The slightest of ripples slid across the water’s surface, disturbing an almost perfect reflection of the starry sky above. An eerie calm had settled over the cave in the wake of the morgen’s departure. Nothing disturbed it. Nothing but that one ripple.
Ieuan smirked. He leaned against the stone wall of the tunnel mouth, perfectly screened from view, awaiting any sign of Cedifor’s return. “If it is Zane you fear, he is asleep.”
There was a long pause before Cedifor moved, the water whispering in his wake. “You are still here? I thought you surely would have had the sense to leave.”
Ieuan’s smile was wry. “You give me far too much credit.” Carefully, so as not to wake Zane, he lifted himself off the rocks to join Cedifor in the water. “I have never done what is sensible in my life. Why start now?”
“Why indeed?” It was hard to judge Cedifor’s tone. “Ieuan, you heard what Howel said. You must—”
Ieuan placed his hand on Cedifor’s arm. “Let us speak below. It has been a long day for Zane. We should not wake him.”
Beneath the water, the darkness was complete. Accustomed now to the play of echo and ripple against the rock, Ieuan met the loss of light without any fear. “I had to tell him. There seemed no point in secrets and”—he shrugged—“better he knows the truth than concoct some wild story of his own!”
“You know all about wild stories.” Cedifor was still, seeming to mull over what Ieuan had told him. “So you gave him our history?”
Ieuan nodded, swimming closer to Cedifor. “Losing our land, the king’s curse—all!” He extended his hand to stroke Cedifor’s hair. “The strangest part is that he was not afraid, only slightly astonished!”
In the dark, Cedifor turned to face Ieuan. “Indeed? Perhaps you do not make as good a human as you think.”
Ieuan frowned, gathering Cedifor's hair together. “I think Zane is especially adaptable. He sails alone, after all. Perhaps he is no ordinary man.” It explained the calmness with which Zane received the news that Ieuan and Cedifor were not even remotely human. Ieuan began to carefully divide up Cedifor’s hair. Easier to work on a single patch than try to untangle the whole lot of it at once. “He has no ordinary interest in you, Cedifor.”
Cedifor laughed. “What interest in a monster is ordinary?” He stiffened as Ieuan’s fingers threaded through his hair. “Ieuan, what are you doing?”
“Your hair is beautiful.” Ieuan continued his self-appointed task, starting at the base of Cedifor’s hair and working the first knot he found free. “It is such a shame to neglect it. I would untangle it for you.”
Cedifor tugged away. “What is the point?”
Ieuan hummed, moving with his fellow morgen. “Don’t be like that. I am skilled with hair. This will not take me long, and you can rest by the while.” Not giving Cedifor the chance to protest, he continued. “Where have you been all this time that I was so busy with Zane?”
Cedifor seemed to be weighing his choices. Finally, with a sigh, he relented, relaxing slightly. “You waste your time, Ieuan.”
Ieuan smiled to himself. Victory! “It is my time to waste.”
With another sigh, Cedifor settled himself. “The morgen are out of my waters. I followed them in secret as far as my border. They accepted Howel’s word that you were not here and have taken their search farther south.” He paused. “You have made Howel very angry.”
“I do not like to think of it.”
“You must think of it. What will you do, Ieuan? I do not think you will return.”
Ieuan shook his head. “You heard how they spoke of me. Only my mothers feared for me. I wish I was a thousand oceans away from here.”
“That far?”
Ieuan gave Cedifor’s hair a teasing tug. ”You know what I mean. I do not like to see the reminder of what I can’t have in front of me every day.”
“Better that than a solitary existence.” Cedifor’s sigh seemed to come from his very bones. “You do not know what it feels like to have the long weight of your days pressing down on you, knowing you may not expect to speak to another in that time… You are young yet, Ieuan. Your heart will heal.”
“Morgen hearts do not heal.” Ieuan’s busy fingers reached Cedifor’s skull. He started again from the bottom of a new segment of hair. “I will always love Tegwaret, even though he is false, just as you must always love Howel, even though he has done you such great wrong.”
“Is it love or a curse that we are bound so by our hearts?” Cedifor exhaled deeply. Ieuan felt him shake his head. “No matter. Ieuan, you have no reason to dally here, every reason to leave.”
Ieuan frowned as his fingers encountered the first matted clump of hair. “This tangle… I think I must cut it. It is the only way.”
