A New Beginning

This is chapter 17 of The Watched: A New Beginning. Find all the chapters published so far here. Download the entire novel from a major retailer here.

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Aralyn stared at her sister sleeping on Barric’s solid shoulder. How could Lynna accept him so easily? Was she so desperate for a father’s love?

As though he perceived her scrutiny, his arms tightened around Lynna and his nostrils flared with every exhale. “You don’t wish to marry someone younger than Edric? How well can you know him?”

“I know he is the kind of man who brought us food when we had none, who protected our home from thieves when our parents left us to fend for ourselves.” She refused to feel guilty about the flicker that crossed Barric’s face at the mention of Felora and Oram. “We stayed up talking in the dark for hours. He is learned and kind and honourable. He is able to provide for a family and I feel safe when I’m with him.”

She stared into the same blue eyes she knew her own face held. She searched for more of herself in him. The corner of his mouth pulled to the side the same way Lynna’s did when she was frustrated.

“Aralyn, lā, this is a hard life.” He waved at their surroundings. His accent was more pronounced than it had been. “There is a war coming and you need to be trained. How will you do that when you are distracted by a husband?”

“Why can’t I do both—”

“Whether you want it or not, you have the gift, and if you don’t learn how to control it, you’ll go mad.”

“Men older than he are married to women younger than I,” she said. She knew about a hard life. Being with Edric couldn’t be as bad as living under Oram’s thumb.

“You don’t need a husband; you need a teacher. It is my duty to keep you and protect you and his duty to watch over you—from a distance.” Barric’s voice softened. “I would have a chance to get to know you before I give you to another.”

“But we go to war,” she said. Tears welled in her eyes. He didn’t understand. She didn’t have time. “What if we are meant to be together and this is all the time we’ve been given?”

Barric straightened. “Love is a choice, pure and simple.” Lynna squirmed and Barric set her on her feet. Her little sister leaned against his thigh and held the blanket he’d given her to her nose.

“There’s more to marriage than love. I understand why your mother filled your head with that nonsense, but—”

She spun away before he saw the tears spilling from her eyes. She needed him to agree. She needed to marry Edric.

He grasped her upper arm gently and turned her to face him. “What else is there to this? Why the rush to marry? Unless your mother has radically changed her views on marriage, this did not come from her.”

It wasn’t fair that he could guess at her motivations like that. She barely knew him. Oram couldn’t remember Felora’s favourite colour, but Barric knew her views on marriage and they hadn’t spoken in … She glanced at Lynna. In at least five years. The tears streamed down her cheeks, now unchecked. “I have no time,” she blurted. She swiped at her tears. She’d said too much.

He studied her face. “What do you mean, you have no time?” Barric pulled away the wet strands of hair stuck to her face and neck with a fingertip. “What have you seen?”

Her eyes widened. How did he know? He gave her that wry smile and pressed his forehead to hers. “My family has had this gift for a long time. I may not have the sight, but I understand your gift better than most.”

He pulled back and rested a hand on Lynna’s head. “Being near to me keeps the dreams at bay. That is why she stays so close. I spent those years on the Argob learning to pray and forgive. I cannot share what I do not have within myself to give.”

Barric looked down at Aralyn with a look she didn’t know how to interpret. He tipped his face toward her. “Now, tell me what you have seen.”

The words tumbled from her mind and out her mouth before she could stop them. “I am drowning in a river before a tall stone wall. Men stand on the wall looking down on me with bows drawn.” She shut her eyes. “I can smell the smoke from the fire consuming the city.”

“Jabbok?” Barric dried her cheek with his thumb. “Listen, the dreams are only glimpses of what could be. They are glimpses of experiences perhaps not your own. This is why you need training, to learn how to interpret what you see instead of living in fear of it.”

“But it’s so real. What if it is my future?” A sob burst from her throat. “I’ll never have children. I’ll never see my sisters again. I’ll never—”

He pulled her against his chest and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She leaned into his strength and understood the safety Lynna found in his arms. It was a warm cocoon of love that drove out the fear and uncertainty. She could trust this. It was different than the safety she found in Edric’s embrace.

“Do not rush to marry Edric because of this dream. For your sake and his.”

Barric pulled away and tipped her face up. “You need training, not a husband. There are still a few weeks until the snow stays for winter. Ask me again when the snow on the ground stays. In the meantime, we will work on understanding your gift.”

She let him embrace her again. He hadn’t said no.

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