Before the Dawn (30 page)

"It's going to be all right," he promised,
and he hoped that she wouldn't realize he was lying. "It will all
be all right." He knew now that even if he spoke the spell of
Remembrance, it would not help her but only make things worse, the
way having a silver leaf within her had only served to drive her
further into insanity. The leaf had kept giving her the strength to
resist Benwyr's enchantment, which most likely only prompted him to
be more ruthless in his attempt to turn her into Rosamund. This, in
turn, caused even more damage to her soul, and now he didn't know
if Aline could still be saved from the worst danger of
all—herself.

"Trevor?" She pulled back from their embrace
so she could look at him. "Will you promise me—?"

He didn't get to hear what she could have
asked of him because a deafening roar suddenly shook the entire
castle. He pushed her down and covered her body with his own
protectively as one of the walls exploded into pieces, raining down
sharp bits of stone against his back. Once the great noise subsided
and an eerie quiet seemed to fill the whole world, he raised his
head and looked up in time to see Raven, wild-eyed and bruised,
hovering in the air outside the hole created by the blast. Then the
black-haired Prince stepped through the hole and made his way
slowly to a dark-clad figure lying amidst the rubble.

"It ends, my brother," he spoke softly and
more than a little sadly as he gazed down at Benwyr's bloodied
form.

The other Prince still managed to laugh. A
spasm wracked his body for a moment and then he coughed, spitting
out blood. "Is it now?" he sneered. "So, you are going to kill me
now? Where are our brothers so they may bear witness to my
execution?"

"We are here," Brannon said quietly as he and
the other Princes appeared. They all looked somber. They knew the
import of what was about to happen. One brother would slay another,
and they would be in the presence of their next King.

Benwyr smiled bitterly. "Of course," he
nodded. "Of course. It is the end." He stared at Raven. "Please,"
he whispered, which seemed to startle his brother, "can I see her
face one final time?"

Raven didn't answer, but he stepped back and
Aline suddenly struggled against Trevor. "Let me go!" she
exclaimed, crying again. "He needs me. He's calling for me."

Very reluctantly, Trevor let her push him
away and he watched as she rushed to Benwyr's side. She wept loudly
as she cradled the Prince's head in her lap. "Oh, my Prince," she
crooned comfortingly. "I am here."

"Rosamund?" Benwyr’s pale blue eyes no longer
possessed their usual clarity.

"I am with you," she said, her tone grave.
She was making a vow.

To Trevor's surprise, Benwyr shook his head.
"No." He never imagined that such despair could be found in just
that one word. The Prince coughed again, and more blood escaped
from his mouth this time. Whatever Raven did to him, it looked like
Benwyr would die any second even without a last killing blow. "No,"
Benwyr repeated. "Not Rosamund." He sounded like his heart was
breaking.

"Hush now," she told him and kissed his lips.
"Hush. Rest."

The Prince said nothing more. He was, at
last, dead.

Raven collapsed to his knees. His amber eyes
were shining with bitter tears.

Trevor went to his side. "Raven," he spoke,
his tone urgent, "Raven, I lost Meran. She's somewhere here. The
castle took her. Your mother, too. I don't know where they are, but
they need your help."

Raven snarled and glared at Trevor, clearly
resentful that he wasn't being allowed to grieve for his brother
just yet.

"I know," Trevor said, and he did know. He
understood. "But you're the only one who can help them. They're
counting on you to help them. Please, Raven."

The Prince turned his head away and, without
a word, disappeared. Trevor sighed, suddenly feeling exhaustion
wash over him. However, he still started in surprise when he felt
someone grip him on the shoulder. He saw that it was Rogan, and the
man had a grim expression on his face that suddenly filled him with
foreboding.

"She is Benwyr's wife," the red-haired Prince
said. "She belongs to his Court."

He was confused for a moment, wondering why
Rogan was telling him things he already knew. And then he realized
what it meant. He quickly moved away from Rogan and went to Aline's
side. "No." He shook his head. "No!" he repeated in a louder,
firmer tone. Looking around frantically, he caught sight of Aline's
knife and he hurriedly scrabbled to get it, then he stood in front
of her like a shield against the Princes' intent, ignoring the pain
that was shooting up his hand from the point where he was holding
the knife. "You can't kill her, too," he protested. "She was under
his spell. I won't let you do this."

