by Lisa Rector
Rhianu was a bright light for a half-emrys. He couldn’t deny how much her light had grown over the past month. How? Why? What brought her joy?
Einion squinted into the night. Something was different. A smaller light within Rhianu’s abdomen shone with a piercing intensity. How had he missed it before? Einion blanched. No. He knew what that light meant, having seen it in Gorlassar in many emryn women. No.
Anger stirred his heart. Einion’s jaw clenched, and his dark energy rolled into his fingertips. His patience had reached its limit.
He lunged after her and grabbed her arm, careful not to hurt her, but his rough voice signaled that his energy was right on the verge of erupting. He fought for restraint as he growled at her. “Who did this to you? Did someone take advantage of you?” I’ll kill him. “Is he going to marry you? Tell me, Rhianu.”
“Come on, Einion. Leave me alone. It’s none of your business.” She yanked her arm away.
“You’re with child. I demand to know. Is it one of the men at the party?” Einion tightened his grip on her arm, thinking about the men with whom she had danced.
“You’re hurting me. Let me go. I’m not your ward. You have no right to demand answers from me.”
Einion loosened his hold and softened his voice. He didn’t want to lose control. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine someone taking advantage of you like that. The thought makes me furious.”
“I can see that.”
“Rhianu, please tell me.” He would beg her, even if it took all night.
“You don’t remember?” Her eyes bored into his. “Curse you, Einion. Whose do you think it is? I’ve been here for only a month.”
“Someone from my palace? Is that why you left?” Einion demanded. “Who’s the father?”
Rhianu rolled her eyes and said evenly, “You are.”
Einion staggered back. He rubbed his chin and stared at the light in her belly. Impossible. “I don’t…”
“The night you don’t remember, I brought you a flower. You said it was a gwri. A fairy came out of it. I didn’t know. I still don’t understand.”
“Oh, Rhianu.” Understanding dawned on him. How could she have been so stupid? “Gwri are fey beings. They cause mischief. They’re tricksters. You don’t have them across the wilderness?”
Rhianu shook her head.
“That’s why I can’t remember. I’m so sorry.” Einion tried to wrap his mind around the implications. There was no way around fey magic. Once a poor, unsuspecting soul fell under a fey’s spell, he was at its mercy. “Did I hurt you? Physically, I mean.”
Master of Light! She was crying.
“I hurt you!”
She shook her head again.
“You don’t have to lie. I’m so sorry, please forgive me.” Einion thought back to the night they sparred in the yard and how they fought, and how he became forceful with her and kissed her violently. Did he hurt her again in the same manner? His stomach turned. The marinated fowl and sweet wine he had for supper could quickly make a reappearance.
“I have flashbacks… I don’t remember the whole night.” Rhianu wrung her hands while talking. “You were careful—gentle. I can still feel your hands caressing my skin.” She choked on her words. “Here.” She touched his cheek.
Glimpses enveloped his mind. Rhianu in his arms, the taste of his mouth on hers. The way his heated skin slipped over hers. She was frightened. She was nervous, but his touch stilled her and electrified her at the same time. He lived every slow movement, every light touch, exactly as she felt it.
He pulled away and gasped. “How?”
“A trick I learned from my mother—a technique I remembered.”
“I’ve never experienced another emrys’s memories like that.” He shook his head. How? The transference was more than personal—like Trahaearn being in his head. Catrin had never done that to him before. To go into someone’s mind like that was tricky. It took great skill. How had Rhianu learned this?
“I’m sorry. I should have given you a warning. I wanted you to see it. I wanted you to know.”
The fey spell had forced the intimacy on them. It was magic. But even under the magic, Einion could feel the desire and the passion. That had been real. He touched her cheek. It was so real.
Einion gulped and dragged his hands down his face.
What to do? Of course he would be honorable. He had to marry her. He cared for her. He wouldn’t leave her alone to raise their child. I’m going to be a father! Wait until Trahaearn hears this.
I’ve already heard it. I’m in shock over here.
