DAVID A. GEMMEL. SWORD IN THE STORM

Conn did not attend the funeral. He had journeyed to Seven Willows to meet with Fiallach, and see for himself the new defences.

The following spring the first of the foals was born, a white colt with a long black mark on its brow. The birthmark looked like a sword, and Conn called him Dark Blade.

By his twenty-first birthday Conn’s Iron Wolves numbered two hundred and twenty, and they met regularly to train, galloping their tall Gath horses in close formation, peeling away and reforming into the flying wedge that Conn had first seen among the Gath. Braefar’s stirrup design had proved a huge success, giving the riders greater purchase. Conn also ordered two hundred lightweight shields to replace the small bucklers commonly used by riders, and each man was armed with two swords, one a long, curved sabre, the second a short, stabbing sword, based on the Stone design.

By the autumn of that year Conn had begun organizing a new force: Horse Archers. Lightly armoured and mounted on swift ponies, they were trained to shoot at full gallop. Conn arranged several archery tournaments, offering fine prizes to the best of the bowmen, and these men he drew into his service. Among them was his fifteen-year-old brother, the golden-haired Bendegit Bran, whose skills with horse and bow were unrivalled.

His inclusion in the force angered Meria, who, on a visit to Old Oaks, berated Conn. ‘He’s just a child,’ she insisted.

‘He’ll be a man in the spring,’ Conn told her, gently. ‘He’s not a babe any longer – much as you’d like him to be.’ The sun was almost behind the mountains now, and the room was growing darker. Meria moved to the fire, lit a taper, then two wall-hanging lanterns. For a while they sat in thoughtful silence, watching the sunset.

‘It has all gone by so fast, Conn,’ she said, after a while. ‘It seems only a few months since you were all children. I miss those days. I miss having children around me. I look after little Banouin now and again. He is a joy! Always laughing, and he loves to be cuddled. You never did. You squirmed to get away. Unless it was Ruathain. Quite often you’d fall asleep in his arms.’

‘How is the Big Man? I have not seen him for a while.’

She shrugged, then laughed. ‘He is fine now. He caught a chill and was coughing and spluttering about the house, losing his temper and complaining. He never was a man who could cope with illness. He’s still not fully recovered, and needs to rest often.’ She smiled. ‘But then he’s past forty now, and no longer the young bull.’

They talked for a while, each relaxed in the other’s company. Then she broached the subject closest to her heart. ‘You should wed again, Conn. I have not seen you laugh for what seems an age.’

Conn had been waiting for just such a conversation. He had intended to brush it aside, or change the subject. But now, sitting in the warmth of this room, with the setting sun turning the mountains to fire, he did neither. ‘I didn’t love her well enough, you know. It is a guilt I carry – with all the other guilts. She was beautiful, and – as Vorna once told me – deserved better. I loved her. But when I saw Arian again . . .’ He looked at Meria and gave a rueful smile. ‘I’ll not wed, Mam. Not yet. There is, I think, room in my heart for only one great love.’

‘Foolish boy. There will be another love. You wait and see.’

‘As there was for you, when Varaconn died?’

‘I wish you would say Father. You speak of him as if he were a distant relative.’

‘My father, then. Now answer the question.’

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, lifting a plaid blanket from the floor and laying it over her legs. ‘It is getting cold now. Would you shut the window?’

‘Aye – but I’ll still require an answer.’ Rising, he pushed closed the shutters, dropping the narrow lock bar into place.

Then he sat down and looked into her green eyes. ‘No,’ she admitted. ‘There was never another love like Varaconn. I do not want this to sound as if I am speaking ill of Ru. He is the finest of men and I do love him dearly. More dearly than I ever expected. But Varaconn and I were twin souls.’

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