along the walls. Tristan moves straight across the room and
places me on the ground gently as he pushes the correct stones in
to reveal the hidden door. When a breeze flutters into the room,
his arms are around me again. We make our way down a cold
tunnel. It is lit up with torches placed every few feet. The tunnel
opens up into the main room, which is finished luxuriously. A
large fire burns in the centre of the room; smoke billows out
through a pipe that has been drilled through the ceiling. The
flooring is bare, but the furnishings of large armchairs are
placed all around the room. The walls are covered in large
paintings of royals and draped with beautiful red material that
makes the room feel warm.
Tristan lays me beside the fire on a large couch covered in
sheepskin. I search the room for Morrick and my stomach
tightens when my eyes fall upon his face. He is sitting in a large
armchair in the corner of the room, still as handsome as the
first day I set eyes on him. He looks at Tristan and beckons him
just outside the room entrance. They talk in hushed voices. The
longer they are gone, the more nervous I feel. I don’t know what
to say to Morrick. I never truly believed I would see him again.
As I wait, my eyes become heavier and I finally fall asleep.
When I wake, Morrick is dishing out a bowl of soup from a
large pot set over the fire. My movements alert him.
“How do you feel?” he asks while topping off the bowl. Just
hearing his voice makes me want to cry, but I have to be strong.
I push back the layers of blankets that are on top of me.
“Sore.” I start coughing and it feels like I have not used my
throat in a long time. It is dry, as if my mouth has been filled
with sand. Morrick comes to me with water and lifts my head
while I drink greedily from the goblet. When I finish, he studies
my face, running his fingers along my cheekbone.
“Did she do this to you?” he asks, his voice full of torment.
“It does not matter. I am safe now.”
He holds my face with both hands. “Nobody will ever hurt
you again.” He stands then and brings me a large bowl of soup.
It is in a porcelain bowl, something I have never eaten out of while in Saskia. I am accustomed to wooden bowls and spoons.
“Eat. It will help your strength.” I do as I am told, as I am
starving. I eat two bowls of soup. When my belly is full, I lie
back down and the heat of the fire sends me off to sleep.
I am awoken a short time later by voices. I feel a lot stronger.
We heal quickly, so I am very lucky. Being part immortal has its
benefits. Any mortal would have died a long time ago.
Tristan, two other guardians, and Mirium are sitting around
the fire with Morrick. They all sit on large armchairs with high
backs. They must have taken them from around the room.
Morrick rises when he sees I am awake. “Marta.” Pushing
the blankets back, he helps me to the fire as Mirium places
another chair in their circle. “Marta, this is Legis and Liber, my
men.” I acknowledge them both with a nod.
“And you have meet Tristan.”
I give him a grateful smile. “Hello.”
“And you know Mirium.”
I do, but I can’t understand what the oracle is doing here. His
eyes are alight, as if he knows a secret I have not yet discovered.
More than likely, he does.
I incline my head with respect. “Greetings, Mirium.”
He looks amused. “Greetings to you, Marta.”
“Marta.” Morrick’s voice makes me look away from Mirium.
“Tristan is the best man we have here in Saskia and I trust him.
So he will retrieve our child from the mortal world.”
He goes to speak again, but my breath catches in my chest
as the memory of Lucian wanting my daughter rushes back.
“What do you mean retrieve our child?”
Morrick looks aggravated. “To protect our child. I can only
protect it here, with me.”
I stand then, even against the dizziness. “Don’t you dare go
near her. She has no idea.”
Morrick stands too. “Her? So I have a daughter.” His anger
pours out. “Why did you leave? You took my child from me.”
His voice gets louder and harsher as he walks towards me. “You
broke me.”
Mirium interrupts us then. “Morrick, you know why. This
Morrick swings around, his shoulders held straight with
anger. “I want to hear it from her lips,” he says while pointing
an accusing finger at me.
I try to get my own anger under control, but I know my own
words are laced with it. “Morrick, I had to protect Sarajane. I
did what was right.” His face falls; he just looks devastated.
Morrick and Mirium share an unspoken understanding.
What the hell is going on? But I never get to ask.
“Sarajane, what a perfect name. Princess Sarajane.” His
voice now sounds gentle. “What is she like?” I don’t think I could
feel any worse. Morrick just looks lost, not a look I ever thought
I would see on a king’s face.
“Morrick, I am so sorry. I had to protect her.”
He clears his throat. “It does not matter why. Now we must
just keep my daughter safe.”
“She is safe. No one knows. I told them nothing. I know
you’re hurting—”
He cuts me off. “They know, Marta.” He comes to me and
holds my arms. “Corrona told Bellona.”
