Page 28 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)

If Only Tonight

Darien

Packing up the cargo truck had taken little to no time, leaving Darien with a lack of purpose as they all waited for Anara and Ishaan to return from their scouting mission.

They were meant to visit the farms in their vicinity and report back which farmers might seem most sympathetic to the Vienám’s cause.

Darien drummed his fingers on the log next to the ashes of last night’s fire.

Halvor sat near him, peering through his spectacles over the map of Perle once again.

The twins were checking the truck, if for no better reason than to occupy their time.

Larissa paced nearby. Though she’d wished Darien a good morning, she’d seem preoccupied and unwilling to meet his gaze. He could only attribute it to nerves.

“Couldn’t Haki and Jari drive us through the Wall?” Darien asked. “They’re still dressed like sentries.”

Larissa stopped pacing.

“Nowhere for us to hide in the back,” Halvor answered without looking up.

“He could say we’re prisoners.”

“No good either. They’ve been gone too long; by now I’m sure their absences have been reported. If they were recognized at the Wall, we’d lose the element of surprise. Be patient. Princess Anara will return shortly.”

Larissa’s pacing resumed. Darien rose, moving away from the road and back toward the trees. He tapped Larissa on the elbow. “Walk with me?”

She nodded, but still her eyes would not meet his. They went far enough to escape Halvor’s eyes and ears.

“What’s wrong?” Darien asked.

“I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know—” Larissa stopped, shaking her head. “What happened to Jari and Haki, to the Perlians, it’s my fault.”

“How is that your fault?”

“She was searching for me. Shiko punished them because I wasn’t there.”

He reached for her, his hands on her arms. “We never knew your mother was planning to send us to the Norn. We had no control over the situation. You can’t blame yourself.”

“What about before then? How often did we focus on our own wants, our own worries, that we all missed what Shiko was planning?”

He shook his head. “We were kids, Lov.”

“I was the Crown Princess, Darien. I was a descendant of Rúna and possessor of Ancestral Magic. I should’ve taken my mother more seriously when she spoke about the prophecy; I should’ve pushed her to explain so that I would know what I’m supposed to do to fix everything, but I didn’t.

I was too focused on the day she would present me to our people.

” She breathed in sharply. “I was too focused on you.”

Darien’s stomach squeezed at the memory of her hand in his, the low laugh that only he got to hear. “On me?”

“So much of my life was a lie meant to protect me, but you . . .” She paused, her lips pulling into a reluctant smile. “You were real. And when I was with you, I got to be real too. When I was with you, I didn’t care about prophecies or even my throne, I just cared about you.”

“And I just cared about you. Why are you making it sound like that’s a bad thing?”

“Your father would get so mad at you, even then. He said your duty was to the Safírians and not to me.”

Darien cradled her face in his hands and ran his thumb along her scarred cheek. Blood pumped through his heart in a way that was almost painful. “He was wrong.”

Looking pained, she pulled away from his touch. “Maybe he was right.”

Darien worked his jaw, hurt making his words harsh. “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the day before Aeron left to defend Smaragd?”

Bitterness seeped in Darien’s stomach, crawling up his throat.

“Aeron wanted you to go with him. You didn’t want him to leave without you, but you didn’t go with him because of me. If you’d gone, maybe things would be different. Maybe Aeron wouldn’t be—”

Calder , Darien’s thoughts finished. “Or maybe I would’ve turned out just like him, captured by Shiko’s armies.”

“We lost focus on our people. We were too focused on each other.”

Darien ran a hand through his hair. “What are you saying?”

She took a deep breath, seeming to steel herself. “There’s so much at stake, more than just rescuing Halla. These are our people, Darien, and they’ve been waiting for us for fifty years. They need us, and we can’t allow ourselves to become distracted.”

“Is that what I am?” Pain lay thick on his words. “A distraction?”

“No, but—” She sighed, struggling to speak. “You're the Crown Prince now, Darien. It changes things. Your first duty has to be to your people, just as mine must be to my people. We don’t have the luxury of putting our desires first anymore.”

Unwanted truth rang in her words. It was the same truth his father had tried to instill in him, and yet hearing it from Larissa made all the difference. She was fighting for her people, even as she fought for her sister. What was Darien fighting for?

