Page 61 of Tears of the Wolf
Brynn followed his gaze to the cairns.
“My mother, father, sister, and brothers are dead, but they are still here.” He pointed to the large cairn that had been made for all of them. They had died close together thanks to Aelgar’s war. A fresh corner of the cairn marked where Nettles had been buried only today. “They are with me.” Cenric wasn’t sure how else to put it. “Here and now.”
Brynn still didn’t speak, but she softened a little, seeming to relax.
“Legacy,” Cenric said after a long moment. “This is legacy.” He looked at Brynn. “I am a part of that legacy.” He inhaled, feeling suddenly vulnerable. “And so is my wife.”
One day, Brynn would be buried here with Cenric. They would become a part of the landscape, a part of the spring festivals and the children’s summer games.
“It’s not that I look forward to dying,” Cenric said. “I plan to live a good while yet, but it gives me peace to know that even after I am gone, I won’t be. Not really.”
Brynn inhaled a shuddering breath.
The puppy in her arms squirmed and she set the small beast down. Guin hopped over to where Ash and Snapper sniffed theedges of a cairn, probably scenting a mink or rabbit or any of the other creatures that made their homes among the stones. The older dogs greeted Guin with wagging tails as she joined them.
“Brynn?” Cenric wondered if it would be unwelcome for him to touch her. “Am I making sense?”
Brynn sniffled. Had she been crying again? “I think so. I’m part of your legacy.”
“I want you to be a part of my legacy,” Cenric said. “My family.”
Brynn looked up at that word.
Cenric had wanted a sorceress’s power. He had wanted a woman skilled enough in politics to act as peace-weaver with his neighbors. He had hoped for a wife with enough noble blood to bring prestige to his household. Brynn gave him all of those things, but somehow it wasn’t enough.
For so long, a sorceress wife was a faceless goal in his mind. The idea was practical, a rational choice.
Now Brynn was in front of him, a real flesh and blood woman and very little of what she made him feel was rational. She was everything he had ever wanted, but she was here out of desperation.
Cenric couldn’t shake the feeling he was exploiting her. Somehow, he had never considered how one-sided this bargain was until he was faced with the woman who had taken it.
Cenric ventured to touch the side of Brynn’s face, cradling her cheek in his palm.
Brynn inhaled sharply, but didn’t pull away. Her lips parted, her shadowed eyes watching him. She was lovely, even in the sunless darkness. Maybe even more so.
“I want you, Brynn,” he whispered, letting the double meaning creep into his voice. “And I want you to be happy here.”
“Happy?” Brynn choked, speaking the word like she had never heard it before.
“It doesn’t have to be right now.” Cenric remembered her son, her loss and grief. “But someday. Hopefully soon.” He brought his other hand up to frame her face.
Brynn licked her lips, tension fluttering through her.
“Only you, Brynn,” Cenric said. “No one else.” Taking other lovers would hurt Brynn and he didn’t want to hurt Brynn. Not to mention several of Cenric’s relatives had learned the hard way what Morgi thought of infidelity.
From the way her brow furrowed, Brynn seemed genuinely surprised by that promise.
“Until one of us dies or until you leave me.” As soon as he said it, Cenric wasn’t sure why he had added the last part.
“I won’t leave you.” Brynn blurted the words out in a jumble. She shook her head. “Please don’t send me away.”
“What are you talking about?”
Brynn swallowed. “You sent Rowan away.”
It was more complicated than that, but he didn’t argue. He could explain the details of that relationship some other time.
“You’re not Rowan.” Cenric brushed his thumb over Brynn’s lower lip. “And I’m not Paega.”
