The Trials of Gideon Book 2: Steal the Dark

Chapter 13: The end?

We return home to Wales. The Duke of Conwy and Gareth are more than happy to hear the news of the bluff.
"You have to draw us a portrait of Henry's face," Gareth laughs.
"I shall, I promise it was unbridled rage. He knew he'd been tricked seconds before it happened," I say.
"He never imagined the Bastard would simply run, completing the Iliad analogy," Oisin says, laughing.
"How did they get out though if you were in the castle?" The Duke asks.
"Oh, a glamour. Simple," Oisin says.
"They didn't leave for hours. Denis and Violet entered and joined Henry's men when we came. They did the spell to make the Bastard disappear, then gave him a glamour along with their own, to join his men. First chance they got they bolted, well before Courtenay got through screening everyone," I say.
"Which I helped with, as unhelpfully as possible," Oisin says.
"Brilliant," Gareth says, toasting us, "May they give him a merry chase through France."
"Oh, I'm sure they shall," I grin.
We have dinner with the others, Elis is mostly entertained by how annoyed Courtenay was over the entire duel. Rhiannon is equally enthused about the general inconveniencing of the pair. We have a private dinner, so the kids are with us. Lowri leans on me and she tells me about her lessons. Myrddin sits with Elis the only person he trusts not to spill food or wine on his pretty clothes, something his mother and I apparently do to him. Kat curls up in her mother's lap and falls asleep before long, and I carry her to bed.
A normal night, laughing with my family. Oisin drapes his arm around my shoulders. Dancer and Sadie make me tell them three times how I could tell the difference between the Bastard and his cousin. My confrontation with my mother, and all my fears, are satisfyingly far away in my mind. I'm home. And I'm happy. I don't have to fight anymore. We did win.
The evening draws late, and we all say our goodbyes. Rhiannon and Sadie both crush me in a hug. Myrddin is not asleep but he consents to go with them for stories before bed. Lowri vanishes with her Uncles so that's probably gonna be destructive which is great.
Oisin and I retire to my room at the top of the tower.
"A job well done. We solved the riddle, saved the Templars, and the day, right? We even found something better for King Henry to do than harass the French," Oisin says, sitting down on his side of the bed.
"One loose end," I say, holding up the ring from my pocket.
"What's that?" He asks.
"The amulet that Denis told me to keep, the one he said linked to where the Bastard went in time. Except the Bastard got enough strength to come back to us," I say.
"Right—so he didn't say where he was?" Oisin frowns.
"Precisely," I say, nodding.
"So?" He shrugs.
"I usually touch these things without consulting anyone. As a habit. Because all my life, I got told what I wanted or what made me happy was wrong, so I figured I'd better do the fun thing before anyone could stop me. But I realize that's not my life anymore. I have a family now, that cares about me, so. I'm asking," I say, holding up the ring, "I'm ready to ask."
"Go on," Oisin smiles.
"Do you want to do this with me?" I ask.
"Go on the next great adventure? Count me in," he smiles, curling his hand over mine.
And together, we feed magic into the amulet.
The familiar rush surrounds me. And I fall to the floor of a castle. Stone is beneath my hands. And I can hear a fire going. Oisin lies next to me, his hand still curled in mine. We both begin to push ourselves up, looking around the sparse room.
"Thank the gods you're here."

The End