Brianna pulled back, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "It doesn't matter," she said firmly. "This doesn't change anything. Everyone here thinks Lylis is Terion's daughter, and it's going to stay that way." She threw the words at him, almost as a challenge.
Lyall opened his mouth to deny them, to say that he intended to make sure everyone in the village knew the child was his. One look at her flashing eyes, and he closed it again. He couldn't do that to her, not now. Not when the whole village thought he was a monster. They would start to look at Brianna the same way, and wonder if she had betrayed them. That would hurt her more than he could bear.
So instead, he nodded. "If that's what you want," he said softly.
His acceptance took the wind out of her sails. She stared at him for a moment, bewildered, and he hid a smile. Then she nodded once. "I'm going back to breakfast," she added. "If you find anything that might help you find your mages then call me. More quietly this time," she added.
Lyall nodded and watched as she hesitated again, then when he said nothing, left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
He stared at the closed door, the revelation swirling through him. One of those little curly haired toddlers in the other room was his daughter. An image of the one who had called Brianna mama flashed in front of his eyes. The way she'd looked at him, only confirmed it.
A small smile settled on his lips even though the situation was far from ideal. The little girl had caught his heart already and held onto it tight with her jammy little hands.
The book under his elbows reminded him of the job he had to do. The sooner he could get it done and out of the way, the sooner he could sort out this mess with Brianna. He was beginning to think the mages and the magic spike were a figment of his father's imagination. He'd seen no sign of them and there was nowhere else on the mainland left to search. Once he had investigated this village thoroughly, he was done.
That thought sent him back to the books. He worked his way through them, from most recent to oldest, finding nothing at all out of the ordinary, confirming his thoughts that this village was just a normal, ordinary farming village. Except, of course, for the mysterious magic shield.
He closed the book and reached for the next, only to find there was none. He'd looked at them all. Lyall stared at the stack of books on the desk. Such complete records, every building and every transaction logged. Then they just stopped. He scanned the room, but there were no other volumes.
He picked up the books and began to flip through them again, paying more attention to the entries now. There was no mention of the town hall's construction or the twin's house. In fact, there were only two village buildings and half a dozen houses mentioned. He read over the first entry again and noticed that it began without introduction, as though the reader would already know what it was about.
And even more odd, they began at almost the exact date that had been recorded for the end of the mage war.
It was possible that the early founding of the village hadn't been recorded, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence. Perhaps the earlier books were stored somewhere else?
He needed to ask Brianna. But instead of calling her, he rose from the desk, and went quietly back into the kitchen.
Since no one noticed his presence, he watched the happy scene from the doorway. Mianna stood behind Terion, her hand on his shoulder, both of them laughing at Brianna and the two little girls. One of them hung off each wrist, and she lifted them easily, their feet off the ground, as they looked up at her and giggled as only young children can.
Brianna looked up and saw him, and her expression froze. Mianna and Terion turned towards where he stood, their laughter cutting off abruptly. The moment was over-He was a monster in their eyes. Could he ever be anything else?
He cleared his throat, and Brianna set both girls carefully on the floor. They seemed to notice the change of mood in the room because they didn't beg for more as he had expected they would.
He couldn't bear the silence. "Are there any more books?" he asked, just to break it.
Brianna's nose wrinkled. "More books? About the village, you mean? No, they're all there."
"No, they're not. Are you certain you don't know of any more?"
Brianna shook her head. "No. We don't have many books in the village. If there were others somewhere, I would know about them."
Instantly, he was reminded of one of their first conversations, at Petar's bookstore, when she had seemed in awe of the books stacked to the ceiling. Brianna must have been thinking of it too, because her eyes met his and she smiled.
Then remembering that they weren't alone, her expression changed to a scowl. Lyall bit back a sigh. "Well, I suppose my men will have to search the village as soon as they get back from exploring the pass."
Brianna's face paled. "The pass? They're not going there, are they?"
Lyall glanced at Mianna and Terion, only to find that their expression mirrored Brianna's. So they did have something to hide.
"What's there?" he asked roughly. "Something you've been hiding from me? An army of mages, maybe?"
"You have to stop them," Brianna said urgently. "Or they'll all die."
The fear and panic in her voice were real, not faked, and sparked a growing unease. "What could possibly be there that could harm them?"
"Trolls!" Brianna spoke as if that should explain the situation, but it only confused him more.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know, great big green monsters … that want to kill everything." Brianna's voice rose at the end. "You need to call them back right away. They've left us alone for the last few years, but if too many people go to the pass, it could spark another raid."
Lyall couldn't believe it. "Stories told to frighten children," he said scornfully. "Surely you don't believe them?"
Brianna stared at him, then started to laugh, the high pitched sound grating on his nerves. Then she stopped abruptly and stared at him. "For all your knowledge about the world and its history, you seem to have missed one important fact. Trolls are very real and very dangerous. I suggest you call your men back before you lose them." She glanced over at her twin, then added, "Not that I care. In fact, why don't you send them all over the ridge? Maybe you'll find something exciting there."
Her words sounded genuine, and her fear was quite real. Lyall, though, couldn't be convinced. Something was going on and until he found out what, caution might be best. "I'll call them back," he said roughly. "Show me the way."
Brianna looked at him a moment, then nodded and headed to the door. On the way through it, she reached for a sword, hanging in its scabbard near the door. So she took this seriously.
Lyall hurried after her as she practically ran up the incline behind the village to another wall, this one even more fortified than the first. There they found his men, arguing with two villagers guarding the gate.
"I don't want to have to fight you," Urster said, "but if you don't stop talking nonsense and let me past, I'll have no choice."
"It's too dangerous," the man, barely more than a boy, said stubbornly. "Brianna said no one was to go through the gates."
"Well Brianna isn't in charge anymore," Urster said flatly.
Urster had his back to them, but the young man saw them. "Well, here she is, so why don't you talk to her?"
The words died on Urster's lips as he turned around and saw Lyall and Brianna. His eyes went to Lyall, suspicion in them. "Surely you don't believe them, sir, with their stories about trolls?"
"I'm not sure what to believe," Lyall said honestly, "but rushing into a potentially dangerous situation we know nothing about isn't wise."
"They're just trying to stop us going through the pass," Urster insisted, "which means they must be hiding something over there. Probably their real city, where the rest of the mages are."
Lyall looked around. The two men standing inside the gates were well armed with leather breastplates. On the towers on either side of the gates, men stood with bows and arrows on their backs. Whatever was going on, the villagers took it seriously. They were defending the village, not something outside. "I don't think it's that simple," Lyall said slowly, something occurring to him.
"You mean you're willing to believe anything they said because you are so captivated by … " he broke off and stared at Brianna and the villagers.
Lyall frowned at him. He'd already cautioned the man about mentioning his relationship with Brianna. It seemed he was so agitated he had forgotten.
"By the idea of twins?" Brianna broke in. "Like any other man?" her voice was scornful, and if Lyall hadn't known she was trying to cover up Urster's slip, he would have objected.