Ammey McKeaf

by Jane Shoup

  She sat and shrugged. “Lost,” she replied quietly.

  “But you’re not lost. You’re found,” he said as he sat catty-corner from her.

  “Am I?” She sipped the amber port. “I dreamed of Julia last night.”

  “What was she like?”

  She smiled. “She could be insufferable. Spoiled. Demanding. But she was also caring and generous and funny. We had such fun. We told each other everything.”

  “I know what you’ve been through, but you’re finally reunited with your family. You’ve known pain, but you survived. You’re whole and you are loved.”

  Tears filled her eyes and spilled over. She shook her head. “I feel I’ve done nothing but hurt people.”

  “That’s not true.”

  She tried to collect herself. She gingerly dried her face with a handkerchief.

  “Ammey, that is not true.”

  “My family—”

  “Had shocks to deal with, yes. But you should have seen their faces when we told them about the fight at the alehouse. And when they learned how you protected Graybil’s wife and child? They swelled with pride. Especially your father.”

  She smiled sadly.

  “You are a strong woman with a good heart and you have saved more lives than you know.”

  She managed a deep breath. “I hope that’s true. And what do I do now?”

  Kidder shrugged. “What do you want to do?”

  “Everything.”

  “Oh, well, if that’s all.”

  She laughed half-heartedly. “I want to go home and see everyone there. I want to have dinner with my family as we used to. I want to sleep in my own bed. I want the fighting to be over. I want not to hurt anyone anymore.” She looked down at her glass of port. “I want to see friends I’ll never see again. I know it’s a pointless thing to wish, but I do.” She looked back up at him. “Does that ever go away?”

  “No. But the pain of missing them diminishes. In time, you’re able to put it perspective.”

  She glanced worriedly at the doors.

  “What about Corin? Do you want to go back to Bellux-Abry?”

  She frowned.

  “It doesn’t make you a bad person, if that’s your wish,” he said gently.

  She looked at him again. “And Vincent?”

  He knew this was the great conflict. She was torn between her warrior first love and the king who had claimed her for his own. Who wanted to claim her still. Add to that, it was an arrangement that could possibly save a nation. It was no wonder she felt such crippling pressure. “Vincent loves you. You know that. He would give his life for you. But you’re one person, Ammey McKeaf. You have only one life and one heart.” He paused. “The only real question is …what does your heart tell you to do?”

  “Then we have agreed to a secession of hostilities and to the immediate withdrawal of troops?” Isolde asked, directing it to Marko Corin.

  “Yes,” Corin replied. “On the condition I am able to see my wife.”

  “She is not your wife,” Lucas McKeaf retorted.

  “Do not put the weight of this on her shoulders,” David McKeaf spoke up. “She has borne quite enough.”

  “I have agreed to the terms,” Corin stated hotly. “Nothing is being put on her shoulders.”

  “And what of the future?” Anthony McKeaf asked.

  “I do not plan on a renewal of aggression, but I did say I wished to see her.” His eyes zeroed in on Alexander Kievnall. “It was part of our agreement.”

  “You know she is my daughter,” Lucas said.

  Corin looked at him. “I know it now. I did not before.”

  Isolde was growing anxious that the McKeaf would destroy the fragile peace they had only just weaved. “She is here,” he spoke up. “It was agreed to,” he added, glancing sideways at Lucas, who was seething.

  Corin pushed back his chair and stood. “I will see her now.”

  “You will remain where we can see you,” Lucas McKeaf stated flatly.

  It looked like all Corin could do not to retort. Isolde stood and looked down the table. “Tom, will you get her?”

  Tom’s chair screeched against the floor as he stood. He glanced at his father and then walked across the wide room and into the library, closing the doors behind him again.

  Ammey and Kidder turned to Tom as he entered. Kidder stood.

  “Are you ready?” Tom asked his sister. “His highness wishes to see you now, although our father requires that you stay where we can see you.”

  Ammey set down her glass with a trembling hand and got to her feet. She felt unsteady.

  “Why don’t we open the library doors and he can step in here,” Kidder suggested. “That way, your father can see you but you can still have some privacy.”

  She nodded nervously and gave him a grateful smile.

  “You needn’t talk to him for long,” Tom said consolingly.

  Tom didn’t understand. Talking to Marko wasn’t her fear, but she wasn’t going to take the time and effort to explain. Tom and Kidder walked to the doors and she followed, clutching her hands together tightly. They each opened a door and then continued into the great hall. All the men at the table saw her and stood. Marko, who had already been standing, started toward her. She felt herself shaking. She couldn’t breathe quite deeply enough.

  Marko couldn’t take his eyes off her. He stopped directly in front of her, hopefully blocking her from the watchful eyes at the table. He drew breath to speak, but words failed him. She looked so fragile and apprehensive. Did she not know he’d give his life to protect her? “I thought I lost you,” he said quietly. Tears sprang to his eyes and he had to concentrate to keep them in check. “But I only just discovered that I am the one who’s been lost.”

