Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) (6 page)

A young man around a year older than
her
leaned in the cottage’s doorway. He was tall and slim with light blue eyes. His p
ale golden hair fell to his shoulders and shinned
with a hint of red in the sunlight. His handsome face was clean-shaven for the most part, save for some pa
le blond hair on his chin.
His leather boots and green
-gray cloak were travel stained and a
dagge
r had been tucked beneath his belt
. His eyes
studied
Shiovra
for a long moment, a curious and familiar look, before he finally spoke again.

“
It had been many years
,” he murmured softly,
voice warm.

Shiovra
looked at him quizzically
as he let himself into the cottage, walking around and inspecting the dried herbs hanging above a table
. He seemed familiar, yet she c
ould not quite place his face and it bothered
her. “
You…” she began
. “Who are you? What is your name?”

Bitterness lit his face and annoyance flashed in his eyes. “Aye…” he muttered under his breath. “Of course you would not
recognize me. It has been ten
years since you last saw me, dear cousin
.
” A boyish smile flashed across his lips. “Mother
has isolated you here
for too long. I wanted
to visit man
y times, but she would not allow it
until
now. I have come to bring you home to Tara
.”

Shiovra
smiled
as the familiarity rushed over her
. “
Daire
!” she cried out,
letting him embrace her warmly
.
Pulling away, she looked him over.
“Look
at you,”
Shiovra
said
. “You look so different, cousin
.
Time has been kind to you.”

“As
you,” replied
Daire
, grinning broadly. “You are a child no more
.”

“It has been many years,
”
she told him.

He nodded. “Aye, far too long. But
my years spent in Tara training have not be for naught. The
bow given to me by mother
was the best
gift even given
.
Perhaps I could show you my skill someday soon?
”

Shiovra
smiled. “That would be nice.” She paused
, finding herself hesitating
. “How goes life at Tara?”

A grin crossed his lips. “Mainly, how does Mahon do, am I right?”

“Aye,
”
she replied with a small laugh.

“He does well, but he is still very angry about you decision to come here. Unfortunately, he has been seething over it all these years.”
Daire
chuckled lightly. “He truly has not changed from how you remember, has he?”

“No, I suppose not.” The prieste
ss paused. “Have you truly come to take me home
?”

Daire
nodded. “Aye, that I have
.” He hesitated slightly.
“Father
decided that mother has kept you
here long enough. The time has come for you to return to Tara
.”

“Ceallach did?
”

“Aye,” he rep
lied. “
Tara is in need of
its
High Priestess
.”

The mild tenseness in his voice did not go unnoticed by the priestess. “What are you not telling me, cousin?
”
demanded
Shiovra
gently.

Daire
placed his hands gently on her shoulders. “Come back with
me
to Tara
.
Don’t wait for father.
I don’t want to see you hurt.
”

Shiovra
frowned, knocking his hands away
. “Don’t want to see me
hurt?” she demanded. “What are you talking about? You are not making sense. I am safe here. There is no one in Rúnda who would hurt me.”

Anger was quick to flash in
Daire
’s eyes. “
You are being naïve if you think they will just let you walk away!
” he shouted.
“They may have decided it was time for you to leave, but you will have to leave on their terms. With you heeding their every word, they
gain everything
.”

So
it is
you
r
desire to use my daughter to your own gain?

The old memory of her mother’s words resurfaced in
Shiovra
’s
mind. She shook her head
, keeping her voice calm and hard when she spoke,
“Please explain to me the meaning to your words
.
”

“
Ten years ago mother came to Tara with the sole attention of gaining you,
for what you are capable of
.
Why else do you think Tríonna
fought
against
h
er so hard
?
To protect you!
”
Daire
took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “Please, cousin
,
understand. Mother
means well, but she manipulates our lives to secure her plans. She will willingly use you like a pawn, moving you about to her desires, like she has done to all of us!”

Be wary of Réalta’s words
lest she catch you upon her w
eb
.

Shiovra
clenched her fists
as Deirdre’s painful last words echoed in her mind.
She looked away from
Daire
.

Daire
stepped back
. “It is your choice,
Shiovra
, and your choice alone,”
he said. “Wait for them to send you off
, or slip away with me
. The choice is yours to make.” He paused. “Did you know that the betrothal she spoke about when you were eight is to a Milidh man? Or has she neglected to tell you?”

