“It was not,” he muttered.
He forced his thudding heart to quiet, focusing on his breathing. Finn had given him a slice of her immortality, just like she had with Kai, weakening herself further. He would be the one to cause her demise.
“We must go after Óengus,” he growled. “We must regain the shroud.”
“The shroud is lost to us for now,” Keiren muttered. “Óengus had Oighear’s giant cat. Not even I could hope to catch him if he does not wish to be caught.”
“Then Sugn,” he grumbled, unable to finish his thought.
“Sugn has what he wants too,” Keiren finished for him. “Finn has been weakened, both by the loss of the shroud and from saving you. She may not be able to defeat the Cavari on her own, and they do not want such a conflict.”
Iseult watched as Finn turned wide eyes to her. “Why do you believe that?”
Keiren sighed, rolling her eyes at Finn. “Sugn could have tried to kill you when you ran to Iseult,” she pursed her lips, “though I would have protected you, of course. I imagine they simply want you weak enough to control. They believe they can defeat Oighear, even with your powers lessened.”
“Oighear,” Finn muttered at his side. “I still don’t understand why they’d give her the shroud. Why not take it for themselves?”
“To kill Ealasaid,” Keiren answered. “They know you will not kill her, and they want you to be the remaining queen, to rule over all the land. They know if Oighear kills Ealasaid, you will kill Oighear. Or at least, you will try.”
Slowly, Iseult regained his composure, though he felt weaker than he ever had before, despite the immortal blood now running through his veins. “If that is the case, we must make for Garenoch at once.”
“Yes,” Keiren grumbled, “if the Cavari let us. They will likely interfere if we try to save Ealasaid.”
“We?” Finn questioned. “You still intend to help?”
Keiren sighed. “What I told you was the truth. I want to free my mother’s soul, and you are still my best hope of doing so.”
Iseult watched her, wondering if her motives were genuine. Regardless, he would not turn her away now. It was clear she could better protect Finn than he ever could.
While the thought stung, he was not prideful enough for it to matter.
Sugn returned to the Cavari camp, a triumphant smile on his face. Everything was going exactly as planned. The mortal, Óengus, had simply made things a little more convenient. Now Finnur would be weak enough to control. Oighear would be strong enough to defeat the human queen, but not strong enough to defeat Finn, not when her people would be there to support her.
He’d boasted he could replace her, but that was not the case. She’d been born under the correct alignment of the stars. Her return had given them life. If she died while they were in their weakened state, she would take much of their magic with her. He had to force her to return it, but that moment would come in time.
For now, he’d wait while Óengus returned the shroud to Oighear. Finnur would try to reach her friends. Perhaps she’d even make it in time, but with Oighear there, they’d have the war of a lifetime regardless. Finnur would be left with no other choice but to strengthen them, else everyone she loved would die. The human queen could die during the battle, or after, it did not matter, but she would die.
Sugn walked through the ranks of the waiting Cavari as each dropped to their knees before him. Well, all except Móirne, who was already on her knees, bound and gagged. She’d need to remain under heavy guard. She’d been spying on him long enough to learn the truth, that he’d killed his own daughter. She’d been such a weak little thing, unfit to call him father. It had been so easy to blame it on the powerless sailors of Uí Néid.
Yes, it had been oh so easy to turn Finnur into a monster over a century ago. He had no doubt he’d be able to do it again, and this time, she would not escape him.
Óengus rode on well into the night, atop the leon gheimhridh. The cool wind whipped his face, carrying him back toward Oighear.
It had all been too easy. He’d persuaded the Cavari to use Iseult against Finn, but they’d been far too eager to accept. Far too eager to allow him to take the shroud. He could understand them wanting to weaken Finn, but to strengthen Oighear? It made no sense. It could not be to simply kill Ealasaid. They could do that themselves.