I push Morrick away. My anger flares. “Why would you say
that? She would not do that to me.”
“Marta, she told me herself. How do you think I knew where
to find you?”
“No.” I couldn’t believe this. “Why would she?”
Morrick’s face was torn with sympathy. “Bellona gave her
son back.” I know then what he is saying is true.
I push past him and run down the hall of the cave. I have
to get to Sarajane. I stumble against the walls as the dizziness
washes through me. Morrick grabs me from behind. “Let me
go,” I roar.
He holds me until I calm down. “We will get to her. She will
be safe.”
My body goes limp against him and I cry. “My baby girl,” I
say through sobs.
Morrick strokes my hair. “We will get her. Amour meus
aeternus.” I am taken aback by the Latin. It is not used
anymore, but the meaning startles me even more. My eternal
love. So he still loves me after all this time. I straighten up
and walk back with Morrick to the other guardians and
Mirium. Pulling myself together, I sit down near the fire once again.
Morrick explains his plans to retrieve Sarajane.
Tristan lit the fire in the stables for two reasons. One,
to draw attention away from me so he could get me out
of the cell, and two, so the horses would be unsettled and
Dominic would take his time trying to settle them down. So
the queen’s men could not leave until morning. Dominic, the
horse master, has a way with the horses. I don’t know if it
is a gift, but they do
as he tells them. So it gives Morrick’s
men a head start.
“Morrick, there is a man looking for Sarajane also.” I look
into the fire as I speak, even though I can feel all eyes on me.
I don’t want them to see my fear. “Bellona took me to him.” I
look up at them, but it’s Mirium’s eyes I hold. “He was not from
this world or the mortal world. He said I am the reason the one
he seeks exists.” Everyone looks at me patiently. “His name is
Lucian.” A look of recognition passes through Mirium’s eyes.
“Do you know him?” I ask him directly.
“This is worse than I thought,” Mirium says. I stare at him,
waiting for him to continue, but he doesn’t and Morrick doesn’t
push for an answer either.
“What do you mean worse than you thought?”
Mirium looks at Morrick before speaking to me. “I am sorry,
Marta, but this is something I cannot discuss yet.”
Morrick’s hands touch my shoulder, telling me not to question
this any further, and he changes the subject. “We will get her,
Marta. It will take a full day to cross over to the mortal world,
so Tristan and Legis will leave tonight, retrieve Sarajane, and bring her back to Saskia. Liber will stay behind to protect you when I am unable to be here.”
After Morrick finishes he sits back down. “Explain what she
looks like and a bit about her to Tristan so he knows what to
look for.”
So I do. I explain of my daughter’s beauty, her long, black,
curly hair, slightly tanned skin, five foot seven inches. Then I
look at Morrick. “She has your eyes.” He doesn’t respond. “She
is very strong willed.” Tristan just nods. I know she will find
him very attractive.
“Does she know anything about us or herself?” Morrick
asks.
“No, she has no idea, but on her twenty-first birthday she
released a lot of magic. I felt it and it was strong, but she wasn’t
aware.”
Tristan rises. “Morrick, there are rumors that King Paulus
is making his way to Hummus. I think it would be best if I
resumed my search for him while Legis and Liber go to the
mortal world to retrieve the girl.” I can see by
Tristan’s face he thinks this is all a waste of his precious time.
My gratitude towards him drops.
Morrick is silent for a moment. “Tristan, this is my daughter
and I want her brought to me safely by you and Legis. That is
not a request.”
Morrick looks annoyed as they stare at each other, but Tristan
composes his face. “Yes, my lord.” Yet his body language still
says he thinks his efforts could be of better use elsewhere.
“I do not want her told anything, as I think it will be best
coming from me and Marta.” I nod in agreement. Morrick
stares into the fire and a silence falls around the room. “Does
she think I am dead?”
I swallow a lump in my throat. This is the part I am so
worried about. I have just found him again; I can’t bear losing
him twice. “No. It is complicated, Morrick.” My eyes wander
to the ground. I am too ashamed to look at him. “I have been
gone for twenty-one years. I never believed I would see you
again.” I look up at Morrick and actually feel like I am going
to get sick. “I have a second daughter… with a mortal.” Hurt
races across his face. I want to explain more, but Morrick rises.
Mirium looks at me, not in disgust, but with pity.
“You need food and rest,” Morrick says as he turns away
from me. I don’t blame him. I find it hard enough right now to
look at anyone without feeling ashamed. “Tristan is all ready?”
“Yes, my lord.”
He places his right hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “Et Lux in
tenebris Lucent.” Tristan smiles at Morrick fondly and leaves
with Legis. Morrick explains to Liber his duties and then leaves
with Mirium by his side.
