“Tarry a moment, Uncle,” Ashe said gently, “and meet your new great-nephew.”
A change came over Anborn’s stern face. He stared at the infant for a moment, then reluctantly reached out and took the infant in his arms, cradling him gently as Rhapsody came over beside him, smiling.
He smiled slightly down at the child for a moment, watching in wonder as the tiny fist curled around his finger. He looked up first at Rhapsody, then at Ashe, and spoke in a voice that was uncharacteristically gentle.
“Well done, my dear, and congratulations, nephew,” he said quietly. “To celebrate this occasion, Gwydion, I am going to stand here for a moment and marvel at this child, allowing you a few final moments of contentment before I tell you what I saw in Sorbold.”
Ashe exhaled deeply. “And I will return the favor by giving you yet a few more moments of happiness before I tell you what has happened to Llauron.”
The two Firbolg looked at each other, then turned away and started toward the door.
“I don’t envy Rhapsody her homecoming,” Achmed said, pulling his cloak around him and preparing to start out into the building storm.
Grunthor cleared his throat as he opened the door.
“Yeah, well, sir, Oi don’t especially envy you yours, either.”
The Bolg king’s eyes narrowed as he glanced back over his shoulder.
“What now?”
“Well, if ya thought that the ‘birthday party’ we had while you were gone the last time left a mess, wait until ya see the one that’s waiting for you when you get back this time, sir.”
Achmed sighed in annoyance. “Hrekin.”
“Actually, sir, that’s right. And lots of it.”
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel
are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
ELEGY FOR A LOST STAR
Copyright © 2004 by Elizabeth Haydon
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book,
or portions thereof, in any form.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Edited by James Minz
Maps by Ed Gazsi
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
First Edition: August 2004
Printed in the United States of America
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eISBN 9781429912488
Elegy for a Lost Star Page 43