threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly. “I’ll never forget what you did for me.”
When he finally withdrew, he looked past her and met Jonas’ eyes. Seth smiled, no longer fearing the Warriors. Willow was afraid to breathe, not knowing who it was Seth was smiling at.
“Hello, Princess.”
She smiled first, then spun around and leapt into Jonas’ arms.
“I’m so glad you came back,” he choked, holding back his tears.
“Me too,” she whispered into his neck.
He planted her feet back on the ground and looked at Seth. “Willow would have been sold if it weren’t for you, or maybe dead if you hadn’t found her father.” Jonas offered his hand to Seth. “You have found a friend in Shondravar always.”
Seth shook his hand and glanced at Willow. “Tell Caleb that…I’m sorry for everything, will you?”
Jonas nodded. “I’ll tell him you brought her back.”
“No,” Seth said, shaking his head. “She was here all along.” He turned to his horse and leaped into the saddle.
“Seth, where will you go?” she called out.
He turned and smiled at her. “I’ll find something to keep me busy. Maybe I’ll travel in search of your Yahweh.”
She smiled at him “You don’t have to search. He’s as close as your skin.”
Jonas and Willow watched him leave, then Jonas laughed and looked down at her sparkling eyes. “I’d love to see his face when he sees you. Can I hide somewhere and watch?”
But Willow didn’t laugh. “I’m afraid, Jonas.”
Jonas only smiled. He ran his fingers along her cheek. “Don’t be. Don’t be afraid at all.”
“Willow flower? Is that you?” Martin squinted his blue eyes, trying to see better, then his mouth opened wide in a toothless grin and he slapped his knee. “I knew you’d come back, yes I did!”
“Martin!” Willow practically screamed, breaking away from Jonas’ grasp. “You stayed?” She ran to him and his frail arms came around her. A moment later, he held her away to get a better look at her.
“Ah, you’re a sight for my old eyes, Willow flower.”
“Oh Martin,” she hugged him again. “I’m so glad you’re here. Isn’t Shondravar just wonderful.”
“It’s Eden, Willow flower, just like you said. That’s my cottage right over there. Caleb gave it to me the first night I arrived.”
Willow followed his finger and smiled at the quaint stone cottage down the road, loving Caleb even more than she thought possible.
“Started a garden too,” he added proudly. “Jonas brought me back some soil from Theshwar.”
“That’s wonderful. Martin.” Willow took his hands. “I’d love to see it, but first…” She bit her lip.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked. Then he looked at Jonas. “Is he back?”
The Warrior nodded. “He came back last night. He should be in the fields by now.”
The wheat fields, Willow thought of them and her heart beat wildly in her chest. She couldn’t wait to see them again. She turned to Jonas. “Should I go?”
“Oh, princess, you should run,” he urged her quietly.
And she did, past his cottage, toward the hill. When she reached the church she went inside and spoke to God, thanking Him for all He’d done and would continue to do in her life.
When she finished, her feet carried her outside again as if she were weightless. When she reached the top of the hill, she threw her hands to her mouth. He wasn’t there and the dead stalks that bent toward the ground, looking as if despair had wearied them too long, pained her so greatly, she fell to her knees.
Then she saw her noble warrior. He was there all along, pulling the stalks from the ground. He blended with the fields so perfectly. He was golden and beautiful, bending over like the stalks that surrounded him. She understood completely now what her staying away had done to Caleb.
“Forgive me, Caleb,” she told him from the hill. And she could say nothing more. She had stayed away too long after she’d been rescued. But Willow knew she would give Caleb his life back.
She left the hill and stood before the fields. He hadn’t seen her yet, and she waited quietly watching him for a while. His bare arms and chest glistened bronze under the hot sun as he bent to his knees to inspect a stalk before gently pulling it from the ground.
She picked up his discarded tunic and held it to her nose, closing her eyes and losing herself in the wonderful, achingly familiar scent of him.
In the fields, Caleb straightened from his work and