was, why she was in bed, what all these people were doing here. Then suddenly, as she tried to move, she felt an awful pain in her stomach – and she remembered.
“My baby!” she called out, suddenly frantic. “Where is he? Does the boy live?”
Gwen, desperate, studied the faces around her. Thor clasped her hand firmly and smiled wide, and she knew all was okay. She felt her entire life reassured by that smile.
“He lives, indeed,” Thor replied. “Thanks to god. And to Ralibar. Ralibar flew you both here, just in time.”
“He is perfectly healthy,” Selese added.
Suddenly, a cry tore through the air, and Gwendolyn looked over to see Illepra step forward, holding the crying baby bundled in a blanket in her arms.
Gwendolyn’s heart flooded with relief, and she burst into tears. She started crying hysterically, weeping at the sight of him. She was so relieved, tears of joy washed over her. The baby was alive. She was alive. They had survived. Somehow, they had made it through this terrible nightmare.
She had never felt more grateful in her life.
Illepra leaned forward and placed the baby on Gwen’s chest.
Gwendolyn sat up and looked down, examining him. She felt reborn at the touch of him, the weight of him in her arms, his smell, the way he looked. She rocked him and held him tight, all swaddled up in blankets. Gwendolyn felt herself filled with waves of love for him, with gratitude. She could hardly believe it; she had a baby.
As he was placed her arms, the baby suddenly stopped crying. He became very still, and he turned, opened his eyes, and looked right at her.
Gwen felt a jolt of shock race through her body as their eyes locked. The baby had Thor’s eyes – gray, sparkling eyes that seemed to come from another dimension. They stared right through her. As she stared back, Gwendolyn felt as if she had known him from another time. For all time.
In that instant, Gwen felt a stronger bond to him than she had to anyone or anything in her life. She clasped him tight, and vowed to never let him go. She would walk through fire for him.
“He has your features, my lady,” Thor said to her, smiling as he leaned over and looked with her.
Gwen smiled back, crying, overwhelmed with emotion. She had never been so happy in her life. This was all she ever wanted, to be here with Thorgrin and their child.
“He has your eyes,” Gwen replied.
“All that he doesn’t yet have is a name,” Thor said.
“Perhaps we should name him after you,” Gwendolyn said to Thor.
Thor shook his head, adamant.
“No. He is his mother’s child. He bears your features. A true warrior should carry the spirit of his mother, and the skills of his father. He needs both to serve him well. He will have my skills. And he should be named after you.”
“Then what do you propose?” she asked.
Thor thought.
“His name should sound like yours. The son of Gwendolyn should be named… Guwayne.”
Gwen smiled. She instantly loved the ring of it.
“Guwayne,” she said. “I like that.”
Gwen smiled wide as she held the baby tight.
“Guwayne,” she said down to the child.
Guwayne turned and opened his eyes again, and as he looked right through her, she could have sworn she saw him smile. She knew he was too young for that, but she did see a flicker of something, and she felt certain that he approved of the name.
Selese leaned forward and applied a salve to Gwen’s lips, and gave her something to drink, a thick, dark liquid. Gwen immediately perked up. She felt she was slowly coming back to herself.
“How long have I been here?” Gwen asked.
“You have been asleep for nearly two days, my lady,” Illepra said. “Ever since the great eclipse.”
Gwen closed her eyes, and she remembered. It all came rushing back to her. She remembered the eclipse, the hail, the earthquake. . She had never seen anything like it.
“Our baby portends great omens,” Thor said. “The entire kingdom witnessed the events. His birth is already spoken of, far and wide.”
As Gwen clutched the boy tight, she felt a warmth spread through her, and she sensed herself how special he was. Her entire body tingled as she held him, and she knew this was no ordinary child. She wondered what sort of powers ran in his blood.
She looked over at Thor, wondering. Was this boy a druid, too?
“Have you been here all this time?” she asked Thor, realizing he had been by her side all this time and overwhelmed with gratitude toward him.
“I have, my lady. I came as soon as I heard. Aside from last night. I spent the night at the Lake of Sorrows. Praying for your recovery.”
Gwen burst into tears again, unable to control her emotions. She had never felt more content in her life; holding this child made her feel complete in a way she had not thought possible.
Despite herself, Gwen flashed back to that fateful moment in the Netherworld, to the choice she had been forced to make. She squeezed Thor’s hand and held the baby tight, wanting both of them close to her, wanting both of them to be with her forever.
Yet she knew that one of them would have to die. She cried and cried.
“What is wrong, my love?” Thor finally asked.
Gwen shook her head, unable to tell him.
“Do not worry,” he said. “Your mother still lives. If that’s why you are crying.”
Gwen suddenly remembered.
“She is gravely ill,” Thor added. “But there is still time yet to see her.”
Gwen knew that she had to.
“I must see her,” she said. “Take me to her now.”
“Are you sure, my lady?” Selese asked.
“In your condition, you should not be moved,” Illepra added. “Your delivery was most abnormal, and you must recover. You are lucky to be alive.”
Gwen shook her head, adamant.
“I will see my mother before she dies. Take me to her. Now.”
Chapter Five
Godfrey sat in the center of the long wooden table in the drinking hall, a mug of ale in each fist, singing with the large group of MacGils and McClouds, slamming his mugs on the table with the rest of them. They were all swaying back and forth, slamming their mugs to punctuate each phrase, ale spilling over the back of their hands and onto the table. But Godfrey did not care. He was deep into drink, as he had been every night this week, and he was feeling good.
On