  She bowed her head and sighed.

  “Can you forgive me?”

  She looked up at him and nodded.

  “Voreskae was executed this morning and Zephyr will be when we find him.”

  She blinked in surprise.

  “I am so sorry, my love. I desired nothing more than to keep you safe.”

  “I know.”

  “I did not know who you were.”

  “I was going to tell you. When Zephyr and Voreskae were gone.” Her voice sounded strained because her throat was so tight.

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “At first, you were the enemy. I didn’t want to be used as a pawn to hurt my family.”

  “That’s what you thought would happen?”

  “Yes.”

  “And later? When we were together?”

  “It was Zephyr I did not trust. I thought when he was gone—”

  “I’ve been such a fool.”

  “Men that you trusted lied to you and misled you. That does not make you a fool.”

  “I think it does,” he replied quietly. He reached out and took hold of her hands. “Ammey.” He brought one hand to his lips and kissed it and then the other. “I admit your name will take some getting used to. I still think of you as my Jade. The woman who reclaimed my soul from a great abyss.” He searched her face. “You will come back with me?” She started to pull away, but he held her hands tighter.

  “I need to return home with my family,” she protested.

  “Why? For how long?”

  “We need time to recover.”

  “You can recover at our home. At the palace. I need you! I need you by my side.”

  She shook her head. “I have to have time with my family.”

  He felt badly for pressing her, but given time, her family might turn her against him. “How long? If I agree to that, I have to know how long I will be without you.”

  “Until spring,” she stammered.

  He considered. “Promise me.” She nodded stiffly and pulled her hands from his grasp. He did not like that she’d pulled away. “Alright, then. I will agree to that. I will send for you first thing in the spring. I’ll send the best carriages and we’ll have an official marriage ceremony when you
return.” The statement seemed to shock her. She drew a sharp breath to reply, but he hurried on. “Not that you weren’t my wife before, because, in my heart, you were and still are. But that woman wasn’t Ammey McKeaf, daughter of the great general.”

  “Marko, stop,” she begged.

  He grabbed her hand again and pressed it against his heart so she could feel its furious thudding. “You are all I want. All that I am and all that I have is yours if you will just claim it.”

  “I will come in the spring,” she said shakily. “For a visit. But that is all I can promise.”

  A silence fell between them.

  “Sire?” Isolde called. “We should resume the meeting.”

  “I fear they will turn you against me,” Marko admitted in a low voice.

  She shook her head. “My family is important to me, as I am to them, but we each have our own minds. They do not think for me.”

  He wanted to believe it. “Will they be able to accept me in time?”

  “Sire?” someone said from directly behind him.

  Marko turned to him. It was one of his officers. “In a minute,” he snapped. The man bowed his head and walked away. Marko saw Lucas McKeaf watching him like a hawk. The other men had all resumed their seats, but not him. Marko turned back to Ammey. He had asked her a question and needed her reply. He suspected the true answer was no, but her response was important. It would indicate whether she could live with them not accepting him.

  “They have thought of you as cruel and dangerous for a very long time,” she said, “but they know you saved my life and that you care for me.”

  The description was too tepid. “Care for you? I love you.” She looked increasingly distraught. “I understand the weight on you,” he quickly added. “So I will not press you for more. Not now. But walk back in there with me. Sit on either side of the table, I don’t care, but let them see us together.”

  She shook her head, clearly appalled by the thought. “I cannot! Do not ask me.”

  Marko stepped closer. “Then meet me here tomorrow. Just you and I.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “And a dozen guards?” she asked drolly.

  He smiled that she could still tease. “The thought of being with you tomorrow is the only way I can walk away from you now.”

  “My father will have to agree,” she said hesitantly.

  He nodded, released her hand and backed up a step. “Until tomorrow, then.” He turned and returned to the table. When he reached his place, he saw the library doors had closed again.

  “We have two copies of a peace agreement ready,” Isolde announced. “There are details to attend to, but it’s a good beginning.”

  Marko met Lucas McKeaf’s watchful gaze. “Your daughter will return home with you and stay until spring. I will send for her then, or for all of you, if you care to come. You would be made welcome. It is my intention to remarry her at that time in an official state ceremony.”

  Lucas’s eyes flashed and the others stiffened.

  “Remarry her?” Anthony challenged.

  “Marry her, then. I will not split hairs over semantics.”

  “Semantics,” Anthony repeated.

  Marko took a breath and exhaled before responding. “I did not know her true name, but I did know her. She was my wife. In my heart, she still is. It is not easy to allow her to return with you, but it’s what she asks. It is what she believes you need, so I will accept it.” He paused and endured a hostile silence. “We have been enemies, but I desire peace, and I need my wife. That said, I will not force marriage upon her if it is not her wish.”

