"If it is another plea from you to try and make me feel guilty and return to Rune, you are wasting your breath," Kenric said. The icy crispness of his tone came from the hardened warrior rather than a brother.
"Listen to me." Rhiannon sounded every inch the Faerie queen, regal and commanding. "Tis the truth I must tell you now, both of you. Whether you want to hear my words or not, matters little to me. The hour grows late, later than either of you realize. And you both must know of the pivotal role you play in the events that will happen. These events will shape our future."
Already enthralled, Megan leaned forward. Glancing at Kenric, she saw Rhiannon had captured his reluctant interest as well, though his expression was still hard and unyielding.
"It has been prophesied since ancient times of the coming of one who is of both worlds, Faerie and mortal, and of the power developed from his joining with his soul mate."
Megan exchanged a long look with Kenric. For a moment, warmth leapt in his gray eyes, before he narrowed them and looked away.
“Do you contest my words, brother?” Rhiannon issued a challenge.
Slowly, he shook his head. “I do not. Megan is very important to me.”
“Of course she is. I have searched far and long to find her.”
Megan started. “You?”
Ignoring her, the fae woman continued, watching only Kenric. "I have brought your soul mate from another place and time, knowing only you and she could come together to help us in this dire time of great need.”
“You brought her?” Instead of sounding confused, Kenric appeared accepting. “I suspected as much.”
Allowing herself a small, satisfied smile, Rhiannon continued. "Like you, Kenric, Myrddin is half human, half fairy. Unlike you, he has taught himself to use magic. Though, where our magic is good, pulled from the healthy elements that rule our lives, Myrddin has gone to the darkness for his source. His soul is as black as his powers, and he believes the prophecy is about him. He thinks I am his soulhalf - and he means to rule the world."
Kenric could hardly take it all in. Though every instinct he possessed screamed out at him in disbelief, he knew deep within himself that his sister spoke the truth. Even though Faeries were incapable of falsehood, he had known her to stretch facts a little whenever it suited her.
But this, this was serious. A battle to save a race? Though he wanted no part of Rune, he could not in good conscience step back and let Myrddin and his evil magic destroy the faeries and their way of life. An entire people, destroyed at the whim of one madman?
Were that to happen, something good, something precious, something beautiful, would forever vanish from this earth, leaving only a giant, gaping hole.
Stunned, he raised his head to find his sister watching him. Megan too, though the soft tenderness he saw in her beautiful eyes told him she somehow knew what he was feeling inside.
He felt like he was standing on a cliff, about to take that one step that would catapult him over the edge.
"I have lost too much already. I could not..." he said haltingly, "lose you as well."
Hearing this, Rhiannon's expression crumpled. Gone was the everyday mask she wore; that of regal Queen. Tears spilled over from eyes that brimmed with them and, with a tremulous smile, she moved forward to embrace him.
He suffered her embrace gladly, though he had
carefully held himself aloof these many years past. She was, after all, his sister. It was not her fault that she had been born full-blooded faerie rather than human.
"You are of my blood." He spoke into her hair, as his gaze sought Megan over Rhiannon's head. Megan too wept softly, though she smiled at him through her tears. Her smile seemed as brilliant as the sun, blinding him.
It was time he settled things, once and for all. Kenric realized that, unless he did, he would never be able to live the simple life he so craved. He would have to wear the cumbersome mantle of warrior for a bit longer.
"Myrddin has once destroyed my family. I will not permit him to do so again." By these words he claimed what he'd refused his entire life. Kinship with Rhiannon and thus too the faerie folk. Kinship with the part of him that he'd only eschewed. Warrior and mage, human and faerie. All of it made up the man that he was, the man that he would be.
Finally, wiping at her streaming eyes, Rhiannon stepped back. "You will join in battle then?"
After one final glance at Megan, he gave a slow nod. "I have no choice."
"You will have to learn how to control your magic."
Again he nodded, trying not to wince at the thought of willingly allowing such power as that he sensed within free rein. And, there was more he would know before he could commit himself wholly to the task at hand.
"Now, tell me what you meant when you said you brought Megan from another place and time." Though he laced his voice with humor, he was not prepared for what Rhiannon said next.
"She comes from a time of no magic, a time we are all moving inexplicably towards. She comes from a place where machines are valued as highly as life, and where faeries - and Rune - have vanished from the world."
Shocked, he looked at Megan. "Is this true?"
Megan did not speak but, with a quiet nod, confirmed Rhiannon's statement.
He had been a warrior too long to put in to words the thought which came next, so terrifying did he find it. Though Rhiannon claimed her magic shielded them from Myrddin's scrying, to exhibit such a weakness could be his downfall.
Still, the thought would not leave him. If Megan belonged in another place, another time, would she return there once their task had been completed?
Such a thing was unacceptable. He would talk to Rhiannon later and gain her agreement.
It wasn't until later, when they had eaten a meager meal of greens and nuts provided by Rhiannon, that it occurred to him to ask about Roger.
He waited until Megan seemed peaceful, brushing her short hair with a brush Rhiannon had given her. As she brushed, her dark hair crackled and shone, alternating gold and sable in the shifting light of the fire. her delicate face too was in shadow one moment, light the next, bringing to mind what a wonder he had found in her. Lighthearted and full of a child's heedless joy one moment, a passionate, sensual woman the next.
