The Shadow Isle - Katharine Kerr [65]
As soon as the sun rose, Berwynna woke. She grabbed her clothing from the floor and crept out of Dougie’s chamber before anyone could find her there. Once she’d gained the safety of her own chamber, she got into her bed. She only meant to rumple her blankets and pillow as if she’d slept there, but in the familiar comfort, after her tiring night, she fell asleep almost immediately.
When she woke again, bright sunlight filled the room. Her mother was standing at the foot of the bed.
“Hadn’t you best get up?” Angmar said. “The sun’s well on its way to noon.”
Berwynna sat up and yawned. “My apologies,” she said. “I suppose everyone’s waiting for me to serve their breakfast.”
“No, I did it.”
“Oh, Mam! You shouldn’t have had to do that. Why couldn’t Mara take a turn?”
“Because she’s the Lady of the Isle.” Angmar spoke solemnly. “Never forget that, love. Your sister was born to be the Lady of the Isle.”
And I suppose the rest of us are worthless, especially me, but Berwynna kept that thought to herself. Aloud she said, “Very well, Mam. I will.”
“You missed the big announcement, too,” Angmar went on. “I told you that I didn’t trust Tirn. Well, it turns out that he was lying about his name. He admitted it at breakfast. His real name is Laz, he tells us now.”
“Huh! Do you think that’s the truth?”
“I don’t know.” Angmar smiled at her. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Berwynna dressed, then went downstairs to the great hall. Angmar had saved her a bowl of porridge and a thick slice of bread and butter. Although the great hall was otherwise empty when Berwynna sat down to eat, Enj and Mic came strolling in not long after and joined her and Angmar at table.
“Ah, it’s good to be home!” Enj said in Dwarvish.
“And it’s truly good to see you here,” Angmar said. “I’ve been vexing myself for many a long year now, wondering if you fared well.”
“Well enough, I suppose. Soon I’ll have to leave, though. I made Rori a promise on the night that the island disappeared, that I’d come find him and tell him if it should return when he was elsewhere. ”
“Was that before he became a dragon?” Berwynna put in.
“It was.” Enj glanced at Angmar. “He was heartbroken, Mam, and truly, he still is. I was thinking of leaving on the morrow.”
“What?” Angmar snapped. “How can you leave so soon? I’ve barely gotten a chance to talk with you.”
“Well, Mam, I’m not rejoicing at leaving the isle, either,” Enj said. “But I thought I should, for your sake.”
“To find Rhodry for my sake, you mean?” Angmar leaned back in her chair and rested her head against it. Berwynna feared that her mother would weep, but Angmar merely sighed.
“Would you rather I stayed a while?” Enj asked.
“I would,” Angmar said. “Who knows where the silver wyrm’s flown to?”
Enj got up and stood beside her chair. He caught her hands in his with a gentle squeeze. “Mam, I’ll stay till you give me leave to go.”
“My thanks.” Angmar spoke so softly that Berwynna had to lean forward to hear her. “It won’t be long, I promise you. But some few days, mayhap.”
Good! Berwynna thought. That gives me time to plan my escape. What if she were the one to find her father? What would her mother think of her then? The thought filled her with a secret delight.
“I’ll be leaving with you,” Mic said, “I’ve promised Uncle Otho that I’ll take him home to Lin Serr. I’ve got kin in the city, too, that I’m longing to see. Ye gods, they must have given me up for dead years ago.”
“Well, yes,” Enj said. “You did vanish in the middle of a war, so it was an easy enough mistake to make.”
“I can’t argue,” Mic said, “I just hope they’ll be glad to see me again.”
“Do you truly think they wouldn’t?” Enj laughed at him.
“Um, perhaps I’m being a bit dense,” Mic said. “I’ll hire Dougie again to come with us, since the poor lad’s stuck here. He was my bodyguard in Alban, when I went to trade. Uncle Otho taught