By Vengeance Guided (The Lost Shrines Book 1) (23 page)

She forced a smile to reassure her hesitant friend though it faltered a little when Nel handed her the rune covered blanket. There was nothing left untouched by the memory of Caerwyn, Lord of Alwyn and Lia was going to have to learn to live with the ghost of her feelings for him.

The walk through the forest was long and dark, despite the bright glow of the moon lighting her path. Everything felt darker lately.

The bond twinged along with her melancholy and she wondered if she'd feel it after, like the phantom limb of some old soldier long after the leg was lost. The closer she got to the Circle, the closer she felt to Wyn. Was it the magic of the place where the bond was created?

Then a shadow moved, disengaging from one of the standing stones and a voice she'd never thought she'd hear again whispered her name.

Familiar voice, familiar warm tingle of heat, familiar rush of emotion flowing along the bond.

Wyn stood outside the Circle, features shadowed by the trees that filtered the bright silver light. She watched him in silence until he shifted from foot to foot, hands curling and uncurling at his sides.

The longer she remained silent, the more he fidgeted until he finally stepped forward into the light and spoke. "I know you weren't expecting me back here. We never talked about what to do with the moon-bond."

"That's why you're here?" Lia asked, when she finally found her voice. "To talk?"

"Not exactly." He took another uncertain step forward and Lia swayed. She wanted to move closer to him even knowing she should step away. Instead, she remained rooted in place.

"I don't want this, us, to end," he continued. "For years, vengeance has been the driving force in my life. But that changed when I came here. And I didn't even notice it. Until I left."

Wyn sighed and he pushed his hand through his hair.

"You were right about the pull of the moon-bond fading with distance. It didn't drag at me, the way I expected. The way it did in the beginning."

A sharp inhale followed the pain spiking through her. Lia knew he was right, but it hurt to hear it all the same.

"My heart did, though. And so did my body. You were like a lodestone, pulling my attention every second I was away from you."

Another step brought him so near all she had to do was reach out her hand. She'd be able to touch him. To hold him. To pull him close.

But she couldn't. There were so many reasons why she couldn't have what she wanted. A valley full of reasons. They hadn't changed just because her feelings had.

"We can't… The people are even more wary of outsiders now…they won't accept… I can't…"

It was Wyn who did the reaching out, his hand brushing back her hair, sliding along her jaw to cradle her face with feather-light tenderness.

"You said the Goddess let me into the Circle the first time. If she does it again, if she blesses our bond, there's not much those miserly farmers can say. Not one of them would gainsay the wisdom of the Goddess."

Lia closed her eyes, trying not to let want bolster the hope he was kindling in her heart. She couldn't help turning her face into the soft caress even as she tried to argue.

"What about Hafgan? He's still out there."

"The Hounds have been tasked with the search. This would be a perfect place to coordinate and plan while they hunt."

"But Alwyn. Your people…"

"I'd have to visit a few times a year. It would probably be the most time I've spent there since my parents died. Maybe, once Tanis reaches her maturity, we could split the year. Part here, part there."

He turned then, moving her so she was closer to the ruins and then he took a step back, hands resting at his sides. His voice, though, strained with tension.

"Invite me into the Circle, Lia. Invite me into your life."

She held her breath, a thousand conflicting thoughts, questions, reasons rattled through her head.

Then a glimmer of something golden rose and bloomed. Calm rippled out from her center as indecision fell away. The Goddess guided and Lia relaxed into the embrace when she stepped back into the Circle.

*****

The ability to breathe was beyond him as Caerwyn watched her sort through a multitude of emotions. Everything he wanted hung on this moment.

Then her features smoothed out, the tension in her body disappeared and she took a fluid, graceful step back. He had to lock every muscle tight to keep from following her into the Circle.

She smiled, a bright, open, welcoming smile and reached out her hand.

He whooped with laughter and sprinted into the Circle, ignoring her hand and sweeping her up into a tight, unbreakable embrace.

Their lips collided, her hands tangled in his hair and he pulled her as close against his body as he could manage. His tongue dipped into her mouth and she teased and tempted him with pleasure. He chased the taste of her, drowning and enjoying every second of his immersion in her.

Around them, energy crackled and a faint hint of silver shimmered in the air.

When she pulled back, he scrabbled to keep her close, to hold on, moaning in protest.

"I have to complete the ritual. And then…"

"Then we can bond for life. I'm guessing that doesn't mean I get out of the wedding melee, though, huh?"

She laughed and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. "If it were up to me… But Nel is never going to let either of us get away with that."

Reluctantly, he released her and stepped back. Watched her set out her altar items and murmur words, felt the energy within the Circle become nearly unbearable and yet so very familiar.

When she was done, Lia turned to him. The silver shimmer came from inside her, not just resting on her skin. She slid back into his arms and he eased her to the ground. The glow, the electric tingle of unfamiliar magic, engulfed him too.

When lips met lips, skin met skin, the bond connecting them exploded open. Love and hope, want and need raced between and Caer knew, without a doubt, no matter what obstacles got in their way, the future was theirs.

Together, they'd forge a path with the hand of the Goddess guiding them.

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Book Two, BY DESTINY BOUND, will be available in November 2016