Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
The Dungeon
An Unexpected Turn of Events
Bria woke slowly, warm and comfortable despite the cold stone dungeon.
For several moments she remained still, reluctant to open her eyes fully.
Sleep had wrapped around her deeply during the night, stealing her away from thoughts she had not wanted to face.
Now they waited patiently for her return.
She shifted slightly and immediately felt the steady rise and fall of Kaelan’s chest against her. Memories of a few hours ago returned; the troll, the fortress, Ogga, and the fact that she had fallen asleep cradled securely in her husband’s lap.
Husband.
The word lingered in her thoughts. It should have brought a smile to her face, but instead, a strange ache settled inside her.
Bria kept her eyes closed, trying not to think.
She listened, trying to distract her thoughts with a sound, any sound.
Somewhere beyond the iron door, water dripped steadily in the darkness.
Occasionally distant footsteps echoed faintly through the stone corridors.
Otherwise, silence surrounded them. And so, her thoughts wandered.
Kaelan had not moved. One of his arms remained wrapped securely around her waist while the other rested loosely across her legs. Through the long night he had held her, protected her, and loved her.
The realization brought warmth to her heart, but it also made the ache grow sharper.
Bria slowly opened her eyes. Darkness still filled much of the cell. Only the faintest glow slipped through the narrow opening in the iron door whenever a torch flickered somewhere beyond it.
She stared at the stone wall opposite her and finally allowed herself to admit what she had spent the night trying not to feel… disappointed.
The admission alone brought a sting of guilt. Kaelan had done what he believed necessary to protect her. Nay, not simply believed, he had protected her.
The moment he realized the danger, he acted without hesitation. He had sacrificed what should have been a cherished memory for both of them to ensure her safety. She understood and appreciated it and loved him all the more for it.
Yet understanding did not change how she felt.
She could not help but think how different it would have been if they had remained in the cottage where they could have taken their time. Where they could have come to know each other intimately, grown comfortable with each other, and spoken of the future that awaited them.
Never had she thought that joining with her husband for the first time would be shared on a cold stone floor while danger rushed toward them. Never with fear pressing at her from every side.
Bria sighed softly. The troubling part was not the disappointment itself. It was how quickly she tried to dismiss it.
Her entire life had been spent easing the worries of others. She soothed frightened children, grieving mothers, anxious husbands, and lonely elders. Whenever pain touched someone, her first instinct was to help carry it.
But when sorrow belonged to her?
She always pushed it aside, gave it no thought as if it were not important.
As though her own feelings mattered less than everyone else’s.
The realization unsettled her more than she cared to admit.
Perhaps that was why Kaelan unsettled her as well.
He never seemed willing to let her hide from her own feelings.
“You are thinking too hard.”
Kaelan’s voice startled her and she watched as he opened his eyes, not heavy from sleep, but wide awake.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said.
A faint smile touched his mouth. “I was.”
The answer immediately made her suspicious. “You were not.”
“A short while perhaps.” His hand brushed gently through a loose strand of her hair.
The tenderness of the gesture nearly undid her.
“You are troubled.”
She shook her head. “Nay.”
Kaelan’s brow lifted.
She sighed. “Perhaps a little.”
“More than a little.”
His voice held far too much confidence.
Bria frowned at him. “You sound remarkably certain.”
“I know exactly what troubles you.”
That caught her attention. “You do?”
“I do,” he said firmly. “And I suspect you are already preparing to convince yourself it should not.”
Bria looked away from him. The frustrating part was that he was right.
“I understand why you did it,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
His answer surprised her enough that she looked back at him. There was no defensiveness in his voice. No attempt to explain himself, only understanding.
“You know?” she asked.
Kaelan nodded slowly. “Aye. I know you understand.” He brushed the stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “And I know that understanding does not change how you feel.”
Bria swallowed hard. “Nay, it does not.”
The simple admission seemed far louder than the words themselves.
For several moments neither spoke, the silence between them feeling strangely comfortable. As though she no longer needed to protect him from her feelings.
“I am disappointed,” she admitted, the words bringing an immediate sting to her eyes. Not because she regretted saying them, but because she finally had.
Kaelan’s gaze never left hers. “You have every right to be.”
