And Lia let her next arrow fly, piercing Gabriella’s captor in the eye a second later. Then another, taking down the man with the torch, who had turned to run.
They rushed forward as Gabriella was dragged under. She came up just before they reached her, pulling at her gag, choking. Marcello was right behind them, taking his wife in his arms, even as Luca cut her hands free. Two others came, with torches.
Luca turned Evangelia toward him, gently taking the bow from her hands, setting it adrift on the water, and lifted her palms to the light, wincing at the deep cuts and burns. He pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around him, and cradled her face, covering it with small kisses. “Ah, Evangelia, how I feared for you…”
“And I for you.” But then she turned to her sister, as soon as she was in reach. They clung to each other for a moment, weeping, and Luca and Marcello each backed up, leaning against opposite walls, taking their first deep breath since their arrival. Marcello gave him a grateful smile.
“I could not have done it without you, Captain.”
“Nor I without you, m’lord. Or our men.”
Marcello nodded soberly. “Or our women.” He stepped forward to wrap his arms around Gabriella, and Luca moved behind Evangelia, sliding his arms across her upper chest and kissing her beside the ear, as the remaining Sienese and Forelli knights rounded the corner and cheered.
“I’m beginning to believe that Lia and I must sleep with our weapons,” Gabi said, with a wan smile.
“Not a bad idea, that,” Marcello said.
“Speaking of weapons…” Luca said, turning Lia in his arms.
“We shall speak of it later, yes?” she said.
He nodded, and pulled her close again, kissing her on the forehead. “Whenever you are ready, m’lady.”
~EVANGELIA~
It was as the guys suspected. The Fiorentini forces faded back across the border when the knights’ mission failed in capturing me and Gabi, and our uneasy truce resumed. The guys relaxed a little, with Celso now in our company—the only one of the brotherhood that had remained behind enemy lines.
And Rodolfo…well, Rodolfo was like a new man, smiling all the time. Laughing, even. It turned out his laugh was pretty awesome, deep and warm, making us all smile when we heard the unfamiliar sound. He finally had somewhere to focus all of that mad intensity. And under his care and attention, Alessandra was blossoming…and gradually accepting our forgiveness, our understanding.
“That lone sunflower, on the next hill,” Luca challenged, in my ear. My eyes moved to where he pointed, over my shoulder, brushing my ear with his lips as he withdrew.
It was impossibly far.
I looked back at him and cocked a brow. “You think I cannot do it?”
“On the contrary,” he said, taking a step away, arms crossed, waiting. “I believe you can.”
I looked to the fat sunflower, feeling the breeze on my cheek, knowing how it increased the challenge. That was the thing about Luca. He thought I could do the impossible. And he made me think the same.
I glanced behind me, to Gabi, her eyes closed against the sun, her hand on her swelling belly. Marcello was on his side, beside her, playing with a coil of her hair. He smiled his encouragement up at me.
“Give it a try, Squirt,” Dad said, handing Mom some grapes.
My eyes shifted across the rest of our party, spread over the hill near the castello, the new wall clearly taking shape in the distance. Some of the men were sparring with wooden swords, others wrestling, like the big boys they were, showing off for the few women in attendance. Celso, Lutterius and Patrizio were riding up the hill, allowing their horses to lazily pick their way up the trail. Father Tomas and Adela, back from Rome, were sitting, side by side, sharing a book. To my left, Rodolfo was halfway down the golden hill, standing beside Alessandra, fiddling with a piece of grass. Alessandra tucked her short hair behind her ear, smiling and laughing in response to what he was saying. He laughed too, and then gathered her in his arms, all tender and sweet.
I had a flashback to him in the rain, locked in the stocks, misery etched in his every word. And now, joy. Such joy.
How things had changed for us. For us all. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze across my cheek and nose, judging its speed. Smelling lavender and sage and pine and fresh cut hay. Felt the warm, Tuscan, August sun on my face.
“You with us still, Lia?” Gabi said, shielding her eyes with her hand and looking up to me.
“Oh, I’m with you,” I said, eying the sunflower again, before looking back at her. “More than I’ve ever been. Here, with you. Luca. Marcello. Mom. Dad. For the first time, it feels like home to me, you know? Not just because I’m here with you.” My eyes shifted to Luca. “But because it’s where I belong. Because I couldn’t…” my voice cracked, my heart filled with so many conflicting emotions. I took a deep breath and looked back to her. “Because I couldn’t be anywhere else and feel this right.”
She smiled with me. “I’m glad, Lia. I’m really glad.” She rolled to her side and then up to her feet, walking over to me with a slight waddle. “Think it’ll be a girl?” she asked, shoulder to shoulder with me, looking out across the rolling hills, hand resting on her baby bump. It really was all kinds of cuteness. “The littlest She-Wolf?”
“Could be. I could show her how to handle a bow and arrow.”
“Oh, that’d be a requirement,” Gabi said.
I turned and nocked my arrow, aimed at the sunflower, silently counting the yards between us, feeling the breeze again, watching as the fat, golden flower swayed.
And then I let my arrow fly.
Many thanks to Lindsay Olson for editing this novella and being an ongoing She-Wolf when it comes to talking up the River of Time series. Special thanks also to Jennifer Crosby for the Italian help, and to readers who helped me proof the manuscript, especially Kristin, Amber, Karin, Julie, Serena, Jen, Britney, Asher, Katie and Rachelle.
Still want more River connection and news? Be sure to join the River Tribe on Facebook: www.facebook.com/riveroftimeseries
Did you dive into the River of Time at the end, rather than the beginning? Here are the other exciting books in the series, in order:
Waterfall
Cascade
Torrent
Bourne
You can find out more about Lisa T. Bergren and her latest projects at www.LisaBergren.com. She’s currently at work on a Grand Tour series (Christian historical fiction), beginning with the just-released Glamorous Illusions, and another general-market YA series called Remnant, due to begin releasing Fall 2013.
A well like I was visualizing when writing the last scenes of TRIBUTARY. Although this one was in Venice, I think!
This is the adorable little villa Tim and I rented for a week, in the heart of Toscana: La Cassetta, Terre de Nano, outside Montepulciano. Every night, we'd return to make supper and sit outside, bundled underneath a blanket (it was October), and watch the sun set. See the remains of the medieval tower on the next ridge? SO cool! This place also has individual rooms in a bigger villa, if you just want an awesome place to land. If you're on an e-reader with web access, here's a link to a YouTube video my husband made, of one of our sunsets (let it load first!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QzD3u7mlg
Lindsey and Rachel Taylor (She-Wolf River Tribe fans!) in Siena, Il Campo
Another shot of the Taylors in Siena, Il Campo
Lindsey Taylor, Palazzo Pubblico behind her, Il Campo
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Tributary (River of Time 3.2 Novella) Page 17
