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Chapter 39 of "A Sword for Wellington", Book Three of The Môrdreigiau Chronicles
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The story began in A Grail for Eidothea and continued with A River Trembles. Now the Chosen Court seeks another Arthurian treasure. New here? Save this post and have a binge read. You deserve it.
Gwenddydd refused Eidothea each time she asked her to join the Chosen Court. Eidothea’s father planned to move to Craiglyn House to live with Lady Meredith, leaving Jasper the house. Eidothea returned to Caer Morgana.
On Lammas Day, Gwenddydd and the stone circle priestesses began the ritual to send her back. Hugh returned from the dead. Horribly wounded, but alive. The ritual is broken just in time.
There is one thing left to do…
I remained in Caer Morgana, resuming my duties as monarch and privately licking my wounds—my guilt at endangering civilians, as Gwenddydd called them, in my need to be reunited with my Chosen Court, no, with my need to be reunited with Jasper and Llyr.
Somehow, we had to retrieve the Sword. Both Llyr and I knew Gwenddydd had been marked by the Lady to complete this task. If she went back to her own time, we would try to retrieve it ourselves, hopefully guided by a fresh vision from Llyr.
In between my monarchial duties, Llyr and I walked through the caer and the palace gardens. We took our time exploring this new aspect of our relationship. It felt right to spend this time with him, knowing we would see Jasper in a month. We relaxed at the palace’s solar, lying on the benches outside the rocky hill, holding hands with our arms outstretched.
:Let us go to the caer’s hot spring house,: I suggested after a long day filled with meetings. :Just the two of us.:
:And your guards,: Llyr reminded me. Now that we knew Ladon still lived, Llyr refused to take any chances.
I worried that he might try for Caledfwlch, but with Wellington’s victory, perhaps he considered that the sword was no longer important?
Hand in hand, we strolled through the caer, skirting the hilltop containing the hot springs. We entered the plaza before the cave entrance, the water already considerably warmer.
We stepped inside, two royal guards going ahead to secure the space.
Only a couple of dreigiau môr sat in the heated centre of the vast chamber. I led Llyr to a bench near the wall.
:This is where we sat the first time I brought you here.: Llyr settled next to me, loosening his robe and letting it puddle about his waist, baring his arms. His Chosen Mark glowed blue in the dim light. The bronze torc about his neck glinted against his golden skin.
I adjusted my robe so it fell in a deep vee. My torc already felt quite warm. I leaned against the wall and sighed. The hot stones eased my tense muscles.
I glanced at Llyr. He sat with his head tilted back against the stone wall. My glance became a stare. Llyr looked like a beautiful ancient sculpture. Only the gentle flutter of his gills belied the illusion that he could be carved of golden stone.
I leaned over, pressing a kiss in the hollow between his neck and shoulder, below his gills and above his torc.
He straightened, turning in his seat towards me. :Eidothea…: His thought filled with wonder and uncertainty.
I smiled. :Had I been less overwhelmed and had I been braver, I would have done that the first time we came here.:
His dark eyebrow twitched upward. :You? You would have?:
I blushed, turning my already warm cheeks red. :You are right. I was not used to the dreigiau môr way then. I would have kissed you on the cheek. Quickly.:
:Show me.: He smiled in encouragement.
I leaned in to kiss his cheek. At the last minute, he turned his face toward me and I kissed his mouth instead.
I froze, torn between wanting to kiss him again and aware of my position as monarch. Would a public display of affection be frowned upon?
:Stop worrying and kiss me—if you want to,: urged Llyr, his mouth not moving from mine.
I wanted to. Our innocent kiss grew deeper until our limbs tangled.
Llyr broke away first, chest heaving. :Do you remember what I told you about our robes?:
:That they are skin, our flesh.: I wondered where he headed with this train of thought.
Llyr fingered the edge of my sleeve, a gentle caress. I shivered as pleasure tingled through me.
My eyes widened. I hadn’t expected this. :How…?:
:Because we are in love, our senses are heightened. If you felt nothing for me, or even thought you were in love but were not, it would not cause you to shiver as you do.:
My eyes widened and reached out for his robe. He forestalled me with a hand. :You are intoxicating, but if you do that I will not be able to stop,: he murmured. His lips brushed my ear and trailed along my jaw. :My dreams are filled with you.: His kisses enthralled me. :I need to go to the deeps, and meditate. Hopefully, the Lady is not jealous that we have found love with each other.:
I caught his sudden fear and sighed. :Why would She be cruel like that? But go … I will miss you, but go. We will have all the time in the world once we’ve achieved our goal of saving the world from a dreadful fate.:
I felt his heart ease and we kissed again, savouring the intimacy, knowing that we would soon be apart for a few days.
We left the spring house with the gossip current flooding around us. Our kiss had been witnessed. It made the first gossip current I had experienced feel like a trickle in comparison.
Llyr pulled me in closer, an arm about my shoulders. I settled my hand on his lower back. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and the gossip current burst into a deluge.
I missed Llyr and in the evenings, when my work was over, I thought of he and Jasper and wondered how I could keep them both in my life and still love them as well as they deserved.
On Llyr’s return from his prophetic retreat, I knocked on the door to his chambers, across the hall from my own.