Her , he thought. It’d been enough before. When he was younger, he’d been content to support Aeron as he prepared for the crown, to encourage Lovisa that her people would love her, to be a friend to Anara who needed nothing but his friendship. But now . . .

He’d all but given up on Aeron, convinced Calder had killed whatever part of Aeron remained.

If Aeron was truly gone, Darien would have to do whatever he could for his people; but in his heart, he wasn’t sure what that would entail, let alone if he would have the strength to sacrifice whatever it took.

If she could fight for her people and Halla, couldn’t he fight for his people and Larissa? “If this is about me taking the Crown—” he started.

“Your Highnesses, I—oh.” Halvor paused mid-step, having nearly bumped into them and looking up from the map still held in his hand while he adjusted his glasses with the other. “I don’t mean to intrude, but Princess Anara and General Ishaan have returned.”

Darien bit his tongue, resisting the urge to send the older man away. But Halla was too important; Perle was too important. Was this what his life would consist of from now? Ignoring his heart in favor of duty? “We’re coming.”

Halvor nodded, quickly heading back the way he’d come.

Darien grabbed Larissa’s hand before she could follow. “We’ll talk more later. Our people are important, but so are we.”

He let her hand fall, but she remained transfixed where she stood, staring at him as though she wanted to say something.

At the sound of Anara’s voice, she turned back toward the road, leaving Darien no choice but to follow.

The others huddled around Anara where she pored over a map she’d unrolled on top of the hood of the cargo truck.

Halvor drew an X on top of one of the nearest farms.

“—not that one.” Anara pointed at the X Halvor had just drawn.

“He’s ancient, and unkind to his farmhands.

He might turn us in if he thought it would earn him a free month’s rations.

We should visit the farms more to the south.

” At their approach, Anara looked up. A grin stretched across her face. “Ready to start a rebellion?”

Of the first three farms they visited, two families agreed to help their smaller group infiltrate the Wall with little need for persuasion.

Regardless of the farmers’ enthusiasm, Haki and Jari each remained with one of the families to ensure there would be no betrayal of their plans.

As the sun slid toward the horizon, exhaustion set into Darien’s bones.

The third farmer was proving to be less willing than the others.

“The Vienám is already on its way,” Havlor reassured the farmer and his wife. “There will be no repercussions from the Regent for aiding us. The Perle Princess will restore her kingdom to what it once was.”

The family huddled together in their kitchen.

The woman held a small boy in her arms, and an older girl cowered behind her father’s legs.

Anara had chosen them for the presence of the second-born the farmer attempted to pass off as belonging to one of his farm hands, but it seemed only to backfire.

Darien couldn’t blame him for his wariness.

“I can’t risk my family for a Princess I don’t even know exists.” The man’s voice was firm. “You should leave.”

Larissa stiffened beside Darien, hanging back as Halvor had instructed her to do. No one knew what the Perle Princess looked like, and Halvor had wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible. She tightened her arms across her chest, though Darien knew she wanted to intervene.

“Then you leave us no other choice.” Ishaan’s voice was a growl as he stepped forward. His eyes darkened in a way that Darien associated with Anara’s transformations.

Darien’s hand reached for his sword, but Anara was already there, blocking Ishaan’s path to the family. “Stop.”

It was one word, but the power behind was enough to send a chill down Darien’s spine.

Ishaan’s growl deepened. “King Torsten ordered that any resisting families be placed under arrest until we were finished with the mission.”

Larissa pushed off from the wall. “But these are not King Torsten’s people.”

She strode forward and pulled back her hood, revealing her braided hair the color of starlight, her golden eyes, and the thick scar running from her cheek to her ear.

Even in such simple clothes, Larissa emanated authority as she never had before.

She moved to stand between Ishaan and the farmer’s family.

“These are my people, General, and if you lay so much as one finger on this family, I will deal with you myself.”

His eyes narrowed, and no one could miss the snarl that rumbled in the back of his throat, but he inclined his head. Darien smirked from his place near the front door, releasing his grip on his sword, content to watch Larissa put the shifter in his place.

“Are you the Princess?” came a small voice.

Larissa knelt, facing the girl who hid behind her father’s legs, and held out a hand. Glowing sparks crackled between her fingers. Though the girl clapped in delight, the farmer and his wife gasped before falling to their knees.