by Phoebe Conn
Oriana wished he had been open to her warning, but clearly he thought any need for caution absurd. As they reached the shore, she feared the men might strip nude, but each removed only his shoes and shirt. Their muscular bodies were so much alike, but the gleam in Kieran’s dark eyes was murderous. As Egan kissed her for luck, she felt a dark chill of foreboding and wished the race were already over.
“To accurately judge the winner, we should stand near the cliffs,” Albyn urged, and when he turned toward them, Oriana hastened to his side, followed by Garrick and Neal.
Oriana turned back to make certain Egan and Kieran were waiting for the Druids to take their places and a boat to be dispatched. Then she nearly had to run to keep up with the men. “Will this be the end of it?” she whispered to Albyn.
“It could be, if Kieran will concede defeat,” Albyn replied just as softly. “How likely do you believe that to be?”
“Not at all,” Oriana nearly moaned. When they reached a spot near the fortress with the best view, she stepped away from the Druids rather than give in to the temptation to cling to Albyn. The crowd now stood stretched out along the shore with the majority bunched behind the Druids.
Oriana felt their heat at her back and caught a glimpse of Ula standing nearby with Madi and Skell. As she glanced down the rocky cliff below, a shiver of dread coursed down her spine, and the knowing whispered a clear warning to step away from the edge. Because it would take no more than a misplaced elbow or a deliberate hand to send her tumbling onto the jagged rocks, she swiftly obeyed.
Unwilling to miss seeing her husband race, however, she slid in front of Albyn and sat down at his feet. With the solid earth beneath her, she felt secure, but she could still feel the hostile glances being sent her way and heard more than a few grumbling about Egan’s choice of wife.
Then Egan and Kieran waded into the water and Oriana lost all interest in the restless crowd. As the young men dove under the waves and began to swim, each displayed powerful strokes. They remained even for a time, but Egan gradually began to pull ahead.
There were those who shouted for Kieran to pour on the speed, while others cheered wildly for Egan. But with still a quarter of the distance left to swim, Kieran suddenly slipped beneath the surface of the chill water. A hush swept through his kin, and when he broke the surface, all heard his terrified screams.
“What’s happened to Kieran?” Oriana cried.
Albyn knelt by her side to respond. “He must have suffered a muscle cramp, and they cause excruciating pain.”
Kieran went under again, then drew himself up, his wildly flailing arms failing to produce a smooth stroke. This time his sputtering cries for help reached Egan’s ears. Alarmed, Egan glanced back over his shoulder just as Kieran slid under for a third time.
“The race is over,” Albyn moaned. “Egan won’t let him drown.”
“No,” Oriana cried, and she reached out to clutch his cloak. “It’s a trick, and Kieran means him great harm.” She was too far away to shout a warning to Egan, but as he turned back to save his half brother, her heart caught in her throat. She had been the one to insist he safeguard Kieran’s life, but she had never dreamed extracting that promise might cost Egan his own.
She watched in horror as Egan dove deep to pull Kieran to the surface, but rather than float meekly when he bobbed into view, Kieran rose up to fill his lungs with air and then shoved Egan under. The whole crowd gasped, then began to cheer as through a sheet of flying spray Egan emerged to tackle Kieran. Too slippery to hold, Kieran broke away and each rained heavy blows on the other.
“It was a trick,” Albyn cursed, and grit his teeth in horror. He covered Oriana’s hand with his own.
As quickly as it had begun, the fight ended with one brother pulling away with a long savage stroke while the over lay floating facedown in the sea. Albyn strained to discern which it was, for now the slick wetness of their hair made it impossible to recognize Egan’s longer curls.
“Who is it?” he cried.
“Kieran’s still swimming,” Oriana responded in an anguished sob. Using Albyn’s cloak for handholds, she scrambled to her feet, and he rose just as quickly to stand beside her. With the press of the crowd, there was no way for her to turn back and run down to the shore. Even there, she would not have been able to swim, but she refused to just stand by and watch her beloved drown.