“Do you listen to me? Ieuan—”
“I am in great danger and have much to fear from Howel, I know. What do you have that is sharp?”
“There is a shelf to your right. I do not think you fully understand your danger.”
Ieuan found the shelf, a natural ledge of rock. The possessions it carried were few. Ieuan’s fingers closed on a few different rocks, rounded or smoothed by the ocean’s waters, before he found one that had been chiselled to a point. “You think too much of it! You have expended much magical energy today and you have been absent long, following our people. You should put this from your mind, Cedifor, and rest.” He hummed, a soothing undercurrent as his fingers sought out that matted patch.
“Your voice is not unpleasant.” Cedifor sounded as though the admission was forced. “This song is familiar. It was the one Nest made to celebrate your birth?”
Ieuan smiled. “You cannot blame me for liking it. My mothers sang it to me often.” He paused to drop one clump of hair. “Do you miss the others?”
Cedifor stirred. “What do you think?”
“I think you do. I think fate has been more than usually cruel to you.” Ieuan began work on the next patch of ruined hair. “I find that for all that Howel has warned us about you, it is very hard for me to hate you as I should.”
“You venture into dangerous waters,” Cedifor warned.
Ieuan frowned. “There is much in you to make one sad, but I start to incline to see you as Zane does.” The matted clumps removed, Ieuan stroked his hand over Cedifor’s hair. “Strong.”
There was a startled laugh from Cedifor. “Strong? I am the weakest of our kind. If you knew—”
“Zane thinks well of your choice to help your people even at the great cost to yourself.”
“I cannot leave the two of you alone if this is the nonsense you talk in my absence!”
Ieuan smiled. “He called you a hero.”
There was silence. Cedifor didn’t even move, too astonished to protest.
Ieuan’s lips curved in triumph. He started again, combing his way up Cedifor’s hair, untangling as he went. “Do you think Zane good-looking? I cannot make up my mind. Humans are too strange.”
“What do his looks matter to us? He is our charge. We are responsible for his very life.”
That was a yes, Ieuan was sure of it. “We are responsible and yet I do all the work of talking to him and diverting him! You must take your turn with him.”
“Ah.” Cedifor’s reply was arch. “Now I understand the reason for all your flattery and pretty songs. You wish to be relieved of a task you are already bored of.”
“I will not leave the two of you entirely,” Ieuan promised. “But I think I am entitled some chance to leave this cavern! Listen—Zane sleeps now. That is no great test of your courage.” Ieuan ran his fingers through Cedifor’s hair one last time.
“If I must. You will be careful not to swim too far? Who knows when our kin may return.”
“I will be careful,” Ieuan promised. On an impulse, he leaned in, brushing his lips over Cedifor’s unscarred cheek.
Cedifor started. “You waste your time, Ieuan. Such gestures are meaningless to one such as me.”
“It is not meaningless to me.” Ieuan dived down the tunnel towards open water. “Good luck, Cedifor!” And, he added privately, good luck, Zane. I have won you this chance. Make good use of it!
It was hard to find a rock that the island’s birds had not already found, but eventually Ieuan found one that suited his purposes. Long and flat with a tangle of kelp below. He could sun himself at his leisure, and if necessary, hide in the kelp.
“A most excellent place! I was clever to find it, don’t you think so?” Ieuan spoke to the seal at his side.
The seal gave him a disgruntled look and worked his way farther down the shore.
It is only just dawn, Ieuan decided. He is not yet awake enough to appreciate my company.
The island was just starting to wake. The seals would wait until the sunlight brought the fish to the surface, and then they would hunt. Harsh cries from the cliffs above indicated that the albatross, shearwaters and cormorants that lived there were already stirring.
Ieuan shaded his eyes to watch them whirling overhead. He remembered lying on another beach, the cliffs above him hewn by ice, not erected by fire. The deep rich green of those hills was not to be seen anywhere in the Antipodes Islands.
Ieuan bit his lip. If I cannot stay here—and it seems I cannot—perhaps it is time to see those cliffs again? Much may have happened in our absence. Even a king may change his mind. He frowned. It had been centuries since he had thought of King Gurcant, but the morgen’s rigidity of opinion and action stuck out in Ieuan’s mind as clearly as it had all those centuries ago. Other kings may change! I do not think Gurcant will. Still, Cedifor is right. I could not live alone as he does… I shall return.
A strange noise pierced the morning air. All around Ieuan, the seals stirred. The smallest and most timid dived into the water. The braver of their number stayed on the rocks, open eyes turned to the sky.
