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and
kissed her. She purred, lifted her head, and rested it on his chest.
    “I
will return for you, my friend,” Thor said.
    Thor
turned and faced the pillars, solid gold, shining in the sun and nearly
blinding him, and he took the first step. He felt alive in a way he never thought
he would as he passed through the gates, and, finally, into the Land of the Druids.
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    Gwendolyn
rode in the back of the carriage, jostling along the country road, leading the
expedition of people that wound its way slowly west, away from King’s Court. Gwendolyn
was pleased with the evacuation, which had been orderly thus far, and pleased
with the progress her people had made. She hated leaving her city behind, but
she was confident at least that they’d gained enough distance for her people to
be safe, to be well on their way to her ultimate mission: to cross the Western Crossing
of the Canyon, to board her fleet of ships on the shores of the Tartuvian, and
to cross the great ocean for the Upper Isles. It was the only way, she knew, to
keep her people safe.
    As
they marched, thousands of her people on foot all around her, thousands of
others jostling in their carts, the sound of horses’ hooves filled Gwen’s ears,
the sound of the steady motion of carts, of humanity. Gwen found herself
getting lost in the monotony of the trek, holding Guwayne to her chest, rocking
him. Beside her sat Steffen and Illepra, accompanying her the entire way.
    Gwendolyn
looked out to the road before her and tried to imagine herself anywhere but
here. She had worked so hard to rebuild this kingdom, and now here she was,
fleeing from it. She was executing her mass evacuation plan because of the
McCloud invasion—but more importantly, because of all of the ancient
prophecies, of Argon’s hints, because of her own dreams and feelings of pending
doom. But what if, she wondered, she was wrong? What if it was all just a
dream, just worries in the night? What if everything in the Ring would be fine?
What if this was an overreaction, an unnecessary evacuation? After all, she
could evacuate her people to another city within the Ring, like Silesia. She did not have to take them across an ocean.
    Not
unless she foresaw a complete and entire destruction of the Ring. Yet from everything
she’d read and heard and felt, that destruction was imminent. Evacuation was
the only way, she assured herself.
    As
Gwen looked to the horizon, she wished Thor could be here, at her side. She
looked up and scanned the skies, wondering where he was now. Had he found the
Land of the Druids? Had he found his mother? Would he return for her?
    And
would they ever marry?
    Gwen
looked down into Guwayne’s eyes, and she saw Thor looking back at her, saw Thor’s
grey eyes, and she held her son tighter. She tried not to think of the
sacrifice she’d had to make in the Netherworld. Would it all come true? Would
the fates be so cruel?
    “My
lady?”
    Gwen
started at the voice; she turned and looked to see Steffen, turning in the cart,
pointing up to the sky. She noticed that all around her, her people were
stopping, and she suddenly felt her own carriage jostled to a halt. She was
puzzled as to why the driver would stop without her command.
    Gwen
followed Steffen’s finger, and there, on the horizon, she was shocked to see
three arrows shot up high into the air, all aflame, rising, then arching
downward, falling to the ground like shooting stars. She was shocked: three
arrows aflame could mean only one thing: it was the sign of the MacGils. The
claws of the falcon, used to signal victory. It was a sign used by her father
and his father before him, a sign meant only for the MacGils. There was no
mistaking it: it meant the MacGils had won. They had taken back King’s Court.
    But
how was it possible? she wondered. When they’d left, there was no hope of
victory, much less survival, her precious city overrun by McClouds, with no one
left to stand guard.
    Gwen
spotted, on the