“You must help him!” she screamed to anyone who might listen, but before her cry was lost on the breeze, Egan raised his head and began to swim for the cliffs. He swam as though he were now the one in agonizing pain, but at least he was alive, and Oriana shouted encouragement to him with joyous pride.
Kieran easily reached the cliff first and took the offered hand to climb into the boat. He waved to his cheering kin, and then appeared dumbfounded when he turned and found Egan nearing the cliff. Rather than swim toward the boat, however, Egan veered away to haul himself up on a small rocky ledge, where he used both hands to stem the blood flowing from a long gash in his side. Too weak to call to Oriana, he could only look up at her and smile.
“Kieran stabbed him,” Oriana screamed, and she turned the full force of her fury on Garrick. “You can’t name Kieran the victor when clearly he resorted to treachery!”
Albyn dropped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Hush,” he chided. “Everyone saw Kieran reach the cliff first.”
“Don’t you dare tell me to hush. Kieran cheated and that makes Egan the rightful winner of the race.”
Garrick shook his head and responded with a low indulgent laugh. He gestured for Ula to approach, and the crowd parted to allow her to come closer to hear his pronouncement. “A challenge may be won by whatever means necessary, my lady, and there is no rule banning a ruse. Indeed, there are those among us who prize a clever mind over a brave heart any day.”
“A clever ruse is one thing, but to stab the man who’s challenged you to a swim is quite another,” Oriana argued. “How can you condone such a foul deed?”
Garrick spread his arms wide. “I saw no weapon,” he announced with a careless shrug. “Did you see one Neal, or you, Albyn?”
Albyn couldn’t meet Oriana’s fiery gaze and hated not being able to take her side. “No, but that doesn’t mean Kieran wasn’t armed.”
Neal patted his ample belly before offering his opinion. “I saw no blood until Egan climbed out of the sea. He could have cut himself on the rocks.”
Oriana nearly shrieked in frustration. “How can you claim to possess a keen eye and then give voice to such a blatant lie? Kieran feigned drowning, and then not only attempted to drown Egan when he came to his rescue, but stabbed him as well. He’s won nothing today but disgrace.”
Ula drew herself up to her full height. “Of course you’re disappointed, but I’ll not have my son insulted.”
Garrick raised his hand in a plea for silence, then stared at Oriana a long moment. When his eyes narrowed, many of those standing nearby took a cautious backward step, but Oriana didn’t even flinch. “Without dispute,” Garrick stated calmly, “Kieran was the first to reach the cliff, and I declare him the winner of today’s challenge.”
Oriana had lived with a mortal fear of Druids, but when they abused Egan so badly, she could not keep still. She looked Garrick directly in the eye, and silently dared him to threaten her back. “The Dál Cais are guided by fools,” she swore. “May you have the king you deserve.”
Albyn’s hand closed over her mouth before she could curse the whole lot any further, and desperately afraid for her husband, she fainted in his arms.
Chapter Fifteen
When Oriana came to, she was lying next to Egan on his bed. Albyn was seated on her husband’s right side and methodically stitching up the gash crossing his ribs. The Druid glanced toward her, but all she saw were his bloody fingers, and she promptly fainted again.
“Your bride has no stomach for blood,” Albyn commented absently.
“ ’Tis no flaw in a lass,” Egan argued, but his eye
s remained closed and his words were slurred by the potent ale Albyn had forced him to consume before he had begun sewing him closed like a sack of grain. “Are you nearly finished?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Just a few more stitches.” Despite Albyn’s confident reply, his hands were shaking so badly that he was making very slow progress. He hated to cause his friend additional pain, but he did not trust his care to anyone save Oriana, and she had proven to be worthless.
Egan turned his head to the side and slurped another mouthful of ale from the cup dangling from his fingers. It should have eased the searing pain in his side, but he was still in agony.
“If you wrap me up tightly tomorrow, I might be able to stand; but it’s Kieran’s turn to choose the challenge, and where will I find the strength to fight?”