A dark speck emerged, gradually getting closer. It was a strange contraption, an ungainly object that bulged at the front and middle like a wide bottomed dinghy but that tapered off into an absurdly spindly tail. It had legs that it held at stiff right angles from its body, and something above it that beat the air, holding it in the sky with the violence of its actions.
Ieuan stayed frozen in place. What is that? It is no bird. It hangs in the air unnaturally… No, it is not right, not right at all!
The air-beast turned its nose towards Ieuan, and he dived into the kelp. I must warn Zane and Cedifor!
Ieuan grazed himself on the rocky walls of Cedifor’s tunnels in his haste to get back. His heart pounded like the limbs of the strange monster. Cedifor must be told of this! Who knows what threat it poses?
Finally, he saw the light of day filtering through the water above them. Ieuan put on a fresh burst of speed to reach the surface.
A choppy wave hit him full in the face. Ieuan closed his eyes, shaking the seawater off. He turned, looking for his friends. And stared. His mouth fell open.
Zane and Cedifor had not noticed his presence. Little wonder why. The water around Ieuan churned, a reflection of the turmoil Cedifor no doubt felt. Zane was looking at him with an intensity Ieuan knew full well. More than that, his hand was on Cedifor’s twisted arm, and his other tangled in Cedifor’s hair, holding the morgen’s gaze.
The sight was so unexpected Ieuan could only watch.
“That’s bullshit. Absolute bullshit.” Zane’s voice was terse, his words charged with passion. “Asking me to believe a heart that can love even after being betrayed can’t love again?”
If Zane’s hands had not held him in place, Cedifor would surely have pulled away. No one could meet that force of emotion and not be moved. “You do not know morgen.” Cedifor’s voice was barely above a whisper while the water thrashed around them.
“I know you, Cedifor. After the storm, when I lay here with you in the dark, the way you spoke to me… You bared your soul. You can’t take those words back any more than I can forget them.”
Those words? Ieuan held his breath. When had Cedifor and Zane chance to speak? Did Zane know about Cedifor since the storm? He gave no hint of it if he did—truly a dark horse.
Cedifor lowered his gaze, unable to meet Zane’s unyielding stare. “I did not expect you to survive the night.”
“Easier to talk to a dead man than a living one?” Zane did not talk as a lover should. His words were hard, like the personality behind them. But his touch was gentle, stroking Cedifor’s cheek as if seeking permission before raising the morgen’s gaze to his. “You’ve got to understand. Those words… Your soul… You saved my life. Gave me what no one else has. A reason to leave my grief behind. A reason to live again.”
“You had that already.” Some heat returned to Cedifor’s voice. “When I saw you in the storm—”
“Stubbornness.” Zane swallowed. “I promised Kate I wouldn’t give up. Never said anything about liking it. That changed with you.”
There was a long pause. Cedifor studied Zane’s face intently, as if searching for something.
Ieuan held his breath. He did not fully understand the situation, but he felt its undercurrents.
“I do not want to be pitied.” Cedifor broke his silence at last. “Nor do I want to see your disgust. When you saw me in the daylight—”
“I was running a fever, not in my right mind. You can’t hold that reaction against me.”
Cedifor shook his head. “I know what I am.”
“And I know how it hurts to be looked at with pity, to have people withdraw because they can’t take the sight of your pain.” Zane’s voice was thick with emotion. “I hit rock bottom when I lost Kate. I get it. But when I look at you, Cedifor, I see strength. I see an amazing man who deserves more than what he has. I see a man I–”
“Zane. Don’t.”
“Does this scare you?” Zane’s voice softened as he stroked the hair back from Cedifor’s forehead. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Cedifor’s sigh was almost imperceptible. He leaned into Zane’s touch. “You must. And I do not think I can be hurt again.”
“You’re stronger than that. Let me show you.” Zane gathered Cedifor into his arms.
Ieuan ducked beneath the waves.
His heart was pounding, his cheeks burning. Ieuan let himself sink to the bottom of the tunnels where the cold, sub-Antarctic waters pooled. What have I seen?
It was ludicrous! The thought that anyone could want to kiss something as ugly as Cedifor…
Ieuan’s heart twisted, mourning Zane. How? How can he prefer him? It was supposed to be a struggle, a lengthy process that would require Ieuan’s tact and superior knowledge to ease the way.
