Page 103 of The Splendor of Fire
Slowly, she enunciated silent words.I was exploring.
He scoffed. “Exploring?”
She nodded.
“Exploring my brother’s room?”
Your mother said it belonged to a servant.
Fingon’s beady eyes narrowed and she could see nothing of Léo in the duplicity swarming in them.
Is there anything else?
His eyes swept her from head to toe. “I’ve a feeling you were up here looking for Léonid. He’ll be away for the next five days in Kylerhea. Orders from Niall.”
Her heart sank. Léo would never have left for five days and not given her instruction. Fingon studied her reaction closely but she did not betray her feelings.
Will he?
Fingon locked stares with her, and she got the feeling he was trying to divine her thoughts. Fortunately for her, empty-headed Moira the Mute had none.
“You may go.”
She dropped her eyes and curtseyed, descending down the stairs, making a concerted effort not to run. She’d nearly made it to her floor when Fingon’s voice sounded behind her.“Mistress Allen?”
Moira’s feet stopped and her breath came in small bursts, as she tried to remain calm. Slowly, she turned.
“What is this?”
Her heart fell into her shoes and she mouthed the answer.A Psalter.
Chapter 30
KYLERHEA GRANARY - SEPTEMBER 25, 1385
Until the gathering at Dunvegan, everything had gone according to plan. And now, in only a few days, everything in Léo’s world was falling apart.
Please God, keep her safe.The same words he’d prayed for days came to his mind as he watched workers feed grain into the granary. The guard had ushered he and Gordon to Kylerhea to complete the harvest five days ago, informing them they must remain and not return to Dun Ringill until Niall arrived. Something was amiss, and for days he’d been tortured by fear for Moira’s safety.
Please God, don’t leave her alone. Better that she feel your presence than I.
Gordon stood at the door to the granary, issuing instructions, but keeping his eyes resolutely away from Léo. Having beaten him into a semblance of good behavior, the man had barely spoken a word to Léo since the night of the attack on Moira. Gordon rubbed around his collarbone, wiping the sweat from his brow, looking ill.
A distant sound of thunder rumbled and Léo looked at the cloudless sky, wondering at the noise. And then, on the horizon he saw the gathering cloud of dust.War.
Instincts sharpening, he drove Thorny forward, considering hispaths of escape. His eyes found a break in the heather that traveled up into the elevation of the mountains. On the skittish rouncey he would be easily overtaken on a straightaway, but the animal was robust enough to navigate a mountain path better than a fine-boned palfrey.
A contingent of fifty strange guard burst over the hill, Niall riding at the front. Léo studied the colors held aloft with the pelican argent feeding her young from her own breast.Stewart.The Wolf’s personal guard.
Niall held his fist in the air and the guard barked in response. The noise caused Gordon to turn, his face full of interest that diminished into terror. Niall turned his fist and gave the order, “Seize him!” Léo’s fist tightened around his estoc.
At once, the guard moved in, passing Léo and surrounding and seizing Gordon, hauling him toward Niall. Disbelief burst through Léo’s chest. They weren’t here to take him, they were taking Gordon. It could mean only one thing—Niall knew about the attack on Moira.
Niall waved Léo forward. “Léonid.”
Léo led Thorny, tail swishing, back legs bucking, toward his brother.
Niall nodded at him. “I understand there was an incident while I was away.”
