"Send out messengers," Arilyn said with grim certainty. "Gather all the elves you know. I'll do the rest."
* * * * *
Lady Cassandra regarded her youngest son with uncertainty. "No more flaming books?"
"Just a simple warning, Mother. I have come to the end of the path, and you should know what I have found."
She nodded as if she had been expecting this. Danilo told her what he had learned.
"I did not order the tren assassinations," she said in a tight, worried tone, "but if this comes to light no one will believe it and the Thann family will be anathema. How much more so, after the battle between the families is over!"
"It will not take place," he said adamantly, "at least, not in any way that touches Thann. For once, stay your hand and let someone else handle the problem. Take precautions to protect the family, but keep all your retainers out of this."
Cassandra did not agree, but neither did she disagree.
After a moment, Danilo spoke the one question to which he must have an answer. "Arilyn and I have shared the elven handfasting. We have bonded in rapport. She wears my ring, and we intend to marry. Know that she has my first and deepest allegiance. She is worthy of that and more."
"That I never doubted," the woman murmured.
"Then tell me why you have been so opposed to our union."
For a moment Cassandra looked weary, almost fragile. "You and Arilyn might have children. It is possible that one of them might be half-elven in appearance. That would raise questions."
Danilo nodded encouragement.
"When you spoke of your elven heritage, I thought you knew, but after the first moment of surprise passed, I realized that Khelben must have passed along some tale of distant ancestry. The son of Arun had a half-elven father. However, there is a closer tie."
She took a long breath. "I was born before my father came to Waterdeep. My mother died in childbirth, attended by none but my father. He remarried soon after. The Khelben whose name the archmage borrows was born of that union, and I always called his mother mine. Very few knew otherwise. None living know that she was half-elven."
"You were ashamed of this," Danilo said in wonder.
"Not so, but you have seen how the nobility regards those of mixed blood." She swept a hand toward the well-tended estate. "See what I have done. The family business was in utter disarray when I married your father. I have earned this place for myself. None of my family—not even those who have the magical gifts I so notably lack—have achieved nobility. It is what I have. It is what I am."
A faint tremor underlay the cool tones. Danilo considered it long and well before he spoke. "I have no desire to take this from you, lady."
She shook her head. "Without the two-city trade, all is lost. I am not speaking merely of fortune. Do you think the others would let Thanns survive, if we attempted to remove ourselves from this alliance?"
Danilo had already considered that. For good or ill, this was a secret he would never speak. "Thann will survive," he said.
Still Cassandra was not content. "What do you propose to do? And how will this not come back to our door, if it is known that you are involved?"
"Rest your mind on that," he said. "I have allies no one will connect with this noble house or any other."
She considered that, then let out a short, humorless laugh at the irony of the situation. "Do what you must, my son." She hesitated, then gave him a smile that was genuine—all the more so for its self-mocking edge. "Sweet water and light laughter until we meet again."
The traditional elven farewell surprised him, then left him feeling both confused and deeply touched. He did not understand this woman and would never find his way through the many layers and convoluted passages of her mind. This much he knew: she had given him her blessing, in words she knew would be meaningful to him. He took her hand and kissed her fingers, then turned and walked swiftly from the hall to prepare for the battle ahead.
Nineteen
The gathering at Greenglade Tower was far from cordial. Danilo soon realized that Elaith's assessment of Waterdeep's elves had been distressingly on the mark. Some of these elves had recently been evicted from the tower and were none too happy to learn that Elaith had given that order.
Nor were they willing to follow him. The mother of the elf who was slain at Belinda Gundwynd's side angrily demanded to know if Elaith had anything to do with her son's death. "Tell me, my lord," she said with bitter mockery, "was this part of your vendetta against the noble clans?"
Before he could speak, Arilyn stepped forward. She placed a hand on her moonblade. "All of you know what this is. You know it cannot shed innocent blood, and that it can never be used to harm the People. If the task Elaith Craulnober asks of us is a right and true path, if the elf himself is worthy of our loyalty, the sword will honor him. If he falls, you will follow me. Will you accept that?"
There were many doubtful faces, but a murmur ran through the crowd as a tall male stepped forward from the small knot of forest elves. Danilo knew at once who the elf was. Arilyn had spoken of her friend Foxfire as a warleader. This elf moved with the fluid grace of a warrior. Dan had seen leaders before who possessed that quiet, indefinable strength that flowed like an aura, who inspired confidence in those around them. Never had he seen one who possessed this quality in such ample measure. If that were not proof enough, there was the elven naming custom in which given names were taken from an elf's skills or appearance. Foxfire was aptly named, for his long russet hair had the gloss and color of a red fox's pelt. Danilo noticed as objectively as possible that the elf was possibly the most strikingly handsome male of any race he had ever beheld.
Foxfire took a band from his arm and tossed it at the moon elf's feet. It was a ritual Dan had read of—no doubt the band carried the insignia of Foxfire's position as warleader.
"I will honor the moonblade's decision, and my people with me," he said in musical, deeply accented Elvish. The forest elves rose and came to stand behind him. Of course, they could not know that the moonblade's magic had been unreliable, even contradictory.
At that moment Danilo understood what Arilyn was doing. Fear rose in him like a tide. As if she sensed this, she turned and met his eyes. Gone was any hint of reserve. Her heart was in her eyes, and Danilo had no doubt that it was his. Nor did he doubt that this last, supremely honest gaze might well be her silent farewell.
Arilyn spun away and turned to Elaith. She drew her sword, raised it in challenge.
White-faced, the elf drew his weapon and mirrored her salute. There was no fear on his face, though he clearly expected to die. Danilo suspected that he wished for death. The answer Elaith sought from the Mhaorkiira had never come, but death by moonblade's decree would lay to rest the question that had haunted his soul. Danilo marveled at the unlike pair, the incredible courage of both elves.
Arilyn raised her sword for a powerful two-handed blow and brought it whistling down. She never got close.
A terrible flash lit the room. For a moment, Dan's horrified gaze perceived the outline of skull beneath Arilyn's face, the bones in her arms. Then the vision was gone, and the half-elf lay on the floor. Her hands were blackened. Her eyes were open and staring, but she was utterly still.
Before Danilo could move, Elaith threw aside his sword and dropped to his knees. He balled one fist and pounded on the half-elf's chest. He struck again, and then again. Instinctively Danilo moved to stop him, but Foxfire caught him and held him back.