Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T he air was heavy with memory, and the only sound was the rain and rumble of thunder overhead. Rosa stood frozen as the Lord of the Hunt raised his huge hand and touched one dirty finger to her forehead.

"Remember," he commanded, and the fog in her mind cleared.

Rosa could smell the still warm bread that she had taken from Glenna's kitchen, clutched tight in one small hand. Outside, Gwyn had stood in her yard, Dormach at his side.

"Child, why do you summon the Hunt?" Gwyn demanded.

Dormach had sniffed at her suspiciously, but she lived every day with the Vanes guard dogs, and some were almost as big as Dormach. She pulled off a corner of the bread and offered it to him.

"I like dogs," she had said with a squeal as Dormach's tongue had swiped the bread from her tiny hand.

"You summoned me because you like dogs?" Gwyn demanded.

"What does summon mean?" Rosa asked, patting Dormach's head.

Gwyn made a noise in his throat that would have frightened many people. Rosa knew that trick. She had seen Mr. Eli do it more than once, and Gwyn didn't frighten her.

"I felt you…call to me," he explained slowly.

"How did I do that?" She had a mouthful of the bread before holding it out to him. "Want some?"

"You offer me hospitality? Me ?" Gwyn didn't seem as angry as he sounded.

"What does hospitality mean?" she asked.

Gwyn let out a sigh and crouched down beside her. He took the outstretched bread, studied it contemplatively before putting some in his mouth.

"Is it true you don't let girls ride with the Hunt?"

"There are women."

Rosa nodded firmly. "Good. I ask to go hunting, and no one will let me because I'm too small…and a girl."

"You have some growing up to do," Gwyn acknowledged, "but I don't see why you should be denied your chance for blood."

"Will you take me? I could ride Dormach."

Gwyn made a sound like a strangled laugh. "Dormach is not for riding."

"Then can I ride with you?"

"No. No one rides with me. Their duty and place is to follow."

"I never get to do anything. You're just as bad as Mr. Eli." Rosa folded her arms.

"I am infinitely worse, geneth ." Gwyn studied her slowly. "You have given me courtesy and hospitality, so I will promise you this, Rosamund Wylt. If our paths should ever cross again, I will let you ride with my Hunt. Should you die before that day, I will hunt your soul so that it will be part of my war band. There is no fairer bargain I can offer you than this."

"Promise?" Rosa said, holding out her hand.

Gwyn enclosed his hands around hers. "We have an accord."

Standing in the storm, Dormach growling and Gwyn hulking over her, Rosa did not feel like the fearless seven-year-old she had been.

"Our paths have crossed again, and you bring my prey to me as tribute," Gwyn said, eyes flashing to Merlin. "For this, I will honor you, Rosamund Wylt."

"No, sorry, Merlin's not for you," Rosa said, moving between them. "He's my kin and has come with me to help me bargain with you."

"You push my fondness for you too far, geneth ," Gwyn said. "You are still braver than what is wise."

"Hear her out at least," Merlin replied, and Gwyn turned his burning eyes onto him.

"You will remain silent!" The Lord of the Hunt commanded, and the stones around them hummed with power and anger.

"Please," Rosa whispered. "You promised when next we met, we would ride together."

"Careful, my lady," Arthur cautioned behind her.

Rosa wasn't listening. She was seven again, fascinated and horrified, with a dark part of her vibrating with dangerous admiration. The stories of Gwyn had always been some of her favorites. She wasn't a child anymore, even if he insisted on calling her girl. She knew one thing for certain. If she was going to save Balthasar, she was going to need Gwyn's help, and she would lie, manipulate, and cheat her way to get it if she had to.

"Return the hospitality I once gave you. Take us with you, unharmed. I'll tell you a story and make you a bargain that will give you your heart's desire," Rosa said as confidently as she could. It was lucky that living with the Vanes had taught her never to be intimidated by a man's scowl because the very thunder was silenced by the look he gave her.

"What would you know of my heart, Rosamund Wylt?" Gwyn hissed.

