Morgan Rice - A Sea of Shields

“You will go to seek out our mother,” she said, more of a statement than a question.

Thor looked at her, surprised.

“How did you know?” he asked.

She shrugged.

“You are an open book around me,” she said. “I don’t know why. It is as if I can see what you see.”

“What else do you see?” Thor asked, excited, narrowing his eyes. “Will I find our mother?”

Alistair had a sudden flash of Thor’s future. She saw that he would indeed find her. But then the vision was obscured by darkness, as if it were being deliberately masked by the fates. She saw Thor in a great battle, one beyond even his powers. She saw darkness all around them, and she quickly closed her eyes and shook her head, wanting to quash the vision. It was too dark, too terrifying.

She didn’t want to scare Thor, and she forced herself to remain composed. She shuddered inside, but did not let him show it.

“You will find her,” she replied.

Thor looked at her, unconvinced.

“And yet…you hesitate,” he said.

Alistair shook her head and looked away.

“Last time we spoke of Mother,” she said, “I was beginning to tell you that I have something of hers. It is fitting that you have it. I do not know if I shall ever see her.”

Alistair reached into her pocket and extracted an object.

“Hold out your wrist,” she said.

Thor did so, and he looked down as Alistair held out a golden wrist bracelet, six inches wide, and clasped it around his wrist. It covered Thor’s wrist, halfway up his forearm, shining, shifting colors in the light.

Thor examined it in wonder. She could tell he was awestruck.

“The Land of the Druids is a fearful place,” she said. “A place of great power. But also of great danger. You will need this more than I.”

“What is it?” he asked, running a finger along its smooth golden surface.

She shrugged.

“It is the only thing that Mother left me. I do not know what it is, or what it does. But I know that you will need it where you’re going.”

Thor leaned in and, clearly grateful, embraced Alistair tight; she embraced him back.

“Be safe,” Thor said.

“Send Mother my love,” she said. “Tell her I love her. And one day, I hope to meet her, too.”

The attendants opened the double doors, and Reece braced himself as he entered his mother’s sick chamber alone. He felt a pit in his stomach as the darkened room embraced him, lit only by a flickering torch. Nurses hovered over his mother’s bedside, patting her forehead with salves. Hafold stood closest to her. Reece had been worried his entire trip here that he would not reach her before she died—and he was so grateful that he had. He had come here first, the second the ship touched shore, before even going to break the wedding news to Selese.

The thought of his mother dying tore Reece apart. Of all of the children, Reece, the youngest, had always been closest to his mother. They confided to each other, and she had been kinder and gentler to him than all the others. She had sheltered him from his father’s occasional wrath, and had always made sure he had the best of everything. The thought of her dying made him feel as if a part of him were dying, too. He’d wanted more than anything for her to be alive for his wedding.

Thinking of the looming wedding confused Reece. The entire ship ride home, his mind had been filled with thoughts of Stara, of their encounter, of his love for her. Throughout the trip, he remained determined to make her his wife, to steel himself to tell Selese the news.

But now that he had reached home again, had entered King’s Court, seen all the furious wedding preparations, it gave him pause. It was a spectacle. King’s Court looked more beautiful than it ever had, and thousands upon thousands of people were finally arriving from all corners of the Ring, and the world, getting ready to watch. And Reece would be at the center of it. He would be letting down not only Selese, but also his sister, and Thorgrin, ruining everyone’s special day, for which they had worked so hard to prepare. He would also be letting down the thousands of people who were anticipating this great event.

How could he do that? How could he betray his people? And most of all, how could he betray Selese? The thought of hurting Selese pained him to no end. She, most of all, who had been so kind and loyal to him. Was he right to follow his passions, his heart? Or was he being selfish, wrong to betray everyone around him?

Reece now felt completely at a loss as to what to do. He felt like a traitor, like the worst betrayer in the world.

Except, of course, to Stara.

Reece thought of her, and a rush of love washed over him, so strong, like a wave washing over his entire world. It was a love that prodded him on, a love strong enough to defy everyone and everything he knew and loved.

As Reece approached his mother’s bedside, he forced himself to snap out of it and focus on her. She opened her eyes as he laid a hand on her wrist, and gestured to Hafold, who quickly rounded up all the servants and hurried from the room.

Reece and his mother were alone, and Reece, as he had his whole life, wanted to confide in her, to ask for her thoughts, her opinion. But he did not know if he could. He did not know if she was in a state to hear it all, or to respond, and as pressing as this was, and as torn as he was, he didn’t want to upset her right now, in her final moments. Also, she had given him her royal ring to use to propose to Selese, along with her blessing. How could he tell her that he wanted to marry someone else?

Reece took his mother’s limp hand in both of his, a tear rolling down his cheek as he lowered his forehead to the back of her palm. He was overwhelmed with a whirlwind of emotions.

His mother sat up a little in bed, looked down at him, then coughed and coughed, the sound reverberating in her chest. It was a cough he’d never heard; the cough of an old woman. It terrified him, and he squeezed her hand.

“Mother, I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I could not be here sooner.”

“You were away on important business,” she said. “The Queen’s business. After all, the Upper Isles are important, too.”

His mother looked at him with a knowing look he knew well.

“And I hear you had more business than that,” she added.

Reece looked back, stunned. How had she known? Even here, now, across the ocean? He’d underestimated her. Nothing escaped her. He should have known; his whole life, his mother had always known everything. She had spies in every corner of the kingdom, and she always knew something before he did, before even his father. He could get away with nothing. There was a saying in King’s Court: when the halls whispered, the Queen MacGil heard it before the echo.

“How did you know?” Reece asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

She merely shook her head.

“How could you do this?” she asked, displeased.

Reece reddened, ashamed.

“I gave you my ring,” his mother added. “The ring your father gave me. A ring of honor. A ring that signifies your word that you would not betray someone else. For any reason. It was a ring for all eternity, the ring I blessed for you to give to Selese, and you have made a mockery of it.”

She looked at him with scorn, and Reece looked away, humiliated, unable to look back. His confusion heightened, and he felt increasingly unsure.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” he said. “I did not mean to disappoint. I did not mean to fall in love with Stara. I did not even seek to see her.”

“Yet when you saw her, you did not turn away. That was your choice. Those were your actions. You might make one lonely woman happy. But think of how many others you will hurt.”