Queen of Jastain (35 page)

When they were alone, Lyndsea glanced up at her. Regret laced her face. “Abby, I don’t have the words to tell you how bad I feel. I'm so sorry.”

Abby shook her head. “You weren’t yourself. I don’t blame you. I’m sorry, too.”

“I never meant to act on my feelings for Chad. I had no intentions of being with him when he stayed with me. I just...”

“It’s okay, honey. That must have been so hard for you to have feelings for him.”

“Oh Abby, it was hard, but that’s no excuse. You would've never done anything like that to me.”

“Lyndsea, if there's one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that no one knows what they’re capable of until the time comes.” Abby struggled to her feet and shuffled to her friend.

Lyndsea stood to meet her. They hugged and cried.

Lyndsea pulled back and blinked away tears. “I named the baby Abigail.”

Abby wiped her eyes and her nose with her sleeve. “You did?”

“You know how I always said I loved your name, and Chad agreed it was a good choice.”

She and Lyndsea talked for the next several hours about everything that happened to them in the past year. It was as if they'd never been apart. Sadness lingered in Lyndsea's voice, and her shoulders sagged, but light shone in her eyes when she talked about Baby Abby, and when Chad was mentioned. Maybe they could find happiness together.

Lyndsea had been subjected to Seppitent’s lies shortly before she left Boston. She’d lied to Chad about losing the baby and had left with the creature. She'd apparently given birth to the baby in a free clinic in St. Louis, but her mind had been so muddled, she wasn’t sure how she'd gotten there.

“So what’s up with Avant? Being around him reminds me of the time we waited in that valet line with Russell Crowe. I don’t know whether to pretend like I don’t see him or ask for his autograph.”

Abby giggled, knowing exactly what she meant. It had been a long time since she had a girl talk. “He can be a little intense, but he’s charming when he wants to be. Watch out, though, he likes to make girls blush.”

Lyndsea rolled her eyes. “That’s not really that hard. I blush all the time anyway. I’m sure he doesn’t make you blush.”

“Not as much as he used to, but you’d be surprised.” Abby could think of a few things he could do to make her blush.

“So what’s going on with you guys? Petra doesn't say much about it. Are you together?” Lyndsea asked.

“I guess so. It’s not exactly defined. I need to read that book again, DTR – Determine The Relationship, because I don’t really know what
we
are. I only know what I am.”

* * * *

Abby spent the next week wandering the house. Avant resumed some of his normal routine. He spent the mornings away and returned in the afternoon. Ever since the incident in the bed two days ago, he'd moved back into his own room.

She waited for him to make the next move. The anguish of not having him in her bed had brought on a whole new set of insecurities and doubt.

She peered up at him as they walked through the southern field. The rich bloom of full summer had arrived. A renewed sense of urgency raced through her. Her shoulder was almost completely healed, though she would always have an ugly scar and probably some pain. Now, at least, she would have her own ailment to discuss with Susan if she ever got back to the house in Dallas. But no strapless wedding gown. Oh well, it wasn’t like she was getting married anytime soon. Was it? In her heart, a wellspring of knowing bubbled; it was time to get that other circle of gold that was to be part of her life.

“Avant, it's time to find the crown.”

“Now, Abigail?” He stopped to study her, the summer breeze blowing that unruly lock across his forehead.

She nodded. “I’m anxious to get on with this. I just want it to be over, so our lives can be settled. As long as it remains to do, my life is up in the air.”

He snorted. “You may find that the end of one task is only the beginning of many. Your life may never be completely settled again, and you need to come to terms with that possibility. Perhaps I am jaded, but my life has not been settled in over twenty years.” He frowned. “And since you came, it has been nothing but constant change.”

After a lengthy conversation in which she and Avant agreed to go immediately to Naphen’s, they returned to the house. Abby went to her room to gather a few things and then met Avant in his chamber. He wrapped his arms around her, and for a moment she just absorbed the feel of him. A soft sigh escaped him, too.

