The Dawn Star (36 page)

“And controlling.” Cobalt shifted his haunted gaze to her. “How do you think a man like that would feel if he discovered he couldn't sire an heir?”

Her heart was beating as hard as if she were running. “But he had a child. Dancer.”

Cobalt regarded her steadily. “Certainly he would never discover Dancer was actually the child of his valet, that the only reason he had a daughter was because his isolated, beaten wife had slept with another man.”

Mel stared at him. Had admitting he couldn't sire an heir been even worse to Stonebreaker than acknowledging as his heir a boy who didn't carry his blood? Saints help him, had he killed his own wife to keep that secret?

“Cobalt—” What Stonebreaker had inflicted on him the night he died was even worse than she had thought. “He lied to you. To hurt you.”

“It is only a story.” His voice caught. “Nothing more. In the story, the queen dies and the valet disappears.”

“I'm sorry,” she whispered.

“Perhaps the grandson would realize such a terrible story is a blessing.” Softly he said, “It would mean he doesn't carry the blood of the monster who drained his life for so many years.”

Mel wiped away a tear on her cheek. “That is a gift.”

“When I thought you had died—” Incredibly, his voice shook. “I realized how little anything else meant.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “It is time to let go of Stonebreaker.”

“Yes.” Her voice broke on the word. “It's time.”

They sat looking across the Rocklands, east to Taka Mal, west to Aronsdale and Harsdown, and the Misted Cliffs beyond. Toward the future. The daughter of a farm girl and the son of a stable hand, the grandson of a valet: Together, they had come to rule the largest empire ever established in the settled lands.

O
n a bright winter day in Quaaz, the people gathered in a grand plaza, below a balcony of the Topaz Palace. It was a cool day, at least for Taka Mal, enough so that some of the hundreds who crammed the plaza wore shirts under their tunics. The sun shone in the sky, and musicians played rollicking tunes. Street vendors circulated with delicacies imported from Aronsdale.

The queen appeared with her consort, that golden prince the people found so easy to love, with his quick grin, his music, and his lively charm. The queen stood tall, a dark-haired beauty in topaz silks. She cradled in her arms the baby her people had come to see, just born the day before. Vizarana Jade held up her daughter and her heir, and the people cheered.

Drummer held a cube in his hand. No one could see; indeed, it looked as if he were simply standing with his wife and child, beaming. But topaz light surrounded him and spread to his family. A luminous dragon rose into the sky, breathing golden light, and the people roared their approval. The Dragon-Sun had blessed the birth.

So the heir to the Topaz Throne came into the world, loved by her parents and celebrated by her people.

On a bright winter day in the Misted Cliffs, snow lay thick on the land, glistening and white. People gathered before their hearths while outside their homes, lakes and rivers froze. The sun shone in a crystalline blue sky, and icicles hung from eaves.

In the Diamond Palace, in the royal suite, the Empress and Emperor sat on their bed. Mel cradled her infant son, and Cobalt leaned next to her. So she offered him the baby. Uncertain and more careful than he had ever been in his life, he took the tiny boy into his huge arms and held him with wonder.

This child would be heir to the Sapphire, Jaguar, Alzire, Blueshire, and Onyx Thrones. His mother was the most powerful mage in the settled lands, a war mage as well as a healer. His father was a warrior of such ferocity, many believed him a warlock. What Mel and Cobalt bequeathed to their child, only time would tell. For now, they quietly rejoiced for the health and strength of their young son.

Finally Cobalt Escar Chamberlight put to rest the demons that had haunted his soul.