Ieuan shut his eyes. There should have been some struggle! Why is he not repulsed?
He pressed a hand to his chest. The hurt he felt was baffling. This is what I wanted, if it is not how I wanted it. It should not hurt like this! It should not hurt as if it is I who have lost something…
Ieuan sucked in a deep breath. He saw again in his mind; Cedifor, hard, brittle, and proud, softening at Zane’s touch. I could not make Cedifor look like that. Nor has Zane tried to kiss me even once, although I am much better looking… Ieuan frowned. Am I jealous of Cedifor? Or of Zane?
He sunk lower in the water. I could not make either of them love me even though I am fairer than Cedifor and not foolish like Zane. Is there something wrong with me? He bumped against the far rock of the tunnel wall and reached for the assurance of its solid presence. Even Tegwaret who was my constant companion as long as we have lived does not love me as I want to be loved…
Above his head, above the movement of the waves, Ieuan heard a rhythmic thudding. It was the air-beast returned. He took a deep breath and pushed himself towards the surface.
Zane stood, looking up through the open space in the cabin roof. “A helicopter. It must be searching for me.” His voice did not sound overjoyed at the prospect.
Cedifor slid into the water. “Then we must see that they find you.” His tone was matter-of-fact, and he turned to Ieuan without surprise. “Come, Ieuan. I will need your help.”
Ieuan followed Cedifor back through the tunnels without another word. If he had not seen Cedifor and Zane together, he would have never suspected there was anything between them. How is it possible that he can aid Zane even though it means his love’s departure? Ieuan felt something strange stir within him, an awareness he did not much like.
Cedifor led them straight to a spot at the base of the island’s jagged rocks. There was just enough light to make out the outline of a yacht, sleek and long. The mast was snapped off, and a huge gash rent the hull, courtesy of the rocks above.
“This is Zane’s boat?” Ieuan shook his head. “It is so small! Truly, he is a brave man if he sets sail in so tiny a vessel as this.”
“Zane did not know he had to prepare for such hazards as you.” Cedifor’s tone was dry. “Draw back, Ieuan. What I am about to attempt will take a lot of power. You do not want to get caught up in it.”
Ieuan obeyed the warning. “What do you intend?” he asked from a safe distance. “The boat is in nearly split in half! I do not think you can restore it.”
Cedifor grunted.
Ieuan felt the water around him stir, quickly gathering in momentum and power as it rushed to form a waterspout. He backpedalled farther, keeping well out of range of the churning water.
Cedifor did not glance back to see if Ieuan heeded his warning. All his attention seemed concentrated on his creation. Bringing his hands together, he channelled the water faster and faster until it had gathered strength enough for his ends. With a yell that sent shivers down Ieuan’s spine, he thrust his hands out, sending his waterspout directly at the battered boat. With a nightmarish screech, the boat lifted from its resting place, hurtling round and round in the raging waters. Higher and higher it climbed, Cedifor following after it.
Ieuan clung to the rocks. His power is indeed to be feared!
Only when the waters had stilled did Ieuan follow.
Cedifor floated, his head above the water, his breathing harsh. Ieuan joined him to see that Zane’s boat rested above the high tide mark. Penguins, their tiny wings outstretched, careened up the cliffs at dangerous speeds, while above, the circling albatross screeched in alarm.
Ieuan stared at the boat. Its beached hull shone white, the wreckage of its jib sail fluttering limply in the breeze. “You lifted it above water!”
“We must hope that the…air boat…returns to see it. Otherwise it will all be in vain.” Cedifor’s voice sounded hollow. “We must—”
He folded over on himself.
Ieuan, rushing to his side, saw blood in the water. “Are you injured?”
“It is the magic. I will need your help to return.” Cedifor coughed.
“Lean on me.” Ieuan carefully settled his arm around Cedifor’s side. “I have you.”
Their return journey was made with extreme care. Cedifor said nothing, but he shook periodically in Ieuan’s arms as painful spasms racked him. They often paused their journey so he could cough again.
“You scare me.” Ieuan pushed Cedifor’s hair out of his face. “You do not think of yourself at all.”
Cedifor didn’t look at him. “For all we know, this is Zane’s only chance.”
Even at a time like this he thinks of Zane first? Ieuan felt his heart beat strangely. My love has always been selfish. I thought more of how Tegwaret made me feel than Tegwaret himself… Is it my own selfishness that isolates me? I think of myself even now…
Zane waited at the water’s edge. He waded in to help Ieuan lift Cedifor out of the water. “Jesus Christ! What have you been doing?”
