Chapter 44
Lamorna waltzed into her quarters, a smile on her lips.
She’d woken before Mordred and had been determined that today would be a good day, or as good as she could make it.
She’d realised she missed cooking for him, so had taken herself off to the kitchen and made a simple breakfast of porridge, even adding some dried fruit she found.
Her smile faltered, however, and the tray almost slipped from her fingers. She hovered, frozen, before clearing her throat and setting the tray down.
‘I thought you’d returned to Cruithea,’ she said lightly.
Alden, sitting in her chair, gave her a smile. ‘Not quite. I’ve been on an envoy mission for Mordred.’
Lamorna nodded. ‘Where is he? He was here when I left.’
‘I think he went to fetch some tea,’ Alden responded casually.
Lamorna pursed her lips, taking a seat in Mordred’s chair. ‘And how did your mission go?’ she asked.
She would be polite. It was meant to be a good day, so if enduring Alden’s company for a while was the most taxing thing she would have to do, she would do it. She gave him a quick smile. ‘That’s if you are able to tell me, that is.’
She didn’t care about his mission. She cared that he was in her room, so early in the morning. He must have just returned, judging by the state of his clothes – dusty and travel worn – and come straight here, to Mordred.
It’s fine, a little voice whispered. Mordred would want to see him. He’d want to know about the mission.
At that moment, Mordred returned, a pot of tea in one hand and cups in the other. He dropped a kiss on Lamorna’s head. She thought he still looked tired, so she got up, indicating he was to sit, then when he did, perched on the arm of the chair.
Their breakfast was going to go cold. She shot Alden an irritated look from beneath her lashes.
Mordred had noticed the tray. ‘You got breakfast?’
‘I made you breakfast,’ she corrected gently.
He took her hand, kissed it, but did not say anything, turning his attention to Alden as he picked up his bowl. Annoyance shot through Lamorna, as strong and powerful as a punch.
‘Can this wait?’ she said before she could stop herself. Alden’s eyes shifted to her face, but she ignored him. ‘Mordred?’
‘No,’ he said simply, and that was that. She knew she was supposed to let it go, so she got up with a sigh, taking her bowl and going to sit on the bed, looking out the window while she ground her teeth and hoped Alden would choke on his tea.
She didn’t know how long he’d been gone for. She only wished he hadn’t returned. There were more important things for her to worry about than a handsome Cruithean who—
Lamorna’s fingers tightened on the bowl.
Her appetite had fled, her stomach churning.
Today was not going to be a good day after all.
Disappointment flooded her – after everything that had happened, she wanted something to go right.
Alden and Mordred were talking, so she listened in while staring out the window at the vast nothingness.
‘It seems your cousin’s men made it to Kunis ahead of me,’ Alden was saying. ‘I’m sorry, Mordred, but there was nothing I could say to convince them. Whatever Arthur’s envoy told them must have been compelling.’
Lamorna looked over in time to see Mordred sigh and run his hand over his face. Alden put his hand on Mordred’s knee and Lamorna saw red.
‘You did your best,’ Mordred said after a moment.
Alden withdrew and sat back in her chair, so casual, so calm, like he deserved to be there.
Lamorna clenched her jaw and listened as Mordred told Alden what had been happening here.
The defeat in his voice caused her heart to ache but when he got to the bargain with Medb, Alden shook his head.
‘I’m not sure I like that,’ he said.
‘What choice did I have?’ Mordred asked.
‘You could have said no and told her to go away,’ Lamorna chimed in from the bed, her tone waspish. Mordred gave her an exasperated look.
‘You did what you thought was right,’ Alden said.
Lamorna scowled. She knew what this was.
He was trying to make her look bad. Jenyfer and she used to play similar, nasty games with each other, trying to gain favour with their aunt or shift the blame for some crime one of them had committed.
Mordred and Alden were talking again, voices low as if they didn’t want her to hear, so she stood, clearing her throat loudly.
‘I thought we could spend the day together, Mordred,’ she said, returning to the sitting area. Alden watched her and she wanted to poke out his eyes with her spoon.
‘Lamorna, I have things to attend to,’ Mordred said.
‘Fine,’ she replied airily. ‘It was just an idea.’ She stood there a moment, unsure of what to do.
Anger was heating her blood, anger and despair and the bitterness of jealousy she didn’t think she needed to feel but did.
It hurt her heart. It made it hard to breathe. Her face felt hot, her throat tight.
‘Lamorna, are you alright?’ Alden asked.
As if you care, she thought. Instead, she thrust her untouched bowl at him. ‘Have this – I’m no longer hungry.’
He took it from her hesitantly. Mordred opened his mouth, but she shook her head and swept from the room. Today was not a good day after all, and she was a fool for believing it ever could have been, because nothing was good in this place. Nothing. She wished they’d never come here.
