loins came Usi’s son, who has fathered this line of Twilight Lords. Ulla went to Hetar, where she bore a daughter who married into the House of Ahasferus. Since that time one female in each generation has possessed the magical powers that Usi bestowed on Ulla. In the current generation it is Nyura who holds those powers. Kolgrim wants her powers.”
“And when he gains them,” Amren said slowly, “he will become all-powerful. Aye, I see, Grandmother. But in the past the Twilight Lords’ powers were good, but never great. His father, Kol, must have wed with magic to produce such a strong son. Do you know who Lord Kolgrim’s mother is, Grandmother?”
“I am Kolgrim’s mother,” Lara told him.
“I was kidnapped, and my memories stolen. I was told I was Kol’s wife. The magic world had planned it carefully because I was meant to cause chaos in the Dark Lands. When my memory was restored I found myself with child, and my purpose in the greater scheme of things was explained. I used my own magic to split the child in two, so that I bore twin sons to Kol. Such a thing had never happened. I came back to my own world. Kol disappeared and has not been seen since. His chancellor hid the twins so no one would harm them. They grew up not knowing who they really were. Then one of Kol’s daughters learned the secret, found them, told them who they were and set them against one another. She planned to rule the Dark Lands herself, but in the end Kolgrim overcame her and his brother, Kolbein. That was over a hundred years ago, Amren. Magnus Hauk had only just died, and your father, Taj, become Dominus of Terah.”
“Did Magnus Hauk know what happened?” Amren asked her.
Lara nodded. “I could not keep secrets from him,” she said. “But as for the rest of our worlds, their collective memory of what had happened was erased. We wanted peace, and Kolgrim was too new to his position to cause difficulty.”
“But now he is not,” Amren said. “Why not simply stop the wedding?”
“Palben would not agree,” Lara told him.
Amren thought a moment and then said, “Nay, he would not. The advantages to Hetar, to himself, are too great in his eyes.” He looked at her with admiring eyes. “I will keep your secrets, Grandmother. I am honored that you shared them with me.”
Lara nodded her thanks then said, “You have served Terah with honor, Amren. I am proud of you, and know that Magnus Hauk would be proud, as would your father, my son, Taj. Do not forget your heritage, whatever happens. Terah has always walked in the light. May it continue to do so.”
“And Hetar, too,” he replied. “They are not bad people, Grandmother. Just heedless lovers of everything that they can wrap their hands about.”
She nodded at him. “Age has helped you become a good man,” Lara said.
“Or perhaps it is the faerie blood in my veins,” he replied with an amused smile.
Lara laughed. “Perhaps,” she agreed.
“If you two are through chattering,” Ilona said impatiently, “there is much to be done this day.”
“I will take Vaclar with me to the wedding,” Amren said, “and see he is introduced about to all the people he should know. His uncle Cadoc must be advised of the heir’s arrival. I will send a faerie post immediately.” He turned to his wife, who had just appeared at the door of the chamber. “Clarinda, my dear, see that Prince Vaclar is fed before we must leave for the festivities.”
“What of these people?” the lady said, looking nervously at Lara, Kaliq and Ilona.
The Queen of the Forest Faeries glared at the poor woman. “I am not
Amren’s wife staggered and held on to the doorjamb to keep from falling. “Oh my!” she said in a weak voice, her eyes locked upon Kaliq and Lara.
The Shadow Prince stepped forward and gallantly put a hand beneath the lady Clarinda’s elbow. “Please do not let us distress you, my lady. We have but come to help.” He led her to where Prince Vaclar stood. “May I introduce you to your husband’s great-nephew, heir apparent to the throne of Terah, Prince Vaclar. Your Highness, this lady is your great-aunt Clarinda. She will see to your comfort before you must leave for the Lord High Ruler’s wedding.”
Vaclar bowed with an elegant flourish and, taking the lady’s hand, kissed it. “I am delighted to make your acquaintance, my lady great-aunt,” he said.
Soothed by the Shadow Prince’s gentle voice and normal behavior, the lady Clarinda was eased in her mind. “Your Highness,” she said curtsying to Vaclar.
“Dear great-aunt Clarinda,” Vaclar said, smiling at her, “we are family. You need not curtsy to me.”
“Oh nay, dear boy,” the good woman answered him. “It must never be said that a Hetarian lady of rank such as myself forgot her manners in the presence of royalty.” Then she brought him up to the High Board and called to her servants to feed him immediately.
“We will leave you to do what you must,” Lara said to Amren.
“If I need you,” he answered her, “how can I find you?”
“You have but to say these words.
Amren blinked. Her mode of transport always surprised him. He looked about for Prince Kaliq, but the Shadow Lord had also departed. Amren Hauk chuckled softly to himself. How foolish he had been. How foolish his whole nation was that they had put magic from them. Magic existed. And it was fascinating.
RETURNING TO SHUNNAR, LARA immediately turned to Kaliq, who was by her side. “I believe we have begun this campaign well, my lord. We shall again defeat the Twilight Lord, and all his ilk. I will not let the darkness come!
The Shadow Prince took her into his arms. “You are a brave faerie woman, my love,” he told her. She was brave, he thought. But her efforts this time were for naught. Still Lara was not a woman who would blindly accept a fate she could not live with for she was an optimistic creature of light and of hope.
He stroked the soft gilt-colored hair beneath his big hand. Soon the exodus would start, and the magic would slowly slip away from Hetar, leaving it vulnerable to the darkness. Kaliq wished it were otherwise, but Hetar now must accept the fate it had carved out for itself. Lara would resist until the bitter end, he suspected. But then they would depart into the Cosmos. His beautiful faerie woman would help to create a new world. She would shed tears for Hetar, but she would also be happy again because they would be together.
Lara looked up into his handsome face. “You are thinking,” she said with a small smile. “I can almost hear the cogs and wheels within your head.”
“You have devised a clever plot, my love,” he told her. “If we can get Vaclar wed to the last of Grugyn Ahasferus’s granddaughters, the bond between Hetar, Terah and the Dark Lands will be unbreakable at least for the generation to come. Kolgrim will not be pleased. I’m certain he meant to pit Hetar and Terah against one another to their detriment. But now, my love, you must return his bride, Nyura, to him. Our time is short, and he will take his revenge upon Marzina if you do not.”
“I know,” Lara replied. “I will go now. Do not come. He will not harm me.”
And suddenly she was gone from his arms.
“MOTHER!” KOLGRIM LOOKED UP from his throne where he had been seated. “Will you tell me now where I may find Nyura so we may be wed tomorrow?”
“Release Marzina to me, and I will,” Lara said. “You know my word is good, Kolgrim. You cannot harm your sister by your own law.”
“Allowing the chamber in which she is housed to drop into the endless abyss would only make it impossible for you ever to see her again. Nor could she escape for I have put a spell upon the chamber. Her magic does not work there. Now where is Nyura?”
“Well hidden in a place you cannot find, Kolgrim. Now release Marzina, and Nyura will be safe in her own bed again. They will be coming soon to awaken her for her cousin’s wedding to the Lord High Ruler,” Lara said in a calm voice, but her heart was pounding violently. This was a battle of wills between them, and she knew her son did not like to lose such battles. Especially to a woman. She smiled encouragingly at him.
Kolgrim laughed. “Very well,” he said. “Soon enough your influence over this world will weaken and then fade
