"I do not, Alfrigg, nor does Ciarda," Kolgrim answered.

Alfrigg nodded.

"While I want Ciarda to speak with you," Kolgrim said, "I can show you my father and my brother. As I have already said, I did not kill him. No royal blood has been shed by me, I swear it."

"It was most clever of you, my lord, to solve the problem in the way you did," Alfrigg said, and, unable to help himself, he chuckled.

Kolgrim smiled at the sound. "You will continue to serve me for the interim, Alfrigg. In a few years' time we will seek your replacement together, but for now it pleases me to have you by my side. Come now, and I will show you." The new Twilight Lord stepped from the dais and walked to the center of the chamber, where a silver tripod was set. It contained a black onyx bowl filled with crystal-clear water. Kolgrim waved a hand over the bowl. The water roiled, grew dark, and then, clearing, revealed the former Twilight Lord and Kolbein within the tiny stone cell. Kol sat silently, but Kolbein moved restlessly about, seeking a means of escape, but there was none.

Alfrigg peered into the scene within the bowl. He nodded. Then he asked Kolgrim, "If I may be so bold, why did your father choose you over Kolbein, my lord?"

"I told him I was our mother's favorite," Kolgrim said with a small smile.

Alfrigg chuckled again. "Indeed, my lord, I believe that you are," he agreed. "She would, however, be quite distressed to realize that you know it. She was very angry when she learned she had been chosen to bear your father a child. But she has always been a good mother to her children, and loves them well. I know although she would not ever admit to it that it pained her to desert you and your brother. Despite everything that has happened there is a drop of darkness in her even as there is a flicker of light in you."

"You have lived a long while, Alfrigg, haven't you?" Kolgrim said.

"Indeed, my lord, I have. Now might I have your permission, my lord, to discuss what is to be done with the Darkling?" the old dwarf asked his master.

"I have already decided. I have mated with her, and given her my son. When I am ready she will bear him," Kolgrim said.

"My lord!" Alfrigg was shocked.

"She is perfect, Chancellor. She is evil and dark and has no heart at all," Kolgrim said with a wicked smile. "Is there a more perfect mate for me? We despise each other."

"She is dangerous, my lord!" Alfrigg was very distressed.

"Her powers are weak now, and few," Kolgrim said. "She cannot harm me, and the child will not grow until I decree it grow."

"But after he is born?" Alfrigg fretted.

"Ciarda will not live much past the Completion Ceremony," Kolgrim said softly.

"Of course, my lord," the chancellor replied. "Of course. How foolish of me not to have realized that you have thought this out most carefully."

"I still have much to learn from you," Kolgrim said.

The old dwarf bowed to his master, accepting the compliment.

"Have you seen enough now?" the young Twilight Lord asked Alfrigg.

"I have, my lord. I am sorry for your father, and your brother, but I am relieved to know the Dark Lands are once again in good hands. May I send out a proclamation to that effect tomorrow?"

"You may," Kolgrim said. "Now, Alfrigg, come and sit with me, for I need your good counsel." He sat back upon his throne and indicated a small low stone chair next to it for his chancellor, who quickly sat. "Tell me of Ciarda's plan to bring darkness to the worlds, and if it is practical to continue."

"To bring the darkness we must have a strong army, my lord, and we do not. Our forces were destroyed back in the last battle for Hetar. Your father disappeared shortly afterward, and I had not the authority to rebuild the military. It was not a particularly disciplined army, for your father cobbled together giants, dwarves and Wolfyn to fight. The giants were amenable enough, but before any fighting broke out they were subverted by the Domina and her allies. The dwarves and the Wolfyn did not get on. Though a great battle was fought before the walls of The City, your father's army was defeated, and driven from Hetar. In the years since my people have retreated deep into the mountains, and the Wolfyn have also kept to themselves. We have no army and cannot go to war with anyone. It will take several years to build up an army, my lord. And if it were my decision to make I should create a professional military," Alfrigg concluded.

Kolgrim nodded slowly. "You have thought this over carefully," he noted.

"I have, my lord," the chancellor said.

"Then Ciarda's plan was doomed to failure," Kolgrim decided.

"It was, my lord."

"And the Hierarch, Alfrigg? What of him?"

"Without her aid he is helpless. He will be found a fraud. Hetar will fall deeper into misery, and in a few years they will be a ripe prize for the picking," Alfrigg said. "If there is one thing we have a plethora of, my lord, it is time."

"Will my mother and her allies not help Hetar?" the Twilight Lord asked.

"Your mother is not a friend of the Lord High Ruler, especially after he stole her daughter and married her. But then she was never a friend to Jonah of Hetar. Once she is assured the danger is past she will return to Terah and guide her younger son to manhood so he may be considered a good Dominus."

