Page 29 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)
Larissa’s face paled. “Please stand. As my friends told you, we will reclaim Perle tomorrow, but we need trucks and drivers that are familiar to the sentries to get us through the Wall. Will you help us?”
It was the mother who replied with a waver in her voice. “Your Highness, we want to help, but we have our own children to think of. Please understand.”
Only Darien noticed the look of hurt and guilt that flashed in Larissa’s eyes. She tilted her chin up, and the vulnerability was gone. “I understand. We won’t force your help, but we will stay here with you to make sure no one else is alerted to our plans. Where are your farm hands?”
“They went to their own homes for the night, about a mile north.”
“Then we’ll be sure to be gone before the sun has risen.”
“Princess,” Halvor said. “We were supposed to have at least three—”
“It will have to be enough, Halvor. I won’t force my people into any more danger.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” The mother breathed a sigh of relief.
The father’s tongue finally unraveled. “You are welcome to stay in our home. It isn’t much, but we can relocate to the barn—”
“ We’ll stay in the barn,” Larissa interrupted. Her voice brokered no argument.
The father pulled his wife and children closer to him. “Thank you, Princess. We may not be brave enough to oppose the Empress, but we are hopeful that you will.”
All eyes swiveled at the slam of a door as Ishaan stormed through the threshold.
Halvor hesitated before bowing his head in Larissa’s direction. “I will send Ishaan to alert Haki and Jari to our situation. I will remain in the house to keep watch. You three may as well head to the barn and rest.”
Before they could leave, the small girl dashed between her father’s legs and tugged at Larissa’s leg.
Surprise flickered across her face as Larissa knelt and turned her ear to the girl.
Although the parents had rushed forward, they paused as the girl whispered something in Larissa’s ear that was too soft for Darien to catch.
Larissa’s eyes shone as she blinked rapidly against the wetness. She reached out a hand and tugged gently at the girl’s hair as Darien had seen her do to Halla. “Of course.”
Then she stood, and the little girl was taken into her father’s arms. Larissa turned, leaving Darien and Anara no other choice but to follow her to the barn while Halvor stayed behind.
As they crossed the field to the barn, Darien’s eyes searched and failed to find Ishaan.
Perhaps the Rubinian had shifted. Whatever the reason, Darien was grateful for the man’s absence.
The inside of the barn was warmer than the cool night, although not by much. Most of the stalls were empty apart from a horse, two pigs, and some chickens. With doleful eyes, the animals watched the trio cross the hay-strewn floor and climb the ladder up into the loft above.
“That was quite the show of force in there, Lara,” Anara said. “I like it.”
Darien couldn’t have agreed more.
“You mean, you think it’s about time,” Larissa countered.
“Something like that.” Anara settled into the hay, throwing her arms behind her head. “Rest up. Tomorrow we change the world.”
Darien chuckled. “No pressure.”
“Oh, all the pressure. That’s what makes it fun.”
Larissa settled into the hay. “I’m glad you’re on our side.”
“As you should be,” came Anara’s smug reply.
Though Darien could tell the moment Anara drifted off to sleep, no doubt exhausted from her near-constant transformations, he lay awake. His mind was a tumult of chaotic and disorganized thoughts. Beside him, Larissa tossed and turned. Minutes went by, and sleep eluded them both.
With a sudden creak, the loft floor protested as Larissa bolted upright.
Darien forced his breath to come and go in even rhythms as he watched her crawl across the floor and descend the ladder.
She disappeared into the shadows, slipping through the barn door and into the night.
Darien sat up, suddenly aware that Anara was staring at him.
“Don’t look at me.” Anara yawned, turning over to her other side. “I’m not going to follow her.”
Darien’s mouth twitched up as he shoved on his boots then slid down the rungs of the ladder.
Passing a chicken that rustled in frustration, Darien escaped out into the night air.
Although he could not see Larissa, he could sense her.
He might not have Anara’s keen animalistic instincts, but he could feel Larissa’s radiating galdr from a nearby cabbage field.
She stood with her back toward him and her hands outstretched.
Golden crackles of electricity sparked between her fingers as she raised them higher still.
