actually falling asleep, but the days of stress and physical exertion caught up with her, pulling her into a dark, dreamless sleep.
When she woke, it took several long moments to orient herself. The sulfurous scent of the springs filled her senses, and the damp rock pressed in on her from all sides. Gasping, she scrambled to a sitting position and reached for her timepiece.
“It has been thirteen hours,” Sebastian said softly from behind her, startling her so badly she shrieked. “You were never going to leave without me, were you?”
She placed one hand on her heart and turned to face him. He was barely visible in the dim light of the lone lightstick. He shook his head, but the anger her earlier disobedience had caused was absent.
“I fell asleep,” she explained weakly. “But you’re right. I wouldn’t have left until I knew for sure you weren’t coming back.”
He laughed softly and held out his arms. “I am glad,” he whispered. “I am so glad you care enough to stay, even when it is not wise.”
She launched herself into his open arms, kissing him wildly, pushing him backward in her exuberance. “You’re back,” she sobbed, in between fervent presses of her lips to his. “I can’t believe you’re actually back.”
In answer, he simply covered her mouth fully, kissing her as he fumbled to remove her clothing. When the buttons proved difficult, he ripped them open, as though desperate for the feel of her bare skin against his. She was just as desperate, just as needy, and fought to free him from his damp hose.
His shaft was hard and hot beneath her palm, and he gasped when she stroked him from base to tip. Reveling in the beautiful sound of his desire, she repeated the motion, then straddled his lean hips and seated him deep within her.
For a long moment, their eyes met and held. Time seemed to stop as she realized it was over. He was safe, and he was hers. She didn’t know what the future would bring, but she was never going to be without him again.
“I love you,” he breathed, as he began to move inside her. “I love you so much.”
* * *
Later, wrapped together in the blankets on the hard stone floor, Sebastian told Rhoswen what had happened at Hawkesmere — of Trevelan’s escape and Simon’
s surprising reaction to waking up to find Sebastian in his room. He told her that the sickness had never been as widespread as they had supposed.
“Trevelan must have left through the caverns,” Rhoswen murmured, snuggling closer against him. “I don’t understand how we missed him. He couldn’t have been moving very fast, given his condition.”
Sebastian laughed grimly. “I think you would be surprised what a man can do when he is running for his life.”
“I suppose,” she agreed, though she did not sound too convinced. “At least he is away from Hawkesmere. I’m sure we’ll find him somewhere along the coast.”
He nodded, though he was not nearly as confident. She did not seem to realize how vast the search area would be. They could chase her friend around in circles for months. But he did not care. He would do whatever it took to make her happy, to make her forgive herself for her part in Trevelan’s ordeal.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As Rhoswen and Sebastian approached Old Halcyon’s main cavern, children’s laughter echoed down the tunnel. The incongruous and unexpected sound stopped them in their tracks and they exchanged befuddled looks. When a deep male voice joined the apparent merriment, Sebastian put his finger to his lips and sprinted ahead, his concern evident.
Rhoswen trailed behind him, her heart thundering in her chest. Who had brought children into Old Halcyon? She didn’t think she could handle yet another unforeseen complication.
When she reached the end of the tunnel, Sebastian caught her hand and pulled her behind one of the empty houses. “’Tis Miranda,” he murmured, gesturing toward the town square, where a lovely auburn-haired woman twirled a dark-haired toddler round and round in her arms.
“The healer?” Rhoswen gave Sebastian a puzzled frown. “How do you suppose she got down here? She couldn’t have come from Titania’s Tower, or we would have seen her.”
As though in answer to her question, a handsome blond man walked up beside the young woman, laughing down at her with obvious affection. “Trevelan,” she breathed.
Before the thought had fully registered, she was already racing toward him, oblivious to anything but the fact that her old friend was still alive. He looked remarkably fit and well, given the terrible condition she’d last seen him in.
“Hold, Rhoswen. It may not be safe.”
Rhoswen heard Sebastian’s frustrated plea, but paid him no heed. Her feet propelled her forward, past several more children and a wan-looking pregnant woman before she launched herself at Trevelan, hugging him tightly as happy tears leaked down her cheeks.
“Oh, Trevelan!” she cried. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
He tensed, then thrust her away, his expression grim and unwelcoming. Her excitement faded as she stared into his familiar blue eyes and saw no tenderness left for her there. “Rhoswen,” he said woodenly. “What are you doing here?”
She stumbled back a few steps, noting Sebastian stood beside her, fairly bristling with warning. “Sebastian and I came back for you,” she told Trevelan. “We just returned from Hawkesmere.”
“I didn’t have the luxury of waiting three weeks for your return,” he snapped, pulling Miranda to his side with obvious possessiveness. “In fact, were it not for Miranda, I would have been dead the day after you left me in that hellhole.”
Fresh tears welled in her eyes. “Trevelan, I’m so sorry. I thought you released the virus upon Hawkesmere. I thought I had no choice but to try and return to Halcyon and find a cure.”
He gave a harsh laugh and ran a hand through his hair, turning away from her in disgust. “Nice to know you thought so highly of me, sweetheart. Especially after I risked my life to come into Hawkesmere after you.”
