Page 336 of The Daughters of Avalon
Such as it was, no matter what happened here in these parklands over the following weeks, and no matter whether he confessed himself to Rhiannon, the lords of Drakewich would never hear the truth from him.
In spirit and mind, they were aligned.
Rhiannon found him poring over the reliquaries late one afternoon, trying to determine how best to employ them. If only he could determine which was his, beyond doubt, he could destroy the other.
And yet, he wasn’t even certain that would have any bearing on Morwen’s presence in this realm. It was a crystal, no more, and her soul was already bound to the body she’d appropriated.
Well, at least hers bore the same blood in her veins.
He was someone else, and his true self was a man long forgotten.
Worse yet, Rhiannon did not fully grasp the truth. In Mordecai’s case, he, too, was returned to his own body.
Conversely, Cael was not who Rhiannon believed him to be.
She leaned over his shoulder, examining the reliquary in his hand, watching him fiddle with the crystal, poking at the place where it sat mounted—seamless.
“Even diamonds can be destroyed,” she said. “They crack when struck. Have you tried?”
Cael nodded solemnly. “I have,” he lied.
“Have you tried burning them? Even the strongest of metals will melt given the proper degree of heat.”
Cael sighed, and shook his head, ashamed to say that he had, in fact, never intended to destroy his. Only once, in his anger,had he ever attempted to crush the stone, and he was heartily relieved when it refused to break.
She slid her arms about his neck, leaning close so he could feel her warm lips on his cheek. “You know… I once saw my sister battle a Shadow Beast…” She peered at him, offering a smile, and teased, “Perhaps you can shift shapes, as Mordecai can?”
Her jovial tone intimated she didn’t believe it. But it wasn’t particularly amusing, and Cael did not laugh. “’Tis not an art your mother ever taught me.”
“Of course not,” she said, withdrawing, but leaving a hand on his shoulder. “Why would she share anything with anyone?”
She still didn’t understand, he realized. He sensed she understood that he was boundbythe reliquary, but nothowhe was bound to it. He longed to say more… ached to find the words to tell her the truth—everything.
Fear caught and held his tongue.
“At any rate,” she said. “My sister spoke words to bind the Shadow Beast to his body. That alone was not meant to destroy him, only to keep him from shift?—”
A solid horn blast erupted from the ramparts.
At this point, they had bolstered their defenses as best they could. At least one person was always assigned to man the wall. Right now, it was Marcella’s turn. Seizing both reliquaries, Cael looped them about his neck and moved to the window. Rhiannon followed behind.
Away, in the distance, filtering from the trees, came a good-sized army—too big to belong to Drakewich, too small to belong to Morwen.
“Who is it?”
Cael narrowed his eyes, searching for banners, and once he spied one, he turned to Rhiannon and grinned.
“Come with me,” he said, taking her by the hand.
It was a bittersweet reunion.
Five years since the sisters were all in the same room, and here they were, again, all together… without Arwyn.
The loss was felt no less keenly for the years gone by.
This evening, Amdel’s hall resounded, though not with laughter, but quiet sobs.
There were tear-stained cheeks and tunics.
