The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (little red riding hood ebook free .txt) 📕

Dorian rolled his shoulders,stretching the muscles. “We have one advantage.”

Rose narrowed her eyes.“You?”

“And Penny, and Sir Egan,” added herhusband.

“She shouldn’t be going with you,”said Rose disapprovingly.

Dorian nodded, “I feel the same, butthere’s no denying she’s one of our most powerful assets at thispoint. Besides, she won’t be kept from it.”

Rose’s expression didn’tchange.

“And the truth is—we need her,” saidDorian plainly. “We only have three fighters with the earth bond.The others are in Cameron.”

“We shouldn’t be fighting, we risklosing even more,” countered Rose.

“That’s probably truth, but you ignorethe influence of our new queen. Ariadne has set a fire in thehearts of everyone she’s come into contact with. I never would havesuspected she had such a talent with people. She instinctivelyknows she needs to keep a forward momentum to gather the fullsupport of the citizens.”

Rose changed tack, “Without you shehas nothing.”

Her husband’s heavy brows knittedtogether as he frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re the linchpin, the last bit ofpower that holds everything else together. Penny can’t afford totake on the sorts of dangers you will. Sir Egan, and for thatmatter, the other Knights of Stone, follow you. If somethinghappens to you it will be the blow that finishes the work thatTremont started when he killed James.”

Dorian listened intently, and silentlyhe agreed with her on all points. “The truth doesn’t changenecessity.”

Lady Rose waved her finger at herhusband, “Don’t try getting deep on me. I saw your face when youreturned the other day. That armor you borrowed was utterly ruinedand your eyes were haunted. She can’t risk putting you at the spearpoint of this attack.”

Dorian tilted his chin down, lettingthe shadows cover his eyes when he heard her words. “We talkedabout that already. I was just a little shaken. Too much blood inone day can do that to a man.”

“It was more than that,” Rosecontinued doggedly, “you were afraid.”

“I’ve never felt fear in the face ofan enemy. That still hasn’t changed…,” responded Dorianfiercely.

“Then you’re a fool.”

“… but I thought I mightdie that day. I thought of you, and the children—what might happento you. It gave me a new perspective,” Dorian added. “I carriedthat poor woman. All she wanted was to see her children one moretime…,” his words trailed off, but he picked them up again after along pause. “I realized that all I wanted was the same, but all Icould see in front of me was a sea of faces—men waiting for me tokill them.”

“Then you understand why I used topush so hard to get you to stay home, to let other men carry someof the burden. Every time you left I cried. Each time I worriedthat that would be the journey that would take you away from usforever,” she answered softly.

Dorian’s head was in his hands now.“It’s worse than that, Rose. It’s changing me.”

“No one passes through such trialsunscathed.”

“No, I mean something more than that.I’m afraid of what I’m becoming. It’s gotten too easy. It used tobe work, but now it seems normal. When I look at people now, thefirst thing that occurs to me is how easily they might die.Sometimes I fear that I might kill someone if I don’t keep a closewatch on myself. Not out of spite, or malice, simply out ofreflex—simply because it’s normal, because that’s what Ido.”

Rose bit her lip. “You’re far morethan that. Think of your children. Your son adores you, and yourdaughter will too someday. You just have to survive this… to giveyour heart time to heal.”

“Let’s be honest, Rose. I’m gone morethan half the time. And the things I do… I don’t want Gram takingup the sword after me. I worshipped my Dad, but I didn’t understandthen what I do now. It’s a curse. If you had seen those men’s eyestoday—when they looked at me…”

“Is that why you named it ‘Thorn’?”she asked, hoping to turn his thoughts away from their morbidcourse. She was referring to the name he had given his magicalgreat sword.

He stared at her for a long second,“You know why I named it Thorn.”

“Remind me.”

“Actually, I named it Rose’s Thorn,”he replied, “as a warning to any who might keep me from returningto you. I know you didn’t forget that.”

“I didn’t,” she admitted. “I justwanted to remind you. You have three good reasons to keep yourhandsome self in one piece, and I am one of them.” She drapedherself over his broad shoulders, letting one hand rest on hisstomach.

Her hand reminded him ofhis most recent transformation. His body had returned to normal notlong after the fighting ended, but he had kept the details of hisbattle to himself. He felt a small amount of guilt for keeping thesecret, and he considered revealing to her then what had happened.“I’m not sure they can hurt me,” he told her, wondering if she would pick up on hishint.

Rose was focused on improving his moodhowever. Moving her fingers lightly, she tickled his belly, forcinghim to twist in her arms. Despite his brawn, her husband was stillweak to certain things. “If those men knew your weakness, no onewould fear you, dearest,” she said, nibbling on his ear.

“I doubt anyone would think to nibbleon my ear lobes,” he answered with a weak laugh.

Rose laughed loudly atthat, “I didn’t mean that! I meant this!” Using both hands she began totickle his sides, causing him to thrash about on the floor.Eventually he managed to wrangle her beneath him, pinning her handsto prevent further assaults on his dignity. Breathless and smiling,her eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked up at him. “Oh, dear!Now I’m in a terrible position. Whatever will you do withme?”

As always he found himself helpless topreserve his dark mood in the face of her sweet charms. “You’llhave to pay a ransom if you wish to have your freedom again,milady,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her firmly. He brushedaway the tear that appeared in his eye before she saw it, andthings rapidly grew more intense between them.

Rose made sure he had little time todwell on his black thoughts after that.

Chapter 28

The island grew slowly in my