"How many other children has she had, Alfrigg?" Kolgrim asked.

"Two sons and three daughters, besides yourself and your brother, my lord," the chancellor said.

"Did she raise them, and love them?" Kolgrim asked.

The old dwarf nodded.

Kolgrim said nothing more about his siblings. "You have my permission to tell her that the war is over for now, Alfrigg."

"On the morrow, my lord, but would it not be more wicked to say nothing, and let her continue to wonder why we make no attack?" the chancellor queried.

Kolgrim laughed. "For a moment I became foolishly sentimental," he said. "It shall not happen again, Alfrigg. Aye, let her wonder. Let Hetar and its allies scurry about like mice in fear of the cat, waiting, wondering, just when the cat will pounce."

"Oh, very good, my lord! Very good." Alfrigg cackled delightedly. The young man was his father all over again. Alfrigg felt suddenly renewed.

BARAM, THE SHADOW PRINCE WHO had finally been able to slip beneath Ciarda's guard, had watched as Kolgrim had taken the Darkling in the violent mating ritual of a Twilight Lord. He heard Ciarda's thoughts as Kolgrim rode her. Some instinct had bade him follow Kolgrim back to the castle rather than remaining with the Darkling. The girl was no longer a danger. He had heard them speaking, but he still did not understand everything that they said. Now he stood in the shadows of the Twilight Lord's throne room listening as Kolgrim spoke with Alfrigg. Shocked by what he heard, Baram had been forced to remain where he was until the two men separated, the dwarf leaving the chamber, the new Twilight Lord seating himself himself back on his throne to think.

Baram drew his cloak tightly about him, thinking of Shunnar, and when he flung it back he was in the open colonnaded hallway of Prince Kaliq's palace. He hurried off to find his brother. He found Kaliq with Marzina. He was teaching her the lesson of patience, and Marzina was having a difficult time of it. Baram thought the girl extraordinarily beautiful, but he could see she had a great deal to learn, for she was very impatient.

"Nay, Marzina," Kaliq said to her. "You are too eager for the end result. A year in the Temple of the Daughters of the Great Creator will be of value to you. Go along now, child."

Dismissed, the Terahn princess ran off.

Kaliq turned to Prince Baram. "You have news, my brother?"

"The Darkling's powers have been almost drained away from her," Baram began, "and Kolgrim rules as the new and undisputed Twilight Lord."

"The other twin?"

"With his father," Baram said.

"What?" Kaliq's face mirrored his astonishment at the words.

"In our own arrogance we did not place a sealing spell around him," Baram said quietly. He then went on to explain all he had seen and heard, for, along with the trio of siblings, he had also stood unseen in Kol's dungeon cell as they had been reunited with their sire. "Kolgrim told his father that Lara favored him. I could see that Kol still loves her, for he immediately transferred the powers of the Twilight Lord to Kolgrim, naming him his successor, and then took back what he had given to Ciarda even as she protested against it. Using his new powers, Kolgrim transported himself and Ciarda back to the House of Women, where he mated with her, giving her a son to be born one day."

Kaliq's crystal globe appeared in his hand. He gazed into it as it darkened and then cleared to reveal Kol and Kolbein together within Kol's cell. Be sealed, and not be broken unless it is my word that's spoken, Kaliq said silently. Baram was right. They had been arrogant. Nay! He had been arrogant. He had been so enraged at Kol's conduct toward Lara on the Dream Plain he had not considered clearly all the possible consequences. And now because of him a new dangerous Twilight Lord reigned in the Dark Lands.

Sensing his thoughts, Baram said, "It is not your fault, Kaliq. We are all to blame. Our victory over the darkness made us all careless. And one of the twins was bound to overcome the other one day. If we must have a Twilight Lord, better Kolgrim. Kolbein is a stupid savage, and Ciarda was able to use him. Now she has been relegated to a mere female status by Kolgrim. She will try to maneuver around him, of course, for she is intelligent, and that will keep him busy. He was foolish to seed her with his son, for now he cannot destroy her until the child is safely born one day."

"Removing his brother without shedding his blood was cleverly done," Kaliq observed. "He is like his father."

Baram nodded in agreement. Then he said, "Kolgrim has chosen to desert the Hierarch, and Ciarda no longer has the power to help him, nor will she be permitted to leave the Dark Lands any longer. Our young Twilight Lord has decided to be patient and build an army. A real army, not the ramshackle kind of thing his father gathered together the last time. It will take years, of course, to find and recruit the leaders and the men needed. They will have to be trained, but eventually we will be forced to face them. We have an advantage in that we know they are coming. Their disadvantage is that they do not know we know." Baram chuckled.

