Page 55 of To Desire

He had no premonition, as Liana did, but Darien did not need as much to know this did not bode well.

“Go on,” he said, waiting.

“Do you wish for me to share all of what I see with you?”

“Of course. Why would I not⁠—”

“Someday, I will die. As will you. If we have children together, they may befall tragedy, and though I may not foretell it, precisely . . .” She took a deep breath.

He finished for her. “There may be clues.”

She nodded. “Aye.”

“Have you seen something?”

“Perhaps, though it is not yet clear.”

Something about what she read in the runes earlier had prompted this.

“So I ask you, do you wish for me to share all? Or only when my readings are clear? Or perhaps you wish us to set other guidelines, for what you might know?”

He considered how Liana might want him to respond. “What would you wish for me to know? I would share any burden with you⁠—”

“This is a burden beyond most,” she interrupted. “I would have you think carefully on the question and answer me with the honesty in your heart.”

“I will do so,” he said.

Part of him wanted to say “aye” and hear what she had to say immediately. But there was another part of him that wanted naught to do with such knowledge. If something were to happen to her . . .

“I will do so,” he repeated, realizing, perhaps for the first time, the magnitude of the burden Liana carried. Was there anything more painful than knowing those you loved might perish, or fall ill, and there was naught you could do to prevent it?

He pulled her into his arms, right there in the corridor. It was not a discussion he wished to continue, but life was filled with such difficult questions and moments. Which was why he stood there, holding her, not willing to let Liana go. Not yet.

Not ever.