Epilogue
“Come, my love.” Michael grasped Allegra’s hand and drew her up the tall, curving stairwell.
She followed him willingly—as she had ever done, and always would, until the end of time.
The tower was cool and damp. It was a part of the keep that she rarely accessed, and which normally sent chills down her spine…but today, it didn’t matter. Today, she was with Michael.
Her skirt trailed in the dust as they clambered up more steps and more steps, holding hands, silent.
When they reached the top, he opened the door and allowed her to step out onto the balcony of the tower ahead of him. She felt his strong, sturdy body behind her, solid and fearless in its warmth. The wind was stronger at this height, and the view of the blue sea sparkling to the west was expansive. The sound of the surf was lost in the breeze, lending a hollow, windy sound and giving the impression that they were separated from the rest of the world.
They were.
She looked over the lands of Langumont, seeing the village, the bailey of the keep below, noticing the thickness of the forest to the east and the varying shades of green meadow to the north and south.
She’d been happy here.
Though her heart had always been with Michael, she’d been happy. Merle had been a good husband to her. She had betrayed him in so many ways, and now he was dead…by the hand of the man she loved.
Michael had told her of his part in Merle’s death…yet, she still loved him. ’Twas her great sin, her great weakness that she would follow him willingly, anywhere, until the end of time.
“Are you frightened?” he asked suddenly, his voice rumbling in her ear.
“When I am with you—nay, never,” she told him, turning to face him. They could not be together here, she knew. This was their only chance.
“Come, Allegra, let us go.”
He took her hands in his, facing her fully, and looking down at her with those blue eyes lit with an odd, unsettling light.
She moved willingly with him to the edge of the tower’s railing, stepping up on it in tandem with him. “I love you,” she told him.
“I love you.”
And then it was over.