"I know it's filled with vengeance, as is mine. Let me ride with you," Rosa said. She held up her hand to Gwyn. After a long hesitation, he grasped it, and she felt the thrum of his magic burning under his hot skin. He lifted her up onto the horse behind him before gesturing to Merlin and Arthur.

"Bring them. Make sure Merlin is guarded. He's not to be trusted," Gwyn commanded.

"Good to know your reputation reaches so far, you mad wizard," Arthur whispered.

"Call me a wizard again, and I'll make you sleep for another thousand years," Merlin managed before two guards came forward, and they were hauled onto horses.

Rosa was unsure if she should hold onto Gwyn, but when they started to move, she didn't have a choice. She grabbed him tightly around his waist as his faerie mount bolted through the darkness. Trees whipped past them until she realized they were riding along sea cliffs, the dark churning water turning white with every flash of lightning. She stopped feeling so terrified and began to relish the sensation of speed, power, and the wild violence of the ride.

Gwyn's magic spilled out around them, and the horse banked right before leaping straight off the cliff and into the air. Rosa looked behind her, and the rest of the Hunt charged fearlessly after them. She couldn't see Merlin or Arthur, but in a weird way, she trusted that Gwyn would ensure they were safe enough.

What had Merlin done to him?

Merlin had purposely not mentioned the bounty to Bleddyn, knowing he would be thrown into a dungeon for his own safety. It didn't surprise her that Merlin had managed to piss off the Lord of the Hunt—he would've put Christ's patience to the test—but why risk Gwyn's wrath by summoning him?

It dawned too late on Rosa that maybe Merlin wasn't as calm and clearheaded about Nimue being taken as what he made out. Would he really do something as stupid as to hand himself over to Gwyn on the slim chance he was given an audience? Yes, he most definitely would.

Rosa turned her head to face the wind, the roaring drowning out all thoughts, but one. How was she going to stop Gwyn from killing them all?

Rosa let the energy of the Hunt overwhelm her, submitting to the madness that called out beneath her grief. She wallowed in it, and for the first time since Balthasar was taken, the pain in her chest eased. Her magic mingled with Gwyn's, and the booming of drums and hooves, the keening of hunting horns and prey, rolled through her, filling her with the pulsating roar of battle.

The sword at her side sang out to be used, to clash steel against steel, to cleave her enemies and drown in their blood. Time seemed to blur, and all that mattered was the thrill of the chase and the wildness of the forest.

It was barely dawn when the Hunt started to slow, and they landed in a forest, falling down from the sky in a seamless wave. Rosa struggled to untangle her magic from Gwyn's, a part of her unwilling to let go. They came to the mouth of a massive cave, and Gwyn slid from the saddle before lifting her down.

"Come, Rosamund Wylt, there is much we need to discuss."

"Where are Merlin and Arthur?" she asked, searching the fierce warrior faces for any sign of them.

"They are safe enough, and I don't wish to talk to them. Only you." Gwyn turned towards the cave. "I give you a day to state your case to me."

Rosa followed him into the dark entrance of the cave, trying not to feel like she was walking into Hell's mouth. With every step Gwyn took, torches flared along the cave walls until they came to a cavern with a clear, steaming pool. A bed of furs was piled in one corner, and logs to sit on were placed around a large burning fire pit. Rosa shrugged off her pack and sat down next to the flames, unsure of how to proceed next.

Gwyn seemed unperturbed by the silence. He pulled the horned helm from his head, and for the first time, Rosa saw the face of the Lord of the Hunt. Long black hair hung in a tangled braid over one massive shoulder, his black beard was trimmed short over skin as brown as chestnuts. Silvery predator eyes were bright as they looked at her, and she had the uneasy feeling of being stalked. Without a flicker of embarrassment, he stripped off his clothes, and Rosa hastily looked away, only looking back when he had settled in the hot spring.

"Do you always negotiate in the bath?" she couldn't resist asking.

"You could always join me," he replied with a rumble of laughter.

"Uh, flattered, but no, thank you." Rosa was starting to wonder what he thought negotiations entailed.

"Rest easy. I can see your heart belongs to another," he said. "I suppose he is the reason you have come to me? Only love can push someone to such desperate means, especially when their cousin is the treacherous Merlin Wylt."

