“Get in here, Squire, and hurry.”
Ollie entered the room and closed the door. Turning around, he stopped in his tracks when he saw MacKay lying naked and tied to the bed.
“Oh, my fault. I’ll come back later.” He turned to go.
“You leave me here like this, and I’ll have your head.”
Ollie looked back over his shoulder. “Is Lady Eira here?”
“Nay, you fool. If she were, would I be in this position?”
“I – I’m not sure, my lord. I just thought – ”
“What did you think? And I warn you, it better be good because I’m in such a foul mood right now, if you look at me in the wrong way I am likely to strike you. Now get over here and untie these damned ropes.” He yanked hard at his bindings, shaking the entire bed. “God’s toes, that woman can tie a mean knot.”
“I’m not looking at you in the wrong way,” said Ollie, heading over with his hand in front of his face. “Matter of fact, I’m not looking at you at all.”
Ollie untied MacKay’s hands. He sat up rubbing his wrists.
“So, Lady Eira likes to be rough in her lovemaking?” asked his squire.
“Lady Eira is not a lady at all. She is a demon wrapped up in the guise of a temptress.”
“Why did she leave you here like this?” asked Ollie.
“Who the hell knows.”
“Was it something you said?”
“I am not even sure what I said, but I don’t think so. Then again, this curse is driving me out of my mind. I suppose it could be possible I said something to upset her after all.”
“The soldiers are gathering in the practice yard, my lord. Shall we join them? I heard there will be an attack on the island in two days’ time. Will you be leading the battle?”
“In two days’ time, we will be far away from here, Ollie.” MacKay reached for his clothes. “Let’s get down to the docks and secure a ship to take us back to England immediately.”
“But what about Lady Eira?” asked Ollie.
“What about her?” MacKay finished dressing and reached for his weapon belt.
“She’s your wife. Will she be coming with us, then?”
“Nay. Lady Eira has chosen to stay on this godforsaken frozen terrain. She is remaining on Skol Island by her choice.”
“Aren’t you worried that she’ll be killed in the attack? And shouldn’t we stay and help fight?”
“Our help isn’t needed, Squire.” His hand rested atop the hilt of his sword. MacKay had always welcomed battle and was the first to say he wanted to fight. But with the pain in his chest from his curse, it was getting harder and harder to stay around Eira. “She has made a deal with Hecuba. Now, Hecuba and Medea will fight off the enemy, so there is no need for us to stay.” Another pain shot through him. He winced and doubled over with his hand to his chest. This was a long one, and it felt as if someone were driving a blade right into his heart.
“My lord, don’t you care for her? She is your wife.”
“I am having the marriage annulled as soon as we return to England.”
“Getting an annulment is not an easy thing to do,” Ollie pointed out.
“My father will use his magic to help me. It won’t be a problem.”
“Mayhap it would be better if you took the time to think things over.”
MacKay shook his head and headed for the door. “Mayhap it would be better if you stopped suggesting things and let me do the thinking.”
Eira headed toward the practice field with Medea at her side. She felt so angry with MacKay that she needed to blow off steam by fighting.
“What has you so upset?” asked Medea, picking up her skirts and trying to keep up with Eira.
“That two-headed half-brother of yours is playing games with me, and I don’t like it.”
“Half-brother?” Medea stopped in her tracks.
“Aye, I know all about it, Lady Medea. And I can’t say I am not perturbed that you kept it a secret from me.”
They got to the practice yard, and the men gathered around Eira. “All right men, onto the field. We have an army to fight. You all need the practice. Fight like men, not girls.”
“Where is Sir MacKay?” asked Angus, hurrying to her side.
“He’s not coming.” She busied herself preparing her weapons.
“Who is going to lead us in battle?” asked another of her men.
“I am,” she said. “This battle will be no different than any other.”
“The last battle took the lives of your father and brothers,” Angus pointed out. “As much as I don’t like the idea of having an Englishman in our army, it might be good to have an extra blade or two on our side.”
“I told you that you don’t need them now that we’ve made our deal.” Hecuba appeared from nowhere, half-hidden under a black cloak.
“Mother, you should be resting.” Medea hurried over to the old witch’s side.
“I won’t rest until you and I have defeated Ailbert’s army,” Hecuba told her daughter.
“What do you mean?” asked Medea in confusion.
“Lady Eira has made a deal with me,” said Hecuba, sounding very tired.
“What kind of deal?” Medea demanded to know.
“Your mother said that she along with you would use your magic to defend us against the attack if I agreed to mentor you and watch over you if anything should happen to her,” explained Eira.
“Mother, why didn’t you ask me about this before you made a deal that involved me?” asked Medea. Her eyes became darker.
“Medea, you are young, and I am your mother. I will make your decisions for you.”
“I am an adult,” spat Medea. “I don’t want you making decisions for me, and neither do I need anyone to mentor or look after me. This is very insulting.”
“Don’t talk back to me,” warned Hecuba.
Medea rolled her eyes. “Let me live my own life, Mother.”
Then, in front of everyone, Medea disappeared in a black fog. This upset the men. They gathered into a circle and spoke to each other in low voices.
