The long-limbed man smiled, setting the sack down and standing, offering a hand. Perrin took it, but pulled Mat into a hearty hug.
"Light, Mat," Perrin said. "It seems like it's been forever!"
"A lifetime," Mat said. "Maybe two. I lose count. Anyway, Caemlyn is already is buzzing with news of your arrival. Figured the only way to get in a word of welcome was to slip through that gateway and find you before everyone else." Mat picked up his spear and rested it on his shoulder, blade to the back.
"What have you been doing? Where have you been? Is Thom with you? What about Nynaeve?"
"So many questions," Mat said. "How safe is this camp of yours?"
"Safe as any place."
"Not safe enough," Mat grew solemn. "Look, Perrin, we've got some mighty dangerous folks after us. I came because I wanted to warn you to take extra care. Assassins will find you soon enough, and you'd best be ready for them. We need to catch up. But I don't want to do it here."
"Where, then?"
"Meet me in an inn called The Happy Throng, in Caemlyn. Oh, and if you don't mind, I'll be wanting to borrow one of those black-coated fellows of yours for a few shakes. Need a gateway."
"For what purpose?"
"I'll explain. But later." Mat tipped his hat, turning to jog back toward the still-open gateway to Caemlyn. "Really," he said, turning and jogging backward for a moment. "Be careful, Perrin."
With that, he ducked past a few refugees and through the gateway. How had he gotten past Grady? Light! Perrin shook his head to himself, then bent to untie the sack and ease the poor badger Mat had captured.
CHAPTER 45
A Reunion
Elayne woke in her bed, bleary-eyed. "Egwene?" she said, disoriented. "What?"
The last memories of the dream were dissolving like honey consumed by warm tea, but Egwene's words remained firm in Elayne's mind. The serpent has fallen, Egwene had sent. Your brother's return was timely.
Elayne sat up, feeling a surge of relief. She had spent the entire night trying to channel enough to make her dream ter'angreal work, to no avail. When she'd found out that Birgitte had turned away Gawyn while Elayne sat inside, furious but unable to attend the meeting with Egwene she'd
been livid.
Well, Mesaana had been defeated, it seemed. And what was that about her brother? She smiled. Perhaps he and Egwene had worked out their problems.
Morning light peeked through the drapes. Elayne sat back, feeling the powerful warmth through the bond with Rand that had appeared there. Light, but that was a wonderful sensation. The moment she'd begun feeling it, the cloud cover around Andor had broken.
It had been about a week since the testing of the dragons, and she'd put all of the bellfounders in her nation to work on creating them. These days, one could hear a steady sound in Caemlyn, repeating booms as members of the Band trained with the weapons in the hills outside of the city. So far, she had let only a few of the weapons be used for training; the different teams
rotated practicing on them. She'd gathered the larger number in a secret warehouse inside Caemlyn for safekeeping.
She thought about the dream sending again. She hungered for specifics. Well, Egwene would probably send a messenger by gateway eventually.
The door cracked, and Melfane looked in. "Your Majesty?" the shott, round-faced woman asked. "Is everything all right? I thought I heard a cry of pain." Ever since lifting her ban on Elayne remaining in bed, the midwife had decided to sleep in the antechamber outside Elayne's bedroom to keep a careful watch on her.
"That was an exclamation of joy, Melfane," Elayne said. "A greeting for the wonderful morning that has come to us."
Melfane frowned. Elayne tried to act cheerful around the woman, to persuade her that more bed rest wasn't needed, but perhaps that last part had been a little much. Elayne couldn't afford to appear as if she were forcing herself to be happy. Even if she was. Insuffetable woman.
Melfane walked in and pulled open the dtapes sunlight was good for a woman with child, she'd explained. Part of Elayne's tteatment lately had been to sit in her bed with the covers drawn back, letting the spring sunlight bake her skin. As Melfane moved, Elayne felt a little tremble from inside. "Oh! There was another. They're kicking, Melfane! Come feel!"
"I won't be able to feel it yet, Your Majesty. Not until they're stronger." She began the normal daily routine. Listen to Elayne's heartbeat, then listen for the babe's. Melfane still wouldn't believe there were twins. After that, she inspected and prodded Elayne, performing all of the tests in her secretive list of annoying and embatrassing things to do to women.
Finally, Melfane placed hands on hips, regarding Elayne, who was doing up her nightgown. "I think you've been straining yourself too much lately. I want you to be certain to take proper rest. My cousin Tess's daughter had a child not two years ago who was birthed barely breathing. Light be thanked that the child survived, but she had been wotking the fields late through the day before and not taking proper meals. Imagine! Take care of yourself, my Queen. Your babies will be thankful for it."
Elayne nodded, relaxing. "Wait!" she said, sitting up. "Babies?"