Welcome to The Children of Una series. Here’s a handy index of the published chapters.
In our last chapter, Danen’s family gathered around the evening table with their guests. Maudline’s attempted “happy family” facade was ripped away by Kalaran’s arrogant and dismissive speech, after which his wife accused him of seeking to disown Danen.
“I’m illegitimate, then?”
Maudline shot her son a withering look and pushed him into one of the leather chairs in his studying room. Without answering, she closed the door and lit enough candles to illuminate the corner where he sat. He remained motionless where she’d put him, his eyes burning with anger, his body frozen in shock. Lady Maudline sunk into the chair opposite him. Reaching for his hand, she inhaled a long, shaky breath.
But Danen shot to his feet. “No! Don’t you try to comfort me! You kept this a secret, same as he did.”
His anger was like a plunge into cold water. It silenced his mother for a heartbeat, and then she drew herself up straighter. The ice had entered her tone when she spoke. “Stop pacing and sit down, son.”
She waited for him to comply. Danen’s feet traced the room restlessly for another turn. He ran his fingers through his carefully combed and oiled hair, and then threw himself down beside her on the floor. Maudline pursed her lips at this mock obedience.
“You are not illegitimate,” she said, dropping her hand over his hair. “Lewison said as much too, if you remember. Kalaran believes you must be, because of your magical skill. It’s rare for a human to exhibit such talent. Ever since we discovered your ability your father has been cold toward you — ” She choked on the words, adding in a near whisper, “ — and toward me.”
Danen believed her at once. Relief was plain on his face, though his ire was not abated, merely turned in a different direction. “It isn’t fair!”
Maudline smiled sadly, tracing his chin with her hand as though she wished to release the tension he stubbornly held there. She shook her head.
“No, it isn’t right for him to treat us so. I’ve been a fool for allowing it to go on so long.” She bent and kissed his forehead. “Can you forgive me?”
Danen drew his knees up to his chest and gripped them. He did not answer her.
“I had other options, you know.” The former princess wore a ghost of a smile as she called them to mind. “I could have taken you with me and lived almost anywhere else. I could have taken this affront as a personal vendetta and made him pay dearly for the loss of my favor. With my political influence, I could’ve ruined the Vinier business. I don’t think Kalaran ever considered that risk.”
Her lip curled in bemusement. “He knew me too well. Once I had given up all else for love of him, it would be my nature to cling to him no matter how he maligned me. After being called a fool for giving up name and wealth and power for a man’s affections, he knew I could never suffer the indignity of having my foolishness proven. Kalaran knew I’d never expose myself to more snide remarks and knowing looks.”
Danen pulled himself off the floor and took the chair next to her. Twining her fingers in his, he rubbed the back of her wrist. His brow furrowed as he watched a single tear escape down her cheek.
“I was waiting, I suppose, for him to forgive me. I hoped our love could survive this hurt.”
“You should leave!” Danen said, impulsively. “ Uncle can take care of you, can’t he?”
Maudline dragged her eyes to his face. Regret haunted the smile that graced her thin lips. She kept him trapped in the pull of her sorrow for two long seconds, then she shook her head.
“It’s stupid, I know. But I can’t abandon the life I’ve chosen.” She sat back, pulling her hands into her lap. “And the girls! They need their mother around as they bring up their babies. I’ll take my joys where I can find them, Danen. Don’t worry about me. These tears are only my broken heart finally admitting I’ve lost hope.”
She stood and put her arms around herself. Walking to the door, she laid her back against it. “Love failed me. And by waiting on it, I failed to be the mother you needed.”
Danen’s clenched fists shook. “Don’t say that! It’s not your fault. I can’t believe he’d hate you for years instead of believing you.”
Maudline flinched. “Hate me?” Then her surprise gave way to a brittle mirth. She rested her head against the door and laughed hysterically, covering her eyes with one hand. “Of course. Such treatment could very well be described as hatred. As though he were trying to drive me away.”
“All the more reason to come with Uncle and me,” Danen said, coming to his feet. “You could see the Elven city! Wouldn’t that be, well, ironic?”
Maudline pursed her lips. “Your attempts are clever, Danen. But I can’t leave. I won’t escape this heartbreak, no matter how far I go.”
She crossed to him, taking his face in her hands. “I don’t hear you offering to stay here with me.”
Danen flushed. “I should’ve thought of that.“
“No. You cannot stay any more than I can go. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how miserable you’ve been. You have no purpose here. No place to carve out for yourself, either as a student or a man on his own. You’ve been slowly stifled until your only diversion became mischief. Mischief that often brought you severe punishment.”
