Susan Spencer Paul - [Enchanter 01] (35 page)

“I’m going blind,” the earl of Llew said quietly as one of his large hands closed over Niclas’s throat. “I’ve been cursed, just as you knew I would be when you drove me to lose my temper. You’ve cost me a great deal.” His long fingers began to squeeze.

Niclas lifted both his hands to grasp the earl’s wrists, but his strength seemed to have drained away with the blood he’d lost. He could feel it pouring from his wounds, making a wet, warm pool beneath him.

“But I won’t need my sight once I have the Tarian.” It will be better than sight to me, and I shall cheer myself with the knowledge of how Julia will suffer beneath my hands in your absence, but always for your sake.” His other hand joined the first about Niclas’s neck, squeezing lightly.

“I’m going to kill you slowly,” Cadmaran murmured, bending close. “My sight dims with each passing moment, but I can still feel your life pulsing beneath my hands. I shall enjoy the seconds as I feel the flow of your blood slowing beneath my fingers. And stopping.”

Julia
, Niclas thought, struggling as mightily as he could.
Malachi, make sure she’s safe
. . .

He couldn’t fight any longer. Or breathe. His eyes closed, and he heard Cadmaran chuckling. Fleetingly he thought about the Tarian, but that remorse couldn’t hold him.

He could only think of Julia, and how much he regretted leaving her at Cadmaran’s mercy.

And then, of a sudden, the vise about his neck was
gone. Air rushed into his lungs and, gasping, he surfaced from the heavy blackness to find Julia standing over him, an enormous axe drooping in her delicate hands. Cadmaran was lying crumpled to one side, perfectly still.

“I . . . I only struck him with the flat of the blade,” she said, staring wide-eyed down at Niclas. Her face had gone white, and she was visibly trembling. “I hope I didn’t kill him. Oh, Niclas.”

Weakly, he reached out a hand and she fell to her knees, shoving the axe aside and pressing herself into the crook of his arm. With a smile, he set his hand upon her head.

“It’s all right, love. Malachi will be here soon. He’ll take care of everything.”

As if he’d been announced, the most powerful wizard in Europe arrived. Niclas had expected something spectacular, but this was among his cousin’s better entrances. It sounded as if a tremendous, violent storm had started up inside the house.

“Stay down,” Niclas told Julia, just as a furious blast of wind shot through the entire castle like an explosion, shattering windows and slamming doors open and sending objects flying. It was sufficiently frightening to cause even Cadmaran’s spell-restrained servants to start screaming and shouting.

The heavy doors to the great hall had slammed open and were swinging back and forth, banging against the walls. But as the earl of Graymar entered the room they began to shudder loudly, broke off their hinges and fell with a crash to the floor.

“He always has to make such a fuss over these things.
And noise.” Niclas laughed weakly and closed his eyes. “No, stay down, love. He’s not done yet.”

“Niclas!”
It came out as an unearthly roar rather than anything human. The very walls and floor shook.
“Morcar!”

“Better tell him we’re here, Julia,” Niclas whispered, “before he tears the whole castle down.”

And then, for the first time in over three years, he slid into complete blackness, and slept.

N
iclas?”

He felt a cool cloth on his forehead.

“Niclas?”

It was Julia, and she sounded anxious—and very far away, as if she were part of a dream and he couldn’t reach her.

“Come along,
cfender
. Stop lolling about and wake up. You’ve cosseted yourself long enough.”

That was Malachi. Which meant this wasn’t a dream, for Niclas would never let Malachi into any dream that Julia was already in.

“I was sleeping,” Niclas muttered groggily, his eyes still closed. “And I want to keep sleeping. For a month.”

“Three days is more than sufficient to make up for what you’ve missed,” the earl of Graymar stated imperiously. “And I should think you’d want to celebrate the lifting of the curse. Which you can do much better if you’re awake.”

If Malachi had spent more than three years of his life endlessly awake, he would have developed a deep appreciation for the bliss that only sleep could bring.

The curse was gone. Niclas was giddy with the realization.

“Look at him,” Malachi said. “He’s smiling. If you’re able to smile, then you’re able to awaken.”