"Can I ask why you put a bounty out on him? I know he can be an annoying prick, but he's not a bad guy deep down."

"He destroyed a place most sacred to me," Gwyn growled.

The penny dropped, and Rosa groaned. "Glastonbury. Of course. Gwyn, he didn't mean for that to happen."

"He was a foolish child with too much power, and the magic in that place that he drained with his battle against Morgan belonged to me. Then he put his own back there, sealing me off from it forever. That land has been mine for more than six millennia, and he killed it." Gwyn rose out of the water with a splash, and Rosa made a point of maintaining eye contact.

"He didn't know what else to do. I can assure you, it wasn't purposely to keep you out," Rosa tried to explain, her mind racing. "You have every right to be angry at his stupidity. Honestly, it surprises me how stupid he can be after such a long life, but please don't kill him. We can fix all of it. I swear to you."

Gwyn joined her by the fire, dressed in clean homespun clothes, and handed her a squat cup made of horn. Rosa sniffed the liquid suspiciously.

"Don't insult my honor. It is honey wine, not poison. It would be breaking the terms of our parley to do such a thing."

"I'm in the Aos Si. One can never be too careful." Rosa smiled before having a mouthful.

Gwyn watched her carefully from across the fire. "Tell me what this is about, little Rosa," he commanded. "You are the last person I thought to encounter in this world. You are no longer human, but something…other. A creature made of magic. How did this happen to you? You had magic as a child, but not this much."

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to make him understand her plea otherwise, Rosa told Gwyn her story of the last year when she returned to Gwaed Lyn after a lifetime away from it. He hissed but didn't interrupt when she spoke of being taken to the Seelie Courts and everything that the queen put her through. He laughed outright in approval when she told him how she killed Ryn Eurion and unsheathed Gaeaf Storom for him to study.

For an old god, Rosa found Gwyn surprisingly easy to talk to. She opened up as she hadn't been able to in a long time. She told him how Merlin had returned with his memories back, of Nimue and the battle with the queen, and everything that happened since, including the terrifying feeling that she was starting to go mad.

"So the lost Seren Du has returned at last to the Unseelie lands." Gwyn rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "That's good. That witch has been left unchecked for far too long. Her magic is breaking the balance of the Aos Si. It won't be long before it explodes in her face. It will serve her right." His silver eyes darkened to steel as he spoke of Aeronwen.

"This's why we need your help. I know that she betrayed you?—"

"Do you?" he said, the sharp edge of a threat in his voice.

"I-I know the rumor," Rosa admitted.

"Yes? And this rumor, did it mention how she trained with me for years, stealing away my spells for her own before she cast her curse and kept me from the Seelie grounds ever since?" His voice was a furious growl, and Rosa's magic shrank away from the angry power pouring from him.

"How could she keep someone like you out? It makes no sense."

"She had taken some of my blood and hair over the time of our…courtship. She used it in her curse to lock me out of the Seelie lands. She knew I wouldn't accept her betrayal and would want revenge for the magic she stole from me. Some were given freely, but it was never enough for her. Power has always been the thing she cared about most. I was too enamored to see otherwise."

"Help me put an end to her once and for all, Gwyn. She's going to destroy these lands if we don't stop her. I want back what's mine. I want her to pay for the centuries of pain she has caused. She's killing Unseelie, one at a time, so she can steal their magic. Her own people are suffering, and she doesn't care." Rosa reached out and placed a hand on his forearm.

"I can break the spell that's keeping you out, and with the help of the Hunt, we'll have the numbers to destroy her golden knights. We can fix what she has broken, so you are never denied the hunting grounds again. I'll give you her head myself. I promise you. Would that not be worth it?"

Gwyn looked down at her hand, and Rosa quickly removed it.

"You are young and passionate, but you will have to give me more than that for me to want to get involved in this petty war."

"Well, what else do you want?" Rosa threw up her hands in frustration. "Spit it out already."

"In addition to the queen's head and access to the Seelie lands, I would like Glastonbury returned to me, filled with my magic again and access to the human realm." Rosa's heart leaped up into her throat as he studied her. "And I want you in the Hunt."

