Taking a deep breath, he turned to the one who should have loved him. A mother’s unconditional love was the one thing that had been lacking his whole life. It had been the hole in his soul. It had been what had kept him from developing his full powers from childhood.
And yet, he had no choice but to face his mother now.
She approached him in great solemnity, holding out Merlin’s chalice in front of her. There was no love in her heart for him. There was only disappointment, touched with anger. It saddened Morgan, but it couldn’t be helped.
The night became absolutely still as they all stood about the circle of stones. Not even a cricket or the hooting of an owl could be heard as they formed a broadly spaced circle with Morgan and his mother in the center. The moon glowed full and bright directly overhead, bathing the scene with an ethereal light. In absolute silence, his mother approached.
Raising the chalice to the night, she began to intone:
‘Neath the moon’s warm silvery cloak,
We, Thy true coven, Thee do invoke
This midsummer night, please give Thy grace
For our blest rite, in hallowed place.
Come all to bear witness this night
As you watch this sacred rite
It is to him allegiance is owed
Time, strength and bloodline all have showed.
Like the North wind born from frozen floes,
And lightning torn from stormy throes,
As green stalks fill then burst with grain
Let this one child be born again.
Slowly she lowered her arms, and then, with a wistful glance to Kat, she held the chalice to Morgan’s lips.
He placed his hands over hers and stared down into the cup. Once again filled with that sweet scented water, Merlin’s face smiled up at him as he took a sip.
The taste was as clean as a spring day, warm and yet refreshing. But then his blood began to burn. Fire flowed through his veins, scorching him from the inside out and the horrid thought that his mother had poisoned him flashed through his mind. But no, as soon as the hot pain had begun, it was immediately followed by the cold of ice. That too spread through his body making him shiver violently. Then slowly, his temperature returned to normal.
And that was when he could feel it. A power like no other coursed through his veins. It was white hot and burning cold. It doused him with fire and brought a wholesome breath of earth and air to his lungs. He was all of the elements and more.
He turned and looked at Adriana. Her eyes shone with love for him and he felt that same love for her deep within him, mixing and blending in with his magic making him stronger.
He held out his hands to her. She took them and as she did so, her eyes widened. She seemed to swell with magic at his touch, the glow around her brightened perceptively.
“It is you who has given me what I needed to come here tonight,” he said.
Her smile radiated from her face, even as she shook her head. “It is your strength, Morgan. The love you feel, not only for me, but for others. The desire you have to care for those in need. You are truly good.”
The thought of good and evil made him turn back to his mother. She was still standing there, holding the chalice looking forlorn.
“You did wrong, Mother,” he said. The sadness inside of him was nearly as painful as the love he felt for Adriana was wonderful. “You should not have used your magic to try to stop this. You know that.”
“It is not for you to judge and punish her, Morgan,” Merlin’s voice said, from within the cup.
Morgan looked at the chalice. His mother held it away from herself and Morgan wondered if he should take it.
“Then who should? Is it you?” Morgan asked.
“No. Normally, it is the job of the high priest or priestess to meet out such punishments and make such judgments. But you are the Seventh, so for your time, that job will fall to the Sixth.”
“The sixth? Do you mean my sister, Caroline?” Morgan couldn’t believe it. “Sir, Caroline is a sweet and gentle person, but she’s, well, a little simple, shall we say?” Morgan said as gently as he could.
“Caroline’s not simple!” his mother argued.
Morgan gave her a look. “Caroline’s never had a thought of her own.”
“No, but that doesn’t make her simple.”
Merlin’s laughter broke into their conversation. “It is not your sister of whom I speak, but your cousin. The sixth child of the sixth child of the seventh generation. Katrina.”
Morgan, and everyone else, turned to look at Kat. She took a step backward away from Morgan and the chalice.
“Me? But I don’t want...”
“It is not what you want, Katrina, it is what you are meant to do,” Merlin’s voice sounded like that of a stern father. “Morgan take the chalice. Katrina, do what you know must be done.”