“You stayed in Wales all this time just to yell at me?” Niclas said, slowly dragging his eyelids open. Julia was hovering over him, gazing at him with concern. He smiled and tried to lift a hand to touch her face, but discovered that it hurt too much. “Your bruise is better,” he murmured, thankful that Malachi was such a gifted healer. “I could have killed Cadmaran for that alone.”

“You mustn’t move for a little while,” she said, tears brightening her blue eyes. “Lord Graymar has tended your wounds with some of his special potions, and he vows that you’ll mend quickly, but you must lie abed for a few days. You’re safe at Glen Aur.”

Lie in bed for a few days, he repeated silently. How delightful. He would spend all of it sleeping, unless he could convince Julia to join him.

“Where’s Cadmaran?” he asked.

Malachi’s blond head popped into view, his crystalline blue eyes peering down at Niclas from over Julia’s shoulder.

“At Castle Llew, where he should remain for some time. The elders are considering a punishment apart from what the guardians have already done, but we’ll have no trouble from him for a long while, regardless. He called a blood curse down upon his head, and was blinded. Not as
Steffan is blind, but in the manner of mere mortals. He must now learn to live in this new way.”

“His powers?”

“They remain undimmed, so far as I can tell, which perhaps isn’t what either of us might have wished, but it is far preferable to his gaining the Tarian.”

Niclas came awake more fully. “The Tarian,” he said anxiously. “I had forgotten. Is it safe?”

Malachi smiled. “I have it. Morcar couldn’t have taken it from you unless you were dead, and thanks to Miss Linley”—he set an approving hand on her shoulder—“he wasn’t able to accomplish the deed. He did, however, get close enough to cause the curse to be lifted. The guardians were clearly convinced that you were ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for Miss Linley’s sake.”

Niclas looked back into Julia’s face. “You broke the spell,” he said, and was struck anew by how much he loved her. “You fought him.”

“It wasn’t like the last time,” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I heard your voice so clearly, and my own longing gave me the strength to follow your urging.”

“You are my
unoliaeth
now,” he murmured, ignoring the interested sound that his cousin made in the background. “We will always be able to hear each other, no matter how far apart we may be.”

“But I should have fought harder, for then you might not have been so terribly wounded.” A sob escaped her trembling lips. “He almost killed you, Niclas. I would have I-lost you forever.”

He did reach up then, damning the bandages on his arms, and pulled her down to lie—very carefully—upon his also bandaged chest.

“Hush, love. It’s over now, and though Cadmaran never would have wished to do us good, he was the means through which the curse has been lifted. We will never be parted again, in this world or the next. We’re going to be married, and you will be my life. You and whatever children God may bless us with.”

He looked at Malachi, who was gazing down at them with a very large smile upon his face.

“What?” Niclas said suspiciously.

“I had a feeling, even before you left London with Miss Linley, that this would be the outcome. Not about the curse being lifted, of course, but that Miss Linley was your
unoliaeth
.”

Niclas didn’t know why he was surprised, for since they’d been boys Malachi had known everything. Julia, however, stiffened and slowly sat up, wiping her face and turning to look at him.

“What do you mean, my lord? How could you know?”

“Niclas told me that he couldn’t feel your emotions,” Malachi explained. “And there could be only two explanations for that. Either you possess magic in your blood, even a little, or you were always intended for him. Predestined, you might say.”

“And there is no magic in my family,” Julia said.

Malachi shook his head. “None that I can find. And that leaves only the
unoliaeth
to explain why Niclas can’t feel your emotions. He cannot feel anyone to whom he is related—and he is already, in a manner, related to you. I suspected that this was the reason even before you left London together.”

“Yet you saw fit not to say anything to me about it?” Niclas asked.

“What could I have said?” Malachi asked. “And if I had, what would you have thought? You wanted a chance to lift the curse, and if I’d told you of my suspicions, you might not have gone. And, although I had my reservations about the wisdom of your escorting Miss Linley in my place, I felt that I had to give you the opportunity you sought.”

“But—”

“And I couldn’t be sure, yet. It was something only you could discover, for such a predestined union is very rare among lesser wizards, as you know. I saw that you were attracted to Julia,” he said, “but that wasn’t proof enough.” He held his hands out in a gesture of resignation. “I sent you off to Wales knowing what might happen, and having already determined that if Julia was to be your wife, I could do nothing but accept it. But you must believe me, Niclas, and dear Julia,” he added, smiling warmly at her, “that I am not unhappy about this turn of events. Indeed, quite the opposite. I am most pleased, especially to know that Julia will be one of us, and my new cousin.” Bending, he kissed her cheek.

