Bertrice Small - The Twilight Lord

Kaliq swung his great shining white cape about the boy by his side and in an instant they were gone.

Zagiri began to cry, but Anoush picked her sister up and said, “It is his destiny, Little Sister, and destiny plays a strong part in this family.”

“Do you have a destiny?” Zagiri asked her older sister and Anoush nodded. “And do I have one?” Zagiri pursued. Anoush nodded again. “And Taj and Marzina?”

“Aye,” Anoush said. “All of us possess a destiny. Some for good, some for great, but we all have one.”

“Papa?” Zagiri persisted.

“Aye, Papa’s destiny is to be Terah’s greatest Dominus.” She brushed the tears from Zagiri’s little face.

“And Mama?” Zagiri queried.

“Ah, Mama,” Anoush replied and suddenly her blue eyes grew so bright they seemed to be silver. “Mama’s destiny is the greatest of all, Zagiri, for she will one day unite us as one.” Anoush’s eyes returned to their own beautiful blue, then they closed and she grew pale, slipping toward the floor.

Lara quickly snatched Zagiri from her older sibling’s arms before she could be hurt even as Magnus Hauk caught his stepdaughter before she crumpled to the floor. With a nod to the nursemaids holding the twins he sent them from the room.

“Is Anoush all right?” Zagiri asked, her little face frightened.

“Your sister is fine,” Lara assured her little daughter. “She possesses what we call the sight, which means she can sometimes see into the future.”

Anoush moaned. Seeing that she was returning to herself the Dominus set the girl upon her feet. “What happened?” she asked them, looking a bit confused.

“You had a small vision, my darling, that is all,” Lara said. “How do you feel now, Anoush?” Dillon had told her that Anoush had this gift, but Lara had paid it very little mind until this moment. “Have you done this before, my daughter?”

“Not often, but now and again I see things,” Anoush admitted. “I’ve never fainted from it, however.”

“I think the excitement of Dillon’s departure, followed by your vision, probably made you weak,” Lara soothed her. “Take Zagiri, go and lie down. I will come to you shortly.”

Anoush nodded and taking her little sister by her hand she led her from her parent’s dayroom where they had been bidding Dillon farewell.

There was a long silence. Lara sat down. Her legs suddenly felt weak.

“What did Anoush mean, you would unite us all?” Magnus Hauk asked his wife quietly. His eyes searched her face.

“I don’t know,” Lara told him honestly. “Kaliq has said that my destiny is not yet fulfilled, but he will not tell me what remains to be done or even if he knows. Nor will my mother. All I can tell you is that for now I will be by your side with our children even as I was in my time with Vartan. I feel no pull to go anywhere else or do anything else. What remains of my destiny will reveal itself to me when it is time and not a moment before, Magnus. Let us be content with what we have.”

She will unite us all. The Dominus could hear his stepdaughter’s voice in his head. What could it mean? But then he sighed, realizing that Lara was right. Whatever remained for Lara to accomplish would reveal itself in its own time, and rarely did magic time conform with mortal time. He sat down next to his wife, putting an arm about her. From the moment that Lara had entered his life it had been one adventure after another. He wondered what would have happened had he married one of those sweet Terahn girls his mother had always attempted to foist on him. But he knew-his life would have been one long, dull monotony.

He would never be bored with his faerie woman. His life would continue to be filled with adventure. And why not? He was married to Lara, daughter of Swiftsword and Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries. He had a mother-in-law who arrived and departed in a cloud of mauve mist. A prince who stepped in and out of their lives from the shadows. A stepson who would be a great sorcerer. A stepdaughter who had visions. The Great Creator only knew what Zagiri, Taj and Marzina would turn out to be one day. He could not even begin to imagine. The reality would probably be something that no one, especially a mere mortal as himself, could conceive.

Magnus Hauk began to laugh and he shook with his amusement.

“What is so funny?” Lara asked, turning to her husband who was doubled up with his mirth. What could have caused his hilarity? she wondered.

“I love our life together,” the Dominus of Terah told her. “I love you! I love the children! I love everything! I can’t wait for tomorrow to see what is around that corner.”

“Hopefully not a dragon,” Lara said with a smile.

“Why not?” Magnus Hauk wanted to know. “Why not a dragon? We have had faeries, and dwarfs and giants, and the powers of darkness running through our lives from the moment we met, my darling. What could be next but a dragon?”

“What indeed?” Lara answered and then she joined in his laughter. For now, she realized, she was happy. And she deserved this happiness, didn’t she? She was going to enjoy what she had. And she had so much. And, Lara decided, she would not think about her destiny until it called out to her again. Whatever destiny held in store for her next, she could wait for it.