there tonight but anyone pissing in the pool gets staked out for the jaguars. Oh, and Ben, remind the firewood party to wear gloves and be careful where they’re putting their hands. If it moves when you pick it up, it isn’t a stick.’
Ben-Foran grinned. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘Good. Now get to it. The light’ll fade quickly.’ Yron turned and strode back into the glorious cool of the temple. ‘Dear Gods, what did I do to land this dog’s arse of a command?’
Chapter 8
Erienne felt sick. The nausea spread through her whole body and made her head swim. It knotted her stomach and quivered in her limbs. The blood was pounding in her neck so hard she thought it would burst through her skin. She reached out a pale and shaking hand towards the door handle then let it drop, having to lean on the frame to steady herself. She wasn’t sure whether this was fear or hate. Probably it was a mixture of the two. And she could let them see neither.
She gathered her strength, grasped the door handle and pushed open the door, stepping inside before her mind forced her body to run.
‘Erienne, how delightful to see you at last.’
And there they were, the two of them, sat in deep, fabric-upholstered chairs, their legs propped up on cushioned footstools. They looked frail and old and a sickness had disfigured their skin but their eyes burned bright. They should both be dead. Like her daughter. Yet here they were, greeting her like a grandchild, which to them she probably was.
‘This is not a social call,’ said Erienne, hardening her voice. ‘I will not exchange pleasantries with those who orchestrated the murder of my daughter.’
‘We grieve for your loss—’ began Myriell.
‘Don’t you dare!’ Erienne’s shout caused them both to flinch. She felt tears well up but refused to let her sorrow get the better of her.
‘Don’t ever tell me you grieve. Dear Gods drowning, but it was you who let her die. And you didn’t have to.’
‘We felt—’
‘You didn’t have to,’ repeated Erienne deliberately. ‘You panicked when the Dordovans attacked. I could have saved her. You should have trusted The Raven and you should have trusted me. But you didn’t.’
Two seasons she had been waiting to say these words. Two seasons where bottomless grief and gut-wrenching loathing had robbed her of the strength to face them as she wanted to. The nausea eased and the nerves steadied. She felt in control of herself.
‘But you would have died doing so,’ said Myriell.
‘To die for my daughter would have been the greatest honour of my life. I’m her mother. What the hell else would you expect of me?’
Erienne moved further into the room. The door to the kitchen opened but her scowl sent Nerane scurrying back.
‘We expected you to fulfil your belief in the greater necessity of maintaining the One magic,’ said Cleress.
‘My, my, how divorced you are from reality.’ Erienne’s words dripped like venom as she advanced on the Al-Drechar’s chairs to stand over them, looking down on their pitifully weak forms. ‘Did you ever have children of your own or have you always been as dried up and infertile as you are now?’
She rested her hands on the arms of Myriell’s chair and leaned in close. ‘I would have done anything to save my child’s life. Being prepared to die for her was easy. And your One magic didn’t even figure.’
There was silence as the two women stared each other out, Erienne finally straightening and stepping back as Myriell broke the gaze.
‘So why have you come to us?’ asked Cleress. ‘Just to vent your feelings or is there more?’
Erienne turned on her. ‘And do you not think I have the right? Do you really think in your senile minds that I might have come to see your actions as right? You sicken me.’
‘No, we don’t think that,’ said Cleress. ‘And we don’t expect your forgiveness either. And yes, we both bore children. But the One is bigger and more critical than any of us.’
‘Try telling that to Lyanna!’ stormed Erienne, the tears threatening. She felt overwhelmed by their calm detachment. They were cold.
‘And she lives on within you now but you deny it,’ said Myriell.
‘Do you think me completely bereft of sense?’ Erienne shook her head. ‘I felt what you forced from Lyanna into me and I understand why she had such difficulty controlling it. But it is not in any way some essence of my daughter. It is a malignant force,