Kaliq smiled. "I will speak with Lara about the Hierarch. It will be her decision what is to be done with him."

"It is a decision that will affect us all," Baram said. Then he asked, "Am I to return to the Dark Lands, brother?"

"Nay, there is no need for you to remain there at this point," Kaliq said. "Go now and again so we may be aware if anything of import is happening or about to happen."

"I will," Baram promised, and then he left his superior.

Kaliq sat quietly for several long minutes. He needed to clear away the roiling emotions that were threatening to overcome him. Baram had done well, and his kind words had soothed the Shadow Prince's conscience, but it continued to fret him that he had allowed his love for Lara to make him so careless all those years ago. Yet perhaps it had been for the better that everything played out as it did. The imbalance in the Dark Lands had been reflected throughout the worlds. Now balance was once again restored.

Domina, heed my plea. Cease all else and come to me, he called out to Lara.

"Kaliq, I was just preparing to retire," Lara told him as she appeared before him.

He grinned wickedly at her. "Perhaps we can retire together when I have told you all the news I have for you," he teased her.

Lara laughed. "But I never get any rest when I retire with you," she teased back. Then she said, "What has happened, my lord, that you cannot wait to tell me?"

"Kolgrim rules undisputed in the Dark Lands," Kaliq began, and he went on to tell Lara all that had happened.

She listened, and when he had concluded his report, Lara said, "Kolgrim is clever, and I am astounded that Kol still harbors any thought of me. Yet of the two Kolgrim was the better choice if a choice had to be made."

"You like him," Kaliq observed.

Lara thought a long moment. "In an odd way I suppose I do," she agreed. "There is a fascination to such evil, and while I prefer the light, there are those among my race who prefer the dark, as you well know, Kaliq."

"He wants you to love him," Kaliq said. "It may one day be his undoing."

"I know," Lara replied. "But to love him I must accept him, admit to his existence, and how would that affect the other children I have borne? And what of Marzina? If Kol came to know her he would eventually realize the truth. He would use it against me, Kaliq. You know that he would. He would attempt to bring Marzina to the darkness. And how could I ever tell my daughter that Magnus Hauk was not her father? That her father was darkness personified, and her conception was the result of rape?" Lara shook her head. "Nay, I will never acknowledge that Kolgrim is my son. He is Kol's son, but not mine. And I will protect my children from him."

"When we chose you to fulfill our plans for chaos in the Dark Lands we never anticipated what would happen afterward," Kaliq said.

"How could you?" Lara asked him. "It is my destiny that is being played out, Kaliq, not yours. For years I have wondered just what this destiny I have is. I have waited for some momentous happening to occur, but I have become convinced that there will be no great incident. It is the life I live, the decisions I make that affect not only me but those around me that contributes to my destiny. I am living my destiny, Kaliq." She leaned over and kissed his mouth. "And you, my lord, are a part of my destiny that I very much like. Now, what else is there for us to consider?"

"The Hierarch," he responded. "What are we to do about him?"

"I suppose we could leave him to an unpleasant fate, especially if the Hetarians discover he is an Outlander," Lara said. "But a fragile Hetar is not good for any of us. Hetar needs to recover from its excesses. It will take years, but to expose Cam for the fraud he is would make it far worse. We must help the Hierarch, and then he must disappear. So it is said of the Hierarch's legend, in any case," she said with a smile.

"You will return him to the New Outlands afterward?"

She nodded. "And we shall have the Munin remove his memories of this particular time in his life. As for the clan families, they will believe that Cam's cattle and bit of land have come from his own efforts."

"But you will still prevent Anoush from marrying him," Kaliq said.

"I believe it best, aye. The darkness is in him, Kaliq. You know it. And if it rose to overwhelm him again, if Anoush could not help him, Cam would break her heart. I will not allow that to happen."

He nodded.

"Let me go and rest now, Kaliq," Lara said.

"Remain here," he replied.

"I do not want Taj distressed to find me just gone on the morrow," she told him. "Remember my responsibilities to Terah. I will deal with Cam tomorrow," Lara said. And then she was gone from his side.

Kaliq sighed. She was right, of course, but he would have enjoyed a few hours in her company, in her arms.

WHEN LARA AWOKE THE NEXT day she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She might be faerie, but she wasn't entirely invincible. The knowledge that she would not have to compete with Ciarda for Cam's attention was a great relief. Now her foolish nephew would be forced to do her bidding without question. He could no longer betray her by attempting to make an arrangement with the Darkling more suited to his own nefarious and greedy purposes. She chuckled at the thought of his surprise when he learned that.

