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“If Murray said it, I imagine it will.”
“Light it,” Elle said.
Rune pulled free a tinder-box and struck the flint, sending sparks onto the gunpowder. It lit, sparking as it travelled along the ground away from them.
He stood as Elle set her palms over her ears. Rune followed suit.
Crackling, the flame ran along the line adjacent to the edge of the cliffs until it jutted outward toward the sea and disappeared over the edge of the precipice. Seconds later, the first explosion shook the air. Then the next. Then four more.
Rocks exploded, tumbling, falling, dislodged from where they had lived for eons. All of it crashing down in front of the opening of the cave.
A cave that was no more. Just a cavity, forever sealed from the outside world.
Nothing but a pile of rubble where their footprints had just been.
They both stood in awe, looking at the dust rising from the debris, the boom of the explosion echoing in his ears.
Elle slipped her arm along his waist, leaning into his side as her eyes stayed riveted on the pile of rocks, still croaking and moaning as boulders found new spots to settle their weight. “Murray was right.”
Rune nodded. “The man does not underestimate.”
She looked up at him. “What now?”
He took one last look at the jumble of rocks, at the final resting place of the Box of Draupnir, and then he looked to Elle. “We move on. I heard Pad talking about an expedition getting underway in Honduras to the remains of a supposed ancient Mayan civilization. There will be a fair amount of excavating necessary if the site is found.”
A hesitant smile curved her full lips. “Truly?”
His brow crinkled. “I lead the expedition, you lead the excavation?”
She laughed, wrapping her left arm around him as well. “A hawk circling its next prey?”
“You’re the only finch I can handle. I honestly don’t care what we find, as long as you’re there with me.” His arms wrapped solidly about her and he couldn’t think of another place on earth he wanted to be. His lips landed on her brow. “On to tomorrow, my wife?”
That would never get old, calling Elle his wife. She’d finally promised him all of her days, yet every morning, he still asked for that day and that day alone.
She chuckled, her head leaning into his chest as they both looked out onto the wide open sea. “Tomorrow.”
{ Epilogue }
Elle picked up her skirts, holding them solid as Susannah grabbed them tight, holding on for balance as she giggled, bouncing in a circle around Elle as she hid from her big brother, Tarrence. The sweetest music ever, the unrestrained laughter of a wee one. Elle sank her fingers onto the mop of Susannah’s red curls, amazed at the silkiness.
Spying her dark-haired brother behind the other side of Elle’s skirts, Susannah squealed and darted away from Elle, rounding Rune’s boots, and then as fast as her chubby one-year-old legs could carry her, she sped straight past her mother and into the hallway trying to escape her brother. The giggles never left her lips, even as her brother caught her, wrapping his three-year-old arms about her, his own laughter mixing with hers.
Elle’s heart expanded in her chest, watching the wonderment of the two. How had she missed this?
She looked at Jules, laughter splitting a smile across her face even as she shook her head. “I am sorry we weren’t here for her birth—she is already walking—running—how is that possible?”
“She never crawled—she’s a determined one and she used to watch Tar so seriously, so determined, studying everything he did, how his legs worked and how he was magically moving about.” With a grin, Jules’s gaze followed her children running back into and around the drawing room. “You could see the constant frown on her face, wondering why her own legs didn’t work like that. So once she was strong enough to pull herself up, that was it, she was walking—running in days.”
“No falls?” Rune asked.
“Oh, there were plenty of bloody knees along the way. But that never stopped her. And Tar slows down for her.” Jules’s eyes lifted to the ceiling as Tarrence scooted just out of Susannah’s reach. “That is, he slows down for her when he’s feeling particularly magnanimous.”
The echo of boots clomped down the center hallway of Seahorn Castle and both of the children ran out into the corridor. Des appeared a moment later, spying his children.
With a growl he swooped both of them up, one under each arm, and he spun them in a circle until their giggles turned into high-pitched shrieks of joy. He stopped suddenly, jumping and then setting them both down on their feet, his hand lingering on the back of Susannah until he was sure she was steady on her feet. “Off to the kitchens, you two—Cook has spent some time making ice cream and she’s wondering where you two are. She needs testers.”
Their squeals reached an even higher pitch and Tarrence grabbed his younger sister’s hand, tugging her faster as they both ran—Susannah’s run was more of a quick waddle—and disappeared down the hallway.
