Heirs of Prophecy - Lisa Smedman [60]
"Hazel eyes are very rare among our people," Rylith said. "Less than ten children in an entire generation have eyes like yours. Twins born with hazel eyes are rarer still."
Larajin wondered what this had to do with anything but told herself to be patient. Druids were never known to rush anything. Rylith would come to the point in time.
"There is a belief among our people that twins with hazel eyes are an omen of great good fortune, that the twins themselves are specially blessed by the gods-and that they will use this blessing to aid their race."
"My brother Leifander has hazel eyes?" Larajin asked.
"See for yourself." Rylith swept a hand over the pool of water, and the twig suddenly halted in place. For the space of several heartbeats, the pool became utterly still. Within it, Larajin could see a third face, that of a wood elf with braided bangs hung with feathers, and sharply pointed ears and almond-shaped eyes that were a hazel color just a shade darker than Larajin's own. His face was tattooed, but lacked the narrowness of a full-blooded elf. It was also strikingly handsome.
The image was frozen, the eyes unblinking-an illusion then, and not a glimpse of Leifander in that moment.
Larajin stared at her brother's face, trying to see a resemblance to her own, but could not. As Doriantha had observed, they were as different as day and night. Leifander looked like a full-blood elf, and Larajin a human.
Rylith moved her hand again, and the twig resumed its journey around the pool, making one last circuit, then escaping into the current of the stream. As it shpped away, Leifander's face rippled and faded from sight.
"Until quite recently, the truth-that Trisdea bore twins-was known only to a handful of people," the druid said. "Most of the elves in the Tangled Trees believed that she had borne only Leifander-being half human, he was such a large infant that it was easy to persuade people he'd made such a big bulge in Trisdea's stomach on his own. That fiction became even more credible when Thamalon Uskevren took you with him, away from the Tangled Trees."
"Was he supposed to have done that?" Larajin asked.
Rylith ignored the question. "That which is necessary has a way of happening," she said. "All things come full circle, given enough time."
She sighed, and continued, "There are some, however, who believe that the hand of the gods can be forced-that you and your brother should be reunited at any cost. When they first found out where you were living, they
tried to force you to return to the Tangled Trees. They-"
The elves who defended me in the Hunting Garden!" Larajin exclaimed, suddenly understanding.
Rylith nodded sadly. "Theirs was a great sacrifice, but they believed in you and in the power of the goddess that flows through you. As do I."
Larajin shivered, despite the heat of the sun. She had been chosen by two goddesses, it was true, and with their aid had worked magic. That alone made her special, but Rylith was saying that she was more than that. She was a person whom three elves had willingly sacrificed themselves to protect. A person of whom great things were expected-by an entire race. Larajin wondered how she could ever live up to such expectations. ' She thought of her twin brother. At least she wouldn't have to do it alone.
"When I tried to leave the tent, an elf told me I had to wait for Leifander," she said. "He was worried that I would run away, wasn't he?"
"He was."
"But I wanted to meet Leifander. I would have given my word to wait until he came to the Tangled Trees-and kept it. Why didn't the elves trust