When she stood before Gavin again, her face was flush and her eyes narrowed in anger. Nay, Greylen realized, ’twasn’t anger; ’twas fury. She nodded for Gavin to receive her blows, and they bowed again before she began. But this fight wasn’t defensive on her part as the last had been. She was the aggressor now. In all of his years, he’d never seen a woman so enraged.

Greylen watched his wife carefully. He wasn’t smiling anymore. She beat Gavin with everything she had, her anger unleashing as she finally let go. It killed him to watch her like this. He just wanted to hold her in his arms, to cushion her from all of the hurt that she endured. But he knew how much this was helping her. When she finally stopped, she turned away, looking at neither of them. She walked straight to the bathing chamber. His wife let go as she never had before.

Greylen nodded to Gavin to leave the room. Then he got up and went to his wife. She was doing exactly what he had, destroying everything in her sight. Screaming and crying at the same time. He didn’t stop her. He stood in the doorway, waiting until she spent the last of her strength. He gathered her in his arms as she sank to the floor. Then he sat with her in the chair in the alcove, rubbing her back as he kissed the top of her head.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Gwen,” he said, shaking his head.

“I’ve made such a mess of everything, Greylen.”

“We’ll clean up the mess, love.”

“Nay, ’tis not this mess I apologize for. I’ve been hiding… From myself and from you… ’Tis that I’m sorry for.”

They were the words he longed to hear. He only hoped that in the next few days, she would find the strength to, at last, win her battle.

’Twas something that he knew she must do herself.

Chapter 35

Gwen heard the cannon blast that began the race. She stood before the window and waited until she was sure that everyone had left the courtyard, then she slowly took the stairs. Isabelle was the only one who knew she was going and had offered to watch Tristan for the entire morning. Gwen knew it would take her hours to complete the course that her husband had set, but she needed this run.

She needed to cross that line.

It was the spark of hope that consumed her for the last three days, and it would be an accomplishment that no one could take from her. An accomplishment she knew she had to complete. And when she did, she would finally move on.