Page 89 of Ashes of Betrayal

“I will go through Golval Barrow and then travel to The Ring of Caith.”

“No,” he rasped, alarm flaring in the depths of his eyes. “You can’t travel through Sheehallion … there’s a price on your head. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“But the Raven Queen will hunt you … and I won’t be there to watch your back.”

Bree’s mouth curved.My shield.“Aye, but she won’t catch me. I have Tivesheh. He’ll bear me swiftly. Mor won’t even know I’ve crossed the veil.”

“She’ll know.”

“I won’t be in Albia long enough for that to matter anyway. It’s only a two-day journey from the barrow to the stones.”

“But wouldn’t it be safer just to go to The Ring of Caith … and for you to pass through into Sheehallion and then back again?” His brow was furrowed now, his eyes shadowed with worry.

“No,” she replied softly. “Traveling through the stones exacts its price … even for us Shee. To try to pass through the veil twice in such a short time would likely kill me.”

His gaze narrowed. “Are you certain of this?”

She nodded. “Last spring, Gil dug up texts in the archives about the stone circles for me at Caisteal Gealaich … before my mission. They warned of this.”

Cailean was looking at her now as if she’d lost her mind. But she hadn’t. This decision had been building within her for days—and it had been surprisingly easy to settle upon. Tonight, as she’d climbed the stairs to their quarters, she finally made her choice. And now that she had, the ‘rightness’ of it settled into her bones.

Ever since meeting Flynn in Morae crannog, she’d thought about what he’d done. At the time, she hadn’t understood why he’d given up his long life for a Marav woman. But she did now.

“You don’t need to do this,” he said finally. “You know that I love you, whether you’re Shee or Marav. It makes no difference.”

Bree’s throat constricted. He hadn’t said those words out loud before. “And I love you,” she whispered. Shades, she did, so much that her chest ached.

He swallowed. “But to give up your long life … for me … it’s too much.”

Her mouth curved. “This isn’t just for you,” she whispered. “It’s for me too.” She leaned in once more so that their faces were just inches apart. “I want to grow old with you, Cailean mac Brochan … to let the years carve lines upon my face. InSheehallion, it’s eternal spring, but Albia has seasons … and if I were Marav, my life would be like that too. Aye, it’ll be brief, but it’ll bebeautiful.”

39: A STORM OF ARROWS

Golval Barrow,

The Realm of Albia

Two days before Mid-Winter Fire …

BREE DREW TIVESHEH up before the barrow and inhaled a lungful of gelid air. Sliding off her stag’s back, she sank up to her ankles in soft snow. Cailean dismounted next to her while Skaal halted, shaking snow off her thick coat.

It was a three-day ride to Golval Barrow from Duncrag, although the snow had made the trip harder going. They’d been wary during the journey, for the Shee were abroad these days. But Golval Barrow was a safe enough spot, for it lay near the border between The Uplands and The Wolds—far from where the Shee were currently gathered.

The barrow rose before her, its rounded surface gleaming white in the weak sunlight. Behind it, the waters of Loch Caith were pale, iced over. There wasn’t a whisper of a breeze this evening, and this close to the barrow, there was no sound of birdlife. The world was frozen, dead.

“Are you still sure you want to do this?” Cailean asked, drawing her attention. “You can change your mind, you know?”

Bree turned to him, their gazes meeting. “I’m sure.”

And she was.

Moving close to him, she slid her hands under the thick fur mantle he wore, her arms locking around his torso. She sighed then; compared to hers, his body was a furnace. As beautiful as it was, the winter was taking its toll on her. She’d shivered her way through the past moon and a half, since returning to Duncrag. The Marav didn’t enjoy the bitter season either, but for a Shee, who was used to living in sunshine and warmth, it was torture.

The cold drilled deep into her bones and never left.

It was another reason why she had to do this—as a Marav, she’d be able to put up with this chill easier. She thought of the Shee that now lived in The Uplands, where winters were bitter indeed. They’d all be suffering by now.

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