Albyn shared that same fear and had to swallow hard before he took another bloody stitch. “A challenge allows no time for a wounded man to recover, but by striking you in the left side, Kieran failed to impair your strong right arm.”
“It was no act of kindness,” Egan replied. “The sea cushioned his blow, and he missed my heart.”
“You should have let him drown.” Albyn fumbled with the needle and silently cursed his own lack of skill, though he doubted Egan would complain about the width of his scar.
“His life was never in peril,” Egan reminded him.
When Albyn conceded the point, Egan fought to distract himself from his friend’s continuous jabs by thinking only of Oriana. She had been so distant on the afternoon they had met that he had not thought any man would ever win her heart. That he had achieved that miracle stunned him, and that she lay so near was his only comfort. Still, he was plagued by the vexing doubt of the value of a seeress who could foretell the future but was nonetheless unable to warn him of danger.
He cursed himself for blaming her when he had known from the outset that the challenge might well prove deadly. He had played it her way though, merely toying with Kieran rather than killing him quickly, and that ploy had cost him dearly. He drew in a deep breath and instantly regretted the searing pain that shot clear to his toes.
As soon as Egan could draw a breath, he muttered, “Now I shall have to kill him.”
“That’s the way to think,” Albyn encouraged. “You might have intended to win without taking Kieran’s life, but he’s lost all hope of such generosity now.” Yet even as he spoke, Albyn feared Egan would be unable to raise a dagger, let alone a sword, to continue the challenge.
Albyn knew Egan would not accept defeat with a manly bow either. No, he would demand Kieran fight him although he no longer had any hope of winning. Albyn was equally stubborn, however, and would not allow Egan to throw away his life in a doomed battle. Confident Oriana would be a willing ally in protecting her husband’s life, he vowed they would succeed in the effort.
The three of them might leave the fortress of the Dál Cais with no more than their lives, but that was a treasure beyond measure. Oriana had stirred, and until he had finally closed Egan’s wound, he hoped she would not open her beautiful golden eyes and faint for the third time in a single day.
Oriana lay snuggled against Egan’s side, and after awaking with a start, she was relieved to find him sleeping peacefully. A fur rested low on his hips and the line of Albyn’s uneven stitches danced down his left side like the tracks of some frantic bird.
Avoiding that gruesome sight, she stared at the flatness of her husband’s belly and followed the gentle curves of his hip bones. He had such a handsome body, and all of it so exquisitely male. She loved him so desperately, she did not care how many scars he carried.
“Don’t touch him,” Albyn cautioned from his place by the hearth.
Badly startled by Albyn’s command, Oriana sat up so quickly that she nearly rolled off the side of the bed. She had meant only to kiss Egan’s cheek, not throw herself upon him, but she had not realized they were not alone. Badly embarrassed, she rose with as much dignity as she could muster, then hesitated briefly to make certain she had not disturbed Egan’s rest.
“You should have announced yourself earlier,” she whispered.
“I hadn’t noticed you were awake,” Albyn replied. “Are you feeling better?” He was seated in the chair and appeared more exhausted than relaxed.
“No, I’m sick clear through. I don’t understand any of you.”
There was no fire burning, but Albyn found it easier to contemplate the heap of ashes on the hearth than meet her smoldering gaze. “Yes, you made that abundantly clear. Fortunately, Egan was too far away to hear you condemn the whole of the Dál Cais, but no one who heard found it endearing.”
Unconcerned by the opinions of the loathsome crowd, Oriana’s expression remained contemptuous. “You sided with Garrick and Neal. Did you explain that to Egan while you tended him?”
Albyn enjoyed the honeyed tones of her voice so greatly, he strove to forgive her caustic words. “There was no need to explain. He saw Kieran reach the rocks first.”
“Yes, but only by turning Egan’s own compassion against him, and you Druids rewarded Kieran for doing so. Have you no sense of honor?” Oriana accused.
“We could debate that question for days, but in the case of a challenge, your question is misplaced. A victory is still considered a victory regardless of how it’s achieved.”
