Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) (36 page)

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Shiovra
sat in the grass
near the Sloping Trenches
, leaning against a tree
while Daire pace back and forth. Eyes closed, s
he listened as
his
feet rustled the grass, first in one direction, then b
ack in the other
,
only to repeat over and over.
At first she had found his nervousness mildly amusing, yet the longer he paced the more it grated her nerves.
“
Daire
…” she began
firmly
, keeping her eyes closed. “If you continue doing that, you shall wear a bare spot in the grass.”

She heard her cousin abruptly s
top and exhale deeply.
Opening her eyes
,
Shiovra
looked up at
Daire
as he stood with his back to her
.
She opened her mouth to speak again, yet it was Daire who spoke first.

“I want
to apologize for bedding Úna,”
he began, “b
ut I must admit this was not the first time.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned to face her. “The morning we departed for
Dún Fiáin was the first time, and then twice during my return to Tara to inform Ainmire of Caher Dearg’s fall.”

Shiovra
remained silent for a while, his words completely taking her off guard. She had assumed that her cousin had taken an interest in the maid
after the effects of mead and had thus lain with her, bu
t what came from his mouth had taken her completely by surprise.
Meeting his gaze firmly, she asked, “Do you love her?”

His hesitation did not go unnoticed.

“So you took an innocent girl to bed whom you have no feelings for?” she
scolded
, voice hard.

Daire
flinched at the bite in her tone and he
dropped down to
his knees in
front of her. “I know I cannot ask you to forgive me. I know I cannot ask Úna to forgive me…” he breathed. “I am afraid of what to say to her now.” He rubbed his face wearily. “What should I do? Tell me and I will do it.”

“
Úna is my handmaid, my responsibility,”
Shiovra
told him
. “
You
have not only defiled her trust, but that of her clan
.
We rely on the alliance with her village for trade. Did you not consider the consequences of bedding her?”

“Allow me to take her as my wife,” he suggested
, touching her shoulders
. “I will wed her t
oday, if th
at is what you
r
wish.
That way there will be no worry of broken trust of alliance.
”

Shiovra
thought over his words and replied
sharply
,
“
You would have her wed to a man whose only desire is to bed her?”

He flinched again.

“
If
you desire to take Úna as your wife, I have
but
one command: you are
not to take any lovers, even if it is a privilege of our people.
Do you understand?
”
she demanded. “Do you?”

Daire nodded. “
Aye.”

“I
will
hold you to your word
.”

He nodded once more.

Shiovra
rubbed her face wearily, standing
.
“I had never thought you would be such a man,” she muttered.
“
Midday approaches. Perhaps it is time you face Ainmire
.”

Daire stood and looked at the village.
“He will be angry.”

A small laugh passed her lips. “Oh, dear cousin, I believe that to be a great understatement.”

He scratched his head. “You think?”

“Oh, very much so.”

Daire chuckled nervously. “Will you come with me?”

Shiovra
shook her head. “Not a chance.” Giving the man a shove, she pushed him towards the village. “Go.”

Groaning, the man did as told.

She watched him
leave before
noticing movement to her left. T
urning
, she found Odhrán
walking into the Sloping Trenches.
She hesitated a moment as the Milidh man disappeared from her sight, but then curiosity got the better of her and she slipped into the trenches after him.

Weaving her way through the mounds of earth
, gorse bushes,
and
trees
, she thought of
the carefree days of her childhood
.
When she was a child, before her training on Rúnda, she would hide in the trenches and wait for Daire and Mahon to find her. It was a fun game for a time that had not been quite so dangerous. Yet now, over ten years later, the trenches gave off a sad feeling.

“The High Priestess of Tara alone, ungua
rded, and weaponless.”

Shiovra
started, turning quickly
and
took a step back
.
Her eyes searched the trees around her for movement. Taking another step back, she bumped into a tree.

Odhrán stepped around a hillock and walked slowly towards her.

She slumped against the tree with a reliev
ed sigh.

The Milidh man
closed the distance between them,
stop
ping
a me
re breath away
.
Odhrán said nothing for a moment, reaching his hand up to catch a lock of her hair.

Shiovra
breath hitched in her throat
when his warm fingers brushed lightly against her cheek.
Even seemingly innocent touches from the man awakened feelings within her that frightened her.

“What are you doing so far away from
the village alone?” he
demanded softly.

“I was not alone, entirely,” she countered
smoothly
, her gaze unwavering as she held his
. “
Until but a moment or so ago, I was accompanied by Daire. And now…you are here.”

“You were following me,” he c
orrected
, letting the stands of hair slip slowly from his fingers
.

“
Perhaps,”
Shiovra
replied.