Bria blinked in surprise. That had not been the response she expected.
“You do not intend to argue with me?”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“Nay.”
“Explain why it was necessary?”
“Nay.”
“Remind me that you were protecting me?”
“I believe we have already established that.”
Despite herself, Bria felt the corner of her mouth twitch.
Kaelan’s expression softened. “You are disappointed because something precious was taken from us.”
His words settled gently between them.
He hadn’t said, not taken by him. He’d said taken from them and that distinction mattered.
“I wanted better for you,” he continued. “For us.”
The honesty in his voice tightened her throat.
“I wanted a place where you felt safe. A place where we could take our time. A place where your first memories as my wife would not include a prison cell beneath a witch’s fortress.”
Bria laughed softly, though tears threatened her eyes. “When you say it aloud, it sounds even worse.”
“Aye, it does,” he agreed.
That earned a genuine smile from her, one that quickly faded.
“I feel guilty for being disappointed.”
Kaelan frowned. “Why?”
The question caught her off guard.
“Because you did it to protect me.”
“And?”
Bria stared at him. “And… because I should be grateful.”
His answer came without hesitation. “You are grateful, but you can be disappointed as well, Bria.”
She fell silent. No one had ever said such a thing to her. Perhaps because no one had ever needed to. Or perhaps because she had never allowed them.
“You spent your life helping others carry what troubles them,” Kaelan said. “Yet whenever something troubles you, you convince yourself it is not important enough to matter.”
Bria glanced down at her hands. “I do not know how to do otherwise.”
Kaelan slipped a finger beneath her chin and gently lifted her face to his. “It is time you did, wife, and your husband will make sure of it. You are not alone, Bria. We are one now and that means we share joy and burdens alike.”
She hadn’t realized how burdensome carrying her own worries alone had become, never thinking of sharing them with another. Or that someone would even want to share in her worries. To Kaelan it could be no other way, they shared, good or bad, they shared.
She kissed his lips lightly and whispered, “I want to share it all with you.”
Something warm flared instantly in Kaelan’s eyes and he tugged her closer against him.
Before she could draw another breath, he kissed her.
The kiss began gently but it did not remain that way.
All the love, relief, and longing that had built between them seemed to flow effortlessly into it. Bria melted against him, one hand sliding to his shoulder.
For a few precious moments, the cold dungeon and everything beyond it ceased to matter. Only Kaelan mattered, only them.
He pulled his lips away from hers reluctantly, then rested his brow against hers as he fought to steady his breathing.
“Too soon,” she said, breathless herself.
A low groan escaped him. “Wife, if we continue kissing, and believe me when I say I very much wish to continue kissing you, there is a strong chance we will repeat the events of a few hours ago.”
Heat rushed to Bria’s cheeks, and the wicked smile that touched his mouth told her he enjoyed that reaction far too much.
Then a familiar sound echoed faintly through the corridor beyond the cell, heavy footfalls that grew steadily closer.
Kaelan closed his eyes briefly and shook his head.
“The troll,” Bria said, the kiss allowing her, if only briefly, to forget where they were.
“Aye,” Kaelan agreed. “And I suspect he has not come to bring us breakfast.”
Bria got to her feet with a little help from her husband and as soon as he stood, he took hold of her hand.
“I will get us out of here,” he said with such determination and confidence that Bria believed him.
The troll arrived and without ceremony unlocked the cell door and motioned for them to follow. He led them through a maze of stone corridors and winding staircases that seemed to climb endlessly upward from the depths beneath the fortress.
By the time they reached the upper levels, Bria no longer knew which direction they traveled. The fortress itself felt much like Driochmor. Nothing seemed quite as it should.
At last, the troll pushed open a pair of enormous wooden doors.
A Great Hall stretched beyond. Long tables occupied the center of the room while a massive hearth burned brightly at the far end.
Tall windows allowed gray daylight to spill across the stone floor.
Most surprising of all was the food. Platters of roasted meat, fresh bread, fruit, and cheeses covered one of the tables.
Bria stared bewildered.
The troll grunted. “You eat.” Then he turned and lumbered away.
Bria looked to Kaelan. “Do we trust the generous offer?”
“Let’s find out.”