“Hecuba, mayhap it would be better if you and Medea didn’t do magic in front of the men until the day of the battle,” Eira told her.
“I already have one youth spouting off to me. I don’t need you telling me what to do, too.” Hecuba then disappeared as well.
“My lady, here comes Sir MacKay and his squire,” said Angus.
Eira looked across the practice field, thinking MacKay had changed his mind after all and was going to join them. Her eyes interlocked with his and he stopped just outside the lists. She was about to call out to him, but he turned and headed for the docks with his squire right behind him. He hadn’t changed his mind after all.
“Stop stalling,” she yelled to her men. “Angus, you will fight me in this round. The rest of you choose a partner and ready your weapons. We have no time to waste.”
Glancing once more over to MacKay, she realized he was going to the docks to find someone to take him back to England. This made her sad as well as mad. She lifted her sword and fought like the devil with Angus, needing to take out her anger on anyone but MacKay.
“She is one hell of a warrior,” said Ollie, causing MacKay to stop and turn around.
“Yes, she is.” MacKay watched Eira fighting with the mastered skill of any of his men as she sparred with Angus.
“Doesn’t she seem as if she’s angry and taking out that anger in the fight?”
A pain shot through MacKay’s chest, this time causing his knees to buckle, making him fall to the ground.
“My lord, can I help you?” Ollie was instantly at his side.
MacKay looked up to see Eira across the field. His desire for her grew with every thrust of her sword. He could see the anger and frustration on her face and that only fed his curse. “The curse is becoming stronger,” he told his squire. “I can no longer stay here because if I do, I am going to hurt Eira and she doesn’t deserve that.”
“What do you mean?” Ollie reached out for MacKay, but his pride caused him to push his squire’s hand away and get to his feet by himself.
“I can’t control myself around her anymore, Ollie. I urge her to be mean because it excites me and that isn’t right. I’ve seen in her eyes that she is frightened and lonely.”
They both watched as Eira fought like a berserker, taking on three men at once now and still maintaining the lead.
“I highly doubt that woman is afraid of anything,” said Ollie.
“She’s not afraid of battle,” said MacKay. “I doubt that she is afraid to die either. However, I saw something in her eyes that she fears more than anything. She is lonely and does not want to live . . . or die alone.”
“Are you sure, my lord?” Ollie made a face, shaking his head as he watched Eira fight.
“I am more than certain. What I am not sure of is how I am going to leave her when all I want to do is stay.”
“Then don’t leave, my lord. Stay here with your wife instead of going back to England.”
“If I do that, I guarantee I will turn into a vicious, mean bastard because this curse is killing the man I used to be.”
“Then fight it,” suggested Ollie. “Fight the feelings you are having and turn back into the man you truly are.”
“It’s not that easy.” MacKay rubbed his chest and shook his head. “It is a curse and is only going to get worse unless we find a way to break it. I need to get back to England and talk with my father and siblings. The way I’ve been feeling, I have a suspicion something big is about to happen.”
A crow landed on a rock close to them and shapeshifted into the form of Hecuba.
“Hecuba,” MacKay ground out, feeling another pain in his chest. He bent over, holding a hand to his heart. “Remove this curse,” he demanded.
“I can’t do that,” said Hecuba.
“Of course, you can,” he growled. “You were the one who cursed me, now take the curse off.”
“You forget that it was your choice to break my magic mirror and then pull the shard of broken glass from your chest. I told you before, that you cursed yourself. What is wrong will look right to you, and what is right will seem wrong. I can see by the pain you’ve been feeling that the curse is about to consume you.”
“Consume me? What does that mean?” He doubled over, still holding his hand to his chest.
“I will be honest with you, MacKay. I have enjoyed cursing each and every one of Lucio’s children. All except you.”
“That’s a lie.”
“It’s not a lie.” Hecuba looked pale and sat down on the rock. “Something is different this time. Mayhap I have lost some of my power by birthing Medea. I am not sure. But this curse can never be broken.”
“Why not?” he asked. “If I somehow get the shard of magic out of my heart, the curse will be broken, won’t it?”
“Perhaps,” she said. “I don’t know. I have felt my strength leaving me lately, and I am afraid this curse is tied not only to you . . . but to me also.”
“What are you saying?” he asked. “That you are cursed as well?”
“I am saying that one of us is going to die from this curse, and I assure you it isn’t going to be me.”
“Are you really sure?” MacKay fought the pain and stood up straight, staring right at the old witch. “After all, if you were so sure, why did you make a deal with Eira? You are afraid you might die, aren’t you? That is why you want Eira to watch over Medea.”
“I didn’t know it was possible for an immortal to actually die,” said Ollie.
“Neither did I,” said Hecuba with a shake of her head. “But like I told you, this curse is different. That shard of magic can never be removed from your heart, MacKay. If it is, I will be the one to die.”
“And if it isn’t removed?” asked MacKay. “Then, what happens to me?”
“Then you will die instead,” said Hecuba, raising a hand and disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.
Shocked by her announcement, MacKay stumbled backward, sitting down on a log to think.