Odhrán leaned closer, bringing his mouth to her ear. “Why follow a man you do not trust?”

Shiovra
closed her eyes. “I trust you.”

The Milidh man paused.
“Do you?”

A gasp escaped her lips when his mouth glanced across her neck, sending a wave of warmth flooding through her body. “Aye…”

Odhrán pressed his body
hard
against hers. “You trust a man who wants nothing more than to steal you away from your intended?”
he whispered against her neck.

Shiovra
nodded, her breath quickening. She felt his hand on her hip, hot through her clothing. Parting her lips, she opened her eyes and look
ed up at the leaves above them in a futile attempt to calm the beating of her heart.

His mouth trailed a path a fire along her neck.
Pushing aside the neck of her shift, Odhrán placed burning kisses along her shoulder.

A soft moan passed her lips
despite her efforts to
suppress
it.

Odhrán’s other hand slipped into her hair
as
his mouth found hers.

Closing her eyes, she accepted his hungry kiss. And, when his leg pressed between hers, she gasped in surprise.

He used that opportunity to deepen his kiss.

Shiovra
reached her hands up
, tentatively
placing
t
hem on his chest though she
did not push him away
.
Her body trembled with both want and fear. When he pulled away, she leaned breathlessly against the tree.

“You trust a Milidh man like me to remain at your side?” Odhrán asked,
bringing his mouth to her neck once again.
“A man who does not hesitate to steal a taste of your lips. A man who
wants
you more than anything?”

“Aye
,”
Shiovra
replied i
n a steady voice.
Straightening, she held his gaze without hesitation.
“I trust you will not betray me. I trust you will protect me. I trust that when the time comes for me to fulfill the betrothal you will continue to stay by my side.”

Chuckling,
he placed one last kiss up
on
her
temple
before releasing her and stepping back.
“
Very well spoken, priestess,” Odhrán
said with a grin. “
Though I think it would be best if we return to the village before someone comes looking for us.”

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Daire
could not help but feel greatly intimidated
as
he stood before Ainmire with Úna at his side.
He held the chieftain’s gaze steadily, despite the
turmoil of
anxiousness
tumbling within him.
Standing before Ainmire while the chieftain looked them over with a hard gaze, Daire
felt like a child awaiting
punishment for
great
mischief.

“When Úna was sent to Tara, it was under the promise that she would remain untouched. Such were the term
s
of the alliance,” began Ainmire firmly. “What you have willing done, not once or twice, but four times on your word, threatens that very promise.” He leaned forward on the bench, eyes narrowed on Daire.
“How do you plan to remedy this?”

“
I shall take Úna as my wife,”
Daire told the chieftain.

Ainmire rubbed his temple. “Such would be an appropriate course of action,” he replied, his eyes turning to Úna. “What say you, Úna of the Neimidh? Will you agree to become the wife of Daire, despite all his foolhardy actions?”

Úna
nodded
, her cheeks tinged with a lovely shade of pink
.
“
Aye, my lord,” she answered softly.

Exhaling heavily, Ainmire stated, “
A messenger shall be sent with haste to your village, informing your kin of your impending union.” Reaching over to the table, he grabbed his cup and took a long swig. “Do not take this union lightly. The alliance between our two villages is crucial.”

“Aye.”

Ainmire sat the cup down roughly. “Now then, Úna, your duties to the Lady
Shiovra
will continue to hold,” he said. “But until you are wed to Daire, you are to remain in
the priestess’ cottage.”

“Aye, my lord,” replied Úna.

“Daire.”

Flinching, Daire meet the chieftain’s gaze. “Aye?”

Ainmire leaned forward, grinning. “As punishment,” he began, voice touched with humor, “your rounds of the village are tripled for the following fortnight. I hope that you are well rested because you will find little of it these
coming
days.”

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The evening air carried a cool touch as it rustled around Ceallach Neáll
as he
stood
near the gates of the village, looking at the bright colors of sunset splayed wide across the sky.
It was always the calmest right before a storm and he could feel a tempest of unimaginable size brewing.

“You are not a man known to worry.”

Ceallach turned at Earnán’s voice, watching
as the man approached. “And you are a man who is too perceptive,” replied the Fomorii man
, crossing his arms, his gaze returning to the sunset
.

Earnán chuckled lightly.
“My dear late sister, Deirdre, used to say thus,”
he replied, coming to stand beside Ceallach. “You may be a master and hiding your thoughts on your face, but your eyes speak the truth, my friend. What has you, the impassive Ceallach Neáll, uneasy?”

Narrowing his eyes,
Ceallach replied, “A dark foretelling.” He fell silent for a long while before speaking again. “
Shiovra
has seen the death of Ainmire.”