Chapter 25
A s she had done many times, Liana sat at the table in her bedchamber attempting to ensure Darien’s safety. If rumors were true, and King Stephen’s son had actually died, she hoped and prayed that was the death she’d foretold. Darien must be safe. She would know if he had been killed, would she not?
Instead, the runes offered only hints, and none of them were new to her. Sighing, Liana nearly finished her reading and her breath caught, her fingers brushing against the final rune—a sign she’d seen only rarely, but always with consequence.
The stone’s markings spoke of change, a profound shift, something that would alter Darien’s path irrevocably. She frowned, noting the dark, jagged lines forming around the rune that symbolized his bloodline. Fates twisting in unexpected ways, roots breaking, and...loss.
Her stomach clenched as the vision sharpened. She could see a figure—noble, resolute, with a presence that cast a shadow over Darien’s life. And that shadow, she realized, was fading.
“Liana!”
The knock at her door was so loud, she jumped from her seat. Putting the runes’ meaning aside, Liana ran to it, knowing before she opened it somehow.
They were back.
And Darien was alive. She had felt his anguish just then, reading her runes.
“They are back,” Evelina cried. “Their riding party was spotted in the village, coming this way.”
“Do we know?—”
“Nay, we do not. Only that they return. Hurry.”
Liana ran to her runes and, putting them inside the leather pouch her mother had given her as a child, she tucked it away before joining Evelina. Together, as it seemed many of Castle Blackwood’s inhabitants were doing, they made their way down to the hall and into the courtyard that had served as her home. Winter had arrived in truth, the cold, gray day reminding her that she’d forgotten her cloak.
It mattered not. As they stood among the others—recruits all chattering among themselves, continuing to speculate about Eustace’s death—she looked for one man.
“Do we see them yet?” Elara asked, joining them.
“Nay.” Evelina peeked above the others, but they could see nothing.
Liana knew the moment their party entered the courtyard. While she still could not see them, cheers began to rise from the men around them, recruits from all across England who had made Castle Blackwood their temporary homes as they risked their lives for the future of their country they believed in.
“There they are,” Evelina said as, one by one, the faces of the twenty men who rode out to Castle Wallingford came into view. Still mounted, Liana could see them clearly now. Sir Eamon at the lead, but no sign of the others.
Until . . .
“I see them,” Elara cried. Liana had spotted all four men, together, bringing up the rear, at the same time. She nearly broke out in tears spotting Darien for the first time. She could not take her gaze from his face. He was looking through the crowd, and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, their eyes met.
At that moment, Darien dismounted, the first to do so. She could no longer see him, but a moment later, she realized why. Darien stood in front of her. His arms wrapped around her in an embrace unlike any other. She held onto him, never wishing to let go.
If anyone thought their embrace odd, none commented on it. By now, Gareth and Alden had dismounted as well and reunited with Evelina and Elara, though she did not see Roland or Amalia anywhere.
“To the hall,” she heard Sir Eamon’s voice say above the crowd. “An announcement.”
As the others began to move, they did not. Darien had not let Liana go yet, and neither did she wish for it. “I would kiss you,” he said. “But do not wish to cause further scandal.”
Darien did pull back then to look at her face, as if memorizing it.
“Further scandal?”
“Further than the one that will ensue when we return to Ely and I make you my wife.”
It was only for a moment, but his words sank in quickly. Liana’s eyes widened.
“We can determine a path forward together. I cannot see the future, as you can, but know mine is with you by my side. I love you, Liana, and never wish to be parted from you again.”
I love you, Liana.
Naught else mattered. She’d once been afraid to share her gifts with the world, for fear of persecution, but after these past weeks, Liana feared nothing as much as being without Darien beside her.
“I love you, Darien. And would be honored to call you husband.”
He kissed her then. The feel of his lips, no matter how scandalous, made all of her apprehension fall away. As the courtyard cleared, she did not wish to leave his arms and told him so. But.. “The announcement,” she reminded him.
Darien smiled. “You already know what Sir Eamon will tell the others.”
A chill ran through her. “Do you mean?”
He nodded.
“Tell me.”
“The lord of Wallingford accepted your vision and admitted they had thought as much. With Matilda in Normandy, having given the reins of her cause to Henry, some had begun to see him as the next heir, and not his mother. When I spoke to him, FitzCount strengthened his resolve and negotiated with Stephen in earnest, but his son refused to accept it.”
“But then he died?”
“Aye. News of that reached you?”
“It did, though it was not verified. But I’d seen it already and knew it to be true.”
“You saw Eustace’s death?”
She shuddered. “I did, but knew not who it was at first. I thought perhaps...”
Liana could not continue.
“You thought it could have been me?” He wiped away a single tear that had escaped from Liana’s eye down her cheek.
She nodded. “Aye.”
“I am safe,” he reassured her. “And here with you. Did I not promise you I would return?”
She offered him a shaky smile. “You did.”
“After his death, there was little resistance remaining. Henry himself came to Wallingford.”
“You saw him?”
“I did. Took a meal in the hall with him. The next day, the treaty was signed, Stephen recognizing Henry as his adopted son and successor in return for his homage to him as the current king. William renounced his claim to the throne and is set to pay homage to Henry at Winchester in exchange for the security of his lands. There are more details to the treaty?—”
“Which I will learn later. I wish only to be alone with you.”
“Do you? Why, pray tell, does my betrothed wish for such a thing?”
She laughed at his flirtation. “So that you may kiss me again, more freely.”
“You wish only to kiss me?”
Liana shook her head.
“You may be too shy to say the words, but I am not. I wish to kiss you, on the mouth.” He leaned toward her, whispering into her ear despite the lack of any presence around them. “And every other part of you before I make you mine, in truth, this eve. There will be no question whether or not we will marry, because, after this eve, you will no longer be a virgin, Liana. You will be mine. Tonight, and always.”
She swallowed. Darien was a man of his word, that much she knew. And so, for better or worse, their course was set, and Liana did not wish to turn away from it.
From their destiny that would be as entwined as she had envisioned.