Trahaearn. Trahaearn! Shock is right. Einion tugged at his collar. When did it become so hot outside?
Deep breaths, Brother.
Einion stared at Rhianu staring back at him. What was the next step? Did Rhianu feel his anxiety?
“You don’t have to do anything,” Rhianu said before he had a chance to finish processing everything. “You made yourself clear before.”
“Woman, you’re as stubborn as I am. Forget what I said that night. I was confused—emotional. I never wanted you to leave. I never thought you would. I never expected this.” Einion ran his hand through his hair and laughed, the nervous tension slipping off his shoulders. He had been so anxious to see Rhianu, to find out why she left without a word, and now this! “Come home to Gorlassar with me. We can marry.”
Oh great! I love a wedding! Trahaearn roared. “More crispy chicken. Bring me more chicken, my good man.”
Einion shut his mind to his dragon’s request for more chicken. Trahaearn made well with any situation.
Rhianu looked at him blankly with doe eyes. Einion actually didn’t think she was going to say yes. A smile crept across her face, and she burst into a laugh. Rhianu threw her arms around his neck. “Yes. I’ll come home with you. I’ll marry you!”
Overjoyed, Einion spun her in a circle.
He was finally going home to Gorlassar, for a completely different reason—one he could have never anticipated.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GOING HOME
Rhianu could not believe this was coming to a close. The mission would be finished, and she could go home to Morvith. She would see Meuric again and move on with her life. She wasn’t sure how a child would fit into life as the Vessel. The Dark Master knew this would happen as a consequence of using the gwri blossom, but he had not talked with her since that scandalizing morning when she woke. He didn’t care she had fled Hyledd, didn’t care she felt shame and humiliation because of that indiscretion. He had punished her well, and Rhianu would not forget the lesson.
When Rhianu realized she was going to have a child, she had shrugged it off with her other burdens—no matter. Once she returned to Morvith, she would find a nursemaid. At least Einion was going to take her to Gorlassar. She would find the entrance to the dragon realm and go home.
But she felt a disconcerting peace. Einion was right. She had more light—despite her memory’s return of all her dark past. Was it possible this life inside bolstered her light? Spiritually, Rhianu’s light had increased. That couldn’t be denied. Intellectually, she was prepared to go through with the plan. It was only rational. The darkness was what she knew and understood.
Einion failed to see through her façade during Ellena’s wedding. He had been dripping with emotional turmoil, so much that he couldn’t focus on Rhianu’s lies. She knew he’d be at the wedding. She knew he’d confront her and he’d learn about the child. Einion had fallen into the trap well.
And to think, right before she lost her memories, she had joked about how simple this all would be—minus the snafu of her memory loss. That was restored, and all was as it should be.
Einion made arrangements with Chancellor Arthfael while he was still in town with his daughter. He congratulated Einion and Rhianu on their engagement. Ellena was ecstatic. She gushed about wedding plans, but Rhianu told her it would be a small ceremony in Gorlassar. Rhianu didn’t actually think it would come to that, not if she could help it. Eini
on was a means to an end. The fact that she had loved him didn’t matter. He would not be a part of her future after this. Love had no place in the Vessel’s heart.
Einion played the part of an overly concerned father-to-be extremely well, and Rhianu couldn’t escape the guilt plainly written on his face. He looked at her like a used rag doll that someone dropped in the mud and soiled. It was unbearable. Rhianu maintained a guise of love and thrill at the upcoming nuptials, but it made her sick. It took real skill to mask true emotions. Thank the Dark Master she had eons of practice.
Aerona helped as best she could. You will survive this. One flight to Gorlassar and you can ditch Einion on the doorstep and fly out of there. No wedding, no fuss.
Rhianu kept that in the forefront of her mind. What if she couldn’t leave, and oh, have mercy, what if she had to watch as Einion told his entire family they were marrying and having a child? Seeing the look on Catrin’s face would make that distasteful event pleasurable. Rhianu pictured Catrin enraged at first, then consumed by uncontrollable sobs. Ha ha, the little brat. That would be so worth it.
