Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

T hree weeks after their return to Gwaed Lyn and Bleddyn was no closer to unraveling what was keeping Balthasar locked into his beast form. The puddle of silver on his chest dug deeper every time it was touched, even though Bleddyn knew that it was the key to unlocking the spell. It was fae in nature, and so he was resorting to the only person who knew more about fae magic than he did.

"My Lord Seren Du." Bran's disheveled reflection bowed in the surface of the mirror.

"How are you, old friend?"

"Being kept far too busy with this council you implemented," he huffed. "These children know nothing about governing. The fae are struggling with the idea of voting for members and not fighting to the death for a position."

Bleddyn couldn't help but laugh. "How is Daesyn?"

"He is spending a lot of time at the Day Court, assisting Fintan. They seem to be inseparable these days, and between you and me, I think the summer knight is a bit in love with him. Daesyn has a smart head on his shoulders, and it will be good for the fae to see that you can get along with each other and have it not result in bloodshed."

"If you tire of them, you know you are always welcome here, Bran," Bleddyn offered.

Bran studied Bleddyn and even with worlds between them, he was uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "You didn't summon me to talk of the Courts, Bleddyn. What's wrong?"

Bleddyn explained the nature of Balthasar's curse to Bran, discussing in detail everything he had tried to do to reverse it and Merlin's suggestion that the magic didn't belong to the queen at all.

"He is right there," Bran agreed, pulling at his beard. "This isn't simply fae magic. This is god magic. Otherwise, you would have broken it weeks ago. It's a curse for punishment, not servitude."

"Is there any way to break it?" Bleddyn asked, his heart sinking even further.

Bran pulled a face. "The only thing that comes to mind is to identify which god's magic it belongs to and petition them to break it as a favor. Bargaining with gods is bad business, but I don't see any way forward. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you, Seren Du."

"No. You have been a great help. Thank you, Bran."

"Bleddyn, you are exhausted," Bran growled. "This isn't something you should be doing alone. If the worst should happen…"

"It won't," Bleddyn said fiercely. "I can't fail, Bran. He is my son. If I need to hunt down every damn god in the Aos Si, I will do it."

"Of course, Bleddyn. How is the princess?"

"Rosa is…not coping well. It's a trial to get her out of the cells long enough to be able to work on the spell at all."

Bran shook his head. "You need to send her away for her own mental wellbeing."

"I know, but you know what it's like with stubborn women," Bleddyn hesitated before asking, "How is Eirianwen?" He hadn't heard from her since returning to Gwaed Lyn, and it was eating away at him.

Had he just been unfinished business to her? It hadn't felt like a dalliance, but the blood she had taken from him could've made her momentarily infatuated. He smothered the thought, unable to consider it.

"She's constantly traveling between the Courts. She has taken your absence poorly, though she would kill me if she knew I told you that. Have you tried reaching out to her?"

"No, but then, she hasn't either. I can't control Eirianwen any more than I can control Rosa." Bleddyn laughed helplessly. "I have to go, Bran. The full moon approaches, and if I don't get Balthasar back to his old self, I fear Rosa will take him and join the Hunt."

A week later, Merlin was sitting outside the Wylt cottage, smoking a cigarette with Nimue and waiting for Rosa to make an appearance.

"Do you think I should go and find her?" Nimue asked nervously. "She might still be with Balthasar."

"Arthur will coax her away. He's the only one she doesn't seem to snap at," Merlin replied. He had tried to keep Rosa positive in the past few weeks, but the longer Balthasar remained a creature, the angrier she was growing.

Merlin kissed Nimue's hand, selfishly thanking every god he knew of that she wasn't a mindless beast.

"Don't worry," he said. "Rosa won't stand up Gwyn. He's got a soft spot for her, but she won't push him."

"I have a bad feeling about all of this," Nimue said irritably. "We shouldn't be meddling with gods. Do you think it will be a good thing to return Glastonbury to him?"

Merlin shrugged. "It needs magic, and Gwyn will be able to restore it. It will take the pressure off me to maintain it. The only thing I'll miss is having a place to be able to hide."

"You are powerful enough now that you don't have to hide," she reminded him. "It wasn't just Gwyn I was referring to. Rosa's going to be angry."

