Sara Douglass – The Serpent Bride – DarkGlass Mountain Book 1

mother, and he sang me out of her womb.”

“Is Hasweb…is Hasweb still living?” StarDrifter asked, ignoring Maximilian”s injunction

to keep his silence.

Salome did not appear to notice who had asked the question. “No. She died when I was

fourteen, pining for her lover, I think.”

“Who was your father, Salome?” Maximilian asked.

She gave a little shrug. “I don”t know. Not really. My mother would only say that he was

the loveliest man she had ever met, with copper hair and violet eyes, and a power so

extraordinary that—”

“No!” StarDrifter cried. “I can”t believe this!”

Maximilian ignored him. “And Hasweb”s father?”

Again that shrug. “I have no idea. Embeth never said.”

Now Maximilian looked at StarDrifter. “Well?”

“How do you know?” said StarDrifter, his voice hoarse with emotion.

“Because the SunSoars destroy lives so effectively that I cannot imagine that you have

not had a greater hand in the destruction of Salome”s life than what has occurred only in the past

few weeks.”

StarDrifter did not reply immediately, and by now every eye about the campfire was

trained on him.

“I was Embeth”s lover,” StarDrifter said eventually. “I was Hasweb”s father. I had no

idea Embeth was pregnant when she left Carlon. Salome, I”m sorry. I had no idea.”

“You are my grandfather?” she said.

StarDrifter made a helpless gesture with a hand. “I had no idea, Salome. I am sorry.”

“But she was your lover!” Salome said. “How could you leave her pregnant and not know

and not care?”

Maximilian thought of several highly cynical comments he could interject at this point,

but thought it better to remain silent. This was now between Salome and StarDrifter only.

StarDrifter was too emotionally drained to couch the truth in palatable words. “I didn”t

love her. Perhaps I liked her. I can”t really remember. She was just someone to have in my bed at

night. It was during the heady days of Axis” first wave of great success. He”d taken Carlon and

defeated his brother, Borneheld. Life was about celebrating. About getting drunk on song and

wine and success and taking to bed the woman you wanted. But the woman I wanted, Azhure,

was wedded to Axis, and so instead I took Embeth, Axis” old lover. It seemed fitting, somehow.”

He paused, and didn”t seem to realize the silence about the fire was thick with horror.

“She left Carlon at some point,” StarDrifter continued. “With Faraday, I think. I never

thought of her again.”

“Faraday being Axis” rejected lover, also pregnant at that stage with his child,”

BroadWing put in for the benefit of the non-Tencendorians among them who were not familiar

with the twists in the tale.

Maximilian closed his eyes momentarily. He couldn”t believe it.

“And my father?” said Salome. “Who was he?”

“Your father could have been no one else but the fabled Enchanter-Talon WolfStar

SunSoar,” said StarDrifter. “The description fits him perfectly. And WolfStar would have

known, somehow, that Embeth had left Carlon pregnant with my child. He would have known

Hasweb was my daughter. She was of SunSoar blood. He wouldn”t have been able to leave her

alone, and her seduction would have amused him. He would have known that at some point it

would cause havoc—and causing havoc was what WolfStar did best. The instant he laid eyes on

Hasweb he would have known her SunSoar blood. All SunSoars are pulled to each other. We felt

it, Salome. That”s why—”

“Just get on with it!” Salome hissed.

“I am your grandfather, Salome. WolfStar SunSoar, the greatest Enchanter the Icarii has

ever known, was your father. You are not only virtually full blood Icarii, but you are also

virtually full blood SunSoar. I don”t know what to do, Salome. I don”t know how to atone for

what I have done to your family. Hasweb…gods, I had another daughter, she would have been

an Enchanter, and I had no idea…no idea…nor that you…Salome, I don”t know what to say. I”m

sorry.”

For a long time no one said anything.

Then BroadWing gave a short laugh. “Trust the SunSoars to survive the destruction of

Tencendor in virtual full force. You are the heir to the Icarii throne, StarDrifter. You are our

Talon—an Enchanter-Talon. And now you have made an heir to succeed you, and on a hitherto

unknown granddaughter of yours and a daughter of the renegade WolfStar. I don”t know whether

to congratulate you, or to curse you.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The FarReach Mountains, Southern Kyros

StarDrifter sat numbed. It was late at night, and he stared across the campfire to

Salome”s blanketed form. Everyone was asleep—or pretending sleep—save himself, BroadWing

and Maximilian, both of whom sat with him, conversing in low tones as they shared a flask of

wine.