“Abigail…”

Not wanting to hear the reprimand, she concentrated on the little home built into the side of the mountain. A light flashed. They were inside. Neither of them had thought to bring a lamp. They stumbled in the dark for several minutes trying to find a light source. Avant stumped his toe and cursed loudly. Finally finding a candle, she lit the wick, and he started a fire in the hearth.

“Where should we look?” Abby held out her hands in a plea for help.

“This main room seems as likely a place as any.”

They searched the small sofa, under a straight-backed chair, and on top of the mantle. They searched under any flat surface they could find, looking around the wall, and even checking the stone for hidden compartments. Hunting for hours in every room, they tore apart anything they thought might hold a Crown.

“I don’t think it’s here.” She threw up her hands.

“It is here." His eyes glinted with determination, but then he added, “I'm hungry. We’ll eat something and begin looking again.”

He pilfered through the kitchen while she felt along the stone wall for a hidden compartment. She shot a worried glance to Avant. What was up with him? He never stopped a task until it was completed, at least not for food. He wasn’t…himself, and she had a pretty good idea what the problem was.

He found a small amount of oats and some four hundred year old dried beef. She wrinkled her nose when he offered her some.

“You go ahead.” If she got hungry, they could go home and eat, but not until they found the Crown.

“I'm going to the stream.”

She nodded and kept looking.

* * * *

Avant walked from the mountain dwelling. In truth, he was not that hungry, but he needed air, space.

His mind whirled like eddies in the brook. How could Abigail be named rightful ruler? This was not the future he’d seen.
He
was the rightful ruler of Jastain. That was the truth that had kept him sane for the last twenty years, the truth that had kept him alive. Countless dreams and visions all pointed to the fact that he would be king.

He fisted his hands. His Gift had never failed him. He'd trusted it implicitly, never doubting. Now, on the precipice of victory, it betrayed him? The
Light
betrayed him? His knees almost crumbled.

Trudging to the stream, he struggled to find an answer. It made no sense. He was supposed to be
king
, but now that could never be. There could be no king when a queen ruled.

The prophecy was authentic, he was certain. He'd seen enough of Jo-Naphen’s inscription to recognize it, and the cadence of the foretelling was undoubtedly his father’s. Avant exhaled. How could Abigail rule this land? She was just a young woman with no experience. Yes, she had come far and proved herself brave, but the skill it took to rule the kingdom seemed beyond her ken. He scoffed at the idea of her on the throne, but his heart smote him.

Abigail
. His chest tightened with the thought of her golden curls and silky soft skin. Of course she could do it. He knew her as well as he knew himself, and loved her better. She was as capable as he, the bright and shining triumph in the whole plan of the Light, truly the Chosen One. She had been the one true thing. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, but he didn’t deserve her. He never had, and he never would.

At least with the promise of the Kingdom to extend to her, he’d felt worthy of the Seed of Light, but without even that as an offering, he had nothing to give that she didn’t already possess. He was never meant to be king? A pain pierced his heart. Taking back the Kingdom had been all he lived for.

If his place was not as ruler of this land, where was it? Was he expected to live quietly in the castle and be ruled by a woman? He set his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Far from it!
That will never happen.

He pulled out his leather pouch and bent to fill it in the stream. The sound of a sword sliding from its scabbard sliced through the air. His pulse jumped, but he rose slowly and turned to face his assailants.

Four men stood with weapons drawn. The king’s captain spoke, “Commander, we have orders to take you into custody. Please do not attempt to fight or we will end you, sir.”

Avant sensed several more sentries behind him. Damnable Darkness! He had left his sword at the manor.
Foolishness
. Taking a lesson from Abigail, he used his Implanting and began to hurl large stones in the soldiers’ direction. Several boulders struck their mark and left a clear path of escape. He fled back to the mountain home with the soldiers in close pursuit.

