"Oh, Bran," she said, the ghost of a smile touching her dry lips. "Kiss me, my brave hunter."
He bent his face to hers and felt the heat of her dry lips on his. "Go now. I will sleep a little," she told him, "and I will dream of your triumph."
She closed her eyes then, and Bran was led from the room. But she had smiled, and that was worth all the world to him.
Queen Rhian did not waken in the morning. By the next evening she was dead, and Bran never saw his mother smile again. And although he continued to hone his skill with the bow, he lost all interest in the hunt.
PART ONE
DAY OFTHE WOLF
CHAPTER
I
)Bran!" The shout rattled through the stone-flagged yard. "Bran! Get your sorry tail out here! We're leaving!"
Red-faced with exasperation, King Brychan ap Tewdwr climbed stiffly into the saddle, narrowed eyes scanning the ranks of mounted men awaiting his command. His feckless son was not amongst them. Turning to the warrior on the horse beside him, he demanded, "Iwan, where is that boy?"
"I have not seen him, lord," replied the king's champion. "Neither this morning nor at the table last night."
"Curse his impudence!" growled the king, snatching the reins from the hand of his groom. "The one time I need him beside me and he flits off to bed that slut of his. I will not suffer this insolence, and I will not wait."
"If it please you, lord, I will send one of the men to fetch him."
"No! It does not bloody please me!" roared Brychan. "He can stay behind, and the devil take him!"
Turning in the saddle, he called for the gate to be opened. The heavy timber doors of the fortress groaned and swung wide. Raising his hand, he gave the signal.
"Ride out!" Iwan cried, his voice loud in the early morning calm.