"I beg your pardon? I'm not a part of any deal," Rosa stated firmly, her anger flaring. "Did you forget that I'm doing all of this to get Balthasar back? When it comes down to it, Gwyn, I couldn't give two shits about the Aos Si and whatever ancient blood tie bullshit wars that happen here. I'm selfish and angry, and I want the queen dead and what's mine returned to me. Let me be very fucking honest with you, great and powerful Lord. If I have to do that without the help of the Hunt, if I have to take this sword of kingship and use its magic to break the fucking Seelie lands apart to get Balthasar back, I will do it." Rosa swallowed a mouthful of bitter, angry tears. There was no way she was going to cry in front of Gwyn ap Nudd. "Why would you want me anyway? I don't get it. I'm not even a very good warrior. It's a stupid thing to ask for."

Gwyn lifted her chin, so she had nowhere to look but into his ancient eyes. "It is because all your life you have had people trying to convince you that you are prey, when you are a predator. I felt it in you as a child, the wildness and the darkness, and I feel it in you now. Did you not wonder why of all the men you could have fallen in love with, you chose Leiddiad the killer? You are drawn to it. That is why you feel no guilt for the Seelie you have slain. You liked it. You like the power you now have, because for once in your life, you can be who you are, instead of what you were told you had to be."

"I'm not a sadist. I've only killed Seelie who were trying to kill me. I wanted to be a chef. Can you believe that? Never in a million years would I have imagined this is where I'd end up," Rosa said with a bitter laugh. "Maybe you are right, and I've always felt comfortable with the Vanes because I had that same streak of darkness in me. I don't care, Gwyn. I'm still not going to be a part of your deal."

"And what if Balthasar is dead?" Gwyn asked. "You said yourself that you felt the blood connection to him break. What if he's already rotting in a pit of bodies, dead by Aeronwen's hand? What will you have fought for then?"

Rosa took a deep, steadying breath. "How about this—if we defeat Aeronwen and we find that Balthasar is really dead, I mean a body to prove it without a doubt, then I will willingly join you and the Hunt."

"What about Merlin and the rest of your family? You think they will just let you go?"

"They won't have a say in the matter." Rosa touched her chest where the dark chasm had been forming over the past few weeks. "If Balthasar's dead, there's nothing left for me in that life anyway. I wouldn't want to stay…and you know how much I enjoyed riding with the Hunt today. My magic was tied in yours. I know you felt it."

"And that is another reason I will agree to your terms." Gwyn took a knife from his belt and cut his calloused palm. "I, Gwyn ap Nudd, swear to you, Rosamund Wylt of the Seren Du, that the Hunt will come to your aid in your war against Aeronwen the Autumn Queen. In exchange, the head of the queen shall be mine, I will have hunting rights restored for the Seelie lands, Glastonbury will become my domain again with only my magic in the land, the bounty on Myrddin Wylt rescinded, and should Balthasar Seren Du be dead, I will have you as a general in my Hunt."

Rosa took the knife and cut her palm before placing it on top of Gwyn's. "So be it." The Unseelie side of her flared at the smell of their blood, the sudden desire to taste the memories of his long life threatening to overwhelm her. There was magic in it, calling out and sealing the bargain they had just made. She removed her hand from his.

"It is done," Gwyn said. "You won't regret making this bargain with me. For now, I will rest. I suggest you wash and do the same. We have a long ride tonight." Rosa was still staring at her bloody hand when he carried some furs and placed them by her.

"Thank you, Gwyn," she managed, her tongue heavy in her mouth.

"Maybe you should come and sleep with me to keep warm." He smiled, and it was seductive as death itself.

"Maybe I should stab you in your sleep and just take the Hunt by right of conquest," Rosa said.

"And you wonder why I want you as a general."

Once his snores were echoing around the cavern, Rosa stripped quickly and got into the hot spring. Now that the tension of the bargaining was over, she felt every single ache and pain in her body. Twisting in the water, she saw the huge bruises that were beginning to blossom from her fall through the temple floor.

Rosa wondered how Merlin and Arthur were doing, but she wasn't game enough to try to leave the caves. She sat in a shadowy corner of the pools and allowed herself to cry a few sad and angry tears.