He answered the door, looking weary and thinner than normal. :Shield,: he murmured, :Ondine will worry.:
I did so. :You need to eat and rest.: I called for food. With a gentle shove, I pushed him back into his chambers, and followed. :Did you dream?:
He nodded. :She’s not jealous, but I need to be better about focusing and listening. The vision was a strange muddle.: He canted his head. :Should you be in here?:
I smiled, wanting to touch him but his words made me hesitate. :I have already made that declaration Above Sea,: I told him. :I missed you.:
He pulled me into a loose embrace, kissing my forehead. :I know. I felt it through our bond. You miss Jasper too.:
I looked up at him. :Does that bother you?:
He shrugged. :There’s time enough to work that out. Right now, you are here with me and that’s all that matters.:
Shortly after the first of August, I agreed to allow Cychwr and a handful of guards to travel to my childhood home. He would wait for news about Gwenddydd from my father. Despite knowing what modern warfare is like, Cychwr has almost forgiven me for letting Ondine to exhaust herself.
I sat on the throne in the Great Hall, listening to petitions brought forth by the caer’s citizens—my people.
Llyr laid a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention. I moved carefully, not wanting to unbalance the heavy crown. :Cychwr is here. He has news. Good news.:
I nodded in acknowledgement, an old habit from my Above Sea days. I caught the tipping crown just in time. :Gather everyone in the Court Hall. I will join you when this session is over.: I itched to put a halt to the proceedings, but the people had missed my presence. I dared not to deprive them of it when I knew that soon I would leave them again.
Twenty of us came shore on the rocky beach below my home—Jasper’s home now. My guards surveyed the beach and clifftops before bowing and returning to the sea. The Chosen Court and Cychwr came with me. In a bag woven from seaweed, Llyr carried the Greal. I felt grateful he had disposed of its old bag for each time I saw its bloodstains, I remembered that terrible night of betrayal.
We headed for the cave, where clothes awaited us. We dressed, removing our torcs and placing them in Llyr’s bag for safekeeping. We ascended the smugglers tunnel. The kitchen bustled with activity. Cook stepped into the hall with a grin. “Cychwr, I made apple pie esp—” She broke off seeing the rest of us. She smiled at me uncertainly. “Miss, good to see your eye is better. You know your father no longer lives here?” Her eyelid shivered in a wink.
I patted her arm as I passed. “I know. The young master?”
“In the study most like. I sent a tea tray there not long ago.”
“One for the parlour too, please? For my guests.”
Cook bobbed a curtsey and disappeared back into the kitchen.
:Apple pie?: I attempted to fix Cychwr with a stern look.
He grimaced. :Llyr doesn’t have your patience. He asked me to check weekly for news.:
Llyr’s look of innocence overlaid the lack of repentance I felt through our bond. I attempted to frown but he felt my amusement.
:Wait for me in the parlour,: I thought to my Court. :I would like to speak privately first to Jasper. Well, as private as our bond allows. Then we can plan.:
Llyr paused outside the parlour door, staying me with a hand on my forearm. I felt his spike of jealousy tempered by love. :Without me?:
I covered his hand and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, fingertips running down his spine. :I have not seen him for a month and…: And not once had Cychwr relayed a personal message from Jasper. Our bond informed me that he still loved and longed for me, yet there was an uncertainty. :You know he has not been happy all this time. He feels everything we do. I need to remind him that he’s not excluded.:
Llyr kissed my forehead. :Do what you need to do. I understand, mi cariad.: He joined the others in the front parlour.
Jasper opened the study door. He pushed the door further open, hobbling to one side on his crutch. “I smelled apple pie. I knew it would be you.”
I followed him into the study. The shelves had been emptied of books, although Father had left some behind, including my aunt’s copy of Debrett’s. A few shelves had been filled with the books we had pilfered from the Tregallas library.
Jasper leant a hip against the large desk, littered with papers. He felt my dismay. “Give me time. It will fill with books again.”
I drew close to him, fingering the soft lapel of his jacket. “I need to tell you something.” I looked up at him through my eyelashes.
He hooked a finger into his cravat, loosening it.
I concealed a smile. My seductive glance had actually worked. I laid my palm flat against his chest and met his heated gaze. “I have missed you. Have you not sensed it through the bond?”
He frowned, pulling away. “Have you? Now that you’ve allowed yourself to love Llyr, I have felt that love blossom, flourish.” His lips compressed.
I sensed his anguish. “That is true, but it has not diminished my feelings for you.” I advanced. “Do you not feel it through the Court’s bond?”
:Shields up, Ondine,: Llyr muttered, including me in his thought.
“I feel… something.” Jasper admitted that much at least. His breath huffed warm on my forehead.
“Jasper, this is no bittersweet longing. You proved yourself more than once on our quest to find Arthur’s sword. Searching for the Greal put us through a crucible and we have both changed because of it. We cannot go back to who we were but we can find a new way forward.”
His leaning against the table still did not bring him down to my height. Tilting back my head, I examined his face. “I thought we had started on that.”
His gaze flicked down to my mouth. “Eidothea,” he breathed.
I stood on tiptoe and kissed him, my hands resting lightly on his shoulders.
He kept still, but his lips softened beneath mine. He soon broke away, his breathing slightly ragged. “I cannot. I am not worth your love.”
“You are worth all my love and more. Once we have retrieved the sword,” I murmured, “allow me to stay with you. I cannot avoid my duties but we need to spend time together.”
“Perhaps at Craiglyn House so the neighbours are not scandalised?” He sounded, and felt, hopeful.
I agreed.
I tugged him closer, standing on tiptoe to plant a kiss near his mouth. “You realise this means I have to travel by sea. I cannot ride overland with a man I am not even engaged to.”
His lips quirked. “You still care about these things?”
I smiled.
He bent his head down to mine, claiming me with a kiss that deepened until all my senses submerged into his, ending only when I remembered the rest of my Chosen Court awaited us.
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