  “Then it will be her decision,” Lucas McKeaf said.

  “Yes.”

  “If it is not,” Anthony McKeaf spoke up, “you will allow her to return home.”

  “That did not sound like a question,” Corin replied heatedly, striving to keep his temper in check. “But the answer is yes. If it is her desire to return to Stonewater Forge instead of remaining with me, I will see her safely returned to you.”

  Isolde slid the truce agreement across the table to Corin. “Excellent. Then if you will sign? Your men read over it.”

  “As I said, we wish to meet on the morrow,” Corin continued, speaking to the McKeaf and ignoring Isolde. “Here. Just she and I and whatever protection you feel necessary. Name the number of guards and I will match it.”

  “Five,” Anthony spoke up.

  Marko glanced at him and then looked back at Lucas who was not speaking. “Five it is.” He picked up the proffered pen and signed the agreement. He slid it to the McKeaf. For an instant, they stayed locked in silent communication and then Lucas looked down and signed the agreement. He slid it to Isolde.

  “As to the withdrawal of the troops?” Isolde asked as he added his signature.

  “It can begin immediately,” Corin replied.

  “Excellent,” Isolde said with a smile. “This is all excellent.”

  Chapter Forty

  Vincent walked away from camp that evening, unable to stomach any more talk of Marko Corin. Anthony McKeaf had suggested five guards escort Ammey with the hope it would be the Five who would then eliminate Corin once and for all, but the suggestion had been nixed. That meant Ammey would go to Corin in the spring. What you seek is not to be. Milainah had warned him. He knew Kidder and Forzenay were following him. “I do not need nursemaids,” he called over his shoulder.

  “Wait,” Kidder said.

  Vincent stopped, but did not turn around.

  When they reached him, Kidder said, “We know this is difficult. It is for her, as well.”

  Vincent fixed him with a dark scowl. “Is it?”

  “It is,” Kidder assured him. “She loves you.”

  The statement was a stab to his heart. “But she’ll marry him. Won’t she?”

  “I don’t know that and neither do you. She has not promised to do anything but visit.”

  Vincent sighed. He felt bone weary and disheartened. “I’m leaving.”

  “To go where?” Forzenay asked.

  “I don’t know. Cala, perhaps. I’ve never been to Cala.”

  Forzenay and Kidder exchanged a look and then Kidder clapped Vincent’s shoulder before starting back toward camp.

  “Our alliance with the Seidh is a precious thing,” Forzenay said. “It gives us insight few have.”

  “Do you have a point to make?” Vincent asked crossly.

  “I do, actually. This all seems …over. Decided. Does it not?”

  “Yes, it does.”

  Forzenay shook his head slowly. “It is not.”

  Vincent studied his face. “What do you mean?”

  “There are men who have experienced power and are not about to give it up. There are men who will soon taste real power for the first time. It’s like a taste of blood for wild beasts; they will crave more and more until it is all they know.” He paused. “Men are greedy and the gods are restless. What seems over is not. It’s just begun.”

  Vincent felt an uncomfortable tingling up his spine. “That sounds like something Milainah might have said.”

  Forzenay nodded slowly. “Because it is.”

  “I loathe poetry and riddles! Talk to me in practical terms.”

  “I cannot tell you what I do not know. I only know—”

  “What?” Vincent snapped.

  “That you should not go far.”

  Vincent shook his head in frustration.

  “We’ve been invited to Stonewater Forge for a rest,” Forzenay said. “A period of recovery.”

  Vincent had an urge to violently shove Forzenay. “I cannot be with her if I am to lose her! Can you understand that?”

  “More than you know,” Forzenay replied. Reluctantly, he turned and walked away.

  Vincent watched him go and then walked on. He reached the Rhannalinx River, which looked black and ominous. On the opposite side, the army of Bellux-Abry had already begun tearing down tents. Tomorrow, men would head toward their respective ho
mes. Because of Ammey.

  She is supposed to be with me!

  He tugged his cloak tight against the onslaught of an icy wind and then headed back to camp, glad to have the wind at his back. He would go to the Forge. Of course, he would go. He couldn’t do otherwise when she was there. Not when they had an opportunity to be together and he had a chance to win her heart once and for all.

  Hope was a branch beckoning above the threatening, dark waters of despair. Perhaps he was a fool, but he would reach for it. If it broke in his hand, he risked drowning, but life was risk. An hour ago, the situation had seemed hopeless. It had seemed over. But what seemed over was not.

  It was not!

  Jane Shoup is the award-winning author of Down in the Valley, Spirit of the Valley (Kensington), Knightfall, (Boroughs), Will of the Valley, The Key, A Choice of Captors, The Restoration and more. She lives in North Carolina with her husband Scott, rescue-pup Gabby, and near her three grown daughters and their families. Visit her website at www.janeshoup.com