“She defied her father to return for you,” Sebastian snarled. “Since the moment she found out she had been mistaken about your motives, her only thought has been to save you.”
“She left him here,” Miranda cried, elbowing her way forward, standing nose to nose with Rhoswen. “He thought he would be stranded forever.”
She loves him. The fierceness in the healer’s gaze took Rhoswen aback for a moment, but then gladness rushed through her. She and Trevelan had never been able to find love with each other but it seemed they’d both found love on the Surface.
“I’m sorry,” Rhoswen said again, trying to diffuse the situation. “It seems we’ve all been at cross purposes, but I’m very glad to see that you are all right, Trevelan. I’ve been so worried.”
Trevelan sighed and raked a hand through his tousled, overlong hair. “I didn’t think anyone was coming back for me. It hurt to know you’d abandoned me.”
She’d never seen him so disheveled, so close to losing control of his tightly contained emotions. The time they’d spent upon the Surface had obviously affected them both in a myriad of unexpected ways.
“I came back as soon as I could,” she whispered, feeling a renewed rush of guilt. “The council refused to send a rescue team, so Sebastian and I stole The Whale.”
Trevelan gave a surprised bark of laughter. “Did you really?” He shook his head. “That must have shaken things up.”
She frowned. “I doubt I’ll be welcomed back with open arms.”
Trevelan gestured around at the dozen or so people who looked on in obvious fascination. “Neither will I, once they find out I’ve brought people from the Surface into Old Halcyon.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, as though trying to see into her very heart. “Walk with me for a moment,” he told her abruptly. “We need to talk.”
Sebastian stepped forward, but she stayed him with a soft press of her hand. She stared up at him and shook her head. “It’s all right,” she promised. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”
He frowned, but then he nodded. “I will wait for you, Rhoswen.” Forever, his eyes seemed to say.
Rhoswen brushed by Miranda, who glared at her with unmistakable warning, following Trevelan toward the back of the settlement. She hurried to keep up with his long-legged strides as they left the chatter of Old Halcyon’s new residents behind them.
“Why did you do it?” she asked hesitantly, still stunned by the change in him. “Why did you bring these people here?”
“They’re Miranda’s family. Her friends. They were freezing to death on the Surface. And I needed help to get the place up and running again.” He gave her a reproachful glance. “Since I find myself cut off from my own society, I am doing what I can to start a new one.”
“Very admirable,” she told him, and she meant it. “I fear if our situations had been reversed, I’d have spent far too much feeling sorry for myself to have even begun to think about the future.”
He gave her a half-smile as he opened the door to a building that had once been Old Halcyon’s library. “Somehow I doubt that.”
The vast, echoing chamber they entered had long ago been stripped of the treasures it had once held. All that remained were row after row of empty shelves.
“Over here,” he told her, leading her to a small chamber off the main room. “I found this on one of my first days here.”
An ancient book lay open upon a table, and he pointed to a spot on the page. “It’s a journal of life in Old Halcyon. Once you read this part, you’ll understand why they left it behind.”
Curious, she pressed up to the table and scanned the text. The blood slowly drained from her face. What she read rocked the entire foundation of her world.
The people of Old Halcyon had realized it would take forever to build their new city, so they had enlisted the help of hundreds of Surface people to do the difficult labor, promising them they’d all have a better life, once it was completed. But they’d already done the math, already figured out that Halcyon could never sustain such numbers, that even their own breeding would have to be altered…
“They killed them,” she whispered. “They killed all those people.”
He nodded grimly. “They didn’t want to take them, and they couldn’t leave them alive wi
th all their secrets.”
“Do you think my father knows this?” Her eyes welled with tears, and she blinked rapidly, devastated by the depths of the lies they’d all been told. Their peaceful, beautiful city had built on death and betrayal.
“Your father is a good man.” He squeezed her shoulder, offering her comfort. “I think they left this here because they wanted to pretend it never happened. They wanted to rewrite our past.”
“We have to go back,” she told him fiercely. “We have to let them know the truth.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to go back. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to stay here. I want to help these people.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” she told him gently. “I can see how much you love Miranda.”
He laughed bitterly. “A month ago I thought I loved you.”
“A lot of things can change in a month.”
“Your entire life can change,” he agreed. “I gave you every reason to believe I’d made those people sick, Rhoswen. I don’t blame you for leaving while you had the chance.”
Heat rose in her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze. “I’ll never forgive myself for believing the worst about you.”
“All that matters is that you came back.” He gave her a wan smile. “I’m sorry I was so angry when you arrived. You and Sebastian are welcome to stay here with us, if you like.”
She returned his smile. “Thank you. I’ll ask him.”
* * *
Sebastian watched Rhoswen and Trevelan return from the far side of Old Halcyon, his heart lifting with gladness as her gaze met his and a slow smile lifted her lips. His worst fears had been laid to rest. She had just spent nearly an hour closeted alone with her former chosen mate, yet her eyes still glowed with love for the Surface barbarian she had chosen instead.