Drawing comfort from her husband’s presence, Oriana remained close to his bed. “So the fact Egan won yesterday in a straightforward manner counts for no more than Kieran’s shameful win today?”
“Unfortunately, no. The challenge stands at a tie and will continue on the morrow when Kieran will choose the manner of contest. Now I have an important question for you. How could you have failed to warn Egan of the real danger Kieran posed?”
His words were closely clipped, and sharing his barely controlled rage, Oriana did not take offense. “Had I received a warning, I would have conveyed it immediately, but sadly, I was as surprised and horrified as Egan must have been by Kieran’s vicious ruse.”
Albyn remained skeptical. “Yet you’re widely admired for your visions of the future.”
The comment was a taunt rather than a compliment, but again, Oriana appreciated his dark mood and held her temper in check. “My own fate is hidden from me, as is Egan’s, and those close to him. I can only glimpse your future, not describe it in detail.”
Startled by that revelation, Albyn was instantly on his feet. “Tell me what it is you see.”
With the wide bed at her back, Oriana had no avenue of retreat. He was making her horribly uncomfortable. “Now which of us is rudely issuing commands?” she asked.
Albyn pointed toward Egan. “Do not trifle with me while the best friend I can ever hope to have lies so badly wounded. It’s a gift from the gods that Kieran failed to gut him, and with fish nibbling his entrails, Egan would never have emerged from the sea alive. It’s all I can do not to take up his sword and go after Kieran myself.”
He had removed the robe that disguised his muscular build, and after providing such a sickening description of what Egan might have suffered, Oriana readily believed he possessed not merely the righteous anger, but the size and strength to kill Kieran with a single mighty blow. She also knew he had sufficient control of his desires to allow Egan to act first.
Badly in need of refuge, she sat down beside her husband and slipped her hand into his. He had such capable hands, and she hoped he would not awaken too weak to defend himself. She had seen the blood seeping through his fingers, and feared he had lost more than his body could swiftly replenish.
“It’s difficult for me to think of anything other than Egan either,” she began, “but for your sake I’ll try.”
She looked away for a long moment, and then spoke with her customary confidence. “There are many paths leading to the same destination, Albyn. Rather than regret your years with the Druids, please view them as a valuable step along your way. While I wish there were more to reveal, you must believe in you
r future.’ Tis an enviable one.”
Albyn wasn’t impressed by her encouraging, maddeningly vague promises. “If I leave the Druids, where should I go?”
“You’ll hear the call when it comes,” she assured him.
Baffled, Albyn raked his hands through his sun-streaked hair. “I thought I’d been called to the Druids.”
Oriana again attempted to ease his anguish. “You were, but you’ve learned all they have to teach you, and you must continue your journey on your own.”
“I have always been alone,” Albyn complained bitterly.
“That’s not true. All along you’ve had friends who’ve loved you and eased your way.”
“Perhaps,” Albyn conceded, “but their kindness scarcely eases the ache in my soul.” He hesitated briefly, then asked what he truly wished to know: “Can you teach me how to divine the future? Whatever it is you do, will you explain it, or show me the steps? You have my word I’ll not pass along your secrets. This is something I want for myself alone, not for all Druids.”
Oriana did not doubt his sincerity, but she could not comply. “It isn’t something I learned or can teach,” she explained. “It is, just as you described Egan’s survival, a gift from the gods. When someone comes seeking their fortune, I hear a voice not unlike that of a friend whispering secrets, and it tells me all I wish to know. It wasn’t until I met Egan, however, that I encountered anyone whose path lay hidden from me. It took me a while to understand why.”
While disheartened, Albyn refused to abandon the subject. “Would you teach me if your gift could be taught?”
Oriana thought his question ridiculous, but he was a loyal friend and deserved a sympathetic response. “Because it can be more of a curse than a blessing, I’d have to consider the question and more carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages.”
Completely dissatisfied with her evasive reply, Albyn returned to the chair. Oriana had such a persuasive manner, he feared she could convince him of anything, but he could not help but wonder if the voice she heard did not exist solely in her head.