Bourne & Tributary by Lisa T. Bergren

Book 4 of River of Time

Summary:

BOURNE, a novella, picks up right where TORRENT left off...Find out what has happened to men returning from the battle, gravely wounded, to the Betarrinis, fighting for the men they love, and just who is hunting them next...

TRIBUTARY, a novella, picks up a year after BOURNE... Lia struggles to overcome the fear that constant battle has heaped upon her; Gabi and Marcello face an unexpected crisis; and Lord Greco just may be ready to leave the grief and loss of his past behind him, so that he might grab hold of the future...

Opening Lines:

"M'lady! They approach!" the guard yelled down to us form the walls. 

"Thank God," I muttered, taking my first full breath in what seemed like hours. Ever since the battle had ended the night before, Sienese patrols had circulated in and out of Castello Forelli, to drop off wounded, reprovision, rest, and head out again. As the night wore on, and the Fiorentini withdrew north, the patrols were gone for longer periods of time. But Marcello, Luca, and Lord Greco hadn't shown up at all.