The Love of the Wielder (The Wielders Book Two)

No one deserves a happier ever after more than Jonathan Drake. Read the first chapter of his novella, An Everlasting Light, for free by signing up for my newsletter at www.rochellefoxwrites.com. Continue on for your preview!

As the convoys departed from the fort at Blackstone, each going in a different direction, they tore Jonathan apart. They were all in so much danger he couldn’t help but worry about each of them, running over all the things that might go wrong, over and over again.

The convoy traveling east was the safest. It had nothing to hide. Jonathan was concerned for the men, but it was a professional concern. True, they might encounter some Trackers and that might be a problem. He could not imagine what orders the Trackers might have been given. But they were competent soldiers. They would be all right. Probably.

Jonathan fixated on the northbound convoy, poking it like a sore tooth. It pained him to think about it, but he couldn’t stop. He had already done all he could for the true king and queen, but it didn’t stop him from worrying, especially about Maren. Jonathan had only known her for a short time, but he cared deeply for his unexpected friend. She was in great danger, both from the man who called himself king and from the precious baby she carried. Both could so easily destroy her.

It bothered him intensely that he might not ever find out if she survived her trials.

At least he would know soon if his youngest son was safe. Jonathan had tried to dissuade Alec from returning to the capital, urging his son to resign his post. But, Alec had insisted on going with the convoy that went south to the capital.

“There are people who will need me. I don’t know who or when, but I know that’s where I’m supposed to be.”

So, both annoyed with and proud of his youngest son, Jonathan let him go.

He worried about the final caravan, but the worry wasn’t as painful. Jonathan could do things to help those in his custody. Taking care of Maren’s parents and the women who had been rescued from the Tracker’s headquarters was something he both wanted and needed to do. He couldn’t make sure the rightful king sat on the throne, and he couldn’t make sure they found a safe haven, and he couldn’t see Maren safely through her pregnancy, but he could see that her parents and the women she rescued were safe.

Her mother had stopped crying, which was some relief. The poor woman had done nothing but cry for days while her husband patted her.

Much to his embarrassment, Jonathan was fascinated by their marriage. He knew no nobility in the area, or even in several surrounding areas, who had married for love. Such a thing was practically unheard of, and yet, here was a nobleman who had married the woman he fell in love with and had a daughter who married the man she loved.

It made Jonathan yearn for something he had long since given up on. He had always longed for a love match and swore off arranged marriages after the death of his second wife. But after a few years alone, he decided an arranged marriage would be far better than none at all so when Alec wrote to him about asking for Maren’s hand, it seemed serendipitous. That, of course, had been serendipitous, just not for Jonathan.

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