and wait for us to rescue her?”
“We made a promise and we have to keep it,” Arran said.
“Aye, we did, and we will,” Royden confirmed.
“I need to settle, Hope, my horse, and feed her before I do anything else,” Arran said.
Royden gave a nod. “I have the perfect spot for her.
They walked off together worry over their sister still haunting them.
Arran barely entered the Great Hall when arms were flung around him and not expecting them, he shoved them off and his hand was at the man’s throat before he realized it was his da.
Arran released him instantly. “I’m sorry, Da.”
“Not your fault,” his da, Parlan, said between coughs to catch his breath. “I shouldn’t have come up behind you like that.” He spread his arms. “Can we try it again, son?”
Arran stepped into his da’s arms and was encased in a hug that instantly brought back memories of when he was a young lad and his da would hug him tight for a job well done or sometimes for no reason at all. Those times he knew his da hugged him for no other reason than to show his love. How was he going to be able to show his children such love when he had none to give?
When they parted, he tried to force at least a slight smile, but he couldn’t. Something in him wouldn’t let him.
“You look well, Da,” Arran said in lieu of a smile. He did look well, perhaps slightly thinner than he remembered, his white hair a little shorter, but otherwise unchanged from what he could see.
“Thanks to, Wren,” his da said and waved at a woman standing off to the side for her to join them.
Arran noticed how his da’s face lit with a wide grin when he looked at Wren and the way he took her hand to tuck her close beside him made it apparent that he cared deeply for the woman. And Wren was a fine looking woman, bright red hair with traces of white running through it, lovely green eyes and a pretty face. She also stood almost as tall as his da, though his da somehow seemed shorter than he remembered him. Royden was the tallest and he recalled being about the same height as his da, but now he was taller than his da, not far from Royden’s height. Maybe it was the way he’d learned to carry himself so that others would either respect or fear him, while the burden of the last few years had been too heavy a weight on his da’s shoulders.
“It is good to have you home, Arran,” Wren said, her smile welcoming.
“And it is good to meet you and a debt I owe you for saving my da’s life,” Arran said.
Wren reached out and touched his arm. “The only thing you owe me, and I know one day you will give me, is a smile.”
Arran stared at her speechless. He recalled her prediction about his family being torn apart and brought back together again. Once Raven returned, her words would ring true. Could she be right, that one day he would find a reason to smile?
“We hear you and Purity are to be congratulated,” Wren said.
“We’re so happy for you, son,” his da said.
“We wed out of necessity,” Arran explained.
Wren smiled softly as she glanced to Purity. “She wed you out of love, cherish it for it comes from a deeply kind heart.”
“Da,” Royden called and Parlan hurried off.
“I don’t deserve her or her love,” Arran whispered, his eyes on his wife.
Wren’s hand went to rest on his arm again. “You do deserve her and she deserves you, but you need to learn that yourself to finally believe it.” She dropped her hand off him. “We should join the others and celebrate—family.”
Will I ever be able to love her? The question remained in his head, never reaching his lips.
Wren smiled. “Your heart holds that answer and all you have to do is listen to it.”
How had she known what he was thinking? And how did he listen to a heart that was silent?
He joined his family at the table as he had done endless times before, only this time he sat next to his wife.
“Eat, talk, and enjoy, then I’ll have baths prepared for all of you,” Oria said.
“I need to see King and Princess fed,” Purity said.
“Bethany will see them fed outside,” Royden said, waving a servant over to attend to the cat and dog.
“I’ll tend to them myself,”