Morgan did as he was told, and took the chalice from his mother’s grasp. For a moment, he thought she wouldn’t give it up, but with a pursing of lips and a lift of her chin she turned toward Kat, prepared to face her punishment.
Nervously, Kat stepped forward. Taking her aunt’s hands in her own, she looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m so sorry.” And then very gently she touched her lips to her aunt’s.
A brilliant flash of light broke them apart and both women staggered backward. Adriana caught Kat before she fell, and Jack the Lad made a lunge for his mother.
“I’m sorry that was painful,” Merlin’s voice sounded old and weary. “But it will get easier for you, Katrina. As with all magic, it gets easier the more you use it.”
“I will have to do that again? To others?” Kat asked, her voice hoarse with fatigue. Lord Byron stepped up and took her weight from Adriana, who was having difficulty holding her up.
“I’m afraid so.”
“My power, it’s gone!” his mother cried. “All gone.” Her knees began to buckle from under her, but Jack caught her and then slowly led her away from the gathering.
There was a silence everyone still present retreated into his or her own thoughts. But Morgan’s eyes fixed on Adriana, drawn to her as if beyond his control.
“Let us not end this night in sadness,” he said, determined to be cheerful.
He took a step forward, taking Adriana’s hand with his free one. “Before all of these witnesses I would like to pledge myself to you, Adriana. I think now is the perfect time for us to marry.”
A smile spread slowly across her face, brightening it into joy.
“An excellent idea!” Mr. Kean said. Other voices chimed in, and everyone seemed to be relieved of the oppressive sadness that had blanketed them all.
“May I?” Mr. Kean asked, reaching for the chalice.
Morgan turned it over to him and then turned back to Adriana.
“Tonight is the start of something new,” he said quietly, but in a clear voice that carried around the circle. He held his hands out palms facing up
“Tonight we leave our old lives behind and forge a new life together,” Adriana replied, placing her hands gently upon his.
“Tonight I devote my life to you, for you are my life,” he said.
“Tonight I devote my soul to you, for you are what makes it complete.”
“Tonight I devote my body to you, so that we may join as one.”
“Together we shall live, breathe, and be as one.”
“Together we will create, work and die.”
“We join our lives, our souls, and our minds.”
“We are one in our love,” Morgan said with finality.
Thank you for reading Morgan’s story. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you would like to find out what Tatiana was like as a young woman, read on for a sneak preview into Storm on the Horizon.
Guilt poured from Trina’s eyes, along with her tears. She had paused, her hand on the railing, and was looking back at Tatiana.
“Where are you going? Shouldn’t be in your room getting dressed for the ba
ll?” Tatiana asked in surprise.
“I’m going… I’m going downstairs. Or… out. Yes, out. I’ll be back.”
Trina was too far away for Tatiana to stop her flight. Tatiana hesitated, and then held out her hand, using her magic to put an invisible wall between Trina and her escape route.
“No, you are not going anywhere.”
“Let me go, Tatiana. I have to get out of here. I can’t do this. You know I can’t.”
Tatiana caught up to her twin. Smoothing the tension from her thin face with her thumb, while pushing through as much love and confidence as she could. “You can and you will.”
She took Trina’s overly warm hand and gently led her back to her room. Oh, how she hated being the enforcer here! But she had no choice. “I told you, I will be with you at both your presentation to the queen and at the ball afterward. You won’t be alone. I promise.”
Trina continued to look miserable; her brown eyes were dull with reluctance and dismay. It was all Tatiana could do to keep herself from folding her sister into her arms. She wanted to do so badly, but she knew that if she did, Trina would start to cry. Then her eyes would turn red and puffy, and she’d be in no state to go anywhere. She couldn’t do that to her beloved sister, so she just gave her hand a comforting squeeze as they walked back to Trina’s room.
She really did hate being in collusion with their parents against Trina. It had always been the two of them against everyone else. They’d always stood together, from the time they could both stand at all. But this time… this time, their parents were right. Tatiana hated that almost as much as she hated forcing her shy, unwilling sister to make her curtsey to society and to place herself in the market for a husband.