Kaelan leaned over the table and sniffed the meat, the bread, the cider, absolutely everything there.
He finally nodded. “No poison.”
Her brow wrinkled in surprise. “You can truly smell poison?”
A faint smile touched his mouth. “The beast has advantages.” His smile faded quickly. “Eat but remain cautious.”
He slid onto the bench after he helped her sit, keeping close.
“Any idea of what Ogga intends to do with us?” Bria asked, reaching for a slice of bread, the delicious scents far too tempting to ignore.
His gaze swept the hall, ever watchful as he spoke. “It depends on what she wants from us. Some witches can be vengeful.”
Bria stared at him, looking as if she was ready to speak yet remaining silent.
“You wonder how I know about witches,” he said.
“And Driochmor,” Bria added. “You walk its paths as if familiar with it.”
Kaelan stabbed a piece of meat with one of the knives on the table. “I did, many years ago, when I was a young lad, before magic was banished.”
Once again, her thoughts turned deep as she calculated in her mind, finally asking, “How old are you?”
“That’s a discussion for another time,” he said and took a bite of the meat.
It wasn’t long before the great doors opened, conversation dying instantly between them.
Ogga entered the hall. She moved with calm confidence, dressed in deep green robes embroidered with silver thread that shimmered when she walked. She looked more regal now than last night, her silver hair neatly braided.
She did not enter alone. A young man accompanied her. There was a youthfulness to his features, so she doubted he was close in age to Kaelan. He was broad-shouldered and powerfully built. Dark hair brushed his shoulders while confidence radiated from him as naturally as breathing.
Something about him made Kaelan go utterly still.
The young man’s gaze settled on Kaelan and for one moment neither moved. Then the young man’s eyes flashed gold.
Kaelan’s did as well.
The man was Thornek and judging by the look that passed between them… they knew each other.
It was then Bria realized who the man must be, the beast that Kaelan hunted.
The young man seemed entirely unconcerned by the revelation. He stood comfortably beside Ogga, his arms folded across his broad chest while he regarded Kaelan with open amusement.
“You are surprised to see me here?”
Kaelan’s expression remained hard. “I am disappointed, Braden.”
Braden’s smile faded slightly.
Bria looked between them. “So, you know each other.”
“Aye,” Kaelan said.
The answer carried enough weight to tell her there was far more to the story.
Braden gave a careless shrug. “We were raised in neighboring villages.”
That did not surprise her, but to confirm, she asked, “You are Thornek?”
The man inclined his head. “As is your husband.”
The word husband seemed to amuse him.
Bria ignored it. “Aye, I am well aware of that. But why does Kaelan hunt you?”
The hall grew noticeably quieter and Ogga’s smile made it obvious she was enjoying the exchange.
Braden laughed softly. “A fair question, since Thornek never hunt their own.” His gaze shifted to Kaelan. “I will leave the telling to you.”
Kaelan didn’t hesitate. “He betrayed the tribe.”
Braden’s expression hardened. “I offered my people an opportunity.”
“Call it what it is, Braden—betrayal.”
The accusation landed like a sharp blow, and Bria felt tension coil tightly through the room.
Braden did not back down, he took a step forward. “Tharne, Warlord of Drogath, offered our tribe land.”
“Tharne, a man known for his lies, offered you land,” Kaelan corrected.
“At least, he promised the Thornek a place in the future.”
Kaelan’s voice turned dangerously calm. “Tharne’s promises are worth less than the mud beneath my boots.”
Silence followed.
Bria understood then. This was not merely a disagreement. This was a division that had torn through the Thornek themselves.
“You wasted your time coming after me, Kaelan. I won’t go back with you. I want more. More than what the tribe offers me.”
“No Thornek is forced to remain with the tribe, but all who left have returned,” Kaelan said.
Braden turned a smug grin on him. “That won’t be me.”
“A pity. But you also know that betrayal tears at the hearts of the Thornek and that it cannot go unpunished.”
Braden’s smug smile remained. “I counted on it.”
Before anyone could speak further, the great doors opened and a cold draft swept in bringing with it a man.
Ogga smiled.
Bria’s stomach tightened instantly. She recognized the man who entered. Not from meeting him, but from a vision.