‘Never! I will never leave you again.’ His fingers stroked through her long dark hair, and her face tilted up towards him. Tenderly he kissed her lips, then eased free of her embrace and sat beside the fire. Her father, Ceofrin, ambled forward and patted Duvo’s shoulder.
‘You look exhausted, man. I’ll get some food for you.’ Ceofrin moved to the kitchen and returned with a bowl of porridge and a container filled with honey. It remained untouched.
‘What happened? Did you find it?’ asked Shira. Duvodas opened the canvas pouch and removed the Pearl, which shone brilliantly in the firelight. For a moment none of them spoke. The Pearl was warm in Duvo’s hands, and the weight of responsibility was strong upon him. Shira’s gaze moved from the orb to Duvo, and her love for him swelled. Ceofrin stood back. He did not understand the nature of the Pearl’s power, but he did know that armies
had fought and died for seven years to possess it, and now it lay within his tavern.
‘Oh,’ said Shira at last, ‘it is so beautiful. Like a moon fallen from the sky.’
‘It contains the Eldarin, their cities and their lands. Everything.’ Slowly he told them of the journey to the monastery and of the death of Sirano, Duke of Romark. ‘What happened at the monastery was terrible,’ he said. ‘The monks were slain by the Daroth, the younger ones consumed by them.’
Ceofrin listened as Duvo repeated his tale. ‘I can only imagine the anger you must feel,’ he said.
Duvodas shook his head. ‘The Eldarin taught me how to deal with anger: you must let it flow through you without pause. It was a hard lesson, but I believe I mastered it. Anger leads only to hate, and hate is the mother of evil. The Daroth are what they are. Like a storm, perhaps, destructive and violent. I will not hate them. I will not hate anything.’
‘If you ask me,’ said Ceofrin, ‘you are walking a hard road. Man is born to love, and to hate. I do not believe that any teaching can alter that.’
‘You are wrong,’ said Duvodas. ‘In my life I have seen evil in all its forms, great and small. They have not altered my perceptions.’
Ceofrin smiled. ‘You are a good man, Duvo. May I touch it?’ Duvo passed it to him. Hefting the Pearl in his huge hands, he stared hard into its milky depths. ‘I cannot see cities here.’
‘They are there, nonetheless. I must get the Pearl to the highest mountain of the Eldarin lands. Then they will return.’
‘And help us destroy the Daroth?’ asked Ceofrin.
‘No. I do not believe they will.’
‘Then why bring them back?’
‘Father! How can you say that?’ asked Shira. ‘Do they not deserve to live?’
‘I did not mean it in that way,’ said Ceofrin, reddening. ‘What I meant is that if they chose to hide from a human army because they do not like to fight, then why bring them back to face a Daroth one?’
‘It is a good point,’ conceded Duvodas. ‘That said, the Eldarin are a wise people who may well offer alternatives to war. Their return alone will force the Daroth to reconsider their plans.’
‘I hope that you are right, Duvo,’ said Ceofrin, returning the Pearl. ‘Now I must prepare the kitchens. There is food to be cooked, and ale to be brought up from the cellar.’ He glanced once more at the Pearl and shook his head. ‘It seems strange to think of such humdrum matters on a day such as this.’
‘Life goes on, my friend,’ said Duvodas, pushing himself to his feet.
Shira took his arm. ‘You need some rest,’ she said. ‘Come. The bedroom is warm and there are fresh, clean sheets upon the bed.’ Together they made their way to the upper rooms, where Duvodas laid his harp upon the table and stripped off his travel-stained clothes.
‘Lie with me for a while,’ he said, as he slipped under the covers.
‘I have work to do,’ she told him. ‘And if I came in there with you, you would not rest!’
Duvodas rolled to one elbow and looked at her. The pregnancy was now well advanced. ‘Are you still sick in the mornings?’ he asked her.