A few days after Ellena’s wedding, as summer was ending, Einion and Rhianu climbed onto their dragons and started the journey to Gorlassar. As the dragon flew, the trip would take all day and several hours after dark. The capital of Hyledd was not much out of the way, so they returned home for the night. Einion didn’t want to stress Rhianu out by having her on a dragon for too long. Senseless, overbearing…
Rhianu rolled her eyes. She didn’t even feel pregnant yet. Luckily, only emrys could detect the telltale glow in her belly. Einion’s guard already knew. With horror, Rhianu realized the truth would be evident when her first step crossed the threshold into Gorlassar. Lady Meinwen would know right away. Rhianu decided it would not come to that.
So they flew over the North Mountains, with their foliage turning bright yellow, orange, and red. The cold, crisp winds encouraged Einion’s arms tighter around Rhianu’s waist. Rhianu insisted she could fly on Aerona on her own, but after seeing the shimmering, brown, puppy eyes of Einion, she decided humoring him was good for the cover-up. His energy warmed her, and Rhianu tried to ignore the feelings he stirred inside her. It’s just the imbalance that comes from being with child, she rationalized.
Aerona flew grudgingly at Trahaearn’s side. It will soon be over. It will soon be over. It will—
That’s the spirit, Aerona.
***
They arrived in Hyledd in the late afternoon. Rhianu insisted she was quite exhausted and withdrew to her room, avoiding Einion. He showed up at suppertime with a tray of food.
“I didn’t want to disturb you, but I wanted to make sure you ate a morsel. I’m told pregnancy can upset your stomach if you let it become too empty. Even for an emryn woman. Are you feeling all right? You’ve been rather silent the past few days.”
She considered how to play this: pregnant and sick, this is happening too fast, or do you really love me? Almost any possibility, except the truth, could work. I want to ditch you, go home, have my baby fatherless, and leave it to be raised by some other woman. Am I that heartless?
“Oh, Einion, I don’t know. I feel you’re marrying me out of duty, not because you love me. I keep seeing those flashes of the night we were together, but how can I know it was love? I mean, that was a spell.”
“I understand how you’re feeling. I’m not sure if I can answer you. In your heart, you know I care for you. I feel that we developed a friendship these past months. We are friends, are we not?”
Rhianu nodded. Her face and eyes pulled into what she hoped was an innocent expression.
“I trust you. If anything, we can build on that. Going into this marriage, Rhianu, can you trust me? I would have to say this couldn’t work if we didn’t believe in each other.”
Einion sat next to her on a bench before the fire, holding her hands and looking into her eyes. Why couldn’t he see the evil that lay behind them? Was she so skilled in deception that she could deceive him into believing her? Clearly he didn’t know how to look deep into the soul’s light to learn unspoken truths. Rhianu was grateful her mother had taught her the skill after she took on the light. Dare she look into Einion’s eyes? She flinched, and Einion’s hands tightened on hers. No. She would not. What did it matter? She was done with him.
But they had trusted each other. Rhianu remembered those mornings sitting on the hill, watching the ships. She did trust him. Deep inside, she still trusted him. Even after the return of her memories, Rhianu couldn’t deny the new thoughts and feelings that crept under her skin. No. She wouldn’t give in to them. No. She had not lived for over three thousand years as her master’s obedient servant to have it end in tender emotions and blubbering tears. The plan was to betray Einion, and betray him she would.
Rhianu gulped carefully, fully aware every detail of her face engrossed him. Twice deceived, Rhianu knew betrayal felt as if drinking bitter poison. Her throat tightened and burned. Einion still waited for a response.
“Einion, I do trust you.” Those words were the truth. “You have meant so much to me ever since I met you. You gave me a life when I couldn’t remember one. Where would I be if you hadn’t found me and saved me?” I owe him my life. But that was senseless. She had thrown herself into danger to gain his grace.
“So you’re still willing to marry me?”
Oh, he looked like a half-drowned dragon. Snap out of it! She would smack her own face if she could.
“Yes, Einion. Yes, I still want to marry you.”
