“But why,” he demanded again, “did you choose this time to share your misadventure with me, Lara?”

“Kol threatened to seek you out upon the Dream Plain and tell you of that lost year,” Lara explained. “I thought it better you learned of it from me than from that evil creature. My destiny has not been an easy one, Magnus, and it is not yet totally fulfilled. Ask me what you will about that year. Satisfy your curiosity.”

“You do not ask my forgiveness,” he said softly and he heard Ilona gasp, shocked.

“Do I need your forgiveness, my lord?” Lara answered him in equally soft tones. “I did not know what was planned to happen to me. I should have never gone willingly into the Dark Lands to be the Twilight Lord’s mate. I did not even have the memories of that terrible year until Kol began to haunt me and I needed to have them back so I might do battle with him. Why do I need your forgiveness?”

“Could you not have protected her better?” Magnus Hauk demanded angrily of the prince. “You love her, too. I know that, and yet you let that damned evil reach out to Lara. Why did you not take better care of her? Now we must both contend with the memories of that year and I don’t know if it can ever be the same between us.”

“Ohh, arrogant mortal!” Ilona exploded with her anger. “How dare you whine over your wounded pride when my daughter has done our worlds such a great and terrible service? Though Kaliq penned the Twilight Lord in his castle for a hundred years and took away his reflecting bowls, Kol is yet managing to give orders to his minions from his castle. Regretfully we cannot put evil to sleep for that century. The balance would be destroyed entirely, but you do not understand that, do you?” Her green eyes were icy with her disdain. “If my daughter did not love you so deeply I should turn you to stone, Magnus Hauk! Beware if you should make my daughter unhappy!” And then in a clap of thunder and a flash of light, Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries, was gone in a burst of deep purple smoke which indicated her anger at her son-in-law.

“Magnus,” Kaliq said gently, “none of what has happened is Lara’s fault nor is it of her making. Your pride is hurt as any man’s would be, but you cannot hold this against her, my friend. She loves you.”

“Your sons,” the Dominus said to his wife. “How were you able to leave them so easily? You make a habit of leaving your children, I note.”

If he had struck her he could not have hurt her more. “I was only the means by which Kol’s sons were birthed,” Lara told him, her voice shaking. “They were not mine.” Her eyes were filled with tears. “And I did not want them.”

Magnus Hauk closed his eyes briefly. Her honesty touched him. Kaliq was correct. His pride had been hurt but it was not Lara’s fault. Opening his eyes he reached out and pulled her into his arms. “Forgive me, Lara! I am a fool, but I love you so greatly that the thought of any other man possessing you is like a knife to my heart.”

Feeling his strong arms about her Lara began to cry, her tears wetting his tunic front. “I am pained to have hurt you so, my husband,” she sobbed. “Even though I didn’t know what was to happen or what I was destined to do. You are my life, Magnus! And now I carry a new life, our son, within my womb. I do not want you angry at me and I do not wish to be angry at you.” She clung to him and his arms tightened about her.

Knowing that they would now settle their differences Prince Kaliq stepped quietly into the shadows and disappeared. They never realized that he was gone, so wrapped up in each other were the Dominus and Domina of Terah. Lara caressed her husband’s strong face with gentle fingers, her eyes devouring him. Magnus Hauk stroked her golden hair tenderly, whispering small endearments into her ears as he did so. It was a hard truth for them to swallow, but they both realized that their love for one another was greater than the hurt each had suffered when Kol of the Twilight had involved himself in their lives. Their love would always be stronger than anything meant to harm them.

And having faced the hard truth of the lost year, Lara and Magnus decided together to tell no one else. They had Hetar to consider. Lara insisted on using her magic to go to Lady Gillian and learn what was really happening. The Dominus was concerned but his wife assured him that she would be safe. She was surprised that Gillian had not called to her for she had given her that privilege.

She found the retired headmistress of the Pleasure Guilds in her privy chamber. Gillian looked up surprised as Lara appeared in a burst of mauve smoke. “Tell me what is happening,” Lara said by way of greeting. “If Terah is to help Hetar at this time I must have accurate information. Have the Wolfyn invaded The City yet or are they still rampaging about the Midlands?”

“Did you work your magic to destroy our fleet?” Gillian responded.

