Angharad of Llyr is heir to a matriarchy: a line of enchantress-queens that has ruled her island for centuries. Her destiny from birth: to rule as sole authority and ensure that her powerful bloodline endures for another generation. Devoted to her p...
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"Leave us," said Regat, waving an arm at the servants. "I would speak with my daughter and my sister in private."
Angharad stared at her barely-touched breakfast, feeling numb. It had been a strange and tense meal; the usual morning chatter of the ladies seemed to buzz about her like flies, and the queen had said nothing directly to her since her first austere, distant greeting upon entering the room. Now, it seemed, this was to change. Elen cast her a look of mute sympathy as she rose with the rest of the ladies, who trickled slowly from the room, failing to hide the curiosity in their backwards glances, before the door shut.
Silence. Breathe. Wait. Her stomach churned; she swallowed, and clasped her shaking hands in her lap, under the table. Across it, Arianrhod sat, solemn and pale.
The queen took a breath and let it out slowly. "I have had word." She looked meaningfully at Angharad. "Achren answered my message, late last night."
The room tilted, and Angharad shut her eyes. Breathe...even when the world stops, breathe. She opened them again, and glanced at her aunt; Arianrhod looked grave, but not surprised. So she had known. Her blue-grey eyes were dull with regret; she caught Angharad's eye and shook her head slightly, answering her niece's unspoken question with, "It was not my decision to make."
Angharad turned to her mother. "And how did she respond?"
"As I expected," Regat said. "She will come. In order to confirm our suspicions she must see the work for herself." She looked grim, and did not meet either of their eyes. "I know your concerns, both of you. Do not think I delude myself that she comes as ally or friend. If I thought we had any other, more effective way of fighting this attack, I would never permit her entry."
"And how will you stop her if she oversteps her boundaries?" Arianrhod asked doubtfully. "Or when she does, as the case may be. What assurance do you have that she will aid us rather than our enemy?"
"If she wishes to live," Regat said, "she will abide by my terms. She bound herself to them by responding."
"And they are?"
"While she is on the island, any magic she attempts will be in the presence and with the permission of a Daughter of Llyr, or..." Regat made a dismissive motion with one graceful hand, "I will arrange that the sea will have her."
"She might just decide she likes it here a bit too much," Angharad pointed out, and her mother smiled grimly.
"She is not one of us. Our powers are mostly beyond her abilities, useless to her. No, she will not attempt a takeover."
"What have you offered her?" Angharad asked.
Regat shrugged. "A chance for redemption. Or revenge. However she chooses to see it." Her dark eyes rested on her daughter. "Her motivations concern me less than her actions. But know this: she will come in disguise, and unheralded. Her presence here is to be known only by us. I am well aware of how our allies would look at our giving her sanctuary, and of how easily rumor could spread. There is to be no mention of her name, and she will remain secluded in the castle, under the supervision a few trusted servants, to keep her out of mischief."
