The Hammer of the Sun Read Free Page A

and Kara approaching he rose at once, smiling, and greeted them with his usual slightly stiff good nature.
    "My master, my lady, come and grace my table! I'm glad to see you so early, Elof; much must be settled today ere the shipyards can begin their labours, and with Ils away our wisest smith should advise me - "
    Kara laughed. "Then you will excuse me, will you not, my lord Keryn, and you, Elof? You know such matters have little hold upon my mind. I'll breakfast with our friends within." She kissed Elof lightly and glided down the steps into the cool depths of the halls; the men watched her go. Elof a little ruefully. Kermorvan smiled.
    "She adorns our halls. It is good to see that you and she have still your share of the happiness we have found -"
    Elof slumped down into a chair so hard that its light frame protested. "Do we?"
    Kermorvan sat down more slowly, and his misty blue gaze grew suddenly piercing. "A tale reached me but moments since," he remarked with dry disapproval. "A wild tale, such as the watch are wont to dream up at a dull night's ending…" Elof groaned faintly. Then the king's stern features were suddenly illumined by a mischevious twinkle. "I can only say that you both look remarkably fresh! And while I'm no authority, I think it is hardly so that love lessens…"
    Elof felt his scowl harden. "Our love, no! But…" He hesitated, but his need to speak, to mould words out of his inner blackness, was too great. "It is our trust I fear for! And Kara's safety! Kermorvan, she was seeking to escape me, I am sure of it!"
    Kermorvan sat up, startled. " Escape you? Talk sense, man - "
    "I mean it! She changed, flew, I woke and followed. But if I had not woken, what then, what then? How far would she have flown? And where? To whom? Kermorvan, there is another voice calls her, of that I am sure!"
    "Another voice…"Kermorvan's face darkened once again, and his voice took on an edge that belied its quietness. "She who mastered her of old, you mean? Yes, that would not surprise me. Inevitable that Louhi would try to summon her back. The Lady of the Ice is hardly one to forgive or forget, were the thing snatched from her less precious, or less…"
    "Less loved!" Elof heard himself blurt out, and the bitterness lay like metal on his tongue.
    Kermorvan inclined his head sympathetically, yet a little distantly, as if to set himself apart from Elof s jealousy. "What of that? It is past. Whom Kara loves, that is what matters, that is what must counter the call. That, strengthened by your love. Your trust…"
    Elof flushed. "That alone was never enough to win her free of Louhi! Not even though she had my arm-ring, with all the virtues I set upon it… "
    "Not while you were apart. But from the moment she saw you once more, she began to struggle. You called upon that ring. And she triumphed."
    "Aye, for a moment. Then I had to hunt her down…"
    "It was the moment that mattered!" said Kermorvan sharply. "That set you free, to free her! Do you remember, I was there! I saw!" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "And that was when you hardly knew one another, when she could scarcely believe your love was possible. Now you have had years together, happy years, the links will be stronger - "
    "But strong enough?" blazed Elof. "Dare I trust her, for her own sake?"
    "If they are not strong enough, then seeking to tighten her bonds may only weaken them further." Kermorvan smiled thinly. "Even I can see that, little versed as I am in matters of the heart. If you doubt her strength, lend her your own; do not force it upon her. Have patience, wait! There lies the best counsel I can give you. That, and don't forget your food." He gestured to the table at his side, which held dishes of smoked meat, cornbread, curds and fruit. "Now, about the Alaven's refit. The shipwrights report that the old tackle will not bear the new rig. We cannot rely on Ils returning in time, and other than she, only you truly understand shipwork - "
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