I follow them to the mouth of the cave and call after Morrick.
“I am sorry.” But he keeps walking.
“You must rest my lady.” Liber speaks from behind me. He
leads me back to the couch and hands me a fresh bowl of soup
with a large piece of bread. While I eat, he just sits there and
stares into the fire. “My lady, may I ask a question?”
I sit up fully on the couch and turn to him. “Of course,
Liber.”
“How did you cross to the mortal world?”
“The same way anybody crosses.”
“I know, my lady, that you used the horses, but who actually
took you across?”
I don’t like the way he asks. “I am sorry, Liber, but I can’t.”
I am not going to let him know about Corrona and Suis’s
involvement, even though Corrona betrayed me. I can imagine
I would do the same if Sarajane were taken from me and then
offered back. It does not matter, though. I still feel angry.
I try to sleep, but I am restless. I lie on the couch for an hour
or so, staring at the ceiling. I look over to Liber, who is asleep by
the fire. It is smoldering now. I leave the room and grab a torch
from the wall, taking it with me outside. There are no stars in
the sky. I am so used to mortal skies that it seems unnatural to
have a plain, black sky. We have a moon, but ours shines red
at night. I miss the beauty of the moon and stars in the mortal
world.
I lie awake nearly the whole night, worrying about Sarajane
and Jessica. I wonder what John is doing right now? And if
things will ever be the same again…
A day has passed since I have seen Morrick. Liber has been
with me the whole time. We barely speak; he just watches my
movements. I feel like a prisoner. I have nothing to do but
wander through the tunnels that branch off into more rooms.
There are several sleeping quarters and a small library. I find
nothing of interest there and even if I did, I know I would be
unable to focus. A small writing room is filled with scrolls. The
farther I move down the tunnels, the barer the rooms become
and the torches are more spaced out. I wonder why these rooms
are here.
I make my way back to Liber in the main room and lie back
down on the couch. I have too much time to think of everything.
Like when Clive was questioning me in the cell, pushing me for
information about how I found a way to enhance my magic,
which was rubbish. One of the times when he had beaten me
nearly unconscious, I heard him mumbling to himself, saying
maybe Bellona was wrong, maybe she sent them to the wrong
area. But I knew it was Lucian looking for answers.
The thought of Lucian sends another shiver down my spine.
What would he want with my daughter? I feel like I might go
crazy with all of these thoughts going around in my head. I
don’t voice my worries to Liber. I just don’t trust him; he feels
wrong to me.
Later that day I can hear hooves pounding into the ground.
I jump up.
“Stay here. I will see if it is safe,” Liber says and leaves. I sit
up on the couch, unable to rela
x myself. Footsteps sound down
the cave and into the room.
“Who was it?” I ask while turning around. I am faced with
Morrick. “Hi”, is all I am able to say.
He comes over and sits beside me and takes my hands. “I
have missed you so much, Marta.”
I hug him and start crying, feeling nothing but pure relief.
“I’ve missed you too.”
He holds me like that for a long time. “ I know why you left.”
I pull back and look into his grey eyes.
“You do?”
“Yes. Corrona told me everything. But I wish you had trusted
me enough to protect you and Sarajane.”
Looking in his eyes, I can see how much pain I have caused
him. “I am sorry, Morrick. I truly am, but how was I to know
that you would protect Sarajane and me? And if it were a boy,
would you have broken your own laws for me, a servant?”
“You’re not a servant to me, Marta. I love you. And yes, I
would have broken the law no matter what the consequences
were.”
I start to cry again. “I have made such a mess. I have a family
back in the mortal world.” Morrick looks away from me, visibly
displeased. I knew this would be hard on him, but I feel like I need
to explain. He paces the room with his hands behind his back; he
looks like a king at that moment, causing me to smile sadly.
“Do you love this mortal man?” He stops pacing and looks
directly at me.
“John is a good man. He took Sarajane in as his own, and we
have a daughter together.”
“So you do love him?”
I approach Morrick and lay my hand over his heart and place
his hand over mine. “I love you, Morrick. Our hearts only ever
love once. It is not possible to love twice.”
He pulls his hand away, his face conflicted. “Maybe you
stopped loving me, or never did?”
“There wasn’t one night that I did not cry for you. I needed
you to hold me and kiss me because I still love you. I always
have and I will never stop.”
Morrick looks at me then with a guilty look on his face. “I
know you did.”
I am taken back by this confession. “What do you mean?”
“I watched you from a distance, just to make sure you were
safe.”
I am baffled. “You watched me, but never said anything?”
“I could not. Mirium said it was the way it was meant to be,