eyes glazed with emotion. He rose and went to her and took her hands into his own. “I’m sorry you suffered so. But now you’re home, surrounded by beauty and by love. I need you to forgive me so that you can get on with your life.”
Willow smiled and embraced him. “I do forgive you. But…you must step down and let Caleb take his rightful place as King of Predaria.” She lifted her head to look into her father’s eyes. “He has sworn to me that your life would be spared.”
Baltrasard stared into his daughter’s dark eyes, then pulled her head against his shoulder and rested his chin in her hair. “I love you, Willomenia. But you are a fool,” he said and then left the room.
The palace guard announced Seth’s approach. Willow waited by the doors to greet him.
“Where have you been?” she called out as he dismounted. “You’ve been gone for two-days and didn’t even tell me you were going.” Watching him, Willow had to admit he was a handsome man, striding toward her with an impish smile on his face, his eyes as clear as a summer stream against his tanned skin.
“I went to find you this,” he announced, pulling a small leather book from his pocket.
“A Holy Bible,” she breathed. She took it and held it to her chest. “Oh, Seth!” She threw herself into his arms for a tight embrace. “Thank you! Oh, thank you, Seth.”
Seth held her. He took his time inhaling the soft scent of her skin. And doing so, he knew that Willow was meant to be in his arms, and now that he had her there, he was never going to let her go.
Chapter 31
Shauna stepped into the sitting room carrying a large plate filled with piping hot wheat cakes smothered in warm honey. Blending with the soft golden glow of candlelight, the delectable aroma of the freshly baked cakes warmed the cottage and made both Caleb and Jonas smile when she laid the tray on the small table in front of them.
“Don’t eat yet.” She flapped her finger at both of them. “Let me get the tea.”
“Do you need help?” her brother called out as she disappeared around the doorway. “Jonas, go help her.”
“What? And leave the cakes with you?”
“Why not? The wheat flour came from my fields.”
“And the eggs came from my chickens,” Jonas retorted with a quick slap to the back of Caleb’s head.
“You strike your king?” Caleb asked in wide-eyed amazement that made Jonas laugh.
“Tonight, you’re only my brother in marriage, so be careful.”
“I knew I never should have permitted her to marry you,” Caleb shot back, glancing at those cakes. “It was more peaceful around here with Ermile.”
Jonas regarded Caleb with a knowing smile that gleamed his eyes with mischief. “Whatever happened to him, anyway?”
Caleb shrugged his shoulders but didn’t look at his large friend while he broke off a piece of one cake and popped it into his mouth.
“What did you do to him, Caleb?” Jonas admonished.
“Nothing,” Caleb rebuffed him with a look. “He’s living a very happy life in Hadvarti.”
Shauna returned with a tray and set the tea down carefully on the table next to the cakes. “Thank you both for your chivalrous assistance.”
Caleb felt her eyes on him as he chewed on a cake. She took at seat opposite them and he smiled softly. He felt a little bit better since being home. He’d even harvested a small portion of his fields. But he was leaving again soon. He had come home for Jonas and Shauna’s official wedding and stayed a while longer to harvest. It was the threshing and winnowing that revived him a bit, bringing a spark of something other than raw fury back to his eyes. But he had not recovered from losing Willow. He never would. He wasn’t ready to stop looking.
“Caleb,” Jonas said with a mouthful of wheat and honey. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you tomorrow. I don’t like you going all the way to Lionese by yourself.”
“I won’t be by myself, Pethar is going with me. And besides you need to stay here and finish building your house. Please,” he added exhaustively, and his sister laughed. He was grateful to his friend and his sister for helping him search for Willow, but since they’d returned home, they watched him like two hawks, anticipating some self-inflicted disaster. Why, he was lucky if he was able to relieve himself without the prying eyes