“Do you believe she tells the truth?” asked Ollie.
“I can feel it in my heart,” said MacKay, laying his palm on his chest. “If this shard is not removed from me, in one way or another – I am going to die.”
Chapter 15
Teach me how to do that.” Eira watched Medea the next morning as the girl painted her face while looking in the mirror.
“How to do what?” Holding a small brush, Medea dipped it into a little pot of red face paint and spread it over her lips.
“I want to look like you – like one of the beautiful English noblewomen,” admitted Eira.
Medea glanced at Eira in the mirror. “Does this have something to do with my half-brother, MacKay? You want him to like you, don’t you?”
“Perhaps. Does it matter?”
“You’re already his wife. Why bother?”
“That is the reason I want to do it more than ever.” Eira pulled up a chair and sat down next to Medea. “MacKay is my husband, but he is not staying here on the island. He has decided to go back to England without me and get an annulment.”
“Why?” asked Medea.
“I guess he misses England and his family. I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you want to go to England with him?”
“I am Queen of Skol,” said Eira, sitting up straighter when she said it. “I have everything I could ever want right here. Why should I leave?”
“I see.” Medea looked back to the mirror, smacked her red lips together and studied her reflection. “You’re lonely, and you want to try to entice him to stay here with you.”
“I am not lonely!”
Medea turned her head and smiled. “I am a witch. Don’t try to fool me. I see it as plain as day.” She turned back and picked up a boar’s bristle brush and started brushing her long, black hair. “Besides, I am lonely, too. That’s how I can see it in you.”
“Do you wish you were married, Medea?”
Medea took a minute to think about it, staring up at the ceiling as she continued to brush her hair. “I don’t know,” she said. “I suppose I would like to be married someday, but I won’t give up any of my powers to do it.”
“See what I mean? We are both alike,” said Eira. “I suppose that is why your mother wanted me to look after you when she dies.”
“My mother is not going to die!” Medea’s eyes opened wide. Her hand stilled.
“I’m sorry. Mayhap I wasn’t supposed to say anything. It sure sounded like that is what Hecuba meant when she made the deal with me.”
“Oh, about that deal.” Medea looked into the mirror and starting braiding her long hair. “I never agreed to it. I am not sure I want to help fight your enemy.”
“What? Why not?” asked Eira, scared the girl wouldn’t help her after all.
“Why should I?” she asked. “What do I get out of it?”
“You get me – mentoring you.”
Medea gave the usual immature roll of her eyes. “Please. I should be the one mentoring you. After all, what could you possibly teach me?”
Eira was taken aback. She almost lashed out but then realized what Medea said was true. The girl was a witch – a beautiful witch. She could take down an army with the wave of her hand. She could also have any man she wanted with just a smile. “You are right,” said Eira, getting to her feet. “Mayhap you should be the one mentoring me instead.” She headed to the door and had almost left the room when Medea stopped her.
“Lady Eira, come back,” she called out.
Eira turned to see Medea holding up one of her small brushes and a jar of face paint.
“Why?” Eira asked her.
“I am curious to know what you would look like if you wore a little face paint, I did your hair, and, mayhap, whipped up something a little fancier for you to wear.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, turning to go, feeling her heart br
eaking.
“I like you,” said Medea. “I want to be your friend.”
Eira turned back to face the girl. “You do? No one has ever said that to me before.”
“Mayhap you’ve scared them all of with the way you act. Not to mention, with the way you look.”
Eira didn’t have a chance to get angry. Medea smiled and seemed so sincere that Eira didn’t want to turn her away. “All right,” she said, closing the door and walking back to the dressing table slowly. “Do you think it will get MacKay to notice me?”
“I guarantee my half-brother will notice you when I’m finished making you look like a real lady. Now, sit down and let me get to work.”
“How do you know how to do this?” asked Eira, looking at the collection of face paints, ribbons, and even small little jewels spewed across the table.
“I learned it from my half-sister, Rapunzel. She used to be very vain. Everything was about her looks.”
“Did she manage to catch the eye of a man?”
“She did. Her husband is Marco, and he is a Dragon Lord.” Medea looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh.
“You – you liked him, didn’t you?” Eira could tell by the girl’s reaction to just saying the man’s name.
“I still do,” she said. “He promised to kiss me when I turned eighteen, but he never did.”
“Oh,” said Eira, feeling sorry for the girl. “I’m sure there is someone else out there for you. You need to give it time.”
“Are you in love with MacKay?” asked Medea, picking up a jar of face paint and swirling the brush around in it.
“In love?” That caught Eira by surprise. “I – I don’t know,” she said. “We haven’t known each other long enough to fall in love.”
“You’ve made love to him, haven’t you?”
“Making love and being in love are two different things,” Eira explained. “Besides, he only made love to me because I was so mean.”
Medea giggled. “That sounds so wrong.”
“It is wrong,” said Eira, feeling a stab to her heart. “I don’t want to use him for my own needs anymore. Instead, I want him to be attracted to me for who I am.”
Heart of Ice_Snow Queen (Tangled Tales Series Book 7) Page 11