Cedifor coughed again, reaching for Zane’s hand. “I can’t rest now. I must get you through the tunnel before the air boat leaves again.”
“Not a chance.” Zane lifted him onto the kelp that was his bed. “You’re in no state to attempt any magic.”
“We don’t have the time,” Cedifor protested.
Zane lifted the kelp over him. “There will be other helicopters. There is only one you.”
Ieuan felt his cheeks warm. “I will see if I can find the air boat again!” He dove below the waves before Zane or Cedifor could notice his blush.
This! This is love! Alone in the cavern, Ieuan turned a loop underwater in exhilaration. Zane is a good man. He will take care of Cedifor! In that moment, it did not matter that no one loved Ieuan. It was much more important that Zane met Cedifor’s love.
Zane… Ieuan came to a slow halt. Zane needed to leave to save his own life. And Cedifor has no hope of going with him. There is no way he could pass for human.
There was a ripple coming from deep within the tunnels. Coming their way.
Ieuan swallowed. If it was Howel… He must not see Zane!
He made his voice as strong as possible, hoping to capture Cedifor’s note of command. “Halt! Who dares trespass in these tunnels!”
A silvery laugh danced across the water. “Ieuan? You scared me! What nonsense are you playing at down here in the dark?”
Tegwaret. Ieuan breathed out in relief and then caught himself. Tegwaret was no less dangerous than Howel. “Hoping to preserve you from serious harm! Do you not know these are the Cursed One’s tunnels?”
“I could very well ask you the same question.” Rather than being scared off, Tegwaret swam closer. “What in all the seas are you doing? Is this where you have been hiding all this time?”
He wasn’t even ashamed of his deception. For a moment, Ieuan was too outraged to speak. “What do you care what happens to me? You have used me ill, and you don’t even have the shame to admit it.”
Tegwaret’s hand settled on his arm. “If you’d kept your head and not made such a ridiculous fuss with the storm, all would be well. I did not send you to the Cursed One’s realm.”
Not even the pretence of sympathy! Ieuan wrapped his arms around himself. Truly, I have been deceived.
“Such darkness… No wonder the Cursed One made his home here.” Ieuan felt the water ripple as Tegwaret glanced around. “How do I find him, Ieuan?”
“You do not want to find him.” Ieuan spoke quickly. “I know of what I speak.”
“I must.” Tegwaret removed his hand from Ieuan’s arm. “I need to speak with him on an important matter.”
“No matter is so important that you should take such a risk!”
“There was a second counsel. Howel’s and my heart’s joining is in doubt.” Tegwaret moved beyond Ieuan through the tunnels. “Unless the Cursed One releases Howel of his bond to him, our joining will not be recognised.”
He moved towards the cavern! Ieuan caught Tegwaret by his foot. “There is no need! Look, I will accompany you back. I will state publicly that there was no bond between us. None will doubt your joining then.”
“You will what?” Tegwaret turned back.
Ieuan heart pounded in his chest. He swallowed. “I will release you from any bond between us.”
Tegwaret sunk to be level with Ieuan. “You who swore you would never see me joined with another?”
Ieuan looked down. “I have had cause to reflect on my actions. I realise how I have wronged those I most wish to honour. I am truly sorry and wish to change. And I will start with this promise to you.” He looked earnestly at Tegwaret. “I do not care how I will be punished. I accept it as my due.”
Tegwaret snorted. “I do not believe it! This is another of your wild stories.” He started towards the surface.
“No!” Ieuan was not fast enough to grab Tegwaret this time. He used the rocky wall as a springboard to pursue the other morgen. “Tegwaret, as you love me, I beg you. Do not go up there!”
“And now I know you have something to hide!” Tegwaret surged ahead, easily evading Ieuan’s grasp. “I will see it!”
Curse my selfishness! Ieuan saw Tegwaret break the surface. This is all my doing!
All were still above the waves. Tegwaret was frozen in place, staring at Zane, his arm around Cedifor’s shoulders as he helped the morgen swallow some water.
The splash of Ieuan surfacing broke the spell.
Tegwaret turned to face him, his distaste clear. “This is what you strove to hide from me?”
“Tegwaret, you do not understand!” Ieuan started.
