Read Online Lords of Trillium by Hilary Wagner - Free Book Online Page A

his chest. There were so many things he wanted to say, but at that moment none of it came to mind except one thing. “The day I met you, I knew that you were special—and not because our fathers were best friends. You were a survivor. You stayed strong and lived through Killdeer’s reign, but you never lost sight of who you were, always with your sunny outlook. After all you’ve been through, you have the most open, compassionate, tender heart anyone could ever know.”
    Clover’s pulse raced. She looked at Juniper, who smiled at her, wrapping his arm around Mother Gallo’s shoulder. “It’s all right, dear,” Mother Gallo whispered to her. Julius, Nomi, and the other children gathered around her. “Your heart will lead you.”
    â€œSay yes, Clover!” cried Julius. “You must say yes!”
    â€œShhh,” said Juniper in a hushed voice, holding a claw to his lips. “That part hasn’t happened yet.”
    â€œSay yes!” repeated Nomi, bouncing up and down.
    Mother Gallo scooped her daughter up in her arms. “Hush, dear.”
    Vincent looked at Clover’s expectant face, the face he had first seen four years ago when he’d reached his arms up to help her into the tunnel they’d dug to Nightshade City. “Say yes . . . to
me
.” She looked around nervously. “Marry me, Clover.”
    â€œOh!” said Clover, her legs weakening. Trying to block out the noise of the crowd, she closed her eyes, recalling the look on Vincent’s face the first time she ever saw him, his determined green eyes. Clover’s feet suddenly felt rock solid. Her thundering heart wasn’t fearful. It was joyful. She took a step toward Vincent. She reached out, holding his face in both her paws. “You mean
everything
to me. You are my family.” She hugged him.

    After a moment, Vincent pulled back and looked at her. “Is—is that a
yes
, then?”
    Clover nodded. “Yes.” She turned around and looked at the breathless crowd. “Yes!” she shouted. She turned back to Vincent. Through the cheers, laughter, and singing, all she could see was him.
    Vincent closed his eyes and held her close, lost in the lemony scent of her fur.
    â€œSilvius,” whispered Ajax, after the long line of Toscans had greeted their king at a spur-of-the-moment celebration feast, “are you
really
all right?”
    Silvius looked around the hall at all the smiling faces. “I’m certainly not cured . . . but I feel
better
, more like my old self.” He rested his chin on his paw. “Hearing Billycan’s story brought something back in me, something I’ve not felt in ages.”
    â€œAnd what’s that?” asked Ajax curiously.
    â€œDetermination to stop Hecate,” said Silvius, “to never let another rat go through what we went through.” He huffed crossly. “It’s never right to let a single soul control the fates of so many others. Before Hecate, we worked together, as a kingdom. You were my adviser and friend, as were many others. Decisions were not made unilaterally by me; they were made by all.”
    â€œYou were—and are—a good king.”
    â€œI never wanted to be king,” said Silvius. “I never asked for that. I only wanted to make lives better.”
    Ajax smiled, looking around the bustling hall. “Then you accomplished your goal, despite Hecate. We only called you king because you deserved it.”
    â€œAjax,” said Silvius, “I cannot lead our kingdom anymore. At the moment I feel quite lucid, but I fear it will not last. You
must
lead these rats. I will counsel you whenever I can. You are like a son to me. Back in that dreadful lab, the humans bred us most unnaturally, taking bits and pieces of us with their diabolical needles and injecting the poor would-be mothers of our future children. It was unspeakable. I never