Pebbles and stones rose up, hovering in the air around her.
Darien watched, suddenly struck by the memory of the first time she had shown him her galdr .
He was as amazed by her now as he had been then, yet their earlier conversation made him hesitate to approach her when he wouldn’t have before.
We can’t allow ourselves to become distracted , she’d said.
But she was distracting; how could he pretend otherwise? The way her brows knit together with concentration as she flipped her long, pale braid behind her back and raised glowing hands to the sky. The way she tightened her eyes as crackles of energy sparked between her fingers.
He cleared his throat. “Practicing?”
The rocks clattered together to the ground as Larissa spun to face him. “Darien.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay.” She wrapped her arms close to her chest. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Want to talk about it?”
She hesitated, and Darien wondered if she was replaying their earlier conversation the same way he was. Was she rethinking what she’d said?
“They don’t believe I can protect them,” she whispered. “That’s why they wouldn’t help us. They don’t think I can do it.”
Darien measured his words in the same way that he measured his steps toward her. “You’ll prove them wrong. And once they realize that you mean what you say, they will follow you.”
Sparks flew between her fingertips, and a stone flew up into her hand. “Do you remember the first time I learned to do this?”
Darien chuckled. “Aeron was so mad. He said it gave you an unfair advantage whenever we would skip rocks across the lake.” A smile tugged her lips and lifted Darien’s expression along with her own. All he’d ever wanted was to make her happy. “What did the girl say to you? Back in the house?”
“She thanked me for not hurting her parents or her little brother.” Larissa’s smile disappeared; her hand clenched around the pebble, her voice breaking along with her composure.
“That’s all these people know, pain and suffering; they’re surprised when they receive compassion. How am I supposed to fix this? Darien—”
He rushed to her, sweeping her into his arms. She did not resist, cradling her head in his neck as if he could shield her from the cruelty of Shiko’s reign.
He held her more tightly until the trembling in her arms softened.
In that moment, she fit in his arms just as perfectly as she had years and years ago.
She smelled of dirt and hay, but he didn’t mind. If only she would stay in his embrace.
But the moment ended when Larissa pushed herself away.
“We can’t, Darien. Tomorrow we’ll reveal to all of Evrópa that we have returned.
Even if everything goes according to plan, even if we find Halla and reclaim Perle, we still have the other commonwealths.
I still have to face Shiko. And even if we’re successful there, we have our responsibilities to our people.
We can’t let anything distract us from them. ”
He was ready to argue. There had to be a way they could serve their people without losing each other.
But he stopped at the sight of her tense shoulders and the look of set determination on her face.
Her focus was Halla. Her focus was Perle.
Now wasn’t the time to discuss anything else, no matter what they both felt.
She didn’t need a love; she needed her friend.
He chewed on his words before finally saying. “If that’s what you want. But if everything is going to change tomorrow, then we can have tonight.”
Her brows pushed down over golden eyes. “What do you mean?”
With a grand flourish, he gestured to the cabbage patch around them. “Princess Larissa of Perle, would you do me the honor of joining me to stare at the stars?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” he asked, his arms still outstretched. “As you said, our world may end tomorrow, or we may start a very long and difficult journey. Why can’t we just be a farm hand and a farm girl enjoying the beautiful night sky?” He settled, patting the ground beside him.
Seemingly against her will, her lips curved up. “You really want to just sit here and look at the stars?”
“Yep. If you can see them past my stunningly good looks, that is.”
He was pleased to see her loosen the tightness in her shoulders and roll her eyes, as Lovisa had done so often in the past. Larissa lay beside him, and though Darien kept what distance he could, he couldn’t stop looking at her.
He would freeze this moment in his memory, because when it was over, it would be morning. Morning would bring tomorrow.
Tomorrow would bring uncertainty, violence, and maybe even death.
Tomorrow, they would once again be forced into the roles the Norn had seen fit to bestow upon them. Darien would still be the Crown Prince, and Larissa would still be the lost princess of the prophecy, with all the duties and restrictions that those titles entailed.
Tomorrow, they would be separated by their own paths.
But tonight, for this moment, they could simply be.