"Rosa is always angry. She'll get over it." Merlin gave her a dashing smile. "Besides, you'll protect me."

"Will I? I want it to officially go on record that I don't support what's about to happen."

They were interrupted by voices in the dark and the arrival of Arthur and Rosa. She looked tired and hollow-eyed, but at least Arthur had convinced her to shower and change. Merlin could just about smell the Wylt madness on her. You should've gotten her out weeks ago, you dumb bastard.

"A trip to Glastonbury! It'll be great to see the old Tor again and marvel at how much everything has changed," Arthur gushed with an enthusiasm that wasn't faked.

"You might change your tune once we get there," Merlin said dryly.

"You mean once I see how much you've screwed everything up?"

"That too." Merlin held out his hand to Rosa. "Come along, Rhosyn. We have a god to summon."

Once they arrived at the icy lake, Merlin opened the ley line, and they stepped through onto the wet Glastonbury streets.

Merlin was pleased it was still in one piece after he had taken out his magic, but if he looked closely, he saw the signs of decay. There was an air of sadness about the place, with facades of buildings looking a little more rundown. Trees were dying, and there a pervasive sense of wrongness about the land.

"Not a moment too soon," he murmured, his deep guilt surfacing.

In a moody silence, they walked to the Tor, its solitary tower jutting out like an accusatory finger from the bare, grassy land.

"You're up, Rhosyn," Merlin said. "Best not keep his royal deadness waiting."

"Maybe don't call him that to his face," she replied and placed her hand over the bronze bracelet on her wrist.

The pressure in the air broke as a deep rumbling started beneath them. Clouds gathered overhead, choking the starry sky as the storm rushed in. The horns of the dead echoed through the earth and a doorway in the side of the Tor opened. Dormach bolted his way through, baying loudly, followed by the thundering hooves of Gwyn and the Hunt. They circled the Tor before coming to rest, Gwyn riding to meet them by the tower.

Merlin watched the heaving mass of the dead surrounding them, and the penny that had refused to drop in the last month finally did.

I should've known , Merlin cursed himself. His temper flared so suddenly that Nimue took his hand and squeezed it hard in an attempt to get him to keep it under control.

"Rosamund Wylt, you don't look well," Gwyn said. He dismounted and took her hands in his. "What's happened?"

"Um…nothing. Just Bal," she said, a slight tremble in her voice. "I haven't been sleeping very well. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"I'm glad to see you all the same," Gwyn said, touching her pale cheek.

"I promised you Glastonbury, and here it is. Did you doubt me?"

"Not for an instant." Gwyn smiled under his helm as he knelt down and buried his hand in the icy earth. "Now to fix what has been broken for too long."

As much as Merlin wanted to throttle him, he couldn't help but stand in dumbfounded awe as Gwyn's magic poured into the earth, igniting and replenishing the dead ley line. Even Arthur, who had no magical abilities, stumbled at the unseen wave of power that surged through sky and stone.

"There, it is done at last," Gwyn said, standing back to his feet. He fixed Merlin with cold silver eyes. "I trust you have learned your lesson when it comes to meddling in the affairs and property of gods."

"Ha, no. Probably not," Merlin laughed. "The schemes of gods need to be messed with occasionally to make sure they don't get too full of themselves or try to take what doesn't belong to them."

Gwyn glared at him, but Merlin held eye contact. He wasn't going to allow this particular god's desires to screw with his family. Gwyn turned to Rosa, breaking first.

"Have you thought about my offer, Rosa?" he asked her.

"Yes," Rosa said politely, "and while Bal lives, I won't join the Hunt."

"I told you he would be welcome as he is. That is more than anyone else in this human world will offer him," Gwyn argued. "You are suffering, Rosa. Let me take it from you."

"Suffering is character building, isn't it, Rhosyn?" Merlin interrupted. "Besides, we Seren Dus still have a few tricks up our sleeves when it comes to spell breaking."

"If that were the case, I would like to think you would have used them by now." Gwyn smiled unpleasantly. "But it's Rosa's choice if she wishes to stay as your failure continues to drag out."

