34. Rourk
Chapter thirty-four
Rourk
I lead Galene back to her tent, where she can rest. Strained thoughts wrack my mind, as I know these will be my last moments in the village. ”Will you tell me about your daughter?” she asks.
I blink away my surprise. “You really want to know?”
She smiles. “Of course I do.”
My chest tightens at her expression, at the earnest honesty in her voice. So I say, “Her name is May. She… she doesn’t know I’m still alive yet. Arthur wants to be the one to break the news. The thought of her, my beautiful, caring, kind girl, devastated because of me is… unbearable.” I swallow thickly and continue, “Not a day would go by that she wouldn’t smile. She has a very big heart. Cares far more for others than she does herself, which worries me, but… she gets it from her mother. Same as the stubbornness.” I can’t help the smile that forms.
“She sounds lovely.”
“She is.” I throw an arm around Galene’s body, fighting back a wince. She sees it anyway.
“Are you okay? How’s your arm? ”
I sigh, tempted to lie but knowing that there’s no use in it. She’d just poke and prod until I gave her the truth. “Still hurts. But it’s bearable. I’m fine, really.”
“Are our healing salves helping?”
I nod. “Very much.” I pause, then add, “But a little whiskey from the Oathlands would help even more.” I give her a teasing smile.
She smiles back, but there’s something else in her expression that I can’t quite decipher. “Are you looking forward to being back home?” Galene asks as we sit by the dinner table, the sounds of the village fading within the tent. I sit myself on the same side of the table as her, so that our knees are close together. It’s so easy to be close and comfortable with her now, like all of our barriers are down.
“I am,” I say. “And I’m not.”
Her eyes are filled with unspoken words. I can feel how hard this is for us.
“I will miss the ways of your people,” I continue. “And the simpler life. But I was always going to go home. I can’t stay here.”
She perks up, her face hardening. “Who asked you to stay?”
I grin at her. “No one. I’m not assuming anything. I didn’t mean to-”
She chuckles. “You are cute when you’re unsure of your words.”
“And you are just cute,” I reply, grinning down at her .
We hold each other’s gaze for a long moment. I realize how much I’m going to miss her. And I realize there’s no way I can let her go.
But before we go on, I have to reveal the truth to her. Even if I know it’s going to make her hate me. She has to know the truth.
“I have something I need to tell you,” I say, my heavy voice telling her this is going to be serious. “About your mother.”
She grows tense.
“I told you before I had heard the name of the Oathlander, but did not know the man. Which is true, in a sense. There is a lot that I don’t know about my father.”
Galene freezes. “Your… father?”
I nod, squeezing my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. “Delton Alacante.” The last name feels foreign on my tongue. Arthur and I hardly ever speak it. “Alacante was my last name, before my brother and I disbanded from the royal line and took our mother’s maiden name instead.”
She inhales deeply, but says nothing.
“I know I should have told you sooner. Immediately, even. But you had just started looking at me as if I was more than an enemy, and I… I didn’t want to go back. I couldn’t risk ruining what was between us.”
She holds a hand in the air. “Hold on a moment, Rourk,” she murmurs. “I need to think.”
I nod and fall silent, though words pile up on my tongue. Apologies. Explanations. Excuses. I force them all back down my throat before I can blurt them out .
Galene is silent and reserved for a long moment, not showing any anger. Which unnerves me even more. A dark, withdrawn aura surrounds her.
Eventually, she says, “The sins of our parents should not govern us. I know there is a lot about my family I did not know about. Same for you and yours. I… I’m tired of hating your people, Rourk. I’m tired of feeling so much hate and anger. It eats away at me. It consumed me for so long. I’d forgotten what it was like to be happy until I grew closer to you. Until you reminded me what being safe and comfortable and happy felt like. I want…”
She clears her throat when her voice falters. “I want to be happy. But I don’t know if I can. I don’t know how to be happy anymore. To be honest, I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’ve been living in lies my entire life.”
I take her hand on the table and grip it gently. She squeezes back.
“I don’t hate you, Rourk. I wouldn’t want anyone to hate me for the actions of my father.”
“You are a remarkable woman,” I say. “I can… I mean, I could try to help you figure things out. I could stay. Well, I want to stay. But I know I can’t.” I shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“I know,” she says quietly, watching me carefully. Our eyes are glued to each other.
“Do you think your daughter would like me?” she asks, breaking the silence.
My heart jolts. “She would love you.”
My pulse rises as we stare at each other, having our own unspoken conversation. Is she saying what I think she’s saying ?
“It occurs to me that you Oathlanders may like to have a representative of The Shanti People, to help build the relationship between our people.” Galene has an overly innocent look on her face.
The corners of my mouth rise. I lean closer to her. “I think that’s a good idea.”
“Purely for the sake of our people, you understand. I could be an Advisor for the Shanti People.”
“Chief Advisor.”
She cocks an eyebrow.
I shrug. “It sounds better.”
“How about General Commander Advisor?” she suggests with a wicked grin.
That makes me laugh. “We’ll work on that.”
We’ve been inching closer to each other for some time. Our faces draw close enough for me to feel the pull of her, and how much we desire each other. How much we need each other. There is no way we’re going to part.
“What about Leila?” I ask. “And the boys?”
“I know,” she says, her brows creasing. “I will miss them. But I’m sure I will be visiting here as often as I can. They’ll understand. There is nothing else for me here.”
“You would move to the Oathlands?” I ask.
Her deep blue eyes draw me in. “I would.”
A wide grin spreads across my face. I’m going to be returning home with the woman I love.
“The world certainly has changed,” I say, my voice lowering.
“And it keeps on changing,” she whispers as we draw close enough to feel each other’s breaths.
“One day I’m going to stop being so surprised,” I say.
“Not today,” Galene mutters.
Our lips meet, and we kiss passionately and hungrily. She straddles my lap and I hold her close as we kiss. I stir at the feel of her. She gently presses herself against me as our passions rise.
She caresses my face as we stare at each other, connecting on a greater level than I’ve ever experienced.
This really is the start of a new world. And I’ve finally learned the true purpose of my being brought to the Shanti Village. To find my love.