Page 35 (1/2)

"Angry, then If you’d let hts, I’d be able to tell, wouldn’t I?"

She ignored his taunt and her fists clenched in her skirt, ruining the smooth silk "I will not bear another child Not even for you"

"Nor have I asked you to I know your feelings on the matter"

"And yet you would allow Tynan to repair you?"

"Yes, so that he may learn how to repair the other men You may not want children, but what about the other women who have come to us?"

"I assuhtered as I haveTynan," said Gilda

Angus sucked in a deep breath, reaching for patience The depth of Gilda’s grief for their dead children knew no bounds She hadn’t healed as was natural, as he had healed Her grief had not lightened over the decades Soer and loss had festered inside Gilda, growing bigger and darker with the passage of time

He should have seen it before He should have sought to help her sooner, but he hadn’t, and noas afraid that the affliction she suffered was too large and deep to be healed

Except, possibly, by the birth of another child One they would protect and keep frorief

Angus’s soul ached to hold a babe in his arhter and feel the pride of watching it grow up strong and brave and kind He cherished all of his children, even those who had made poor choices He missed them, and there would always be a hollow place in his heart that he couldn’t still hold them and speak to them, but that hollowness had not destroyed him It had not ripped away his will to live or his ability to see the joy surrounding the to keep so many humans safe

"I won’t turnmore than just his responsibilities to his ree

"No, instead you’ll turn your back on me"

He reached for her, but she flinched, and he let his hand fall away "Never that, love You are now and have always been the center ofexcept deny Tynan?" Her hands unclenched and her face smoothed to impassivity "Do as you will I won’t try to stop you, but know this: as long as there is even the slightest chance you are fertile, I will not allow you to bed hed at her ludicrous state in her eyes The laugh bubbling inside him died, and he clamped his lips shut over the rotten sound

"You meant it We’veto come between us How can youanother child into this world"

"Not even if it’s what I want?"

She gave hiive you whatever you wanted, but in this I cannot bend I don’t love you enough to watch another child of mine die"

"We won’t be able to resist each other," said Angus with complete confidence

"To prevent another child’s death, I will Believe us did not doubt her sincerity, but neither could he back down He had to help find a way to heal all of the children back into their lives "I have to do this, Gilda The men need me But if you insist, we can use human forms of contraception"

"No" The as flat, final and ugly "If you do this, you will not touchhih so er and closer than before This tius questioned that possibility

She’d shut hihts She’d never done that before She’d never turned her back on hius couldn’t stand here and face her like this, unable to find a way to help her, and unwilling to give her what she thought she wanted He had to act with his conscience, and pray that eventually, Gilda would see it was the right thing to do The only thing to do

He turned away, leaving the Hall of the Fallen and Gilda behind

As the thud of his boots echoed in the long hallway, Angus suffered in silent frustration He had to do this He had to give his people hope for some kind of future If Tynan’s calculations were off and this possible cure did harus would be the only one to suffer

And if it succeeded, these walls would once again ring with the sound of happy children Theronai children

Angus was filled up with a renewed sense of purpose He was going to help his men Whether or not he ever had another child, he vowed that he would do whatever was necessary to see that his men did They would rebuild their ranks and hope would be restored Angus would not allow any lesser outcoht now Weak from her efforts to restore the wall Of course she would react badly to such a sensitive subject It was hardly her fault that she suffered so, and he would forgive her Hell, he already had But that didn’tto let her continue to destroy herself

They weren’t done yet Not by a long shot She’d shut hi too much for him to do so Whether or not she realized it, she needed him, and if that meant he had to trick her, then that hat he’d do His woet through her thick skull was by sheer force of will--the kind of force a us was more than equipped to exert