His mate. The other half of his soul.
He watched her until he could stand no more, until the stark beauty of her ignited a fire or its own deep within his belly.
"Tis time we talked." He spoke quietly, taking care not to disturb Rhiannon, who busied herself with something in a clearing nearby.
Was that fear that flashed into Megan's lovely eyes as she nodded? He hoped not. Of all the emotions he wanted to elicit in her, he never wanted her to fear him.
Throat aching, he held out his hand. She took it, her smaller hand slipping into his as if it belonged there. God's teeth, a tremor went through him at this smallest of touches, and he had to clench his teeth against the urge to haul her up against him and kiss her senseless.
With a heavy heart, he tugged her along after him, to a clearing surrounded by saplings that would shelter them from Rhiannon's too wise gaze. He wondered what Megan would say if she knew that he, Kenric of Blackstone, a warrior feared throughout the land, had to struggle to force words past the lump in his throat.
"You are truly from another time?"
"Yes." She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, drawing his gaze. "From the future, about nine hundred years from now."
Nine hundred years? With difficulty, Kenric forced his mind back to the task at hand. Though he had a thousand questions, questions about what life was like so far in the distant future, now was not the time. Though both he and she had been pawns in Rhiannon's schemes, he needed to know what Megan really wanted.
To keep from touching her, he clasped his hands behind his back. "Do you wish to return to your time, once we have completed our task and vanquished Myrddin?" Or, and though he left the words unsaid, he thought she heard them, do you want to remain here with m
e?
"I want to stay." In a broken whisper she answered, her eyes filling again with tears. "But Rhiannon has not told me if I can remain, or if I have to return to 2010, where I belong."
He wondered if she knew how it would be with him, were she to go. He would be condemned to a hollow life, half an existence.
"I love you," she whispered.
Though everything inside him wanted to respond in kind, he needed more than a simple declaration of love. Sometimes, love truly was not enough. She must promise to never leave him, if the choice was within her to make.
He waited and then, when he was certain she had finished speaking, he inclined his head and strode away, trying to calm the maelstrom that raged within him.
#
Rhiannon watched her brother stalk off and sighed.
Raw anguish palpitated off him in waves, which she easily deflected. Though it pained him now, it was a good thing, this powerful emotion from a man who only wanted to be free of such things. Hurt would cleanse him, free him from old restraints, old shackles. Thus he would be prepared him for the awful and beautiful shape of things to come.
She heard a quiet sob. Megan sat, hunched into a miserable little ball, sniffling as she tried to keep from weeping.
Crossing to her, Rhiannon laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Do not mourn, little sister. Kenric is a wise man. He will think on your words and in time he’ll come to realize you had no choice in any of this."
Megan lifted tear-filled eyes. "But don’t you see, I did. I had a choice. I didn't have to lie to him, to promise him land when I have none to give. Do you honestly think he will trust me now? I promised him his heart's greatest desire, then yanked it away."
“No.” Gently squeezing her shoulder, Rhiannon smiled. "You are his heart's greatest desire."
"He wants the land more." Megan sniffled. "Without it he feels he has nothing to offer me. He will not even tell me he loves me.”
With the greatest of efforts, Rhiannon kept herself from rolling her eyes. These humans! How could Megan not understand the silken bond that tied her and Kenric together?
"So he hasn’t spoken of love. Has he not told you that you are his woman?" This she asked with the greatest of patience, pleased with her uncharacteristic restraint.
Flashing her a startled look, Megan gave a slow nod. "He has said those words. But I think he meant... you know..." She blushed and looked down at her hands.
"My brother has never claimed anything as his. Not since the Black Faeries took the lives of his human family. Have you not noticed he does not even name his horse?"
"Lancelot?" Megan smiled wanly, looking toward where the big animal cropped contentedly on grass. “Yes, I noticed. I named him."
Grinning, Rhiannon showed her approval. "Lancelot. I like it. Does Kenric use the name?"
Megan's smile faded. "No."
"'Tis because he fears to grow too close to the beast."
"I thought it might be something like that."
Ah, so the tiny human woman instinctively understood the man she was fated to love. Things were looking better.
Rhiannon leaned close, removing all traces of humor from her face. "Do you love my brother, Megan Potter of Dallas Texas?"
In the heartbeat that it took Megan to compose a response, Rhiannon had her answer. She watched as longing and love, despair and defeat, strong emotions all, chased themselves across Megan's mobile face. As Megan she opened her mouth to speak, Rhiannon saw hope fill her lovely amber eyes.
"Yes, I love him." Megan sighed, her voice trembling with the force of her feelings. "I love him more than life itself."
"What of this Roger?"
Megan flinched. "He is an evil man. I still haven't told Kenric everything."
"Kenric will understand."
"I don't know if he will." Sighing, Megan stepped away, murmuring a goodnight as she headed toward the trees.
Rhiannon watched her walk away, aching for both her brother and his mate, certain neither of them understood the depth and scope of the battle or of the tremendous trials and tribulations yet to come.