Rhianu swallowed the lies. The words Meinwen said surfaced in her head. You must follow your course in life to obtain your absolution. Absolution indeed. She was too far gone for that.
***
The dawning sun shone in golden streaks on the river as they flew from Hyledd, over hilly towns, and over the South Mountains. This mountain range blended right into the jagged peaks of the Eirwen Mountains, where the entrance to Gorlassar lay hidden.
The snow-covered peaks rose sharply before them, and as they drew closer to the ridge, a tangible sensation permeated the air. Magic was at work here.
Rhianu scoffed. She wondered if she could have found the portal just from the intensity of the magic.
A growing excitement fluttered her stomach. She hoped this misled Einion in its true purpose. Playing up her innocence she asked, “What’s that feeling?”
“You can feel that? Remarkable, yes? It means we draw near. The entrance is protected by Deian’s light.”
Trahaearn circled a ridge and landed on a snowy ledge against a cliff face. Aerona followed, landing beside them.
“Why are we stopping?” Rhianu asked.
“This is it.” Einion helped her off Trahaearn.
Rhianu looked around. The ledge jutted into the open, seemingly suspended in midair. Two large boulders flanked the far edge. “There.” She pointed to the boulders. The entrance was there. A smile crept over her face. She couldn’t hide her amusement. The entrance was marked. So simple.
“Yes, very good.” Einion took her hand and led her to the gray boulders. “It’s a tradition to bring those who are leaving Gorlassar to the ledge so they can sense where the entrance is. It never used to be that way. Before my time, the emrys were never allowed to leave. But that’s all changed. You can see how impossible it would be to reach this ledge without a dragon. Humans couldn’t find their way up here.”
Rhianu looked into the chasm. Einion was right. No man could climb a cliff this sheer.
Einion tugged on her. “Hold your hand out and feel the barrier’s energy before we walk through.”
Meinwen’s words echoed in her head. Unless you forsake the evil forever, you will not be able to pass through the barrier. The evil you carry cannot pass because such are the enchantments placed on the portal. Rhianu pulled back.
“It’s all right. It’s perfectly safe,” Einion said.
Did he know? Did Einion know that evil couldn’t enter? This was the moment of
truth. Prepare yourself, Aerona. It’s going to happen now.
Rhianu closed her eyes and held her hands out to the invisible barrier. She had no idea what to expect. Would her hands simply meet solid rock as the light barred her entrance? Reaching slowly, she felt the barrier’s energy.
Her hands sank into a warmth and a tingling. Rhianu almost thought she’d pass through.
That’s impossible—
A clash rang out, like the ringing of two rods, deafening her. An unseen, solid force slammed into her and threw her backward off her feet into the snow several feet away.
In a sudden change, the evil power flowed with the same rigid force, into her body, from her mind, eager to take its rightful place. The painful throbbing of the accursed pressure in her head ceased. A swell of pleasure filled Rhianu, and she moaned.
The light was gone.
Gone was the sickening, prickly heat replaced by cutting hollowness. She dug her hands into the frozen snow. She was so cold! Never had the cold felt so good! A sound rose in her throat and rolled out as a menacing laugh. Unable to control herself, Rhianu let the laughter roar.
The magic of the barrier had unmasked the Evil inside her. Betraying the one you loved was apparently as wicked as murdering her father. The transition to darkness had been triggered anew. Dark Master, give me your strength. I am whole! I am powerful! I am your vessel!
Rhianu moved to her hands and knees to push herself up, her back still to Einion. She pictured his dazed look and laughed again, her voice harsh and uncaring. “Poor Einion. The truth is revealed. It’s a shame you had to find out this way.” It’s a shame what I am going to do to him next.
Rising and whipping her cloak around herself, Rhianu faced Einion, who tightened his body and lifted his arms in defense. With his sharp teeth bared, Trahaearn was ready for a fight.
“Meinwen was right! Curse her! Einion, don’t look so bewildered. This was bound to come to light sooner or later.” Rhianu crowed at her play on words. “Come to light, Einion. Come now, you love to laugh.”