She bathed, and then considered what she would wear. A gown would make her seem vulnerable and feminine. She chose instead her leather trousers, a shirt, doeskin jerkin and boots. She sat quietly as Mila brushed out her long golden hair and then braided it neatly into a single, long, thick plait. Then, standing, she called to Andraste, who came to fasten herself onto Lara's back.

"Shall I have Dasras saddled?" Mila asked.

"Nay, I will use magic to travel today. And I would first have breakfast with the young Dominus," Lara answered her serving woman. With a smile at Mila, she hurried off to see her youngest son. She found him with his two companions preparing to break their fast. "I've come to join you," she said, waving them back into their seats, for they had arisen politely at her entrance.

"I have hardly seen you of late, Mother," Taj said, a hint of complaint in his voice.

"There has been so much to do, my darling," Lara replied. "We have now restored the balance to the worlds, and the darkness has retreated. There remains but one thing to do, and I will go off today to see to it. Then I thought you would be pleased to learn that Marzina is coming home briefly."

"What did she do?" Taj asked.

Lara laughed. "Does a visit home necessarily mean your twin has committed some fault, Taj? Perhaps she just grew homesick and wanted to see us."

"Nay, I know my sister. She has done something to outrage our grandmother Ilona. I knew she would eventually. Marzina is always in a great hurry," Taj said. "And besides, Mother, she was here for my coronation, so she couldn't be homesick."

"I have underestimated you, my lord son," Lara told him with a smile. "Aye, she has indeed proven to even my doting mother that she is not quite ready for the responsibility of her magic. She will visit with us briefly, and then will go into the care of the Daughters of the Great Creator for a year or more to hopefully learn self-discipline and restraint. When the High Priestess Kemina says Marzina has learned these virtues Prince Kaliq will take her as a student, and train her in the magic arts himself. Her talents are far beyond my mother's tutoring."

"What did Marzina do that grandmother Ilona banned her from her kingdom?" Taj asked, curious, and both Gare and Sinon leaned eagerly forward to learn the answer, too, having heard all the previous discussion.

"The nature of Marzina's crime is of no account to Terah or its welfare, my lord Dominus. I think we shall leave it at that," Lara told him. "Oh, I see the cook has baked us fresh raisin bread this morning." Reaching for the loaf, Lara cut a slice for herself and buttered it lavishly. "And baked pomme fruits with honey! I am ravenous." She smiled at the three boys. "How are your studies coming?"

"We are learning the history of Terah," Taj said. "Just before the time of Usi the sorcerer. Do you think he was as terrible as he is portrayed, Mother?"

"You should know as my son that there is both light and dark magic. Usi's magic was evil," Lara told her son. "His descendants rule the Dark Lands. And there is even a female line of his descendants in Hetar, Taj. Aye, Usi was the darkest of sorcerers."

Taj turned to his two companions, who did not know of that dark time in Terah's history. "When my mother came to Terah and the men heard her voice, they were astounded, for they believed their own females dumb and speechless. It turned out this sorcerer had cursed the men of Terah with his dying breath. While they thought their women had become speechless, it was actually the men whose ears had been stopped up to their voices. It was my mother's magic that changed all that, and my father fell in love with her then," Taj explained proudly.

Lara smiled, remembering her earlier days in Terah. Remembering its proud Dominus, Magnus Hauk. Now Terah was ruled by his son. For a moment she recalled. Taj's coronation just a few weeks back. The family and the few representatives from the various cultures of Terah had come. The Lord High Ruler of Hetar, however, had not come, for he greatly feared to leave his kingdom for even a day. The first day of the celebration had honored Magnus Hauk, his life and his accomplishments. On the second day of the festivities, at the exact hour of Magnus Hauk's death, the crown had been set upon Taj's head by both Arik, High Priest in the Temple of the Great Creator, and his female counterpart, Kemina, the High Priestess. The third and final day was given over in celebration of the new Dominus. All of Terah had feasted and rejoiced at the peaceful transition between reigns. Then their lives had again picked up the daily rhythm of their world once more.

Summer was coming. Gare and Sinon begged the Domina to be allowed to remain with Taj. And Taj wanted his friends with him. They would all go to visit in the New Outlands in late summer and early autumn, remaining for The Gathering. Reluctantly, the parents of the two young Fiacre clansmen gave their consent. They could see the advantage for their sons, and for the Outland clan families in the years to come.

Lara returned to Hetar. She was not yet ready to inform the Lord High Ruler of Hetar's most recent escape from the darkness. Hetar needed to be reformed, and the only way that was going to happen was if Jonah and his minions still believed they were in danger. She appeared in his privy chamber to discover him enthusiastically fucking a dark-haired female he had bent over his worktable.