#
As soon as Megan vanished into the woods, a necessary prelude to bedtime, Kenric strode over to Rhiannon. His rough hewn face was a study in expressionless unconcern, telling her he was actually supremely worried. But about which - the upcoming clash of magic or the palpable distress of Megan, his soulhalf - she didn't know.
Watching him, she held her tongue and waited for him to speak. He stared at her so long in silence, his silver
eyes haunted, that finally she was compelled to help him.
"What is it, brother?"
"Megan." He said her name like a curse, half-exasperated, half-longing. "Will she return to the future when this is done?"
She cursed under her breath. It was not within her nature to lie; indeed, it was forbidden by a faerie law as old
as time. She had not lied to Megan, merely skirted around the answer. Even this she could not do now, not to Kenric, not in the face of his anguish.
"I do not know." She admitted finally, her voice low.
He narrowed his gaze. "Does she want to go?"
"I think not, but you had best ask that question of her rather than me."
"Do you know how to send her back, should she ask you to?"
"No." Rhiannon admitted. "But I am sure the spell exists somewhere, buried in the Hall of Records."
Lady help her, she saw the surge of hope her words brought him, hope that he ruthlessly quashed, making her watch helplessly as it flared, then died in his eyes.
Tilting his head, he phrased his next question carefully. "Is there another among your people who does know how?"
Rhiannon shrugged. "Not yet. But anything is possible."
He swallowed, expelling his breath in a gusty sigh. "I do not want her to go. Once this is finished, I will ask her if she wishes to stay."
"Do you not know the answer yourself?" Rhiannon asked gently, reaching out and touching him on the arm.
His mouth twisted. "I am not sure. Where Megan is concerned, I am no longer sure of anything."
"I am sorry." She knew her words of apology were inadequate, yet she had to speak them, for they were truth. "What she did was necessary, to her mind."
Both of them glanced at the woods, neither wanting Megan to hear.
"But you brought her here."
Trying desperately for a casualness she did not feel, she shrugged. "Because the prophecy decreed it. It was my duty. What my council and I initiated can only be done once. If she returns to the future, we cannot bring her back."
He frowned, his expression thoughtful. "Does she know this?"
"No. She does not."
He sighed again, and ran a hand through his thick hair, a ruffled lion's mane of sable, so unlike her own silver locks. "Think you it will sadden her, once she finds she is trapped here?"
"No, Kenric." Rhiannon lay a hand on his massive forearm. "I honestly don't believe she wants to leave."
Again the hope flared in him. Rhiannon saw it and rejoiced.
"What of this Roger?"
"You need to speak to her about him. All she would tell me is that he is an evil man. He has no hold on her.
here."
"Did she tell you this?"
"Not in so many words." Now it was Rhiannon who took a deep breath. Dare she speak truth to him, her half-brother who always ran from what she was about to hand him?
Looking at him, seeing the anguish and fear and a kind of calm acceptance that had never been there before, she knew she must. "She loves you, Kenric. With all her heart. The same way you love her."
About to answer, he apparently thought better of it and clamped his mouth closed. Lips a straight line, he looked away, not towards the woods this time, but to where his war horse grazed, serene and content.
Now, she knew, she had to make him understand the seriousness of what was to come. Perhaps then he could accept the emotions that swirled insid
e of him.
"This battle--" She began.
"It will be fine, Rhiannon." He cut her off, drawing himself up until he looked every inch the magnificent human warrior that she knew he was. "I will take care of this Myrddin for you, then you will let me live my life in peace."
Again she found herself cursing faerie curses under her breath. If ever she could pick a time when she would be allowed to speak a lie, just one tiny white lie, now would be the time. Instead, she knew she'd been charged with the task of making this stubborn man understand the truth.
"I'm afraid it will not be that simple."
He froze, cocking his head to watch her, the arrogance of his stance telling her he would not receive her words well. "Explain."
"As you are aware, Myrddin must be fought with magic--"
Again he interrupted, waving away her concerns with a careless move of his hand. "I have done so once. I will do it again. With some training from you, of course."
"Nay, brother." She drew herself up too, wrapping around her the mantle of queenship that she so despised. "Tis not that simple. In order to best this wizard, you can not only use magic, but must become it."
"I do not understand."
"Tis like a young warrior, preparing for his first battle. You would not hand him a sword and send him out into the thick of things unprepared, would you?"
He laughed, relief showing in his face. "So I must train? I have already agreed to do so."
"Aye, Kenric, that is the way of it." She held up a hand when he would have interrupted yet a third time. "But that is not all. In order to train, you must come to Rune. You must acknowledge who you are to the people - the warrior of prophecy. Only then will they agree to teach you."
"No." Flat voiced, he turned away. "You are saying that I must agree to become their Savior. I do not like accolades or worship. This must be kept secret."
Heart pounding, it took every ounce of restraint she
possessed not to go after him. "You are the savior, Kenric of Blackstone. The prophecy has decreed it. You know the words as well as I. Half Faerie, half man. This is you. Whether you wish to admit it or not."
In the very act of moving away, he spun around to face her. The harsh rage he let show on his face had her taking an involuntary step back.
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