She looked at him, startled by his words, but he continued to watch the horizon, expressionless.
“Are you saying that I will rule?” she asked.
“You know the answer to that yourself,” he responded.
“What of my brother, Gareth?” she pressed.
Argon’s face darkened, a slight frown at the corner of his lips.
“His reign appears to be eternal. But it will not be. He who takes the throne by blood must pay its price by blood. There is always a price for everything.”
He turned and stared back, and the intensity in his eyes forced her to look away.
“Do you remember, when you made that vow?” he asked. “To give up your life for Thor’s?”
She nodded, a tear forming at the corner of her eyes. She did not want to die now. Not now.
“Vows bear a heavy price,” he reminded. “Before you pay it, much has to happen. There will be a great future for you. But there will be a little death first,” he said. “Steel yourself and be strong. You will need strength now. More than you’ve ever had in your life. If you can survive what’s to come, you can survive anything.”
Gwen trembled inside, and felt her skin run cold.
“Your words frighten me,” she said.
“But you must learn to fear,” he said. “Rulers must be fearless. But they also must fear.”
“Please,” she pleaded, “tell me what it is I should fear. Give me some warning.”
“If I did, your destiny would change. That cannot be. Not for your sake. And not for the sake of the Ring. You know your history. Need I remind you? The seven sun cycles. The seven moon alignments. It happens once every thousand years. And when will it happen again?” he asked.
Gwen racked her brain, thinking through all the volumes of history she had ingested, all the ancient prophecies she had read.
“The sun and moon event you speak of happens in the next sun cycle,” she said. “But weeks away.”
Argon nodded, satisfied.
“Yes, very good. Very good indeed. You will be a far wiser ruler than your father. In fact, it has been generations since the MacGils have had a ruler like you. So then you know what lies ahead.”
Gwen frowned.
“But I thought those ancient prophecies were just parables, metaphors. I did not think they were meant to be taken literally. I was taught they are open to interpretation.”
“And who is to say which is the right one?” Argon asked.
Gwen’s eyes opened wide.
“Are you saying that it’s all true? That the Ring will come to an end in a matter of weeks? That the ancient prophecies will come to be?”
Argon turned and stared into the horizon for a long time, then finally, he sighed.
“The Ring will come to an end as we know it. We live in a time of great change. Greater than you can imagine. Everything you once knew will be different. There will be a time of tremendous darkness. And a time of great light. If one can survive the darkness.”
Gwen’s mind reeled as she tried to process the gravity of his words.
“It will be up to you to lead your people through the darkness,” he said. “Ready yourself for the task.”
Argon turned to go, and Gwen reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait!” she called out.
But she felt a burning in her hand and quickly yanked it back, the energy coming off of him so intense she could not tolerate it.
“Please! Before you go, tell me one thing.”
He turned and stared at her.
“The answer is yes,” he said, before she opened her mouth. “You carry Thor’s child. And it will change your life.”
Before she could ask him more, suddenly, he disappeared.
She turned, looking everywhere for him, but saw nothing, save for a single bird, screeching high up in the air, flying farther and farther away.
Gwen turned and looked out into nothingness, over the great expense of the Ring, and she wondered. She reached up and felt her stomach.
Thor’s child.
It was real.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Thor rode with a dozen Legion members at a relaxed trot on the well paved road, already a half day’s ride from King’s Court. Riding beside him were Reece, O’Connor, Elden and the twins, along with a half-dozen Legion members Thor had just met. They had been dispersed by Kolk to rebuild villages around King’s Court, and the Legion had been broken into groups of ten, and Thor had been named to lead this group to the village of Sulpa, less than a day’s ride south, hit hard by the McCloud raid.
It was an odd feeling for Thor to be heading back down this familiar road, which also led to his hometown. It was especially eerie to be traveling on it after his discussion with Gwen about his mother. He wondered if the universe were giving him a sign.
They reached a major intersection, a fork in the road, and Thor lead his men to the left, forking from the road that would have led directly to his hometown. His destiny was bringing him a different way. As they turned away, towards Sulpa, Thor could not help but glance back, over his shoulder, at the old, familiar road. He thought of home, and wondered what his father was doing there now. He wondered if he missed Thor. Probably not. He probably pined for his three other sons; he probably assumed that they were the stars of the Legion. He would be surprised to hear how well Thor had done. Thor was sure he wouldn’t even believe it.
Thor drove it from his mind; instead he thought of Gwendolyn. Her touch lingered with him, and as they had parted only hours ago, he still felt as if she were right there with him. He was distracted, found it hard to think of anything else. It hurt to have left her there, and he also felt the absence of Krohn, whom he had not been apart from since he had found him. Thor felt as if he’d left a big part of him back there, in King’s Court. And even though Krohn was with Gwendolyn, he couldn’t help but fear for her safety. He resolved to finish this mission quickly and return to her soon as he could.
Thor was kicking himself for not mustering the courage to ask her the question. Why was it so hard? He resolved that when he returned, the first thing he would do, whether the time was right or not, would be to ask her, no matter what the circumstances. He just had to force himself to. He was beginning to realize that no time was the perfect time. If she said no, then she said no. But at least he had tried, and had faced his fear.
“What’s the name of this place again?” O’Connor called out as they rode.
Thor snapped out of it.
“Kolk said it is named Sulpa,” Thor said. “A small village, but in a strategic location, between the valleys.”
“Apparently, they were hit pretty hard,” Reece added.
“Well I don’t see why we need to go and clean up after their mess,” Elden said. “We certainly have better things to do. Like training.”
“Every town is a link in the chain,” Reece answered. “We don’t want any weak links. Besides, these are our people. We owe it to them.”
“No we don’t,” Conval said. “We are warriors. Not homebuilders. We only owe it to the kingdom to protect it from threats. And to kill our attackers.”
“Part of protecting the kingdom is keeping it strong,” Reece answered. “We protect it not only by fending off attackers, but by fortifying our towns for attack.”
The boys rode on in silence for a while, and as they did, the landscape began to change. The beautiful green hills gave way to a landscape that turned desolate and dusty. It was like walking through a desert. The contrast between the two terrains was stark. Thorn bushes, ten feet high, rolled in the wind, and stuck to everything. The road faded in the dirt, and it became hard to keep sight of where they were going. Thor didn’t like the look of this.
“Is this the only way there?” O’Connor asked.
Thor held out the map Kolk had given him, and stared at it again.
“That’s what it says,” he answered. “Kolk warned us. He said there’d be a barren stretch. The village is surrounded by desert. Then it turns fertile again.”