He looked forward to their family, an eternity with her, and the love they would share. And their love would be endless.
“I’m so sorry you had to endure that. It never should have happened,” he finally said.
“Many things should never happen, but they do, and we must endure them when they do. They are the things that either forge us or break us.”
“And this forged you into someone I greatly admire and love so much.”
Brie closed her eyes as her fingers dug into his back and she battled the sobs trying to tear free of her throat. Those were some of the sweetest words she’d ever heard, and she needed them after tearing off the scabs of her memories and baring them for the first time.
Reliving that day had left her raw and exposed in a way she hadn’t experienced in years, but she wasn’t done.
She still had more to tell him.
“After I managed to escape the water, I crawled into a crevice of rocks and hid there while I drifted in and out of consciousness, continued to cough up water, allowed the sun to dry me, and my wounds healed. It took two days before I gathered enough strength to break my chains on one of the rocks.
“When I finally succeeded in freeing myself, I still hurt too badly to do anything except pass out again. When I woke, I realized smoke filled the air from across the lake. I had no idea when that started, but the homes either still had some flames devouring them or were only smoldering piles of ash.
“A horrible stench drifted across the water. I learned later it was the scent of burnt wood and flesh mingling together. At first, I didn’t understand what was happening, and I was still too weak to find out. Plus, I didn’t want to be anywhere near those people again.
“The next day, the fires had all died out, and I felt better after feeding on some rabbits. I finally managed to pull the chains free of my flesh, and most of my burns were gradually fading. I had no hair, and all my clothes had burned away, but my lips and ears, which were severely burnt, were also healing.”
Asher winced at the picture she painted. It was awful enough picturing Brie having to endure such misery, but picturing her going through it as achildtore at his heart.
“I was still too scared to return to that awful town, but I managed to creep close enough to see none of the homes remained standing. I also caught a glimpse of… of….”
Her words trailed off, and she shuddered at the memory. There were so many things she never wanted to relive, and that revolting display was one of them.
“It’s okay,” Asher said as he held her closer. “I’m here no matter what, and you don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“But I want to tell youeverything. It was just a really traumatic time.”
He nuzzled her temple with his lips. “I know.”
Brie gathered her waning courage and continued, not because he had to know the details, but because it was time to face her past again. For the first time, she was sharing her life with another so they could build a lifetogether.And they could only do that with no secrets between them.
“When I didn’t see any people, I decided to get closer. I stayed to the shadows and hid behind what little remained of the buildings as I got closer,” she continued. “It was then I discovered the pile of burned bodies in the middle of the road like they’d been placed there as a warning to stay away. And I’m sure if anyone came across that town and those bodies, they fled it.
“But many of the bodies were more than burnt. Some of them had been ripped to pieces; heads, torsos, and limbs were also tossed haphazardly onto the charred remains. At first, I assumed they were all drawn and quartered, but I later learned the truth.
“Uncertain of what happened to them, I retreated from the town and returned home. I knew my home was nothing more than burnt remnants too, but I had nowhere else to go and didn’t know what else to do. I also hoped to find my father and brother.
“When I finally got there, the fire had burnt out and only ashes remained. My mother’s body was gone. I clearly recalled last seeing it by what was once our door, but it wasn’t there.
“I fought back the hope she might have somehow survived and was out there looking formetoo. It was an awful hope to have when I’d seen her die, but I clung to it as I tried to deny I’d lost the woman who meant the most to me. The woman whose undying love had compelled her to die for me.
“My hopes were dashed when I found a grave beneath the boughs of an oak tree. On top of the freshly turned dirt were both of my parents’ rings. My father and brother must have returned home and discovered her body. They buried her, but though he loved her deeply, he wouldn’t take their rings with him when he exacted his revenge on the people who killed her.”
“Your father destroyed the village,” Asher stated.
CHAPTERFIFTY-TWO
Tears slippedfrom her eyes as she recalled sitting on the grave, holding those rings, and sobbing. Every part of her screamed denials over the horror taking shape in her mind, but her brain and heart knew the truth.
Not only had she lost her mother, but she’d also lost her father that day. And later, she learned she’d lost her brother too.
“He and my brother destroyed the village,” she confirmed. “I sat on her grave, alternating between crying and sleeping for at least a day, maybe more. My concept of time was so skewed in those early days. I might have laid there for a week before I finally dragged myself away from the shattered remnants of my once extremely happy and love-filled life.
“I was healing and feeding on small animals, but it took a long time, and as you can see”—she waved a hand at the side of her face and down the length of her body— “I never completely healed.”
