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That was a definite change. Elwyn felt some relief that Maxen hadn’t really betrayed her, after all. He’d been under a spell, so he wasn’t himself. Now he was standing up for her.
“Call off your men,” the baron ordered. “I will kill her.”
“What outcome do you expect from this?” the duke asked. “You’ve been accused of murder. I have evidence that you were magically influencing me. Whatever you hoped to achieve, it will not happen. I will not be marrying your sister. You will stand trial and be stripped of your title and lands. Killing Elwyn will only add to your crimes. There will be no benefit to you. If you strike her down, you will be killed on the spot.”
“But the witch will die with me.”
Elwyn wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of this. Vaughn knew he was trapped, and he was just mean enough to want to take her with him, since he blamed her for his plan’s failure, just as he’d blamed her for his inability to get the influence over the duke that he’d wanted.
Maybe Bryn could do something magical, she hoped, trying to catch his eye. Did he have enough confidence in his power to wield it in a crisis? She’d even be willing to risk losing a bit of her memory if he could save her life.
It was funny, but in this moment she had the strongest sense of clarity she’d ever felt. She knew exactly what she wanted out of life, where she wanted to be, and with whom. She loved this crazy little village. She wanted to be able to make it thrive again—not so much that it lost its character, but enough for the people to be able to make a living there. She wanted there to be families and children, a bustling market, and plenty of festivals, maybe even a lord in the castle. She wanted to keep the village healthy. She wanted people gathered in her tea shop, chatting about their lives and their plans. She wanted to be part of that.
She even thought she might want Bryn. She’d fallen in love with the man he was when he didn’t know who he was. She was a little less certain now. She’d need to take time to get to know him as he really was, just as she suspected he needed some time to figure out who he was. But there was definitely potential there, and her feelings for him hadn’t completely gone away when his memories returned. It was a different feeling than she’d ever had with the duke, something deeper and truer, and she felt like he saw her in a way the duke never had.
But she wouldn’t be able to have any of these things she wanted if she didn’t survive this incident. If the village had brought her here, it was time for it to step up and do something to keep her here.
A loud squawk pierced the air, along with a flapping, fluttering sound, and suddenly the sword dropped away from her throat. She took advantage of the opportunity to jump away from the baron’s grasp and turned to see him flailing at the very angry chicken that had perched on his head and was trying to peck at his eyes. “Get it off! Get it off!” he shouted.
The soldiers looked to the duke for guidance, but the duke acted as though he didn’t see anything. Elwyn thought she detected a trace of amusement on his face. She turned back to the baron to see Lucina running up behind him, her largest rolling pin held up like a club. “I’ll get it for you!” she cried. The chicken fluttered away at the last second, and she hit the baron square on the head with the rolling pin. He crumpled to the ground. “Oops, missed,” she said with a sly grin.
Meanwhile, Mair and Bryn rushed to Elwyn’s side. Bryn held his sword, as though daring any soldiers to come near. Mair just glared at them, which may have been even more frightening. When she winked at one guard, he darted behind one of his colleagues, cowering in fear. Other villagers surrounded Elwyn, blocking the soldiers from getting close to her. Even Sara Smith joined them. Tears stung Elwyn’s eyes at the show of support. The village had come to her rescue—not the village itself or whatever mystical entity lay behind it, but the people of the village, which was even more important to her. She blinked away the tears so she wouldn’t be seen crying, but she wanted to hug all of them, even the smith’s wife and the Chicken Lady.
“Mistress Elwyn is cleared of all charges,” the duke said, his voice ringing over the marketplace. “If Baron Vaughn lives, he is charged with murder, undue magical influence, and probably several more offenses. Due to his actions today, in full view of witnesses, he is stripped of his rank, title, and lands, regardless of the outcome of any trial for the murder of Sir Aled.” The villagers cheered, and Mair hugged Elwyn.