To his immense relief, Raven reappeared right
then, carrying a wounded Meran in his arms while Lady Ceirdwyn,
also wounded though in a better condition, clutched at his arm. He
became very still when he saw the stand-off between Trevor and his
brothers.

"Raven," Brannon said in a calm, reasonable
tone, "after you tell your human to get out of our way and we are
done here, I hope you can explain why he seems determined to risk
his life for Benwyr's wife."

Raven didn't say anything just yet. Instead,
he slowly laid Meran down on the floor and examined the wound on
her shoulder. He murmured a few words and her wound glowed with a
sudden golden light. When the brightness faded away, the wound was
gone. Meran gave a little sigh and slipped into a deep sleep. For a
moment, Raven just stared at her, brushing her hair back from her
face. Then he finally stood up straight and addressed his brothers.
"I am afraid that I cannot let you harm the girl, or him for that
matter. They are both under my protection."

His brothers all frowned, but it was Kaemon
who expressed what they were all thinking. "What do you mean? Why
are you doing this?"

Raven shrugged. "What I mean is I will do
what I can to ensure all the humans here will not come to any harm.
As for why I am doing this, well, let us just say," he sighed in
exasperation, "it is a terribly inconvenient attack of conscience,
and leave it at that."

"An attack of conscience?" Baydr scoffed.
"Raven, you will be committing treason if we allow this last person
of the condemned Court to live."

"Yes. Yes," he nodded. "I do realize that.
But it is nevertheless what I intend to do."

"And you will be forfeiting the throne if you
do so!" thundered a new voice that was so powerful it brought
Trevor to his knees, clutching at his ears in pain. The knife fell
from his nerveless fingers. Grimacing, he saw that the Princes were
kneeling too, in reverence, and even Lady Ceirdwyn was on her
knees. Only Raven remained standing and looking nonchalant.

A sudden brilliance filled his sight, and
even squeezing his eyes closed could not completely shut out the
dazzling light. Then it abruptly faded, and he opened his eyes to
see spots dancing around everywhere before he blinked several times
and finally regained his normal clarity of vision.

A handsome older man dressed in green and
gold had appeared out of the light. He looked on at Raven with
light blue eyes that carefully concealed all emotions and thoughts
he may have at the sight of one who had killed a beloved brother by
the King's command.

"Prince Raven of Ashthorn," the man intoned,
"have you no respect for your King?" He didn't sound angry, or even
thunderous anymore. Instead, his voice was very solemn and calm,
like someone who was determined not to betray any hint of
vulnerability that might destroy his facade of strength.

"Oh, none at all," Raven answered, his sharp
bitterness and cold fury evident in his tone, "Father."

***

Chapter 30

The King very clearly suppressed a sigh and
chose to ignore the hatred flashing in Raven's eyes. Instead, he
walked over to where Trevor was still standing guard over Aline as
she clutched Benwyr's dead body to herself. He looked down at her
tear-streaked face without any expression. Then his gaze returned
to his youngest son's defiant form.

"You really mean to protect her, even if it
ends with your own death?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Raven's face was hard and determined.
"She is merely an innocent victim of my own mistakes." Then he did
something Trevor never expected he would do. He told the truth
about everything.

He started with the story of how he had first
enchanted the twelve daughters of an ancient king so they would
spend their nights dancing in the Strangelands, a tale that his
father and his brothers well knew. But he also told them of details
and subtleties that they had not heard before, and the King looked
grim when he found out just how close Benwyr had come to dying
then, and how Raven had concealed certain secrets that led to
greater problems later on. Raven revealed all, including his
mother's part in escalating and worsening the situation until it
finally came to this tragic end. Then he asked for mercy, not for
himself or for Lady Ceirdwyn, but for the mortals who had suffered
from what they had done. "But if you cannot grant them this mercy,"
he finished, "then I will fight you with all of my power so that
they may live and the harm they endured would be put to right."