Rosa hadn't lied to Gwyn; if Balthasar was dead, she wouldn't return to Gwaed Lyn. How could she go back to that life without him in it? Knowing it was the truth made her cry a little more. At least in the Hunt, she could forget who she was. Rosa pushed the thought away. Balthasar is not dead , she reminded herself firmly. She said it over and over in her mind like a mantra, willing it to be so. She wasn't going to roll over and give in to her despair until she held his lifeless corpse in her hands. She wouldn't end up like Eirianwen and Bleddyn, centuries lost because she hadn't done everything in her power to be sure.

It wasn't until Rosa was dressed in clean clothes and wringing water from her long hair by the fire that she realized that despite his snores, Gwyn's eyes were open and watching her. Fucking gods . Rosa fought the urge to hurl a rock at him.

Pretending she hadn't seen Gwyn, Rosa rolled herself in furs and went to sleep, hoping that wherever he was, Balthasar would know she was missing him.

Merlin watched helplessly as Rosa followed Gwyn into a cave in the mountainside. He took a step forward when Arthur grabbed him by the bicep.

"Don't do it, Merlin. This isn't the time to pick a fight," Arthur warned in a tense whisper. The warriors around them had all moved their hands to their weapons as if sensing Merlin had every intention of going after their god.

"I can't just leave her in there alone."

"Yes, you can. Rosa is Bleddyn's child as much as you are. Just because she doesn't have a dick doesn't mean she can't handle Gwyn on her own," Arthur said. "You remember that time we sent Gwenhwyfar to treat with the Saxon King? Same thing."

"It is not! Gwen was dealing with a mortal, and Rosa is stuck with a god. A promiscuous god of hunting, fighting, and fucking, to be precise."

Arthur sat him down in front of a fire. "Rosa isn't exactly human either, Merlin. I know you want to protect her, but acting like an overprotective male makes you?—"

"Don't you say it, Pendragon?—"

"It makes you Bleddyn. Even he had enough sense not to try and stop her from coming."

"Only because he thought I would protect her!"

"Wake up, you daft prick. She doesn't need your protection. If you hadn't noticed, you have enough to worry about."

"I can't lose her like I lost Nimue!" Merlin exploded, his indifferent facade finally breaking.

Arthur placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You didn't lose her. From what you told me, she was taken. There is a difference. She survived the queen for hundreds of years. What makes you think she can't do it again?"

"She shouldn't have to! She's only caught up in this again because I wasn't strong enough to send her away from Gwaed Lyn when she first arrived. Even when I still hated her, I couldn't let her go because I'm a cruel, selfish bastard." Merlin dragged his hands through his tangled curls. Arthur was looking at him as if he'd never seen him before.

"There are times since I've woken where you are so different to how you used to be, and then you are the same chaotic man I knew," Arthur sighed. His grey eyes ran over his face. "I'm starting to think I never really knew you at all. Merlin in love… Who'd have even thought it was possible."

"Don't give me that. You saw me in love with Morgan."

"Love isn't what you two had," Arthur grunted. "You two used each other to patch over old pain. It's not the same thing. By the end, it was a twisted thing, and I knew there would be violence. You aren't like that with Nimue. I know it, even without meeting her."

Merlin snorted. "Whatever you say, Pendragon. Don't you have better things to focus on instead of analyzing my moods?"

"Better things such as how all of these dead ones look like they are getting ready to skin you alive?" Arthur had a hand casually resting on top of the hilt of Excalibur, as if he were waiting for them to pounce.

Merlin rose to his feet, knives in his hands, and turned to face the dead men and monsters who had been moving in behind him. "The suspense is killing me. Which one of you is going to be first?"

There was a shudder as the overly brave fae began to surge forward…and then they all stopped, like puppets that had their strings cut.

"The bounty is gone," the closest one said, lowering her knife in disappointment. "Now we will need to trade."

"Trade for what?" Merlin asked in surprise.

The fae woman looked Arthur over. "I want your pet."

Arthur made a worried sound in the back of his throat. "Merlin, don't you dare…"

Merlin ignored him, and his smile grew wider.