Page 48 of Till Kingdom Come

He looked up at me, seeming a bit surprised. “I don’t mean it to, but you should know. It was the throne itself—the stone inside it—that made Brendan so obsessive and jealous.”

“Then you better tell me about it.”

“Once the Blood Stone was just a pretty rock that was symbolic and nothing more. But the witch king of the Ensorcelled Mountains—your grandfather—laid a curse on Daeneid and on our king. He meant to destroy our kingdom and everyone in it if he could because of what Brandon had done.”

“My God, what did he do?”

He sighed and drained his glass, setting it carefully back on the table. “Nothing more than meeting your mother and falling desperately in love with her. He was handsome and brave and a good king—all the things that a young girl like Ashlin would fall in love with too. And that’s exactly what happened. They met and it was love at first sight.”

I had to admit to feeling shocked. “They did? But I thought…I had the impression that he was cruel to her. That she hated him.My God, heforced himself on her.”

“That was the rumor, but I never believed it. He did become obsessed. But that was later on, once the curse had begun to badly affect him. There’s so much more to the story.”

“How much more can there be?” I said, jumping to my feet. “What else is there to know?”

Hendris got to his feet too and faced me. “I told you that you’re wrong, Killian. Your mother loved Brendan. She loved you both more than her own happiness and she sacrificed everything to save you both. And to save herself.”

I made a rude sound and turned away. I didn’t want to listen to him try and defend the terrible man who was my father. It was an awful story, and he had to be an awful person for doing what he’d done.

“I don’t believe you. How could she love a man who’d done that to her?”

“I told you. The curse led to Brendan being obsessed with Ashlin. This obsession was overwhelming, and it drove him to extreme lengths. He disregarded all the boundaries and even her well-being. But she loved him just as much. Her own obsession for him meant that he probably never had to force her at all. The love between them grew twisted and dark. They fought all the time. The line between his genuine love for her and his overpowering obsession with her became blurred or even non-existent. It was tragic. Ashlin’s father was the witch king and like I said, filled with dark magic. He used it against both your father and your mother.”

“But she was his own daughter.”

“She disobeyed him and ran away with Brendan. The witch king isn’t mortal, Killian, and you have to stop thinking of him that way. He forbade the marriage and banished Brendan from his kingdom forever. But Brendan came back for her, and she literally leaped from her window down to him in the dead of night, and he caught her in his arms and rode away with her.”

“Sounds romantic…”

“It was. He brought her to Daeneid, and they were married right away. But your grandfather wanted to punish them both for their defiance by putting a curse on their love for each other. He used the stone to accomplish it”

“I don’t understand. If she wanted to be with him, and they were so much in love, then what happened?”

The king’s curse followed them home.”

“Whatisthe curse? You still haven’t said.”

He looked uneasy. “You’re sure Bracca never mentioned any of this to you?”

“No, never.”

“It’s partly a love curse, with the generational part thrown in for good measure. It’s a bit hard to explain. The true love curse made the feelings that Brendan and Ashlin had for each other turn into an all-consuming and obsessive love. It defied logic or reason, but she was almost as bad as he was. Those under the curse can’t escape it. The only thing they can do to stop it is to separate forever, which brings about eternal longing for each other and the unfulfilled desire to be together again. Because Ashlin was such a powerful witch, she recognized the fact she was under a spell. A curse. Somehow, she had the courage to leave your father and break the cycle. But I imagine she suffered greatly. The separation can be agonizing, as the cursed lovers are denied the opportunity to unite with their one true love forever. And that can lead to heartbreak and even worse…” He broke off suddenly, as if he’d said too much.

“What? What could be worse?”

He sighed. “The death of one of them. Most often by suicide. In this case, the curse is designed to either kill the Dokkalfar king or make him take his own life. Whoever he might be as long as he’s in the direct line.”

“What are you saying? My father was killed in a battle. He didn’t kill himself.”

“According to the men with him at the time, he had no regard for his life. He charged into the danger knowingly. He may very well have invited his own death.”

“Then this curse will kill me one day too?”

“Eventually, yes. You dropped your blood on the throne and brought it back to life, and when you did, you brought that curse down on yourself.”

“Oh my God.”

Hendris looked away and absently twirled his glass again. I watched the blood red wine inside the crystal stain the sides and slide back down into the swirling liquid.

---