Beneath a Midnight Moon - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,117
strange, after all she’d been through.
“And Carrick?” Sharilyn asked.
“I think he needs you.”
Sharilyn glanced at Kylene again. Dared she leave the girl to go to her husband? And yet, how could she stay? She couldn’t begin to imagine the pain, the anguish, Carrick must be feeling. Taking Selene’s life must have been like destroying a part of himself.
“Go,” Hardane said. “He shouldn’t be alone. And he’ll want you there beside him when he resumes the throne.”
“He was right,” Sharilyn mused. “He was right all along.”
“About what?”
“When he asked me to marry him, he remarked that maybe it wasn’t your sons at all, but our marriage, that would forge a lasting peace between our countries.”
“It would seem he was right, mother mine. Because of your marriage to Carrick, peace will come to Argone and Mouldour far sooner than anyone expected.”
Sharilyn smiled. “And my grandsons will be able to grow up and rule in a land blessed with peace.”
“You’d best go now,” Hardane said. “Carrick sails with the dawn tide.”
“He’ll wait for me,” Sharilyn said with a knowing smile.
Hardane grinned. “So, the bond is already forming.”
Sharilyn nodded. “And you, my son, may soon have a little brother.”
Hardane stared after his mother as she left the hall, but there was no time to ponder her words. Sweeping Kylene into his arms, he carried her upstairs.
A tub filled with scented water awaited her. A cozy fire crackled in the hearth. The covers had been turned down, and a hot brick had been placed at the foot of the bed to warm it. A pot of tea and a plate of honey bread sat on a tray by the bedside.
Kylene stood quiescent as Hardane undressed her, then lifted her into the tub. Gently, he washed her, his gaze lingering on her breasts as he imagined his sons suckling there.
When he looked up, he saw that she was crying. Her tears, as silent as the night, filled him with pain.
Lifting her from the tub, he dried her off, and then, wrapping her in a blanket, he sat beside the hearth with her in his arms.
And still the tears came.
Feeling helpless, he stroked her hair while she cried, shedding bitter tears for the sister who had hated her so much that she had tried to kill her, weeping for the father who had sacrificed one daughter to save another.
Attuned as he was to her every thought, the depths of her sorrow pierced Hardane’s very soul.
He held her all through the night, until her body’s need for rest overcame her grief and she fell asleep in his arms.
Chapter 51
Kylene gazed into the darkness, her lips pressed together to still the cry that rose in her throat.
She was in his arms and nothing could hurt her. She repeated the litany until the spasm passed. How long, she wondered, how many hours had passed since the first twinge awoke her? How long had it been since that first mild twinge turned into claws that threatened to tear her apart?
She gasped as another pain knifed through her, sharper than any of the others.
In the grip of a strong contraction, she could only grasp his arm.
“Kylene?”
“It . . . it hurts.”
“I know,” he said. And he did know. He could feel it, the pain that started low in her back, gathering in intensity as it swept forward.
“When did it start?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
She groaned softly, certain she was going to die. She felt Hardane’s hands gently turning her on her side, felt his strong fingers begin to knead the tension from her back and shoulders.
When the contraction was over, he slid out of bed and lit a fire in the hearth. Then, giving a tug on the bell pull, he summoned Hadj, instructing her to fill a pot with water, to bring Kylene a cup of watered wine.
When that was done, he returned to Kylene. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her hand in his, felt her body tense as another contraction ripped through her.
There was a knock at the door, and then Hadj entered the room. She placed the pot of water on the hearth to warm, then handed Hardane a small cup of wine.
“Shall I stay, my lord?” she asked, trying not to stare at Kylene, who was writhing on the bed.
“No. Send Teliford after Druidia.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Kylene clutched at his arm. “You won’t leave me?”
“No, lady.”
He brushed a wisp of hair from her brow, felt the shudders that racked her