The soldiers all appeared visibly relieved. They lowered their weapons, and their shoulders relaxed. Elwyn couldn’t help but wonder if they’d actually liked Vaughn and believed in him or if they’d merely been following orders. Either way, they didn’t seem to be a threat to her anymore.
She wanted to celebrate, but first she had a patient to see to. She went to kneel next to Vaughn. His face had been scratched by the chicken’s talons, but she was more concerned about the blow from Lucina’s rolling pin. It wasn’t so much that she worried about how it had affected him, since he was likely heading for the gallows, but she didn’t want Lucina to feel responsible for having seriously harmed someone. It might have felt good for her to have had the opportunity to take action instead of feeling helpless the way nightmares often made a person feel, but Elwyn didn’t think that guilt would help her.
“You’re going to tend his injuries after everything that he’s done?” Maxen asked, sounding incredulous
She turned to look up at him. “Did you not hear anything that anyone said here? I have a duty to tend to everyone in need of help, regardless of who they are or how I feel about them. I didn’t let Sir Aled die, and I won’t let him die, either, no matter what he did to me.”
She placed her hand on Vaughn’s forehead and opened her senses. She felt the sting of the wounds on his face and scalp. The rolling pin had mostly stunned him. He’d have a lump on the back of his head, but she didn’t find any bleeding or swelling under the skull. He wasn’t unconscious, merely dazed and humiliated. Blinking out of the connection, she said, “I don’t think there will be any long-term harm to him. He won’t feel good, but he shouldn’t be impaired.” She opened her bag and dabbed salve on the wounds from the chicken’s feet and applied a tincture to reduce bruising to the lump on his head. She could tell from his responses that he was awake enough to feel the sting of the salve on his wounds.
It was only after she’d put away her supplies that she realized she’d now fully demonstrated her abilities to the village. True, she’d treated the Chicken Lady at the festival, but that had been less obvious. Today, she’d shown that he did have the power of empathy. She’d never be just an herbalist to the villagers again—if she ever had been nothing more than that. They’d looked to her as a healer from the very beginning, she realized. Gladys letting her stay in the cottage had been an obvious sign to those who knew about the helper.
“Will he be able to travel today?” the duke asked.
Vaughn groaned and sat up, holding his head. “Ask him,” she said.
“I just want to get away from here,” Vaughn said with a groan.
“Is there a place my men can water their horses and refresh themselves?” the duke asked.
“You can go to the inn’s stableyard,” Mair said, pointing. “The inn’s closed, but there’s still a pump with fresh water.”
The duke glanced at the sky, then turned to one of his men. “We leave when the sun is at zenith. Have the men water the horses and get whatever else they need. Any food they want must be paid for. We should be able to make it back to where we spent last night. See to my horse.” The soldier nodded and went to convey the information to the other soldiers.
When they were gone, the duke returned his attention to Elwyn. He dismounted, handed his reins over to the nearest soldier, and rushed to Elwyn to take her hands in his. “Can you forgive me?” he asked. “I can only imagine what you must have thought when I took Vaughn’s side and never defended you.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said, fighting to ignore the faces Mair was making from behind the duke.
“Was that why you fled, because you didn’t believe I would protect you or ensure you got justice? You should have known I would never abandon you like that.”
That took her aback. She slid her hands out of his grasp and stepped away, putting more distance between them. “How should I have known that you’d protect me?” she asked. “You didn’t say anything to defend me, even when I asked you to. I had no choice but to flee. I couldn’t risk my life on you suddenly speaking out when you hadn’t already.” Having been away from him and having a different kind of relationship for comparison had shown her that although they’d been friends, their relationship hadn’t been that deep. He’d come to her for comfort and companionship, but now that she thought about it, he’d never cared that much about her. It was all about what he needed from her.
“But you can come back to court now,” he said. “Your name will be cleared.” He reached to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. “I’ve missed you so much.” He moved toward her and bent to kiss her, but she moved away from him again.