The King was silent for a long moment,
thinking over Raven's words. When he spoke again, he sounded tired
beyond measure, an old man in spite of his ageless appearance. "You
ask for too great a mercy, my son." He looked at the child he had
condemned to death and, for the first time, grief flickered across
his countenance. He understood now that Benwyr had been as much of
a victim as the mortals the Prince had ensnared with his spells and
his madness. "But if I am to grant it," the King went on, "I
require an oath from you."

The Princes, including Lady Ceirdwyn, all
looked surprised at his words. However, Raven quickly recovered
from the unexpected nature of this easy capitulation and asked,
"What oath would you have me swear?"

"An oath of service, and utter obedience,"
the King replied. "I will name you the Crown Prince, the heir to
the throne, and you will stay by my side and learn the duties of a
King." He fixed Raven with a steady stare. "I must confess that you
were never my choice to succeed me, but I must select the strongest
of my sons to safeguard the Kingdom once I pass on. So you will be
my heir, and I pray that I will never have cause to regret this
decision."

Raven inclined his head in a little bow to
his sire. "I would swear this oath, my King." Each word seemed to
stab at him as he spoke, but he made every one of them pass through
his lips. Trevor knew this meant Raven had won an incredible
victory from his father, though it was at the cost of his cherished
freedom. He could no longer be the vagabond Prince he had been for
so long. But if it meant that Aline and Meran would be safe, then
even Trevor was willing to bind himself with an oath to the
King.

"The dead will remain dead," the King went
on, still looking intently at Raven, and the Prince nodded his
agreement. "There is still another price you must pay," his father
continued, and he turned to Raven's mother. "Lady Ceirdwyn." He
beckoned for her to approach him.

She stepped forward, her face calm though her
amber eyes were turbulent with some strong, unknowable emotions.
"Your Majesty." She bowed and knelt before him again, and there was
something in her manner that eventually made Trevor realize that
she was bracing herself as if waiting for a death blow. Raven
seemed to have come to the same conclusion because he looked at his
father with sudden dread written on his features. Even the other
Princes looked worried.

The King stared down at her. "Ceirdwyn," he
said her name softly, "my battle maiden, mother of my son.
Beloved." The last word seemed to break something within her
because her back bowed more deeply. "For your acts of treason," the
King said, his voice unsteady for a second before he took a
fortifying breath and steeled his resolve, "for causing the death
of a royal son, you are hereby exiled from the Kingdom of Leralond.
I banish you to snow and ice." He proclaimed the sentence that
condemned a battle maiden who had failed in her duty to the
Kingdom.

Raven cried out a denial, but Lady Ceirdwyn
never made a sound. She remained kneeling and only raised her head
to look up at the King's face as a mantle of darkness fell over her
figure and a flurry of snowflakes blew away every trace of her.

Both Raven and Trevor stared in shock at the
empty spot where she had been but a moment ago. But there was
nothing they could do. She was gone. For a minute, Raven looked
like he was going to fly into a rage. However, the King kept his
gaze on him, and it was obvious to all when the Prince forced
himself to choke back the harsh words he desperately wanted to
fling at his father.

When Raven didn't speak, the King nodded
approvingly, pleased by his restraint. "That was your first lesson,
my son," he said, not unkindly. "When you give something of great
value, you must also take something of equal measure. The humans
will be restored to their world and healed of their ills, but your
mother will never be allowed to return to Leralond on pain of
death."

"As you will it, my King," Raven responded
through gritted teeth. The hatred in his eyes when he looked at his
father had increased in intensity, but he kept himself from
expressing it in words.

The King then looked at Trevor. "And as for
this one," he said, "what would you have me do with him? He is no
longer mortal, from what I see."

Hearing those words spoken gave Trevor a
painful jolt. He now remembered that his eventual fate was still
uncertain. He had been too caught up in feeling relief that Aline
and Meran would be okay he had quite forgotten that he wouldn't be
returning with them to the mortal world. He couldn't, or he would
die. Suddenly, he realized that what was left of his life rested on
what Raven would say next.