Hers to Claim (32 page)

Beneath her feet
, the raven found them,

the mighty asleep from ages gone.

High in her keep, the raven bound them;

to evil’s bane and a new light’s dawn.

To our raven we bow with hearts overflowing,

for deliverance from death;

for love beyond knowing.

Adonia DeHelios nee DeCorvus, our beloved raven and

Her invincible sword.

Dedicated this
forty-third day, NTSD 4380, by the grateful people of Verdantia”

The courtyard erupted in cheers and cries of “Goddess, bless you, Lady!
Bless you, Princess Adonia!”

“What?”
Adonia swayed painfully on her feet while her eyes sought Hel’s, and she shook her head, not comprehending. “What did he say?”

H
el’s solemn smile did little to enlighten her. Gradually, the meaning in High Lord DeTano’s words struck her with the abruptness of a slap to the face. She no longer gave a moment’s thought to her feet. She turned to Hel in confusion as first Fleur, then Doral and finally Ari, arrayed themselves before her. With solemn dignity, beginning with the queen, the three members of the Second Tetriarch went to a knee and bowed their heads before her. She gave a small cry of objection when Hel, love shining from his eyes, knelt and bowed his head.

Panic consumed her.
“No! No. Get up. Please, get up. What are you doing?” She frantically tugged at first Queen Constante’s arms, then Doral’s and finally Ari’s in a futile attempt to make them stand before turning in a complete circle and throwing up her hands in consternation at the sight unfolding. “Stop! All of you, stop! Please! Don’t!”

In a wave that swept the courtyard, everyone
sank to a knee and their cheering stopped. She realized with agonized discomfiture that amidst hundreds of the most illustrious people on her world, she alone remained standing in a courtyard suddenly hushed. Every upraised gaze focused solely upon her. Adonia covered her face, overpowered by awkward mortification. Finally, she dropped her hands and stood in the center of the top step, shoulders bowed. She took a deep, resigned breath. “Please, will you stand? I don’t deserve this honor.”

Fleur looked up. “Our Great Mother’s fate, the fate of us all, rested on the courage and
loving heart of one woman. You, dearest raven, decided the ultimate outcome of battle. How can we
not
honor you?”