Rosa fixed her tired hazel eyes on Merlin as if searching for the lie inside of him. He gave her a confident smile that he hoped said to her, I have tricks. I'm a Wylt remember?

"For the time being, the bargain holds, Gwyn," she said with a sigh. "I won't join you until Balthasar is dead. I am sorry."

Gwyn gave her a deep bow. "I understand, geneth . As you will not be joining me, our business tonight is done."

"One moment, Gwyn. I'd like a short word," Merlin said, giving Arthur a meaningful look. "I will catch up with you. I don't want you all to see me make an apology. It will make you think I'm prepared to give them out easily."

"Come along, Rosa, let's leave him to grovel," Arthur laughed, taking one of her arms, and Nimue fell into step beside them. "I'm sure there is a decent pub around here somewhere."

"Goodbye, Gwyn," Rosa said softly before turning back towards the lights of the town.

Gwyn folded his powerful arms with an air of satisfaction. "So you have some of your honor left at least. I am ready to hear this apology, Merlin Wylt."

Merlin took out his tobacco pouch and began to roll a cigarette. "Yeah, about that. This isn't going to be so much of an apology as a threat."

"You are bold to threaten me in this place, considering all the damage you have done," Gwyn hissed, shadows darkening around him.

"I'm glad you mention damage, so let's talk about yours, shall we?" Merlin lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. "How about the emotional pain you are causing Rosa right now, knowing that you could save the man she loves and yet refusing to?"

"Tread carefully, magician. It is a hefty accusation you are making."

"Oh, cut the shit, Gwyn. The magic that binds him has the stink of the Hunt all over it," Merlin said unflinchingly. "Is it some clever trick that you might have shown Aeronwen perhaps? Don't worry. You don't need to admit it. I know . I was at the back of retinue during my stay with your merry band of dead fuckers, and I saw the monsters even if you held a glamour over them so Rosa didn't. If you purposely withhold your assistance because you hope to win her affections once Balthasar's dead, I can promise you that it won't end well for you. You will have another enemy to contend with …and believe me, I'll stop at nothing to destroy you. God or no god."

"I'm not afraid of your threats."

Merlin smiled viciously. "You should be. If you don't help Balthasar, I will make what I did to Glastonbury look like a fucking boring afternoon. Oh, and I will tell Rosa. There will be no way she will ever join your Hunt then."

"We made a bargain that can't be broken," Gwyn declared. "Even you can't undo do such a thing."

"Ask around. I've broken loads of deals with gods before. Take too long, and I'll do it anyway whether you help Bal out or not." Merlin turned his back on him and started to walk down the hill. "See you around, Gwyn."

Merlin found Rosa, Nimue, and Arthur crammed into a booth at The Lancelot , tall pints sitting in front of them. Rosa was explaining the history of the French Lancelot to Arthur who was looking outraged.

"Ah, here he is. I told you Gwyn wouldn't kill him," Nimue said, her mouth was smiling, but her blue eyes were filled with worry.

Merlin slid in beside her and drained her pint. "I was very convincing with my apology. I'm going to need another six of these to celebrate."

"You can drink at the mansion. I've already been away for too long," Rosa said, shredding a napkin between her fingers.

Merlin took Arthur's pint and downed it before admitting, "We can't go home."

Rosa's fingers stilled. "What did you say?"

"We can't go back to Gwaed Lyn. Bleddyn would've set the wards to keep us out by now." The words were barely out of his mouth before Rosa fled the bar. Merlin ran after her, knocking people out of the way.

"Stop, Rhosyn! Listen to me!" he called, but she didn't stop until she reached the place where the backdoor in the ley line used to be. He could feel the strong pull of her magic as she tried to summon it over and over again.

"What the fuck did you do, Merlin?" Rosa demanded, grabbing him by the front of his jacket.

"The backdoor is gone. You can't use it. I collapsed it on the way through," he said calmly. "I'm taking you to your mother."

"I'm not going to France!" she shouted into his face.

"Even if you got into a car and tried to drive back to Gwaed Lyn tonight, you would never find it. Bleddyn has locked us all out."

"Why would he do this?"