Leaning forward, close to the leon gheimhridh’s soft white fur, he shook his head. The Cavari had faith that Finn could defeat Oighear, even without the shroud. If they had wanted Finn killed, Sugn could have succeeded as she rushed to Iseult. No, they didn’t want her dead.
He sat up, signaling the leon gheimhridh to slow. He needed time to think this through. If returning the shroud to Oighear was a trap laid by the Cavari, he could not continue with his plan. He could not risk his only hope at reclaiming his shadow before he died. He could not risk his soul being unable to move on.
The leon gheimhridh slowed to a walk, and Óengus deftly dismounted to stride beside it. He tugged at the shroud he’d tied around his waist, wondering at its power. Would such power be Oighear’s and in effect, his undoing?
He supposed it could not be enough to dissuade him. Without it, Oighear would likely perish regardless. With it, at least she stood a chance. He could always tell her he suspected the Cavari of duplicity. She would readily believe him. They had been her enemies for centuries.
His resolve strengthening, he walked onward. The Cavari might be laying a trap, so he’d just have to make sure to lay a better one.
As night closed in, Finn lay beside Iseult, near their campfire. For once, he actually seemed to rest. She’d never seen him in so deep a slumber. Even with magical aid, healing such an extensive wound had taken much of his, and her, energy. Sugn had not bothered them again, but they would need to remain wary. Keiren remained on watch, and beyond her were the droves of Faie that Finn had called near.
No one would be bothering them that night. Not with the Pixies on watch, and the Trow forming a protective barrier around them. Not with Finn, however weakened, ready to kill any who would dare threaten them again.
She twisted the ring on her finger, sensing a tickle of power from the cool metal. Even weakened, she still had something to give her power that perhaps the Cavari did not know about.
“Do you think we should try to contact Ealasaid?” she questioned. She’s already sent word with the Pixies about Oighear, but what if they could not reach anyone within the burgh?
Keiren turned at the sound of her voice, the firelight illuminating half her angular face. “You said you sent your Pixies back to them. What more could you need to say?”
Finn sighed, pulling her bedroll up over her shoulder. “What if they Pixies cannot reach them? They must be warned that Oighear will soon have the shroud. She will be more powerful an adversary now.”
“I do not think that should be our primary concern,” Keiren replied. “Your people are the ones spinning a web to catch us all. I can see that clearly, though their plans are beyond me. However, they do not fear Oighear possessing the shroud.”
“And they don’t want us to break the barrier,” Finn added. “I wonder why.”
Keiren shrugged. “None can say what will happen when it breaks, except perhaps Niklas. If I knew where he was, I would ask him.”
“Isn’t it strange that he would be the one to bring us together?” Finn questioned distantly, not really expecting an answer.
“Not really strange at all,” Keiren muttered. “We all want the same thing.”
She watched Keiren’s face for several moments. When she did not continue, Finn asked, “Which is?”
With elbow on upward bent knee, and chin in her palm, Keiren sighed. “To reclaim the last thing that truly felt like home, the thing that landed us on this course to begin with.”
“My daughter,” Finn observed.
“And my mother,” Keiren murmured, then added, “and for Niklas, everything else.”
Chapter Tw
elve
Iseult forced his eyes open, then winced at the early morning sun. He was wrapped in his bedroll, though he didn’t remember getting there.
His mind clearing, he bolted upright. How had he allowed himself such a deep sleep when the Cavari still lurked? His hands reflexively found the wound in his gut, now just a sore lump of scar tissue.
“It’s about time,” a woman’s voice snarled.
His bleary eyes found Keiren sitting on a nearby rock, perusing an ancient tome.
“Thank you for perhaps ruining our chances of conducting my ritual,” she added with a quick flip of the page.
He wasn’t sure what she was talking about, and he didn’t care. “Where is Finn?”
“Speaking with her Pixies,” she said tersely.
He forced his weary legs out of his bedroll and stood, though he felt unsteady. How could he have let this happen?
He peered around for Finn, unable to fully focus.
Her gaze still on her book, Keiren pointed a finger behind him.