Danen’s eyes flamed. Then he turned aside, shame bringing him to the brink of tears. He angrily batted them away, gritting his teeth.
“Yes, I saw all that and did nothing but hope.” Maudline shook her head.
With weariness limning every movement she took Danen’s hand and drew him back to the chairs. Then she went to a small table and drew out of a pocket drawer a little wooden box. Bringing it to him, she opened the lid and showed Danen a small, glittering object. She placed it in her palm and offered it to him. Danen stared at the fire in the opal, as drawn to it as a moth to flame, not daring to take it.
“This was the gift I hoped your father would give you at dinner. But I think it will mean more coming from me, in private. It is an Elsyncria Stone. It seeks to align the wearer with a knowledge of his own well-being. If you wear it, you’ll know whether a course of action will utterly exhaust you, or whether certain foods will agree with your stomach, and when to stop drinking to avoid becoming drunk.”
She took his right hand and slid the ring over his smallest finger with a wry smile. “Can you imagine why your mother might wish to give you such a thing?”
Danen flushed, but grinned back at her. “You know I need a lot of help avoiding trouble. But mother, I would prefer to have you at my side giving me your discreet warning looks instead.”
She tried to pull back from him, but he caught her hands and gazed earnestly into her face. “Why won’t you come with us?”
His mother sighed out her pent up breath. “This sorrow would follow me everywhere.”
“You don’t have to let it.”
“Enough,” Maudline rose and went to the door. “I’m going to speak to Lewison before I retire. Get some sleep, my dear. I don’t doubt your uncle will be leaving as early as can be arranged on the morrow.”
With her hand on the latch and her back to him, she added in a lower tone. “I will miss you, Danen.”
When the latch clicked shut, he blew out the candles and rose to follow. In the dark, the glowing Elsyncria caught his eye. It was faintly tinged with an orange light, almost like a hot ember coated in ash. He brushed a finger over the smooth stone. It was quite cool.
A shiver of knowing that shot through him at that touch. Exhaustion comes.
“Huh,” he grunted. “I guess it works.”
********
Sea salt stung his nostrils, the cold air whipping his unkempt hair off his brow. Gooseflesh on his bare arms made the experience less dream-like, though Danen did wonder — often — whether he were really, finally leaving home. His robe billowed around his wool-wrapped leggings, snapping like sail cloth. Danen closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, gripping the railing tight. This was real, wasn’t it?
To avoid stirring the house and alerting Corundus to their departure, the three of them had packed scant necessities and carried them away from Vinnegottera on foot. Lewison wanted to make sure they weren’t seen in the city either, so Danen had led them through his neighbor’s empty vineyards, orchards, and finally the desolate sand dunes. After making their circuitous way without even a lantern to guide them, they arrived at the far end of the docks just before midnight. A captain waited for them there, prepared to accommodate his passengers’ need for secrecy.
The Sukeena’s Breath plunged under a swell and his stomach dropped. On the rise that followed, a sheepish grin split his face. He opened his eyes on a dazzling moonlit scene. Every one of his muscles trembled with weariness after their clandestine dash to the docks. But he couldn’t stave off his gluttony — this was what he’d longed for all his life.
Danen had obediently waited in the cabin until he knew the ship was well out of sight of Scransunn. Then he’d stumbled out to walk the length of the deck. He was weary. But it would’ve been a crime to sleep through what had been prepared for his departure — this starlight, this moonrise, this inky splendor!
“I see you’re enjoying the view.” A warm voice called out of the darkness behind him. A moment later Lewison’s hand fell heavily on Danen’s shoulder and rested there as they talked.
“I’ll probably sleep all day tomorrow,” Danen admitted.
Lewison nodded. Then he tapped the amulet that still dangled from Danen’s neck. “You won’t be needing this anymore. I suspect it lost its potency years ago, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to cast those spells yesterday afternoon.”
Danen’s face grew ashen. “You knew about that?”
Lewison took his nephew by the shoulders and bent to meet his eye with stern severity. “Promise me you’ll never attempt that spell again. It’s called transference, and it’s very risky. You’re more likely to never come back at all, than to slip through from one place to another.”
“It doesn’t feel dangerous to me,” Danen objected, dropping his gaze to one side.
“But it is,” Lewison growled. “Trust me, it is.”
Danen and Lewison stood awkwardly for a moment, then his uncle tugged him forward into a brief embrace. The ship rocked, almost knocking them off balance.
Lewison released Danen with a chuckle. “What does your Elsyncria tell you? It’s just like Maudline to have the perfect item for the perfect occasion. I couldn’t have selected a better talisman for you myself.”
