\u201cYou\u2019ll have a son,\u201d Phelan said softly.\u00a0 \u201cYou and my cousin.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll have more than just him.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes focused on something far away.\u00a0 How much do I tell him?\u00a0 How much do I dare?<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019ll be a girl, too.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know when, but that\u2019ll happen.\u00a0 Your son and Marin and Thom\u2019s will be as close as brothers\u2014and fight like brothers, in some ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she\u2019s not pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not sure if she is or not,\u201d Phelan said, glancing at Cameron sidelong.\u00a0 \u201cAnyhow, variable ages have never been a real<\/i> barrier to true friendship, have they?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron stared down into the ravine, at the dead leaves and the snow that caked them, at the ice gathered around rocks far below. \u201cI guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019ll be a hero,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d settle for ordinary lives,\u201d Cameron murmured, his eyes distant.\u00a0 \u201cFor all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have that in you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choking back a bitter laugh, Cameron nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right about that, I guess.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never settled for ordinary. It\u2019s driven everything I\u2019ve ever done.\u00a0 Joining the service, trying to\u2026to save Neve\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan squeezed a little harder. \u201cYou have<\/i> saved her, Cameron.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave I?\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI feel like all I\u2019ve done is get her hurt.\u00a0 Put her in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith everything you know about what she is, who she is, where she comes from, you still think that?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cCameron, you\u2019ve saved her from being bloody well alone<\/i>.\u00a0 She never thought that she\u2019d ever find someone, anyone.\u00a0 You lifted the burden of that blade from her shoulders.\u00a0 She\u2019s carried it for nearly as long as any of us can remember.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t have to anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot alone, anyway,\u201d Cameron said softly.\u00a0 He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, hunching in his jacket.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t tell me that my carrying that sword doesn\u2019t still make it her burden, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it does,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cBut the difference is that she\u2019s not carrying it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron exhaled something that wasn\u2019t quite a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cNone of this tells me what I want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does this blade mean for me<\/i>, Phelan? You said you\u2019d tell me what you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a hero,\u201d Phelan said, his tone gentle.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a knight errant, and that\u2019s what you\u2019ll be.\u00a0 Your son\u2026Cameron, your son will be the leader that you and Neve and all of us teach him to be.\u00a0 But the four of you\u2014you and Thom and Marin and Neve\u2014you\u2019re the leaders for today<\/i>.\u00a0 Your son is the king of tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKing,\u201d Cameron echoed, then snorted softly.\u00a0 \u201cMy son.\u00a0 A king.\u00a0 In America.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t an America anymore.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThere isn\u2019t anything anymore, not yet.\u00a0 There will be, someday.\u00a0 All of you will build it, start the legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll ride the roads, between here and everywhere, carrying messages, doing good deeds, shepherding those who\u2019d dare take to the road.\u00a0 Sometimes, Thordin or I or Thom will ride with you.\u00a0 Sometimes you\u2019ll ride alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019ll keep your promise to Neve.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan swallowed hard at the tightness in his throat, the tightness birthed from the lie he was spinning.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll come home to her, each and every time.\u00a0 She\u2019ll stay here, most of the time\u2014easier for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEasier?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cShe has an adventurer\u2019s heart, but after all that\u2019s happened these past few weeks, she\u2019ll never be the same\u2014never be as strong as she used to be.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be hard for her to accept it, but eventually she will.\u00a0 She\u2019ll settle in here, settle into a life with friends and people who love her and her children\u2014the children you two share.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cAnd she\u2019ll wait with them here for you to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe,\u201d Cameron said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBelieve it,\u201d Phelan answered. \u201cBecause it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou\u2019ll have a son,\u201d Phelan said softly.\u00a0 \u201cYou and my cousin.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll have more than just him.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes focused on something far away.\u00a0 How much do I tell him?\u00a0 How much do I dare?\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019ll be a girl, … Continue reading