Chapter 329: The Present Ll

Lillith's stomach fluttered with butterflies when she saw Rowan under the tall entrance of the temple.

He was wearing a decorative lightweight armour that every champion before him had worn on their special day. His hair was neatly brushed back and over it, he wore a circlet that matched the one inside a box held by the grand priestess.

"Rowan," she sighed softly with happiness. There was no doubt in her mind that she was the one for him. The clerics of Eos had said so.

"Rowan Windwalker," the grand priestess slowly stood up and called out his name. "Must you continue to profane this sacred place by bringing with you your sinful lover?"

Hundreds of worshippers turned to look at Syryn who felt a rush of ice down his spine. Rowan squeezed his hand gently and reminded him that there was nothing to fear.

"Let Eos decide what is sinful and what isn't," Syryn said to the grand priestess.

Her old grey eyes turned their stare to him and she frowned. "Speak only when you are being spoken to, heathen."

"Die when you're supposed to, you old fossil. Stop holding on to life like some whore clutching onto a fleeing customer."

The congregation gasped loudly at the redheaded child who had uttered those terrible words.

Rowan wasn't sweating but he sure felt like it when he heard Lucien's outburst. The blond hadn't wanted to start a drama but it was inevitable when Lucien was around.

"What insolence!" The priestess pointed to the redhead and screeched. "Someone throw him out! Now!"

"He's with me," Rowan told the approaching guards. "No one is getting kicked out without my permission."

"Rowan you can't-"

"Please sit down, grand priestess," Rowan told the old woman. There was power in his command that even she was affected by. "You will remain silent and conduct yourself with dignity as befitting of Eos' senior-most servant." The blond was firm but careful with his words.

The grand priestess as well as several other clerics looked like they had much to say but Rowan's cold glower kept them in their places.

"Shall we begin then?" The blond asked the priests who promptly scurried to their places at the altar.

____

"Lillith, child, go ahead," the old woman smiled encouragingly at her.

The other two priestesses had failed to make the bud bloom so it was now her turn. The grand priestess suppressed her temper and ignored Syryn because Lillith would be chosen and he would be kicked out. There was time later for humiliating him and also Rowan who dared to speak to her in such a rude manner.

Lillith walked slowly towards the pedestal that was surrounded by singing crystals, which were at the moment silenced by magic.

This was it, the moment she had been waiting for her whole life. She shyly glanced in Rowan's direction but he wasn't looking at her. She felt a pang of hurt that even at this moment, Rowan would not gaze her way. Why didn't he want her? If Syryn wasn't alive then he would be hers, right?

"Rowan will be mine," she whispered to the flower and then said a short prayer with her head bowed.

All was quiet when the lovely princess reached out to the flower. The moment her fingers brushed it, there was a bright glow that sprang from the heart of the bud.

Delighted gasps were heard from the congregation. The grand priestess wore a victorious smile as she watched the bud glow brighter and brighter.

"Rowan, mind explaining that?" Syryn murmured to the blond.

In response, Rowan slipped his fingers through Syryn's.

"It's not like I'm planning to run away, Ro," Syryn told him. "Regardless of what happens, you're with me, right?"

"Always," Rowan told him with a smile. "Only you, my Ryn."

Lillith's heart was pounding and she was breathless. "Open," she coaxed the bud whose petals were moving. "Come on."

"How long will that take?" Syryn asked the blond who looked unconcerned by what was happening.

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"Let's give it a few minutes," Rowan replied.

When the glowing bud did just that and nothing else, the butterflies in Lillith's stomach turned into moths. Why wasn't it opening?! The grand priestess had assured her that it would.

"Open," she cried to it but the bud would not obey.

Rowan's solemn gaze was on the woman who once was his wife. They had both failed each other and the world. He was sorry for her pain, for the love he couldn't reciprocate. He was sorry that Lillith had to be a pawn just like him. If Eos truly cared for her children then this time would be different, and maybe, just maybe, Lillith would fall in love with the healer who had been there for her when Rowan hadn't.

"Lillith," he gently called to her. "I'm sorry."

The beautiful princess turned around to look at the love of her life, the man she was sure she would marry. "For what?" She said through a film of unshed tears. "For not loving me?"

Rowan squeezed Syryn's hand to let him know not to worry when he let go of it. Walking towards Lillith, Rowan recalled in his mind the sacrifices they had made, the fights they'd had, all the horrible things that had happened to the both of them. Neither had deserved any of it.

"There's a lot I'm sorry for." Rowan faced Lillith whose cheeks were wet with tears. She was so young and naive, untouched by the horrors that had carved their scars into the Lillith he had been married to. "Why do you wish to be with me?"

The princess wiped away a teardrop from the side of her eye. Such a question was absurd.

"Because it's you," she answered. "I've loved you since the day- never mind. Everybody loves you, Rowan. You're the champion, the handsome Knight in shining armour who will sweep some lucky wom- lucky man off his feet."

The blond smiled at her correction.

"Princess, I'm not the perfect man you seem to think I am."

"But-"

Lillith quieted when Rowan offered her his handkerchief.

"There are many perfect men," Rowan bowed his head and spoke as gently as he did with Lucien. "Each one perfect for the one that was made for him. Someday you too will meet a man who will love you unconditionally. You will know then, princess, the true meaning of a perfect man."

Lillith's eyes watered all over again.

"Please don't cry, Lillith," Rowan said to the sniffling princess.

"How can I not fall for you when you're like this, Rowan Windwalker!"

The blond was lost for words for a second time that day.

Lillith used his handkerchief to wipe her tears and she turned to look at Syryn who was drinking a few cups of vinegar.

"Syryn Nigh'hart, if you don't love this man with all your heart, if you don't treat him right, I will do whatever it takes to come between the two of you."

Syryn awkwardly nodded. This wasn't how he had expected his interaction with Lillith to turn out.

"Goodbye, Rowan," Lillith smiled at him. It was sad, and brave, and filled with a determination that gave Rowan hope for her.

___

"Syryn, come here," Rowan told the alchemist who was feeling out of sorts after the big drama that had unfolded. Rowan was a good man, that much he had gleaned from it.

"Yeah," Syryn replied. He felt eyes as sharp as daggers piercing into him from every direction. He was unwelcome and unwanted among the worshipers of Eos. Did the Goddess even want him?

A twinge of unease reared its ugly head as he arrived closer to the bud. He didn't know why but he felt a sense of discomfort being inside the temple.

"Just do it, Ryn," Rowan told him. The blond was hiding his anxiety well but his eyes betrayed him.

"Here goes nothing," Syryn told Rowan as he placed his hand on the bud. At that very moment, Syryn's vision went dark.. The last thing he saw was Rowan reaching out to catch him as he fell.

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