He turned, finally spotting Finn some distance away. Beside her stood Loinnir, flashes of color around them signaling the presence of Pixies, though he was too far to see them clearly.
Not bothering to thank Keiren for pointing her out—he wouldn’t be thanking that cursed sorceress for anything—he strode toward Finn.
Seeming to sense him, she turned, her hand resting comfortably on Loinnir’s white neck. “Oh good, you’re awake,” she said breathlessly. “We must hurry. An Fiach is nearly upon the burgh.”
“Do you feel well enough to face them?” he questioned, closing the distance between them. He wasn’t sure just what toll saving him had taken on her. She couldn’t die because of him. He wouldn’t let her.
The Pixies buzzed around, watching him curiously. Did they know what had happened?
Finn pushed a long strand of hair behind her ear. She didn’t appear any weaker than before. In fact, she seemed somehow more . . . real. “I must,” she replied. “Ealasaid, Kai, and all the others are there. I will aid them if I can.”
“What of the Cavari?” he questioned.
She continued to stroke Loinnir, as if drawing comfort from the animal. “I cannot waste my energy searching for them. They have not returned to bother us, so they must be waiting for me to act. We’ll be safer in Garenoch too.”
“Not with an army heading that way,” Keiren scoffed from behind them.
Iseult turned to see her walking their way. Her book was nowhere to be seen.
“We already agreed—” Finn began, but Keiren raised a hand to cut her off.
“Yes, we agreed,” Keiren sighed upon reaching them. “We will go to Garenoch, and I will help as I can, then you and I will figure out how to enact our plan.”
She spared a brief, indecipherable glare for Iseult, then turned back to Finn.
Finn’s shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh, her fingers absentmindedly stroking her unicorn’s mane. “Then we should start moving.” Her gaze on Keiren, she asked. “Will you be,” she hesitated, glancing at Loinnir, then beyond her to Iseult’s mount, “meeting us there?”
Keiren rolled her cornflower blue eyes. “Hardly. I’m not going to leave you unprotected while the Cavari yet lurk. We will travel together.”
Finn nodded, seeming relieved. Iseult could admit, if only to himself, that he was relieved too. In his weakened state, he’d do Finn little good if the Cavari attacked.
Keiren turned her attention to Loinnir, then back to Finn. “Will she allow me to ride with you?”
Finn’s eyes widened. “Oh, um, I don’t think she’d mind . . . ”
In the silence that ensued, Keiren smirked. “Now, now, don’t look so stunned. I can better protect you if we’re touching.”
Iseult sighed, unable to argue, and Finn seemed too stunned to do so.
“Well then,” Keiren announced, “let us be off. We’ve a battle to attend.”
Ealasaid shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling uncomfortable with her tight breeches and the leather breastplate over her dark blue tunic, all topped with a cloak to ward away the cold. The breastplate had been a final concession to the demands of both Slàine and Maarav. Ealasaid would stand on the parapet of the outer wall with her archers, but only on the condition that she’d at least take a slight bit of protection from the arrows that might fly back at them.
To her left was Maarav, and to her right stood Sage, neither one armored beyond their simple clothes, Maarav’s all done in shades of black. Maarav had a bow in his hands, though he was no skilled archer, just as Ealasaid had a thin sword strapped across her back beneath her cloak, though she was no skilled swordswoman.
“We should see them soon,” Sage muttered, his eyes narrowed toward the west where the Sand Road wove along all the way to Sormyr.
Ealasaid’s teeth clenched. According to her scouts, the army was massive. They had likely begun gathering forces not long after the last battle in Garenoch, far enough away that Ealasaid’s scouts could not see.
She shivered, thinking of the previous battle. While those men had only been partially successful due to Keiren’s help, this new force would not need such aid. There were six times as many men marching toward them, if her scouts were to be believed.
As fear settled into her bones, she wished she’d never ordered Finn to stay away. With Finn there, the entire weight of the battle would not be solely on her shoulders.
