She started to sway and locked her knees to keep from falling and disgracing herself. The last thing she wanted was to appear weak in front of these men. She had to appear strong and confident at all costs if what she was about to do would have a hope in hell of working.
Marc’s strong arm came around her waist and she felt his powerful chest against her back. She didn’t even question how she knew it was Marc. She recognized his touch, his scent, his very essence. She was glad for his support and comfort and drew strength from him.
“What you all seem to have failed to remember is that I can leave here if I choose.
No matter where you take me, the tapestry will find me.”
“How can you be sure?” some man shouted from the crowd.
“It has always been thus,” Marc countered. “You know that, Asher.” The crowd grumbled. Kathryn squared her shoulders. “I know because I am a direct descendent of the sorceress who created the tapestry.” The crowd let out a roar of disbelief and several men surged forward. Marc tightened his hold, raising his sword in front of her. Logan, Tienan, Jarek and a host of other men stepped forward. Even the man who’d questioned her earlier, Abrah Dannon, stepped up beside Jarek to protect her. This could easily fall into another bloody melee, this one even worse than the first.
“Stop!” she yelled, raising her hands as she did so. The men immediately subsided and she could see the fear in some of their eyes. Did they think she had the powers of her ancestor the sorceress?
Heart pounding, she reached into her pocket and drew out the leather journal, holding it high in the air. “This diary came with me when the tapestry brought me. It tells of the creation of the tapestry, as well as the tales of all the tapestry brides that it has brought.” She paused for dramatic effect. “It ends with me.” The heat of the sun beat down upon her head. Even though the air was cool, sweat beaded on her forehead, rolling down her temple. She could feel the heavy thud of Marc’s heart against her back, he was pressed there so tightly.
Several men shuffled their feet, their fingers caressing the hilts of their swords but no one stepped forward. The air was charged with expectation. Kathryn could almost feel the electricity snapping in the wind that surrounded her.
“Hear me and hear me well.” Clasping the journal in both hands, she held it out to the crowd, turning slowly so all could see. “There was more in the back of the book. A gift to me from the sorceress herself. I know the secret of the tapestry.” She felt Marc’s jerk of surprise but he never moved from his position behind her.
“Give me that book,” one man roared.
“It will do you no good,” she countered. “I have torn out those pages and burned them.”
“It is lost,” Abrah breathed.
“No,” she shook her head, glancing his way. “It is not lost. I remember it all word for word. And even if I could not, what woman would want to remain here given the display you all put on this afternoon? Men wounded, some almost mortally and for what? You cannot make me feel what is not there. The tapestry is alive and has an intellect all its own. It brings women from other places to Javara, women who have the chance at thriving and being happy here. But it brings the women to where they are supposed to be.”
She let them chew on that fact for a moment. The fight seemed to go out of them and many of them lowered their swords, some even sheathing them. Marc eased his sword back to his side but she sensed he was still poised and ready to use it. “When did you find this?” he whispered in her ear.
She sensed the hurt underlying his words and she felt an overwhelming need to assure him that she wasn’t keeping things from him. Although why she should feel that way, she wasn’t quite sure. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling. “Just before Christina came and got me,” she whispered back, under her breath.
His fingers shifted, tightening against her belly. Immediately, heat shot between her thighs and she closed her eyes, swallowing heavily. Now was not the time or the place but that didn’t seem to matter. When it came to Marc, her body had a mind of its own.
The quicker this was done, the sooner she could retire to her room. She felt dusty and lightheaded. She’d hardly eaten anything these past two days. That coupled with the emotional overload and the physical strain of the afternoon, it was a wonder she was still on her feet.
Clearing her throat, she continued to address the crowd. “If a woman is brought to a particular family, then that is where she was meant to be. Taking her elsewhere will only ensure that she leaves. If there is a chance she will stay, then she needs to stay with the family she was brought to and given the chance to know those men.” She tried to think of a way to help them understand more fully the challenge these women faced. “Imagine if your sisters or daughters were ripped from all they knew and deposited in a strange world. Furthermore, they were told that they had to sleep with men they’d never met and pick a husband. Plus, this all had to happen in three days, and if they couldn’t make a decision, the tapestry would do it for them.” Several of the men in front of her appeared more thoughtful. “Think if you were ripped from all that you know and sent to a world where everything was different.” Marc shifted behind her and she felt the rumble of his voice against her back as he began to speak. “You all know that the tapestry took me from here.” Once again the crowd rumbled and many of the men nodded.
“I did not see much of Kathryn’s world but there were weapons that were unknown to me. Powerful things that could kill a man without even having to get close to him.” Marc sucked in a large breath, letting it out slowly. “My skills were all but useless there. If not for the element of surprise, I would probably be dead.” She heard Jarek’s cry of denial, even as she knew Marc spoke the truth. The thought of him injured or dead was almost too much for her to bear. She bit her lip to keep from crying. She longed to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face against his chest. But now was not the time.
“Marc speaks the truth.” Kathryn slowly turned her head so she could see Tienan as he spoke. “Guns, they’re called. For some reason they didn’t come with us when the tapestry brought us here and that isn’t a bad thing. In our world, there are weapons that could blow a hole in the side of the castle in a matter of seconds. It’s a brutal place.” Tienan paused. “Yet there is much good there too.” Reaching out, he stroked the side of her face.
Kathryn stretched her hand up to touch his, their fingers entwining. She hadn’t forgotten that their world was still in turmoil, waiting for them to return. Sighing, she forced herself to move, knowing she had to finish this.
There were women and children in the crowd now, drawn by the drama of what was unfolding. She saw Christina was beside Jarek and the Bakra wives had joined their husbands.
“I know that the laws of your land are for the protection and happiness of all, but the tapestry is magic, it does not recognize your laws. The tapestry is what it is and you must accept the decisions it makes.”
“And if we don’t,” one man countered.
“Then I can make certain that the tapestry never returns here.” Kathryn waited for the explosion, which wasn’t long coming.
Men yelled and protested but underneath it all she sensed panic and fear. It was then that she realized that these were mostly good men who only wanted wives and children. Families of their own.
She started to step away from Marc but his arm tightened around her. He wasn’t hurting her but she was locked in his embrace. “I have to do this,” she murmured. She felt his reluctance as his muscles slowly uncoiled and his forearm fell back to his side.
“Thank you.”