Nia wrapped her arms around herself and looked at her feet, until as a signal to all, Queen Constante rose and hugged her.

~~~

On his knees like all those around him,
Hel strained to hear the quiet words his Beauty and the queen exchanged. His heart ached with gratitude toward the Second Tetriarch for the very visible tribute paid to Nia, and he found himself clearing his throat and blinking to prevent an unmanly display of emotions. Representatives from all corners of Verdantia knelt in the courtyard. Hel had no doubt they would disseminate the Tetriarch’s outward sign of acknowledgement until there was no one on the planet not aware of the contribution Adonia DeCorvus, now Princess Adonia, had made to their survival. Hel decided at that moment that his life’s work would be to make Nia feel how loved and adored she was. Never again would she hesitate to raise her eyes to the world she had saved.

As the rustle of everyone rising to their feet replaced the former quiet
, a rider pounded into the courtyard and pulled to a violent halt, slamming his mount back on its haunches. Hel recognized the rider and swore several vulgar oaths under his breath. Tristan’s arrival could not have been timed to garner a more rapt audience, but then his younger brother had always had a knack for embarrassing him. He closed his eyes, stiffened his spine and waited for it. He hadn’t long to wait. His younger brother’s shouts carried clearly across the courtyard.

“Gurley! Gurley! By the Goddess, did I miss it? Did I miss your wedding?” The
dark-haired male threw his reins to a bystander and began to shoulder his way through the crowd, waving.

Hel
flinched, then sighed. His brother was his personal plague. He was certain of it. He’d sent him to the furthest corner of the planet. How had the man gotten back so quickly?

Ramsey nudged him with an elbow. “Who is that?”

Hel spoke through a clenched jaw. “My younger brother, Tristan.”

A
n evil glint appeared in Ramsey’s eyes. “He addressed you as girlie. Is that an insult to your manhood or is your real first name, Girlie?”

“
Not ‘girlie’ as in g-i-r-l-i-e, but G-u-r-l-e-y as in Gurley, my mother’s surname, you pestilent bastard.”

“Girlie. Huh. No wonder you
tell people to call you Hel.”

Hel mistrusted the slow grin that crossed Ramsey’s face.
“Don’t you have someone you need to rob, DeKieran? Some horses you need to steal? There’s a very nice black in the stables you might be partial to. I know I am. He’s yours if you leave. Now.”

Ramsey’s eyes widen in mock horror.
“Leave? Oh no, Gurrrley. I’d never forsake a friend in need. This is your wedding day. We have a decanter of
Pottsdim Likor
crying our names. I wouldn’t dream of abandoning you … Gurrrley.” Ram bestowed another wicked grin on Hel.

Hel turned away
, grinding his teeth.

Close enough to
overhear their interchange, Eric laughed and slapped Hel on the back. “Gurley, eh? Well, we all have our tribulations—at least you don’t glow.”

A
fresh breeze flitted in through the open windows of their bedchamber and brought with it the green smells of renewal and the sounds of revelry in the streets below. The entire city celebrated their new princess and would for days to come. Hel knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate and none of it would be public. He stood for a moment in the doorway with eyes only for the pensive woman who stood gazing out into the night with a solemn expression. The air flirted with her wisp of a nightdress. The sheer material thinly veiled the slender elegance of Nia’s body, teasing his eyes with suggestions of her nudity underneath. The sight of her stirred him, as she had always stirred him, and he moved to join her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest.

She made a soft murmur of welcome
, and he nuzzled a kiss into the crook of her neck. “Do you know what the people in the streets are calling you? Carissime Medica—Beloved Healer.” She shook her head, and for a moment, a bemused expression lightened her somber appearance.

“
You look far too serious for a bride on her wedding night. What are your thoughts?” Nia turned in his arms and raised a reflective face to his.

“I
came here to heal the people of Nyth Uchel. I never expected Nyth Uchel would heal me.”

He cocked his head.
“Heal you of what?”

A glimmer of a smile traced her lips. “
Before coming here, my past was a wound that bled daily. I had only my skills with herbs and an impossible dream. I didn’t know where I belonged; it seemed I didn’t fit anywhere.” Nia nestled her cheek against his chest, and her words came out muffled. “I felt alone.”

“Hmm.
You belong in Nyth Uchel, and you fit in my arms very nicely.” He raised his hand and stroked the back of her head. “Do you still feel alone?”

She drew back and looked up at him, her face radiant. “No
.” Warm pleasure ran through him at her obvious happiness, then a peaceful calm supplanted the open joy in her expression. “I saw Klaran…and he saw me. He stood among the crowd filling the courtyard at our wedding. I should have expected he would be here with Eric and Sophi.”

T
he hot desire for vengeance flashed through Hel when he considered the lingering devastation the man’s words had inflicted. “I’ll give you his head as a wedding gift, if you like.” Though he tempered his voice, he was deadly serious.

She laughed softly. “No.
When I saw his face, heard him hailing me, I braced inside for the pain …” She shook her head in wonder. “It never came. I walked past him without a word, and I didn’t care. I didn’t care!” Her face lit from within, and her gaze captured his. “Your love has healed that wound. I am whole again.”

Hel cupped her face in one hand and pushed words past a throat thick with emotion.
“You are a light for my dark soul—a gift from our Great Mother. I had never thought to feel the love of a wife, to experience again the happy anticipation of a child. Thank you, Nia, for as much as you say I healed you, so your love has healed me.” He took her hand and led her to their bed. “I don’t have the words to tell you how much I love you, so I am going to show you.”

Her glorious brown eyes flared
, and she tossed him a seductive glance. “I hope you plan to take your clothes off.”

He answered her with a slow grin. “
Eventually.”

~~The End~~

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