Anabelle crawled into bed beside me. "I have a sleeping tonic for you, my love," she whispered, and offered me a bottle.
"I don't think I'll need it," I replied. "I could sleep for a year."
"Yes, but this will help you heal further while you do," she told me. "You'll sleep deeply enough that you won't feel any further pain." I saw the love in her eyes, and I trusted her. I so drank deeply of the potion.
Sure enough, hardly before I could say "Thank you", I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When I awoke, Anabelle's prediction had come to pass. While I still felt weak, there was no more pain. I looked down at my bare torso and saw that there was only a faint scar visible from what had been a deep and jagged wound that would certainly have killed me on the spot had it been delivered while I was in my human form.
I looked around the chamber. My mother and Anabelle were asleep on makeshift beds by the hearth. I wondered how much time had passed since I'd fallen asleep; I ran my hand over my face and felt a great deal of growth on my cheeks. I estimated at least three or four days' worth, at least.
Neither woman could have been sleeping very deeply, for as soon as I stirred any further they both sprang up.
"Caside," Rhiannon breathed, rushing to my side. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand over mine.
"Mother," I whispered hoarsely. I realized how thirsty I was.
As if reading my thoughts, Anabelle appeared with a mug of water. I drank thirstily, then held the mug out for more. After I'd had a second drink, I felt strong enough to speak.
"What happened?" I asked. "How long have I been asleep?"
"It's been four days," Anabelle told me. She slid into bed beside me and placed a light hand on my chest.
"How do you feel, my son?" my mother asked.
"Slightly weakened, but much better. I feel no pain," I assured her. Then I turned to Anabelle.
"How did you know where to find me?" I asked.
Anabelle looked uncomfortable, and exchanged a look with Rhiannon. "I … heard you," she told me.
I sat up. "What do you mean, you heard me? How could you hear me?"
"I heard you in my head, and my heart. I knew where you were. I asked Morgan to take me to you."
"But how did you hear me? I was far away."
"Did you not hear me, while you were far away and battling Arthur?"
"So that was real?" I asked. "For a time I was certain that I'd imagined the entire event."
My Queen shook her head and smiled gently. "No, Caside. As you knew, I could hear you when you sat beside me and spoke. But, somehow, I could hear you with my thoughts while you were out there. Some dual nature in the magic Arthur used to curse the Heart must have opened another plane of existence on which we could communicate. I heard you just as clearly as you heard me. And I felt it the moment you pierced the stone with the sword."
"But when you awoke?" I asked. "After you had awakened you managed to find me. The spell had been broken. How can that be?"
Anabelle shrugged, simply. "When I awoke, my love, I was possessed of the ability to hear your cries. I know not how or why. Perhaps the spell that froze me imparted some magic upon me which carried on even after the curse was lifted. Or perhaps … " she placed a gentle hand over her belly, " … perhaps the child heard you. Perhaps the dragon heard the call of another. I know not."
"And you healed me. How did that come to pass?"
She and Rhiannon shared a knowing smile from across the bed. "There are many talents of which I am possessed, and of which you are still unaware, dear one." She laughed lightly, that tinkling charming me as it always had.
She continued. "I have always been a healer, my love," she explained. "My talents have developed over time, yes, but they were born in me. When I was a young girl, a gypsy foretold of my abilities. I healed small animals, rodents, snakes. Then I moved on to larger animals and finally humans. You are the first dragon I ever healed, however; you were by far my largest challenge." She smiled lovingly.
"So you are an enchantress!" I looked to my mother, who laughed.
"Not exactly an enchantress, son, but yes – she is possessed of power. We have been working together to further develop her talents since she first stepped foot inside the walls of the kingdom. I knew there had to be something more to her than met the eye."
"And when I awoke, my power was suddenly stronger," Anabelle told me. "Just as I could hear you, I could … feel you, somehow. I knew you were in great pain, and that you were on the brink of death." Her eyes filled with tears, which I reached over and brushed from her cheeks.
"But I did not die, thanks to you." I marveled at this woman seated beside me, who was such a beautiful and talented mate. Together, we truly did create one powerful whole.
It was then that Morgan entered the chamber. He beamed when he saw me awake and sitting up. "Brother," he said warmly. "It does my heart good to see you looking so well."
"Yes," I said ruefully, rubbing a hand over my bearded cheek. "I would imagine that I did not look so well when last we met. Thank you," I told him, very seriously, "for everything. You have truly earned the place of honor on my council. I know that such honors mean little to you, and in the face of what you have done to protect me and my family and the kingdom, it is small thanks. But it is the only way I can start."
Morgan smiled. "I understand, brother. And I thank you."
He filled me in, briefly, on the state of the army. We had lost nearly 100 brave men; but, as Morgan pointed out, Arthur's army had been known to wipe out thousands of men in a single day. We had fared better than any of us had predicted or even hoped.
"The opposing army simply vanished," Morgan explained. "It must have happened the moment you destroyed the Heart. Just as suddenly as they'd appeared, they disappeared."
"Thank the gods for that," I said.
"And what's better," Morgan added, "in no battle had Arthur been defeated. That is the true victory, and we owe it to you, Caside."
"It was not me alone," I reminded him. "I had the help of many. My mate, for one," I said, clasping Anabelle's hand tighter in my own. "Along with Gaeth and Syeira. Somehow Gaeth also knew of the Heart's power; I had only come to the conclusion shortly before I went out to face Arthur. It was Gaeth who provided me the stone."
"Yes," Rhiannon told me. "He explained after you had gone that he realized the connection in time to retrieve the Heart from the Druids; remember, they kept it to examine after Anabelle's illness first came on." I nodded. "He placed an enchantment on the satchel which he hoped would conceal the Heart long enough for you to destroy it without Arthur becoming any the wiser. He only wished he'd had the time to explain his methods to you before you flew away."
I grimaced ruefully. "Yes, had I need a bit more patient I could have saved myself a lot of pain and the threat of near-death. Remind me of that the next time my impatience threatens to be the end of me." We all laughed.
"Still, even if I had met my end, it would have been worthwhile if only because I managed to end the existence of that vile creature before death came," I said, grimly. I remembered how he had sneered at me, how he had mocked my love and my family. How he had so mercilessly murdered my beloved father. Yes, his death had been warranted – and was deeply satisfying to me.
I felt my mother stir slightly at my words, however, from her seat beside me on the bed. "What is it, Mother?" I asked.
She looked as though she'd rather not speak, but I pressed her nonetheless. "My sons … and my daughter," she said, with a loving look at Anabelle. "I have not wished to take away from the happy mood today, and was hoping that what I have felt and what I have seen in my dreams was untrue. But the visions remain, no matter how I try to ignore them or stop them."
My blood felt cold. "Tell us what you've seen," I prompted. I felt Anabelle's hand tighten over mine.
Rhiannon looked from one of us to the other. "My dears, I do not believe Arthur to be truly dead."
Anabelle gasped softly. Morgan's tanned face went pale. Only I was able to speak. "Mother, I watched him fall. I saw it. And the moment he did, I felt Anabelle awaken. I still know not how it came to pass, but I felt the spell lift. And I spied with my own eyes his body lying on the rocks below the cliff. There is no denying that evidence."
My mother nodded. "Yes, I have no doubt that this is the case. Arthur was mortally wounded, thanks to your bravery. But I still feel … his force. His power. It is weakened, no doubt. He is extremely weak now. It will take many years – a lifetime, perhaps – for him to recover what he has lost. He has not the strength or the love surrounding him that you have, my son. He had no healer to close his wounds, nor a brother to carry him home. He has no care at all, and no one to bolster him. It is likely that he will retreat for a very long time."