“You and Gerard will head northwest,” Grandmother said. “You’ll run into the Great Stone Road that will lead you to the ancient mounds.”
Panic gripped her heart. “You’re not coming with us?”
“Who else, my queen, is going to get you an army?” Grandmother asked, a twinkle in her green eyes. “Donnelly is loyal to you. I will travel east until I reach him. Once you have fulfilled your oaths, come to Donnelly Castle and we will strike out from there.”
Elea couldn’t help herself; she started to cry. “I’ve lost your book.”
Her grandmother wrapped her arms around Elea’s shoulders and hugged her tightly. “It does not matter. All the prophecies in it have already been fulfilled.”
But Elea could not stop crying. Her tears mixed with the heavy rain that was falling on them.
“You’ve always thought that greatness meant strength,” she whispered into Elea’s ear. “But greatness can mean kindness. It can mean fairness or forgiveness. And true greatness is not giving up when the path is hard.”
All she could do was nod into her grandmother’s shoulder as she continued to sob. How she wished that she could go back and do so many things differently. After a few minutes of holding her in the pouring rain, her grandmother pushed Elea away.
“You’ve had your cry,” she said gruffly. “Now it’s time to be a queen.”
Elea sniffed. “Yes, Grandmother.”
Her grandmother placed a hand on Gerard’s arm. “May Màthair watch over and protect you.”
He briefly placed his opposite hand over her grandmother’s and gave her a curt nod. Grandmother released him and then without another word began to follow the shoreline to the east. Elea knew that Donnelly Castle was near the sea, but she had no idea how long it would take her grandmother to reach it in this storm.
“We’d best get a move on,” Gerard said.
“Of course.”
Elea started to slog through the wet sand of the beach. She could barely lift her boots out of the sand when they reached a muddy trail. Gerard continued to walk through the muck, the rain falling in endless sheets.
“Wait,” she called, holding her sore side and out of breath. “I need a rest before I can continue.”
He turned back to look at her. His hair was plastered against his face. His clothes were soaked through and molded to his strong frame. He was so handsome, but the expression on his face was impatience. The smell of the rain was too strong for her to catch his scent. To read his emotions. While in the boat, she caught whiffs of rosemary from him. The smell of betrayal. She had betrayed not only him but her own growing feelings when she sent him away.
“I am sorry.”
Gerard came back to where she stood in a puddle of mud. “I couldn’t quite hear you over the rain.”
“I said that I am so sorry,” Elea said, lowering her head. “I was wrong to ask you to leave. I was foolish to fear what others may think of me. My whole life I’ve felt like a disappointment, and I wanted so badly to be what my people wanted. What they needed.”
“You discarded me when you thought you no longer needed me.”
Elea tried to take his hand, but he pulled it away.
“I was wrong. I did need you. Idoneed you,” she said beseechingly. “Please, please forgive me. Let us be friends. Allow me to make amends to you in some way.”
Gerard shook his head. “I will help you form the Holy Trigon, but I don’t want to be your plaything again.”
He turned away from her and started walking again. All she could do was trudge behind him and allow her tears to fall into the mud. It was what she deserved.
28
GERARD
Every inch of his body was wet and miserable. It was dark and cold. The only light that they had was the moon above them to see the muddy trail that had turned into a road. Gerard hoped that they would reach a village soon, for Elea could barely keep up with his pace. She struggled behind him, sniffling. Her tears should have softened his heart, but they did the opposite. They hardened it. He was tired of being discarded by those he loved. His mother. His royal father. His half brother. And now her.
If she felt any sorrow, it could not have been equal to the pain he felt when she brutally rejected him. She tore from him the fragile hope that he was worthy of her love.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Elea had fallen even farther behind. He trudged back to her and took her elbow. She leaned her head against his shoulder for support. They did not speak but continued to walk for over an hour. It had to be close to midnight when they finally saw lights in the distance. Elea’s whole body was slumped against him at this point. Her breaths were short and ragged.