"To save you, idiot! You aren't eating and barely sleeping. You're one step off going as mad as I did! You are going to Cecily even if I have to drag you there myself. You can't help Balthasar. None of us can?—"

Rosa hit him so hard, he tasted blood in his mouth. He had expected it, but he hadn't expected how he'd feel when she looked at him with utter betrayal in her eyes.

"Hit me again if it's going to make you feel better. It still won't change anything. Bleddyn has promised that if there are any changes in Balthasar's condition, he'll bring us home straight away."

"You…fucking…bastards!" Rosa struggled to get the words out. She glowed with power, readying her attack as Nimue grabbed her from behind and Rosa slumped forward, unconscious.

"You took your time," Merlin complained as he lifted Rosa up into his arms.

"You deserved to be hit, even if you're doing the right thing," she said.

"She's going to be mad as a snake when she wakes," Arthur murmured as he brushed the hair from her face. "What now?"

Merlin opened the ley line that they stood on. "Now we let Cecily calm her down and hope like hell that even a god of the dead can grow a conscience."

Rosa came to, swinging out at unseen enemies. Her jacket and shoes had been removed, and she was tangled in unfamiliar, lavender scented bedsheets.

"I'm going to kill that good for nothing bastard," she cursed.

Cecily came in with a breakfast tray.

"Oh, good, you're awake," she said, placing it on the bedside table. It was the first time in years Rosa had seen her with her hair out, a curling mass of dark brown only lightly streaked with grey. Paired with a loose button up skirt and jeans, it looked like years had been shaved off her.

"Mom." Rosa grabbed her, hanging on tight.

"Oh, sweetheart," Cecily said, stroking her hair. The touch did it. Rosa burst into angry tears that had refused to fall in weeks.

For the first time, she was honest with her mother and told her everything that had happened in the Aos Si. Rosa thought Cecily would be scandalized, repulsed even, at the things she had done. All the lives she had taken. Her mother had simply sat on her bed and listened.

"Will you just say something?" Rosa asked as she reached for a fresh cup of tea.

"What can I say? I have Arthur Fucking Pendragon having tea and scones under my pergola outside. I know you are telling me the truth Rosa," Cecily said, and Rosa choked on her tea. It was the first time she'd ever heard her mother swear.

"He's sweet, isn't he?" Rosa smiled.

"Sweet enough to eat." Cecily stroked Rosa's braid. "If you are waiting for me to be angry at you, you're going to be disappointed."

"I'm hardly your daughter anymore. I'm not even the same species. How can you not be angry?" Rosa whispered.

Cecily let out a long sigh through her nose. "You haven't changed as much as you think. True, you're part fae now, and yet you are still fundamentally Rosa. It's hard for a mother to admit, but you were always more Bleddyn's child than anyone else's."

"That's not true."

"It is and believe me, your father and I made peace with it by the time you were three years old. Bleddyn was the one who you cried out for when you had nightmares. It was him who you followed around and who you wanted to impress." Cecily let out a sad laugh. "I don't doubt that you loved us too, but you were always wild like they are. I was surprised you stayed away as long as you did."

"I hated Bleddyn, that's why. I hated you both for sending me away, and I didn't want to have anything to do with Gwaed Lyn."

"Do you honestly believe you could've been happy with a normal life? You couldn't stop doing degrees, jumping about and searching for your place and not finding it. Normal life was unsatisfactory to you, and you know it." Cecily took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Don't be ashamed of what you are, Rosa. You belong with them. Christ, you just need to talk to Merlin for five minutes to hear you come out of his mouth. Bloody Wylts down to your toenails, the pair of you."

"Except he's a right prick who I'm going to throttle as soon as I get out of this bed," Rosa muttered.

"Don't be so angry at him, Rosa. He loves you, and if you weren't so self-involved now, you'd see how worried he is about you. He brought you here for your own well-being, knowing that you'd hate him for it." Cecily got to her feet. "Now, when you are ready to stop wallowing, I expect you to join us outside."

After a long, thoughtful shower, Rosa dressed in the jeans and T-shirt that had been left for her and ventured out of her room.

The chateau was beautiful despite the cold winds, and Rosa could see why her mother hadn't been pressing to leave. The place reminded her of Cecily—from the taste of paintings on the walls to the complete Jane Austin editions on the bookshelves.

