Free The Keys to the Realms (The Dream Stewards) by Roberta Trahan Page B

before Finn had found his stirrup. She yanked the leathers from Pedr’s grip and spurred the silver mare toward the forest at a full gallop.
    “Gods’ piss and shit,” Finn cursed as he hauled himself up. “Get after her, Pedr. The sooner we’re in the trees, the better. But don’t you lose sight of her.”
    Pedr gave chase, and by the time Finn reached the edge of th e thicket, he had lost sight of his son. He’d follow the hoof trail, but Finn knew Cerrigwen would head for the heart of thi s smaller copse before turning toward the vast expanse of the White Woods. Even she would not enter the enchanted forest alone.
    Finn came upon them where he expected, in a clearing that was really no more than a widening of the trail in a dense grove of bare-limbed alder and birch trees. Cerrigwen had dismounted and stood with her face turned toward the heavens and her arms stiff at her sides. He was beguiled for a moment by the sight of her in her indigo Steward’s cloak, a shock of color against the pale wintering landscape. And then he realized she was spell casting yet again.
    Pedr waited nearby with her mare in tow, eyes downcast to avoid bearing witness to whatever wickedness she might wreak. Finn cursed under his breath and edged his horse near enough to hear her mumblings. As he drew closer, he could see the tears as they dripped unhindered from beneath her lashes—her eyes were closed, her arms now reaching skyward, beseeching. It was not a spell she muttered; it was a prayer.
    Cerrigwen’s eyes snapped open, and her anguished gaze fell upon him. “Take me home.”
    Finn stalled, but only because he couldn’t trust his voice not to break. He would take her wherever she asked to go—the oath-bound warrior in him could do no less. And to be fair, the father and brother in him understood why she would resign herself at last to such a fate. Whatever she had done, the Stewardry was the only family she had ever known. In the end, she could have no peace until she had done whatever she could for her child and faced her judgment. He felt compassion for her again, which was a welcome respite from the soul-burning hatred he had been working so hard to squelch these last weeks.
    “Return to the Fane?” Pedr was as incredulous as he was relieved, and quick to finally give voice to his worries. “For all we know, it no longer stands. And if it does, who knows who rules it.”
    Finn nodded at Cerrigwen. “All the more reason to hurry.”
    A look of profound gratitude washed over her face before her intractable haughtiness returned. Cerrigwen resumed her saddle and led them once again into the enchanted groves of the mysterious White Woods.

S IX

    G lain held out the velvet bundle, eager to be relieved of it. Forgery or not, having the amulet in her possession was making her uncomfortable. Her palms were dewy, and her fingers tingled. “It was discovered in a keepsafe behind a wall stone in the large spell room.”
    “Place it on the altar.” Alwen approached with caution and obvious anxiety, toying with the lapis amulet that hung from her neck. The casing and chain were identical to the one Glain had found, except that Alwen’s was the key to the spiritual realm.
    Glain did as she was asked and stepped away to watch Alwen examine the necklace. “It looks remarkably like the real one.”
    “Yes.” Alwen reached out with tentative fingers, as if she were unsure whether it was safe to pick it up. Glain remembered the scorch mark at the base of Alwen’s throat, left by the lapis amulet when she had called upon its power to defeat Machreth’s Hellion A rmy.
    With slow and careful movements, Alwen lifted the necklace by the chain with one hand and cradled the pendant in the palm of the other. The bloodstone luminesced, as though it were drawing heat from her skin. She flipped the pendant over and held it close for a better view, searching the backside for something. “That is because it is the real one.”
    “How is