Page 17

It was hours later, after Pavel had rested and Juul’s injuries—mostly bruises and scrapes—had been tended to. We were sitting around the fire, discussing the events of the past few weeks. Or at least the others were. I’d had a chance to regain my composure, which took me a while, but I still felt shaky. I had thought I was about to see the love of my life cut down right in front of me, and I’d never been so terrified before.

The entire camp had celebrated Juul’s and Pavel’s return with feasting and a great deal of wine and ale. I had a chance to reconnect with Pavel too, who was amazed at my new—to him—and very unexpected relationship with King Tarrak. I told him all about it and told him, too, about Glorfindel’s theories of Nephilim and fallen angels. It may have been too much to hit him with all at once because his eyes soon began to glaze over, and I knew he was exhausted by his ordeal. There would be time now for us to talk about it all later on, and thanks to Tarrak, time to figure things out.

My handsome royal lover sat next to me by the fire a bit later in the evening, after all the feasting and celebrations were winding down. He wrapped a fur around both of us so I could cuddle close to him. Pavel still watched us in thinly disguised amazement, and I knew it would take him some time to get used to the idea. We’d had to explain to him and Juul again how our relationship came to happen, and though they were happy for us, I think they still couldn’t quite believe it. I knew Pavel would come around. As for Juul, like all Elves, he took such things as romance in his stride, not being nearly an important a subject as war, weapons, and mayhem.

“I still don’t understand one thing,” Pavel said, putting his head down on Juul’s shoulder and glancing over at Tarrak. “How in the world did you do that? How did you defeat the Sword of Light? Isn’t it supposed to be an invincible sword?”

“Yes, I’d like to know that too,” I said.

Tarrak smiled. “Invincible according to whom? Some old mythical king who, if he ever lived at all, would have been dead now for centuries?”

“Yes, but...we found the sword and the battle-axe in Ludimarien’s tomb,” I said, “buried beside him, just like it says in all the old legends.”

Tarrak made a face. “Legends...I admit they’re nice weapons, though primarily ceremonial. And we did indeed find them in a tomb. But a real warrior has little use for a gilded sword, Sergey.”

“I saw King Gratin, and so did you. How can you say he’s mythical?”

“We saw some thing that said it was King Gratin. We have no proof of it. But even if he was who he said he was, he was a charlatan and a cheat. He didn’t keep his bargain with you. Instead, he gave you an insane riddle to solve and then disappeared.”

“But the shades were there inside the tomb. The ones who guard the path.”

“The path to a treasure, yes. The sword is valuable, and so is the battle-axe. If indeed it was Ludimarien or someone like him who was buried there, he may have conjured up some trap for graverobbers. That was commonly done, I think.”

“You couldn’t have been sure , though. About the sword not being the real thing. When you tossed that sword to Adan...”

“I was reasonably sure. And I knew for a fact that Adan was a terrible swordsman because I trained with him as a boy.” He kissed the side of my face. “Besides, if the weapons had truly been invincible, then I knew you would avenge me with your mighty battle-axe.”

“Don’t tease about it,” I said in a waspish voice, pulling away. “What if you’d been hurt or k-killed? Besides, that still doesn’t account for your fight with the Dark Elves. You fought both those men and won.”

He smiled and shrugged. “I’m a very good swordsman.”

“But...but Glorfindel hurled that spell at you. It just seemed to bounce right off you, but when it hit me, it froze me in place. It took me hours to recover. That’s why King Stefan thought you must be invincible.”

He reached inside his tunic and fished out the amulet I’d seen him wearing around his neck before. “The day I agreed to allow Glorfindel to come to my kingdom, I put on this amulet, and I haven’t taken it off since. It belonged to my father, who, if you remember, was married to my mother for a brief time. She was a Fairy, too, so he knew a thing or two about Fairy magic. And Fairy treachery. He wore this every day he was with her to protect himself. That’s why Glorfindel’s little spell didn’t work on me.”