Bleddyn bought this place for her , Rosa realized. He had retired her early without Cecily even being aware of it, and France had always been the place Cecily had spoken fondly of. She had told Rosa that she had her honeymoon in Provence and had always wanted to return.

"Is there nothing you don't think of, Bleddyn?" Rosa murmured. She took out her phone, wanting to text him, but still too angry with him for throwing her out of Gwaed Lyn.

Rosa heard Merlin before she saw him. Following the noise of clinking cutlery and raised voices, she found them sitting in a hot house that joined onto the back of the chateau. In the middle of the greenery, an elegant table setting of wrought iron and glass sat laden with breakfast.

"I was wondering why we were having breakfast in the garden in the middle of winter," Rosa said, looking up at the domed roof of glass.

Nimue pulled out the empty chair beside her. "Thank the gods you're awake. Save me from their arguing. I don't think I can handle a moment longer."

Arthur and Merlin barely acknowledged her presence as they continued to gossip about a nobleman who no doubt died hundreds of years beforehand.

"If you think this is bad, you should've seen them in the Aos Si talking about when Merlin seduced a giantess and set a hall on fire," Rosa said.

"Is that so? What giantess would that be?" Nimue's blue eyes narrowed.

"You know better than to listen to Rosa when she's angry at me, cariad ," Merlin replied.

"Where's Mom?" Rosa said, pouring herself more tea.

"She's gone to see if Dominique wanted to join us," Nimue replied.

"Who?"

"He's Bleddyn's vintner," Merlin said. "This is one of his vineyards."

"One of many no doubt. I should congratulate Dominique for giving some of the worst hangovers of my life."

"He's delightful and very sweet to Cecily," Nimue said, raising a golden eyebrow knowingly.

"Is that so?" Rosa didn't know if she should be disturbed that her mother had a suitor.

"You need to eat one of these, Rosa. I've never experienced pastry like it," Arthur said, passing her one of the four croissants on his plate.

"Does it have chocolate in it?"

"They come with chocolate?" Arthur's eyes went wide in excitement, and Rosa couldn't help but smile at him. They were trying to be normal, and she found her annoyance towards them ebbing away under the force of their personalities.

"Your mother is lovely, Rosa. We showed up on her doorstep last night, and she wasn't the least bit surprised or put out," Nimue said.

"After a lifetime of looking after the likes of Saul, I don't think much surprises her. I'm sure Merlin's manners might put her to the test."

"Not likely, seeing how I have you for a daughter," Cecily said from behind her.

"Hey, you are meant to be on my side!" Rosa complained.

Cecily sat down beside her. "Of course I am, darling, but whatever you two Wylts are made of, it's the same stuff."

"And an extremely charming and attractive material it is too," Merlin said, raising his mug in a toast to Rosa.

"Quite right, cousin," she said, tapping her cup against it. And like that, all of her angry feelings towards him evaporated.

"I am sorry for the deception, Rhosyn," Merlin said hours later.

They were walking together through the straight rows of mist-shrouded vines, Nimue, Arthur and Cecily ahead of them talking to Dominque about the seasonal changes to the grapes.

Dominque was a tall, softly spoken Frenchman with an easy smile that he turned on Cecily whenever she was near. It was oddly sweet to see them together and reminded Rosa for the second time that day that her fifty-year-old mother was a woman in her prime and had been alone for far too long.

"I understand why you did it, but I'm still not happy about it," Rosa replied finally. "I don't like being separated from Bal, even if he is a beast."

"If you need to throw some magic at me to feel better, at least do it now while we are outside."

"And risk the next harvest's wine being contaminated by your shoddy magic? Unlikely," she snorted.

He wrapped his arm around her in a playful headlock. "I do love you, even when you're a shit."

"I love you too, prick," Rosa replied, her arm going around his waist. "You pull a stunt like that on me again, and I'll give you the bullocking of your life."

"Consider me fair warned."

"So now that we are kicked out of home, what are we to do?"

"We recover and let Bleddyn handle spell breaking. There will be no point saving Bal if we lose you in the process, Rhosyn. I know you hate sitting it out, but trust me, as soon Bleddyn has a breakthrough we will be the first to know."