Bria stared at him. “And… because I should be grateful.”
His answer came without hesitation. “You are grateful, but you can be disappointed as well, Bria.”
She fell silent. No one had ever said such a thing to her. Perhaps because no one had ever needed to. Or perhaps because she had never allowed them.
“You spent your life helping others carry what troubles them,” Kaelan said. “Yet whenever something troubles you, you convince yourself it is not important enough to matter.”
Bria glanced down at her hands. “I do not know how to do otherwise.”
Kaelan slipped a finger beneath her chin and gently lifted her face to his. “It is time you did, wife, and your husband will make sure of it. You are not alone, Bria. We are one now and that means we share joy and burdens alike.”
She hadn’t realized how burdensome carrying her own worries alone had become, never thinking of sharing them with another. Or that someone would even want to share in herworries. To Kaelan it could be no other way, they shared, good or bad, they shared.
She kissed his lips lightly and whispered, “I want to share it all with you.”
Something warm flared instantly in Kaelan’s eyes and he tugged her closer against him.
Before she could draw another breath, he kissed her.
The kiss began gently but it did not remain that way.
All the love, relief, and longing that had built between them seemed to flow effortlessly into it. Bria melted against him, one hand sliding to his shoulder.
For a few precious moments, the cold dungeon and everything beyond it ceased to matter. Only Kaelan mattered, only them.
He pulled his lips away from hers reluctantly, then rested his brow against hers as he fought to steady his breathing.
“Too soon,” she said, breathless herself.
A low groan escaped him. “Wife, if we continue kissing, and believe me when I say I very much wish to continue kissing you, there is a strong chance we will repeat the events of a few hours ago.”
Heat rushed to Bria’s cheeks, and the wicked smile that touched his mouth told her he enjoyed that reaction far too much.
Then a familiar sound echoed faintly through the corridor beyond the cell, heavy footfalls that grew steadily closer.
Kaelan closed his eyes briefly and shook his head.
“The troll,” Bria said, the kiss allowing her, if only briefly, to forget where they were.
“Aye,” Kaelan agreed. “And I suspect he has not come to bring us breakfast.”
Bria got to her feet with a little help from her husband and as soon as he stood, he took hold of her hand.
“I will get us out of here,” he said with such determination and confidence that Bria believed him.
The troll arrived and without ceremony unlocked the cell door and motioned for them to follow. He led them through a maze of stone corridors and winding staircases that seemed to climb endlessly upward from the depths beneath the fortress.
By the time they reached the upper levels, Bria no longer knew which direction they traveled. The fortress itself felt much like Driochmor. Nothing seemed quite as it should.
At last, the troll pushed open a pair of enormous wooden doors. A Great Hall stretched beyond. Long tables occupied the center of the room while a massive hearth burned brightly at the far end. Tall windows allowed gray daylight to spill across the stone floor. Most surprising of all was the food. Platters of roasted meat, fresh bread, fruit, and cheeses covered one of the tables.
Bria stared bewildered.
The troll grunted. “You eat.” Then he turned and lumbered away.
Bria looked to Kaelan. “Do we trust the generous offer?”
“Let’s find out.”
