The Twilight Lord. Bertrice Small

Noss said. Then she lowered her voice. “I never believed I should have a daughter of my own, but Dillon says this child I carry is a female. Given how Anoush has behaved toward Zagiri, I am afraid now for this child I carry, Lara. I think Bera has told Anoush who you are. She will not have spoken favorably of you, I fear. Anoush needs to be with you now. She needs to know her mother and not take the slanders Bera spews as truth.”

       Lara sipped her frine thoughtfully as Noss spoke. “Aye,” she said. “Anoush is six now, and very impressionable like all little girls her age. The only way I can expunge Bera’s venom is to take her back to the castle with Dillon.”

       “How long will you be with us? Your rooms are ready, for Dillon told us this morning that you were coming,” Noss said with a smile.

       “A few weeks,” Lara replied. “Magnus is now more concerned with the trading season than anything else. The emperor’s representative, Jonah, has gone home to Hetar—he does not like to leave Gaius Prospero alone too long, for he prefers to be the emperor’s only influence. I convinced Kaliq to allow Jonah the use of magical transport instead of having to sail across the Sea of Sagitta each time he needed to confer with his master. I send him when he desires to return to The City and one of the princes returns him to us.”

       “Why does Gaius Prospero insist on keeping him in Terah?” Noss wondered. “It should be obvious to him that the Dominus is not interested in furthering ties with Hetar.”

       “The emperor thinks that in time Magnus will change his mind. What he really wants is to conquer Terah so he may add it to his little empire,” Lara replied. “I understand he is attempting to duplicate some of the goods we make for Hetar in an effort to get our attention through economics. Unfortunately, Hetar has not the proper materials, and we will not trade with them for those materials. Their efforts so far have produced an array of shoddy goods that despite their cheap prices sit in the market stalls unsold. It is an interesting standoff between us.”

       “But what do you think of all of this?” Noss probed, curious.

       Lara laughed. “Terah and Hetar must eventually come to an understanding,” she said. “I think we may have a more dangerous enemy in the Dark Lands.”

       “Well, whoever they are they have caused no troubles so far,” Noss noted.

       “I would be happier if I knew who they were and what they want,” Lara responded. “I do not like mystery, as you know. My destiny has been calling to me for some months now, but for the first time I do not know exactly what it wants or where I am to go. Nor has my spirit protector Ethne had anything to say on the matter though I have asked her. All she will say is ‘you will know in time.’ ’Tis most annoying. Kaliq says I must wait for my path to be made clearer to me before I act.”

       “Well,” Noss said in her practical way, “I suppose you must wait then. Now let me send Dillon to fetch Anoush for you.”

       “Thank you,” Lara replied. “I am not in the mood to face Bera right now. She grows no better, Noss? Can no one help her? Vartan and Adon have been dead now for over five years.”

       “Sholeh and her sister, my own mother-in-law, have tried. After you left, Sholeh would come from her village every few weeks to be with Bera, but when we moved from the Outlands to the New Outlands she stopped because the distance from New Rivalen to New Camdene is greater. And it did no good anyway. It is as if something evil has gotten a hold of Bera’s heart and spirit,” Noss said.

       “And Cam?” Lara wanted to know.

       “He makes my skin crawl,” Noss admitted frankly. “He is as beautiful as his parents and is all kindness where his grandmother is concerned. At least publicly. But even I can sense the wickedness in him, Lara. And of late he has devoted himself to Anoush. Whatever she wants, he gives her. If she is angry at Dillon or me, he encourages her anger. He is working very hard to draw her away from us and he is close to succeeding. Such deviousness in so young a boy is frightening.”

       Lara nodded. “Dillon,” she called to her son who was amusing Zagiri. “Go and fetch your sister to me, please.”

       Dillon arose, kissing Zagiri’s little fingers as he did to make her giggle. “At once, Mother,” he said and hurried off. Reaching his grandmother’s house he entered and greeted Bera who sat at her loom weaving. “Good morning, Grandmother. I have come to fetch my sister. She is needed at home.”

       “This should be her home,” Bera said. “And yours. You are my grandchildren. You do not belong to Liam and Noss and their ilk. You are the children of my beloved son Vartan. Tell them you would come and be with your old grandmother.”

       “You are kind to want us, Grandmother,” Dillon said quietly, “but we are where our mother would have us be. And we are content there.”

       “The faerie witch! She who murdered in cold blood the son of my heart,” Bera muttered darkly. “She will regret it! She will regret it! Send her back to Hetar where she belongs. She should be among her own kind, not here among us.”

       Dillon ignored the old woman’s outburst. He had heard it all before. He left Bera and went out to the garden where he found his sister with their cousin. They were seated in the grass, and Cam had his hand on Anoush’s own. He quickly pulled it away when he saw Dillon. Dillon’s eyes narrowed speculatively, then he spoke quietly to his little sister. “You are needed at home.”

       “No,” Anoush said. “I don’t want to go. Cam and I are having fun. He is teaching me a new game.” She did not look directly at her brother.

       Dillon did not argue. He reached down and pulled his sister up roughly. “I am sure it is not a game that a maid of six should learn,” he told her harshly. “Now come, Anoush, we are needed at home.” He began to pull her away.

       “I should rather live with Grandmother and Cam than with the usurper and his alien wife,” Anoush said rudely.

       “Say farewell to our cousin,” Dillon told her through gritted teeth. His dark, threatening look met Cam’s, but their cousin merely smiled at him. Dillon did not wait any longer. He dragged his sister from their grandmother’s garden, back through her house and out into the town’s square as he made their way home. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” he scolded Anoush as they went. “What has come over you, Little Sister? You have always loved Noss and your recent coldness has hurt her greatly.”

       “She is Hetarian like the bitch who bore us,” Anoush said coldly.

       Dillon stopped dead in his tracks. “Look at me!” he said fiercely. His tone was so dire that Anoush turned startled eyes up to him. “So you understand that Noss is our foster mother, do you? It is true. The mother who gave us life and who loves us beyond measure is Lara, the Domina of Terah. She was born in Hetar of a mortal father and a faerie mother. She was our father’s wife. She is a great lady and she has a destiny to follow. She did not choose to have a destiny. She would have been content to remain our father’s widow and our mother, but such is not her fate, Anoush. Our mother knows she has no choice but to follow until she meets and claims her destiny. She saw to our comfort and our safety before she left us. She saved the clan families from Hetar when she and the Shadow Princes transported us from the Outlands here to the New Outlands. You will speak of her with respect, Sister.” Then, taking Anoush’s hand again, Dillon half dragged her to the lord’s hall where their mother was awaiting them.

       Noss saw them first. “Anoush, come! We have a visitor,” she said.

       Seeing Lara, Anoush stopped. Then she said, “Good morrow, Mother.”

       Noss paled.

       “Good morrow, Anoush,” Lara replied quietly.

      Tread carefully. She heard Ethne murmur silently.

       “You grow prettier each time I see you,” Lara said.

       “And how often is that, Mother?” Anoush asked sarcastically.

       Lara was surprised, although she did not show it, at the bitterness