Tegwaret shook his head. The light voice that usually gave Ieuan so much joy to hear now turned his stomach as it rose in gloating victory. “I understand well. The Cursed One has no right to speak of broken promises when he consorts with our sworn enemy!”
Cedifor’s sharp laugh was harsh. “I am excluded from all counsel and contact but not your laws? Either I am a part and bound or free and not bound. Exile works both ways, dear child.”
Tegwaret glowered. Clearly he liked that epithet as well as Ieuan did.
Ieuan watched with a feeling of dread as Tegwaret’s features took on an angry cast. “Tegwaret, please! Listen.” He interposed himself between Cedifor and Tegwaret. “The human is my responsibility—my mistake. His ship was wrecked in the storm of my making, and he is ignorant of the quarrel between our people. Let the fault here rest on me alone.”
“Excuse me. Don’t I get a say in any of this?”
Zane’s words went entirely disregarded.
Tegwaret did not appear to hear him at all, frowning at Ieuan. “You speak as one enchanted! No, Howel will hear of this. All of this.” The corners of Tegwaret’s mouth turned up as he continued, enjoying his discovery. “He will be pleased. He has long spoken of the blight the Cursed One casts upon our waters, and an excuse to be rid of him permanently is welcome!” His dark eyes took on a gloating light as they settled again on Cedifor. “You will rue the day you decided to make mischief between us!”
Cedifor had shaken off Zane’s arm to meet Tegwaret’s words sitting up unaided, but the effort had cost him. He was pale, his skin almost completely bloodless.
Ieuan felt his skin grow cold. Cedifor was in no state to meet a challenge. “Tegwaret, calm yourself! Do you not see he is ill?”
“That is precisely what he sees,” Cedifor’s tone was dark. “An excuse to strike while I am at my weakest. A worthy partner for Howel indeed.”
Alarmed by the note in Cedifor’s voice, Ieuan turned towards him. As he did, Tegwaret dived.
No! Ieuan swam after him with all the speed he could muster. He cannot reach the others!
He collided with Tegwaret, tackling him into the tunnel wall.
“Let go of me, Ieuan! Have you lost your mind?” Tegwaret’s nails dug into the flesh of Ieuan’s arm. “You are mad—the Cursed One has made you so!”
“He has done nothing to me.” Ieuan shut his eyes, gritting his teeth as Tegwaret scratched at him. “You wrong him, Tegwaret. We have all wronged him.”
“He is a monster, Ieuan!” Tegwaret found Ieuan’s hair and tugged viciously.
The pain made Ieuan’s eyes water, but he clung on. “Think back! Do you ever recall Cedifor hurting anyone?”
“His crime—”
“Has he ever fought one of us? Injured another? I cannot remember that he has!”
“He is a monster!” Tegwaret succeeded in freeing himself from Ieuan’s hold, kicking Ieuan against the wall.
Ieuan shook his head, momentarily stunned, and felt Tegwaret’s long fingers close around his throat.
“You have always been a liar! Perhaps it is time I stopped your lies for good!”
“You must listen!” Ieuan dug his fingers into Tegwaret’s skin. “Howel was here. He did not see me, but I heard him, every word he said to Cedifor! He made Cedifor an offer, kill me and be restored to the group—”
“Your stories become more and more outrageous!” Tegwaret’s fingers clenched more tightly around Ieuan’s throat.
Ieuan choked. He had to struggle to speak. “Howel is accustomed to having others do his dirty work. Cedifor hasn’t said it, but we all know how Howel complained of our landless existence!”
“Lies!” Tegwaret pressed Ieuan against the rocky wall. “You know not what you speak of!”
Ieuan fought to think past the pounding in his skull. “Was the idea to send me away yours or his, Teg? Did he send you here on purpose to spy and find a reason to strike at Cedifor? You were not surprised to see me—” His fingers relaxed their grip on Tegwaret, the pounding in Ieuan’s head and throat becoming unbearable.
“I will stop your stories once and for all.” Tegwaret brought his elbows down sharply into Ieuan’s back. Ieuan jerked, his body caught like a fish on a line. He could not resist as Tegwaret released his neck to slam him against the rock of the wall. His body floated like driftwood in the tide, his mind ebbing in and out of focus. Small details floated out at him. Tegwaret’s face, grim and pale and frightened. The impact of the rock wall jarring his entire body. The ripple of Tegwaret’s departure.
Most of all, it was the dark, spotting out his vision until it was all he saw.