* * * *

Abby stood in her grandfather’s bedroom, the place she first met him, the placed he’d died. She shoved the straw mattress back on the bed, and plopped down. The memory of the frail man rang through her like musical notes to a song she couldn’t quite remember, and his love for her warmed the damp room.  Naphen had been her family, living here in the cold mountains alone for so many years. That’s what the Darkness had done. It had separated them from each other, her grandfather, her dad, her mother, and her. They had all given their lives so she could accomplish her task. They’d sacrificed themselves for the Light and for her. The weight of what they’d done lay heavily on her shoulders. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made by a few so the whole would benefit. Her family wasn’t the only one who’d suffered. She could see that now. To restore the Light to this land, her land, she would make any sacrifice to guarantee that happened.

“Where are you, little crown?” She scanned the room. The wooden box perched on the bedside table caught her eye. Deep inlaid wood in an ornate carved design decorated the top and sides. During the last visit, she'd taken Naphen’s writings from it and left it there. She picked up the solid frame, turning it over in her hands, studying the structure. A smile spread over her face. Similar to the box in the safe of her father’s study, it wasn’t big enough to hold a crown, but maybe something else.

Feeling along the inside edge like Avant had done, she pushed the hidden button. “Yes!” A compartment opened to reveal a heavy iron skeleton key and a piece of paper with one word on it—
Kitchen
.

Key firmly in hand, Abby sprinted to the kitchen and started pulling shelves off the wall. Canisters clattered, spilled and rolled across the floor. She searched under the simple, wooden table and behind the pots and pans. Nothing. One tiny cupboard filled with plates and cups hung untouched. She ripped out the contents and peered into the small compartment. It was too dark to see. She grabbed the candle and stuck it in the space. In the back of the cupboard sat a small wood and iron door with a keyhole. That had to be it.

Bang!

Avant stormed in from outside, slamming and bolting the door behind him. “Abigail, we must leave! The king’s men waited at the stream.”

“Avant, I've found the Crown!”

“For the Light’s sake, retrieve it and come!”

Unable to hold the candle and the key in the confined space, her hand fumbled in the dark cabinet but couldn’t fit the key in blindly. What she wouldn’t give for a flashlight!

Avant rushed to help her. Pulling her arm out, he bent to look in the cabinet. “What are you trying to do?”

Bang!
A heavy force rammed the front door. Dust fell from the ceiling on their heads. The encroaching men’s shouts could be heard beyond the wall.

She took a sharp breath and held up the key. “This fits into the keyhole at the back of the cupboard, but I can’t get it in without being able to see.”

The force pounded again. The front door cracked and began to give way. They only had a few seconds.

“Give me the key.”

She tossed it to him. Avant took one look in the cupboard with the candle, stuck the key in, and turned. She probably shouldn’t be thinking about how incredibly sexy he was at that moment, especially when their lives were on the line, but God, he was so hot.

“Abigail, get ready.”

The front door splintered and gave way. The king’s men pushed in.

Avant stuck his hand back into the hole. “I have it.
Go!
”

She grabbed his arm. A light flashed. A soldier reached out to grab her, but caught empty air.

Standing in the parlor, Abby had a vise grip on Avant.

And Avant held the Crown.

Petra and Lyndsea shot up from their seats, and all four of them locked their gazes on the Crown in Avant’s hand.

Finally, Petra, who held Baby Abby said, "So…I guess you found it."

Abby started giggling which turned into laughter, which morphed into downright hysteria, and she couldn’t stop. It wasn’t really
that
funny, but the near miss made her giddy. Once she started laughing, they all laughed. Even Avant couldn’t force the smile from his face.

She fell on the sofa in relief, and Avant sat next to her. He reverently wiped the dust from the shining circlet as he turned it in his hand. The solid gold band was barely an inch wide. In the front, fitted holes, where the jewels would sit, adorned the ring. Each hole was shaped to fit the unique cut of the different stones.

Avant held the Crown a long while and glanced up to find the other three staring intently at it.

Abby reach out her hand. “May I?”

He nodded with reluctance etched across his face. Even after it was clear Abby held it in her grasp, he wouldn't let go.

“I’ve got it, Avant.”

He released it like a hot potato and stood abruptly. “I'll get us something to eat.”