Niclas smiled. “Thank you, Malachi. We shall be married as soon as possible, if that pleases Julia.”

“It pleases me very much,” she told him. “Though I fear my family will give us a good deal of trouble. My aunt Eunice—”

“Leave it to me, why don’t you?” Malachi suggested. “I’ll call upon my, ah, particular talents to convince her of the rightness of the union. I believe I can assure you that Lady Eunice will not only agree to the marriage, but be utterly delighted with it.”

Niclas and Julia exchanged looks. “I’m not certain we should ask it of you.”

Malachi waved the words away. “Consider it a wedding gift. I shall be glad to do it, if only to see you safely wed. Now, as to the elders—”

“I’ll speak with them,” Niclas said.

Malachi’s eyes widened only slightly at the words, but enough for Niclas to see that he’d surprised him.

“That has always been the task of the
Dewin Mawr
,” Earl Graymar said. “I don’t know what they would think if you were to approach them. Or what they would say.”

“It doesn’t really matter,” Niclas told him. “I’m not going to ask their permission. I’m only going to tell them, as a courtesy, that Julia and I are to wed.”

If it was possible, he had managed to surprise his cousin even more. Malachi looked, for a moment, as if he would argue, but after a few silent seconds, he said, calmly, “I see. Well. I perceive that Julia has had a more positive influence on you than I had hoped. If I ever meet such a woman who can have a like influence on me, I shall count myself a fortunate man.” He set a hand on Julia’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. “I’ll leave the two of you alone, then, to make your plans.”

“You look more exhausted than I feel,” Niclas murmured once his cousin had departed. “Have you slept at all since Castle Llew?”

“Enough,” she said, and he knew she was lying.

“Lie down with me here.”

“Oh, no, dear. There isn’t enough room.”

Niclas stared at her for a blissful moment. “You called me ‘dear,’ ” he said.

She looked at him fondly, a little amused. “Does that mean you liked it? Or would you prefer me to call you by some other endearment?”

“I liked it. But feel free to call me any and every endearment that you can think of. I shall like all of them. Lie down, love. There’s room enough for us both.”

She did, but slowly and with great care.

“Am I hurting you?” She gingerly rested her head on the pillow and clasped one of his hands.

He closed his eyes with pleasure. “You make me feel wonderful. Having you here makes me want to get well more quickly. I think we may spend the first year of our married life more in bed than out. Sleeping a good deal, I grant you, but many other things, as well.” He turned his head to smile into her eyes. “Julia, are you quite certain that you want to wed me?”

“Niclas, darling,” she replied calmly, “do you want me to get up and hit you very hard?”

“No.”

“Then don’t ever ask me such a foolish question again. Dear.”

“I only want to make certain that you’ve considered what it means to marry into a family such as mine. There are challenges to face that you’ve never had to think about before. Above all, to keep anyone from discovering that people like your own husband and children are incredibly different.”

“It sounds much more delightful than accompanying my aunt Eunice to card parties. I wonder what sorts of gifts our children will have? Won’t it be wonderful discovering their unique talents?”

If Niclas thought he had loved her before, his heart swelled painfully with the feeling just now.

“It isn’t a simple thing for a child to discover that he’s different from the vast majority of others. For most of my
life—from the moment I realized just how unusual I was—I’ve longed for something that could give me peace. Not just in the way of my gift, but from all that I am, all that my family is. I dreamed of it, but my life hasn’t been such that fantasies could play a part. After a time,” he said, “I had to put all dreams aside. Until I met you. It sounds trite to say it, but it’s true, Julia. You’ve made my dreams come true.”

Her slow smile warmed him all the way through.

“I haven’t dreamed all my life,” she murmured, “or even for much of it. My people have always been terribly sensible, and dreams were strictly discouraged. The truth is, I’ve only ever had one dream, and I’ve been careful to keep it very secret in my heart since it came to life on the night when I first saw you. There was never any hope that it would come true, but I kept it all the same. And then, a wonderful thing happened.”