“It told me I was going to be exhausted before we even left Vinnegottera,” Danen replied, sobering at the thought of who he’d left behind.
“Ah, yes.” Lewison glanced sidelong at his nephew. “Sorry I had to whisk you away suddenly. It suited us both to leave tonight — I wanted to be rid of Corundus and, to be frank, your father might not have survived our next meeting.”
Danen gaped, the whites of his eyes glinting in the moonlight. Then he nodded. “I was wrong. I thought you never visited because you didn’t care.”
“Family is complicated. I won’t pretend I understand your mother’s decision to stay with that god-cursed merchant, but we who love her must allow her to make her own way.”
“Will she be alright?” Danen asked, feeling guilty for enjoying his departure.
“My sister has always taken care of herself,” Lewison said. “Don’t fret over her now, boy. You’ll soon have plenty else to think about. You’re about to have more demanded of you than Kalaran ever did. Think yourself ready to learn new skills, ancient lore, petty politics, and the habits of a master used to getting his way?”
“It’ll be nice to have something to do,” Danen laughed. “Why are we going to Castelease first? It’s not just to get rid of Corundus, is it?”
“All in time!” Lewison chuckled. “You’re so tired I doubt you’ll remember this conversation tomorrow, anyway.”
Danen and Lewison lurched forward against the railing as a rough wind drove the vessel hard against the rising waves. Sea spray soaked the front of their clothes and Danen sputtered in the sudden cold. He tasted salt. Lewison’s laugh boomed. He lugged the boy away from the railing, helping him steady himself as they danced across the deck toward the cabin.
When they’d ducked into the comfortable passenger room they would share for the duration of their voyage, Danen collapsed wearily into the cushioned window seat. He was still unable to wrest his eyes from the dancing waves. Lewison tossed him a cloth to dry his shirt and then sat in one of the bolted-down chairs at the dining table. He took out a pipe from a pouch on his belt. While he took powdered leaf and tamped it down in the chamber, the old man stole glances at his nephew’s back.
Into the interminable silence, Aster’s soft snore played counterpart to the muted crash of water against the ship. The room creaked and swayed, a single candle flickering in a metal casement on the door lintel. Presently, the scent of sweet horsetail heather floated up from Lewison’s pipe. He sighed deeply, leaned back into his chair, and closed his eyes.
“Will Corundus follow us?” Danen asked, careful to keep his voice low.
Lewison coughed in amusement. “I took care to leave him little choice but to return to the College and wait for us there. He knows the Elves won’t let just anyone into Castlease. If he were my traveling companion he’d be welcome, but not alone. He may attempt to overtake us on the road, but he’ll find my standard-bearer waiting with our horses at the Marsh Lamp and discover we took the sea route too late to follow.”
“Might he find out by asking around at the docks in Scransunn? We were careful, but it would be easy to learn that a ship left in the night.” Danen asked, then sat up straighter. “Wait a moment — you’re the High Mage! Don’t you know a good spell for getting rid of unwanted hangers-on?”
“Murder is still murder, even if magic is the weapon.” Lewison growled, but the corners of his eyes wrinkled in amusement.
Danen crossed the room to tumble into the chair across from his uncle. His whisper was fervent. “That’s not what I meant!”
Lewison chuckled. “If I removed the tool, the wielder would only find another one. Probably an even more troublesome one.”
“Who could be your enemy?” Danen could not completely hide his fascination. He crossed his arms over each other and leaned against the table. “When will you begin teaching me magic? Maybe I could help.”
Lewison stood, stretching with a groan. He patted his nephew’s tangled hair. “You’ll have your first lesson tomorrow. Go to sleep.”
“I’m not even sleepy,” Danen grumbled.
But he went anyway, stumbling across the tipping floor to tumble into the bunk underneath Aster’s. From the comforting embrace of the bedding he heard Lewison mumbling a well-used sailor’s omen.
“Like a sailor to the siren . . .”
In the fuzziness of sleep, the words lilted over and under Danen with the rise and fall of the vessel, until he was dreaming of mermaids and some poor, lead-footed sailor trying not to drown.
Dear Reader,
May is in full swing and we are already enjoying our summer break. The school year is long, yet at the same time it flies. I've got a 5th, 3rd, 2nd grader and Pre-Kinder I homeschool.
One thing I do during the summer is sell my book at our local Farmer and Crafter's Market! It's a lot of fun to meet readers and chat about our favorite books. I do pretty well on sales too. If you'd like to check out my Gothic Historical Fiction standalone novel, just look for "A Voracious Grief" by Lindsey Lamh wherever you buy books (best deal at my store).
Cheers~
LL