Shiovra
balked
. “She would not do that…”

A short laugh passed
Daire
’s lips
. “She can and she
has,” he retorted. “To a man from the village of
Dún
Fiáin. I heard her tell father
of the decision.”

Her nails bit into her skin as she clenched her fists tighter
.

Daire
met her gaze, his eyes unwavering and warm. “But, remembe
r this. Even if you decide to leave with me, t
here sh
all always be those who will hunt you because you are a High Priestess
,
the
last
High Priestess of the Túath clan,
” he mur
mured.
“Understand this. They would
kill
to
get to you, even Rúnda will not remain
safe from their eyes
forever
. Trus
t me, like you used to do ten
years ago
, and come with me
. I don’t want to see you used. But decide first…whether you are going to get killed or fight back!”

Be wary of Ré
alta’s words
lest she catch you upon her we
b.

Hesitantly, he reached a hand out and touched her cheek. “
Shiovra
, I have given
you the truth.
Will you prove my words?
Ask them of the betrothal. Ask them why I was not permitted to visit. Ask wh
y you were not allowed to leave.
”
Daire
met her gaze firmly and said in a soft voice,
“Come with me.
”

Frowning, s
he half-heartedly knocked
his hand away. “Enough
,”
Shiovra
told him
.
“It has been ten years,
Daire
. I am no longer a child. I will seek answers, and I will do so
my
way.”
She l
ooked at him briefly then, turning away,
left the cottage.

Daire
frowned and shook his head.

“What did you expect?” came Réalta’s voice.

He turned to his mother, looking her in the eye with a cold gaze
. “
Céad Míle Fáilte,
a hundred thousand welcomes
to you too, mother
,
” he said bitterly. “Or do you not remem
ber me after leaving me to
at Tara
for fostering
so many years ago?”

Réalta brushed it off. “She cannot escape her destiny,
Daire
,” she continued. “I am merely guiding her.”

“Guiding her?!” he shouted. “You are using her like a pawn! You hide her away he
re, keeping her from her own kin
!”

“No one is forcing her to remain here!” retorted Réalta. “She remains her of her own choice!”

“She remains here because she knows nothing else!” snapped
Daire
. “You
say the time has come for her to leave, but you could have
easily trained her in Tara. Y
ou
had
to take her away and keep us out.
” Anger
flashed in his eyes. “I will sit idle no longer
!”

Réa
lta frowned. “It is not for you to decide!
She will
leave for Tara, but not with you
.”

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Shiovra
made her way
through the apple orchard
, far
beyond the clearing
. Hiking her skirts up, she waded through a stream, then continued on, let
ting the wind be her guide till she
came upon a tree with branches that were l
ow enough for her to reach
. She
cl
imbed up carefully
and
stretch
ed
out on a t
hick, strong branch. As she
sat
there
leaning against the tree trunk
,
she let
the songs of birds
lure her into utter relaxation, soothing her into tranquility. Sleep began to weave through her body and
Shiovra
closed her eyes.

She will willing use you like a pawn, moving you about to her desires, like she’s done to all of us.

She
flinched at the memory
.

You are being naïve if you think they will just let you walk away! They may have decided it was time for you to leave, but you will have to leave on their terms.

Rubbing her face,
Shiovra
leaned against the trunk of
the tree. She had not slept well after
t
he confrontation with
Daire
the day before
.
His words had triggered memories from the night of Deirdre’s death. For ten years
Shiovra
had been training on Rúnda
, leaving her family behind and doing all Réalta told her without question. Yet, with Deirdre’s last words, she had begun to doubt the purpose of keeping her on the island.
She could have easily remained in Tara for her training, by the side of the people she was to protect and her kin. Yet, Réalta had purposely separated her from them and after ten years,
Shiovra
had nearly forgotten that important fact. Nearly.

She titled her face up to the sun, allowing it to bathe her in warmth.
Away from the small village, she would be able to think clearly and decide what would be the action to take. The
day was beautiful
, even with the gray clouds moving in and drifting
over
the sun and the breeze grew in strength
, rustling the branches and leaves around her.
Shiovra
smiled lightly, relishing in the warmth that filled her.

That was, until she felt herself drift off to sleep and her balance was lost.

Shiovra
tumbled from the tree,
rather ungracefully,
colliding with nearly every branch
as she fell. Closing
her eyes
tightly, she
prepared herself
for the ground, which she knew
drew dangerously near.
To her surprise, she was roughly half caught and
half landed upon s
omeone who grunted from the impact
.
Snapping her eyes open, she scrambled to her feet.