Trina started to shake her head, but Tatiana cut her off as she opened her mouth to protest. “You can do this, and you will. You’re stronger than this, Trina.”
“No. I’m not. I’m terrified. No one is even going to look at me at the ball. They never do.” The tears were coming back. Tatiana could feel the heat of her sister’s fear radiating off of her.
She had to do something. Something big. Something dramatic. And something fast. Their grandmother was going to be calling for them any moment. She pulled her sister to the standing mirror in the corner of her room. Firmly placing her in front of it, she said, “Look, Trina. Look at this gorgeous dress! How can you say that no one will look at you?”
Trina fluffed out the heavy silk overdress with no enthusiasm. “Well, at least I am stylish. I’m glad Grandmama allowed me the most recent fashion. I like it à l’Anglaise, without panniers. I don’t think I could have stood having a dress that extended further out than my arms.”
Tatiana laughed. “You are not only dressed in the first stare, you look beautiful!”
That comment made Trina’s face begin to crumple once again. “No. That I am not.”
“Oh, yes, you are,” Tatiana said. And that is when she had the idea! The brilliance of her inspiration made her almost laugh out aloud in delight, but she controlled herself. Instead, she narrowed her eyes a little and focused herself inward. She gathered her magical power into her core and allowed a slow smile to spread across her face.
In her mind’s eye, she saw her sister’s dull, brown hair shine with vibrancy. Her eyes lost their brown coloring and instead glowed a brilliant green. She made her lips and cheeks ever so slightly more plump, and filled out her bust-line, giving her a more womanly figure.
“Oh!” her sister gasped. She stared into the mirror, stunned at the woman she was seeing.
Tatiana then focused her attention on herself. She dulled her own rich, dark brown hair, and faded her sparkling black eyes to muddy brown. She thinned her face and lips, and made herself look nearly as angular as a scarecrow. Her perfectly-fitted, vibrant blue dress now hung limply on her frame.
“Oh, no! Tatiana, what are you doing?” Trina exclaimed, horrified.
“Much better,” Tatiana looked in the mirror and nodded approvingly.
“No! Tatiana, really!”
“Yes, really! It is important that you look your best,” Tatiana said, admiring her handiwork. “And just as important that I don’t. This way, no one will look twice at me, but focus all of their attention on you. Just as they should.”
“But your beauty…” Trina objected.
“Is inside, just as yours always is. Only now yours is showing outwardly for all of those superficial men to see—and mine is hidden away.” Tatiana nodded again. “This is the way it should be.”
Trina looked more closely at herself in the mirror. A small smile trembled on to her lips and tears shone in her eyes yet again. “You are too good to me,” she whispered.
“No. I love you. But if you cry, I’m going to be extremely annoyed. I don’t want to have to overlay even more magic on you to keep everyone from seeing red, puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks.”
A giggle burst out of Trina and she blinked away the tears. “No. I won’t do that to you. I promise.” She sighed and turned herself from side to side to admire her new splendor. “It is a shame, though.”
“What, that you have to marry? I’m sure you’ll find a wonderful man, Trina. You’ve got the entire season to do so.”
“Yes. But you won’t be here the entire season. And that’s not what I was referring to. It’s a shame that you won’t get to choose your own husband.”
Tatiana’s heart constricted at that thought. It was not only a shame, it was downright painful — and terrifying. She took a deep breath. “Yes, well. I have to pay for this gift that was given to me.”
About the Author
Meredith Bond is an award-winning author of a series of traditionally published Regency romances and indie-published paranormal romances. Her paranormal romances include Magic In The Storm, Storm on the Horizon, and “In A Beginning” (in the anthology Tales From The Mist). Her traditional Regencies include The Merry Men Quartet of which An Exotic Heir will be republished in March, 2013. Meredith also teaches writing. If you want a taste of her class, Chapter One is available at your favorite e-retailer.
Want to know more? Come visit Meredith at her website, www.meredithbond.com or chat with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meredithbondfan) or Twitter (@merrybond).
Find out more about the Vallen by following this link–available only to those who have a copy of this book! http://magicinthestorm.meredithbond.com
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