“We are well prepared,” Maarav comforted, warily watching her strained expression. “We’ll send them away before they can even breach the outer wall.”
“But how many will die in the process?” she asked. She knew she should be putting on a brave face for those close enough to hear her, but she could not help her dark thoughts.
“We all knew what we risked in joining you,” Sage interrupted. “Do not fear for us. If we die, we will die proud of what we are. We will die fighting.”
She offered him a weak smile, though his words only made her feel worse. She had inspired them to fight. To die.
“Look,” Maarav pointed west.
She strained her eyes to see what he’d noticed just as shouts erupted from the other end of the wall. An Fiach had been spotted.
Maarav took her hand and squeezed it, drawing her nervous gaze up to his. “No unnecessary risks,” he cautioned.
She nodded. “You either.”
He smiled. “I love you, wife.”
Her heart fluttered at the word. “And I you, husband.”
The shouts grew in intensity as the archers and mages dotting the walls put themselves into position. They would all do their best to turn An Fiach back, but in all likelihood they would still breach the other wall.
She reminded herself that they were prepared for that too. There were the assassins waiting within, along with the human guards that had protected the burgh long before Ealasaid came along. There were also more mages, more mages than non-magical humans. They were positioned on nearly every rooftop, and many were in the streets. More still were ready to protect the inner wall of the estate, where those who could not fight had been herded. She’d done the best she could do, now all that was left was to fight for what she believed in.
Kai and Anna both waited in the street within the burgh, ready to fight, though the murky sun stung Kai’s eyes despite his black cowl. No one looked at him oddly for wearing it. They’d all become used to the assassins’ all black garb, and likely just thought him one of them.
“Are we sure about this?” Anna asked, her dark eyes shifting around them. “Do we truly want to risk ourselves for someone else’s cause?”
Kai nodded, though he wasn’t entirely sure. Part of him wanted to escape the burgh to find Finn, to make sure his words had reached her. Móirne’s warning had not left his mind. If Finn lost her grip on her humanity because of him . . . he shook his head. There was no use thinking about it at this point. If he survived this battle, he would see her soon enough. Shouts had rung out from the
walls above, and he could hear the men marching in the distance. He needed to focus on the here and now.
His body tensed, preparing for action. He was so focused, he almost didn’t notice the sudden weight on his shoulder until something climbed into his cowl.
“Do not acknowledge me,” a voice buzzed in his ear. “I fear what the humans might do if they see me.”
“Miaelle?” he questioned, barely moving his lips. He hadn’t expected the Pixies’ lead scout to return to him in the middle of the burgh.
Anna turned to him, her eyebrow raised.
He held up his hand to stall her forthcoming question.
“Yes, it is I,” Miaelle hummed. “My queen wished me to tell you that she is coming. You may share this information as you see fit. She trusts your judgement.”
“She is well?” he muttered, barely moving his lips.
Anna scanned his face, then raised both brows, seeming to have spotted Miaelle huddling in his cowl. She fully turned toward Kai, pretending converse with him so his words would not draw attention.
“She is well,” Miaelle explained.
“And what of my message?” he pressed, speaking more freely now that it would appear as if he was just speaking to Anna.
“She wished me to tell you that she is stronger than you think,” Miaelle replied cryptically. “Now, I must go. Our queen will help you as she can, but the rest of us cannot be seen. The humans would think us attackers. You must know, Oighear may now possess the Faie Queen’s shroud. There is no saying how great her magic may be.”
Kai nodded, though ice lanced through his gut at the information. “How will you escape without being spotted?”
“I am dressed in black,” she explained. “Those who see me will think me a bird.” With that, the weight lifted from his shoulder and buzzed upward.
Anna’s gaze darted up after Miaelle, then back to Kai. “Well?”
He moved closer to her, leaning in so his words would not be heard. “Finn is coming. She will help as she can, but the Faie will remain hidden.”
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