“No,” Lara said. “And I did not know it would be done. My mother was simply to create a thick fog bank in which your ships would sail about until they ran out of water and supplies. They would then have been forced to return home. But then she created a great storm. I think she did it more to frighten your people,” Lara lied to defend her mother for as appalled as she was by what Ilona had done, she still loved her. There was no need for Gillian or anyone else in Hetar to know the truth of the queen of the Forest Faeries’ cruelty. “I am sorry, Gillian, but sadly in war lives are lost no matter our good intentions. This is why we must prevent war if it is at all possible.”

Lady Gillian sighed. “The Wolfyn have not yet attempted to breach The City’s walls and gates,” she said. “The Celestial Actuary help the Midland folk, for no one else can. Most of our army is caught in the Coastal Province. The Crusader Knights remaining in The City are older men who have seen better days.”

“And the emperor?” Lara asked.

“Holed up in the Golden District, reinforcing its defenses, of course. He is frantic, especially now that word of the fleet’s demise has reached The City,” Gillian replied. “I thought the Wolfyn were mythological creatures, Lara.”

“Nay, they are all too real,” Lara answered. “They made their home in the Dark Lands, which is ruled over by the Twilight Lord. His name is Kol and he means to begin a war that will eventually yield him both Hetar and Terah. He himself is penned by magic in his castle right now but he is capable of giving orders from there. He believes that Hetar is weak and easily taken, while Terah is stronger.”

“Alas, Hetar is weak,” Gillian said. “The Mercenaries and the Crusader Knights have become useless and exist only because of tradition.”

“As long as The City remains locked and barred the Wolfyn should not be able to enter it. The Shadow Princes have cast a spell making it impregnable, but that knowledge is ours alone. We do not want Gaius Prospero feeling safe, for that would be foolish. Besides, without supplies from the Midlands the food will eventually run out and being safe behind these walls will not matter then,” Lara said.

“But without aid from the Coastal Province and with no food, how can we prevail over these creatures? Over this Twilight Lord?”

“Your only hope is Terah,” Lara told her. “The rightness of the Women’s Movement that you have begun is now proving to be truth. Gaius Prospero must be removed from his imperial seat. What Hetar does about a new government is their decision, but the emperor cannot be allowed to rule any longer.

“You cannot hope to beat back the Wolfyn or any other of the Twilight Lord’s minions. His armies are great, and are comprised of dwarfs and giants. The Wolfyn are the most frightening of his creatures, so he has sent them first to burn and loot and do rapine in order to terrify you. But when he finds The City is blocked to him he will destroy the forest and the Midlands, then move on to the coast. The desert is useless to him, and he is afraid of the Shadow Princes. They will be left in peace. In the end The City will be isolated. Terah will be his next objective after he has destroyed Hetar and brought it under his heel,” Lara said.

“But how,” Gillian asked, “can we stop him?”

“Here is where our women can help,” Lara told her companion. “We have among our group several wives and daughters of Crusader Knights. Many will have been widowed when the fleet was destroyed. There are women among the Mercenaries now without husbands, fathers and sons. These women must convince those remaining of their men to work with Terah. When the Wolfyn have gathered before The City, as they eventually will, we can catch them in a pincer movement. The remaining fighters in The City will march out to do battle with the Wolfyn while the Terahn forces come at them from the other side. Caught between us the Wolfyn will be crushed and defeated. The Twilight Lord’s remaining armies will reconsider their position at that point.”

“The emperor will never agree to work with Terah,” Gillian said.

“Of course he won’t, for he is a fool,” Lara agreed. “This is where the women come in. They must force Gaius Prospero to do their bidding-and they can, Lady Gillian. The emperor would like to dismiss the women as he previously has done but too many of your men have died in pursuit of his dreams. We all need peace.”

Lady Gillian considered Lara’s words in silence for several long minutes. Finally she spoke. “Aye, we need peace and the prosperity that comes with it. Would your husband really aid Hetar even after we attempted to war with you? Why would he do that? What advantage does it give Terah over Hetar?”

“Aye, Magnus would aid you, for it is to all our benefit, not just Terah. We wish to live in peace, trading with you for our handcrafted and luxury goods as we always have, but other than that Terah wishes no communion with Hetar at this time.”