He pulled me back over into his arms. “I’m sorry, da’len . Don’t be upset. I should have told you, but you can be very transparent. Your emotions show so clearly on your face. If you’d known, I think Adan could possibly have seen it, and I did tell you to trust me.”

I glared at him, but he laughed and kissed me again as my brother watched with a wondering expression on his face. He loudly cleared his throat after a few seconds to break it up.

“Wait,” my brother interrupted. “What’s all this about Glorfindel?”

“That’s right,” Juul said. “I haven’t seen Prince Glorfindel since we arrived. Is he still at the palace? I’d have thought he’d be here to help you.”

I felt my cheeks grow warm as Tarrak shook his head. “Glorfindel is more than likely languishing in a Dokkalfar dungeon at the moment.” At Pavel’s shocked expression, he smiled. “Or he could be warming the Dark Elf king’s bed by now. Knowing him, that situation could have gone either way. Though I think he may have met his match in young King Stefan.”

We explained the Fairy prince’s treachery to Pavel, and because he was my brother, he immediately took my side of things and was horrified that Glorfindel tried to have me captured and imprisoned by the Dokkalfar. “Do you think we’ll ever see him again?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Tarrak said in a bored tone. “I’ve been thinking about making a peace overture to King Stefan. The ogres are getting stronger, and they need to be dealt with soon before they start venturing into the human realm. If we deal with that problem together, it would be much easier to solve. I think it’s time we thought about a treaty between our people.”

“Excuse me, Sire, but I need to ask you a question you may think is rude.”

Tarrak smiled at him. “Go ahead.”

“What are your intentions toward my brother? As you know, I’m his guardian and it’s my job to watch out for him.”

“Pavel,” I said, my cheeks hot.

“No, it’s fine,” Tarrak said, kissing my forehead. “My intentions are honorable, Pavel. I’d like Sergey to be my royal consort.” He turned to me. “If he’s willing?”

“Oh yes,” I said, feeling frazzled and scared and unworthy all at once but not willing to let go of his hand.

“Then we should plan a wedding,” Pavel said, and I smiled at him.

Tarrack nodded. “Indeed. Perhaps I’ll invite King Stefan. As an overture of peace, perhaps?”

“What about Queen Olga?” Juul asked, breaking in and apparently ready to leave the wedding discussion behind and get on to more important topics, like murder and violence. “What will you do with her?”

Tarrak lifted one shoulder. “She’s ancient. I don’t think she poses all that much of a threat now that Adan’s gone. I’ll banish her from court, but she can stay where she is as long as she causes no more trouble.”

What with all the worry of the night before, I hadn’t gotten much sleep, so when a giant yawn hit me so hard it almost cracked my jaw, everyone smiled at me.

“I believe we’re keeping Sergey up,” Juul said. “I think it’s time we turned in for the night. We should probably get some rest too.” He stood up then, as did Tarrak, and the two of them embraced. That was a rare enough sight in itself to be remarkable, but then he turned to me and took me in his arms as well. “I misjudged your intentions, Sergey, back at Adan’s castle, and I misjudged you. I’m sorry for attacking you. It was very brave of you to come and try to save us.” He pulled away and looked into my eyes. “Though foolish. Still, I appreciate what you did for your brother on that occasion. I’m not sure if I ever thanked you for it. I don’t think he would have awakened if not for you.”

I smiled at him, hoping he wouldn’t notice the moisture in my eyes. “No. It was your kiss that brought him back.”

“This is a story I haven’t heard yet,” Tarrak said, pulling me gently but firmly back into his arms. “You’ll have to tell me about it later in bed. Maybe a demonstration is in order too. It sounds a bit like one of the tales the Fairies tell their children.”

“My life has been like a Fairy tale though. Especially lately.”

“Oh? And if it were one, how would the story end?”

“With happiness ever after, and the hero gaining his true heart’s desire.”

“Ah,” he said, dropping another kiss on my lips. “And am I the hero in this story, or are you?”

“I think we both are.”

He smiled at me, and I saw forever shining in his eyes. “I think you must be right.”

The End