Earlier Maximilian and Venetia had spent some time with Salome. StarDrifter did not

know what they had said to her, but she”d eaten some food before lying down on the mattress of

heath that SongFlight had made for her, and pulled a blanket to her shoulders, and StarDrifter

supposed she was now asleep.

“Salome will be accompanying us,” Maximilian said.

“Maximilian—” StarDrifter began.

“What else do you suggest?” Maximilian said. “That we leave her here?”

“I wasn”t going to suggest that,” StarDrifter snapped. “Only that I take responsibility for

her. That I can do for her, at least.”

“If she will accept it,” BroadWing muttered.

“Good,” said Maximilian, “that”s one less problem I need to worry about.” There was a

glint of white as he smiled. “And I admit to feeling relieved that Salome is now your

responsibility, StarDrifter. Do try to keep her from murdering you.”

StarDrifter touched his cheek gingerly. “If she was going to murder, I think she would

have done so already.”

“Today has been quite the day for surprises,” BroadWing said. “If WolfStar is Salome”s

father, then should we fear her?”

WolfStar had caused mayhem, misery, and destruction among the Icarii, and even though

now everyone believed him dead (finally), even the mention of his name caused most Icarii to

shudder in horror.

StarDrifter gave a slight shrug. “I doubt it. Azhure was also WolfStar”s daughter, and she

was not to be feared.”

“And you are Salome”s grandfather,” Maximilian said. “I have heard that the Icarii do not

regard incest with the same degree of approbation as other races…but even so, StarDrifter, to

sleep with your granddaughter, and to father a child on her…”

Both BroadWing and StarDrifter looked at Maximilian in some mild surprise.

“Well, neither knew at the time,” said BroadWing.

“For gods” sakes,” said Maximilian. “You know now! It doesn”t give you any pause for

thought?”

“It is not a problem for us,” said BroadWing, glancing at StarDrifter before he spoke,

almost as if he wanted permission to respond. “Only sexual relations between first

blood—parents and children, and between siblings—is forbidden.”

Maximilian gave a somewhat bewildered shake of his head. “Still…I find it strange. And

what is this baby to you, StarDrifter? Child…or great-grandchild?”

“Child,” said StarDrifter. He paused, thinking. “Salome was willing, Maximilian—”

“But she had no idea then that she slept with her grandfather!”

StarDrifter gave a faint smile. “And even had she known then,” he said, “it would have

given her little cause for hesitation, save to add a certain tang to proceedings.”

And how different Salome was to Zenith, StarDrifter thought, remembering how he”d

pursued Zenith, and yet she could never overcome her own repulsion at sharing flesh with her

grandfather. Maybe it was WolfStar”s blood in Salome.

His smile widened, just fractionally, remembering that first time he and Salome had

coupled. That frantic, desperate union had been the mad, bad SunSoar blood roiling to the

surface. They had not been able to resist each other.

Then StarDrifter”s smile faded. And how sad that Zenith had not shared either the

madness or the badness.

“Do you know,” said BroadWing, “that today has given me more hope for our future than

any other day in the past five years. The Icarii have drifted directionless for all these years. We

have lost the majority of our people. We have lost our homeland. We have lost our enchantment.

We have lost the Star Dance. We have lost all purpose. And now? Now suddenly the SunSoars

are back. We have our Talon, and his—”

“For the stars” sakes, BroadWing,” StarDrifter said. “Let this go, I beg you. I am no more

your Talon than—”

BroadWing leaned over and gripped StarDrifter”s forearm. “You are our Talon,

StarDrifter! Accept it! You have enjoyed the benefits of SunSoar blood all these centuries, and

you will now accept the responsibility of it. The Icarii are desperate. Desperate! You—yes, curse

it, you—now have the responsibility, the blood, and the experience to give the Icarii direction

and purpose and leadership and a home. Your responsibility, StarDrifter. Yours.”

StarDrifter wrenched his arm free. “Me? Me? Look at me, BroadWing. I”ve never

accepted responsibility. I am just feckless StarDrifter—and, oh, how my parents named me well,

drifting aimlessly, taking pleasure in nothing but pleasure, and sowing aimless seeds of