Lamorna wasn’t sure where she was going.
Her eyes were blurry, her chest tight, fists curled at her sides.
She wanted to scream at herself for her stupidity, her helplessness.
She wasn’t useful to Mordred. She hadn’t been able to get Firestorm to obey him.
She hadn’t stopped him making bargains with the fey, she wasn’t a Magic Wielder or a warrior.
She wasn’t brave or strong or anything except pathetic.
Perhaps she should have stayed in Kernou, kneeling on broken glass with Ulrian Tregarthen. She forced her thoughts to shift, pushing Alden and his smiling face ruthlessly from her mind, settling instead on her sister. She should have gone with Jenyfer and her pirate. It would have been better.
Lamorna stopped. Ordes had said they were going to shut off the realms. She wasn’t certain what that meant exactly, but she knew someone who would understand it.
Elaine was in her room, but she wasn’t alone. Andromache was with her, the syhren standing at the window with her hands on her hips. She glanced at Lamorna with disdain when she came in and turned her attention back to the landscape. Lamorna stared at her with suspicion.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘As it seems you have forgotten I exist—’
‘Sorry,’ Lamorna said sharply. ‘I’ve been too busy to play games with you.’
Andromache narrowed her eyes. ‘How is Mordred fairing after his blood deal with Medb?’
‘You know about that?’ Lamorna asked. She sat in one of Elaine’s chairs, her knees trembling.
‘The whole castle knows about that,’ Andromache said. She turned, folding her arms, the sunlight catching on the silver of her hair. ‘Why did he do it? He already has Melodias on his side. He doesn’t need to ally himself with something like that.’
‘I didn’t think you cared what happened to Mordred,’ Lamorna said, surprised.
Andromache tossed her head. ‘I don’t. He’s a fool if he thinks he can trust her, but he has a job to do for my master and he’s failed at that – miserably I might add. I told Melodias this was a mistake and she agrees with me,’ she added, nodding at Elaine.
‘That isn’t what I said,’ Elaine corrected. ‘I said Melodias should be approaching my mistress for an alliance if he wants to be on the right side of things when the time comes.’
‘Your mistress who is playing games with all of us,’ Andromache snapped.
‘Not for long,’ Lamorna cut in. She didn’t like this conversation. She sat up straight and gave the syhren a smile. ‘They’re going to close off the realms,’ she said, sounding like she knew what she was talking about. ‘Ordes told me. He and Jenyfer were here. Did you know that?’
Andromache paled. ‘That’s not possible.’
‘It is,’ Lamorna said. ‘Tell her, Elaine.’
Elaine gave her a strange look and then nodded, understanding. ‘With the Grail, they will reshape the world. The realms can be closed, Andromache, make no doubt about it. Lyonesse and Avalon will disappear.’
Andromache stared at them both, her beautiful face pinched with panic. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out – with a final look at Elaine, she tore from the room. Lamorna grinned as the slamming of the door echoed around them.
Elaine was giving her a look that reminded her of her aunt Tamora when she was displeased. Lamorna shrugged. ‘So they can do it? I wasn’t sure.’
‘They can,’ Elaine said. ‘There will be a cost though.’
Lamorna chewed her lip. ‘But… why aren’t you upset at this news? Doesn’t it mean the Red One will be… trapped somewhere?’
‘She knows that the world doesn’t need the Old Ones anymore. Their time is over,’ Elaine said. ‘It is time for the world to belong to humans and fey, side by side.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Lamorna admitted. ‘Didn’t She set this whole thing up?’
‘The Old Ones need to die, Lamorna,’ Elaine whispered.
Lamorna sat back. ‘Can they die?’
‘Not a physical death but a metaphysical one,’ Elaine explained.
Lamorna swallowed. ‘Will closing the realms be enough?’ She had no idea how it would happen, or what it truly meant, but she’d had enough of gods – real or imagined – interfering in her life. Her hand fluttered to her dead girl’s heart, then dropped away. ‘Will that be enough?’ she repeated.
The Red Sister nodded.
Lamorna got up to leave. She stood there for a moment, staring out the window, at the view Elaine could not see.
She cleared her throat and kept her voice low.
‘Thank you. For helping me.’ She hesitated again.
‘I didn’t want to go behind Mordred’s back, but she’s my sister and no matter what has happened between us in the past, and no matter that we are on different sides of this mess, she’s still my sister. ’
Lamorna didn’t know what Mordred would do to her if he found out. He would be angry, but beyond that, she didn’t know. More than ever before, she was convinced that she didn’t know Mordred at all.
Bryn had not returned since Mordred sent him out on his hunting mission. She tried not to be worried about that.
Hopefully someone had killed him.