Authors: Phoebe Conn
He scanned the faces of his relatives for his bride, but if she was there, he could not find her. He had not expected to miss her so badly and regretted not insisting that she be at his side.
Much to his disgust, he saw Madi making her way toward them. He doubted her intentions were good, but knew she would only lie if he inquired as to her true purpose. He greeted her with a curt nod, while Albyn barely glanced her way.
“What is it to be today, my lord?” Madi pressed close to Egan’s side and gazed up at him through provocatively angled lashes. “You have a fine horse. Will there be a race?”
“Raven is swift,” Egan offered agreeably, “but were I to win on his back, he’d doubtless claim he deserved the crown.”
Madi attempted to wrap her hands around Egan’s biceps, but her fingers failed to meet. “I’d not heard you owned a talking horse. Would you ask him to say something to me?”
Albyn turned away, but Egan could see his shoulders shaking from the effort to contain his amusement. He was tempted to swear Raven spoke only to the pure of heart, but making love with Oriana had left him in so generous a mood, he swallowed the insult.
“Nay, my lady,” he responded in a fine imitation of Raven’s whinny, and Albyn erupted in a furious fit of laughter.
Madi stepped back, but if Egan had told a joke, she failed to see the humor in it. As for Albyn’s behavior, she thought him rude to the extreme. “What is it you find so amusing?” she asked pointedly.
“Merely the whimsy of a talking horse, my lady,” Albyn assured her, but the dancing light in his eyes revealed otherwise.
Madi thought him lacking in manners, but she dared not voice a negative opinion to a Druid. Instead, she licked her lips and again focused her attention on Egan. “I wanted only to wish you luck,” she said.
“Thank you, but I doubt that would please Kieran,” Egan replied.
Madi lowered her voice to a suggestive purr. “I no longer care what pleases Kieran. Perhaps we can discuss my current desires more fully after tonight’s feast.”
Astonished she would be so brazen, Albyn’s expression instantly sobered, but Egan’s studied indifference betrayed none of his surprise. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the only desires I’ll fulfill tonight are my wife’s.”
“Surely you’ve not claimed your traveling companion as your wife,” Madi protested loudly, and a hush fell over the surrounding crowd as his curious kin strained to hear.
“Aye, that I have, but here’s Kieran, and we’ve a challenge to set.”
Madi bristled at Egan’s cool dismissal, but holding her head high, she smiled as she moved toward the crowd and hoped everyone would believe their parting had been cordial. As for his taking a stranger as his wife, that was as disastrous a mistake as Kieran’s brutish demand for her body.
After Myrna’s comment, Oriana was surprised to find Kieran a few steps ahead of her as she left the fortress. His step was steady, and if he’d had difficulty leaving his bed, his confident posture hid it well. Had she overtaken him on the stairs, she would have offered a word of encouragement for the future, but with the crowd closing in around them, there was no such opportunity.
After having avoided crowds all her life, she would never have pushed through the gathering to reach the clearing if Egan had not been waiting there. He noted her arrival with a wicked grin, and nodded toward Kieran to urge him to begin.
“It is your choice today, brother,” Kieran announced for all to hear, but there was no mistaking his lack of affection for Egan.
Egan glanced toward the cloudless sky as though he were still contemplating his choice. “It is a fine day for a swim,” he replied just as loudly. “Let’s walk down to the end of the bay, and swim back to the cliffs below the fortress. A boat can await us there.”
Kieran appeared incredulous. “You want to swim?” he asked. “The chill water will turn us to ice long before we reach the cliffs.”
Egan folded his arms over his chest and shot Kieran an indulgent glance. “If you refuse to swim, which is your right, then the challenge ends here.”
Oriana stood facing Egan, but she could tell from the tightening of Kieran’s shoulders that he was not nearly as at home in the sea as was his half brother. Most men avoided water deeper than their ankles, but she had seen Egan swim and thought this a brilliant challenge, until Kieran began to laugh.
“Have you not heard that I put the fishes to shame?” Kieran bragged when he had caught his breath.
Egan gestured toward the sea. “We’ll let the race decide who is shamed.”
Ula stepped to her son’s side and ran her tiny hand over his broad back. “So that there is no misunderstanding the result, the Druids should serve as judges.”
Averse to the idea, Egan’s brows dipped menacingly. “I doubt it will be such a close race, my lady, but by Druids, do you mean those loyal to you?”
Ula did not glance toward Garrick, who was already smirking. “There is a Druid by your side as well, and I have no objection to Albyn also calling the winner,” she stated graciously.
Albyn acknowledged her comment with a curt nod, then added a warning. “I am no more impartial than the Druids loyal to you, my lady.”
Garrick approached to take Ula’s side. “Despite our
loyalties, we are honor bound to make unbiased judgments and can be relied upon to do so today. Three will be the perfect number, and I’ll call upon Neal to assist us.”
A young sandy-haired Druid of ample girth moved forward with a rolling gait. He appeared inordinately pleased to have been asked to serve. “I have a keen eye,” he boasted.
“It won’t even be close,” Egan swore.
“Close or not, I’ll serve as judge,” Albyn agreed, but he did not trust Garrick to decide in Egan’s favor unless he beat Kieran by more than an arm’s length. Equally confident Egan could do just that, he broke into a grin. “Let’s walk down to the bay then.”
Oriana felt the crowd surge forward, and might have tripped and fallen had Egan not come to her side. She tried to return his confident smile, but while she thought he would win, she was frightened for him all the same. “Please take care,” she whispered.
“I’m as at home in the sea as you are in the forest,” he assured her confidently. “Watch the race from the bluff where you admired the view.”
Oriana chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. “I’d have an excellent view there, it’s true, but I’d be too far from the finish and unable to greet you.”
“Then stand wherever you please,” Egan offered. “It won’t affect the outcome.”
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.