Page 23 of The Splendor of Fire
Mowbray grunted. “Then what I propose may not be such a shock to you.”
Wind kicked up off the harbor and a taste of sea salt spattered across Leo’s lips. He licked them, grateful for the blast of sea, wishing he could dive into its cover. “More than helping you organize your prison?”
“Aye. Help me organize an uprising. You know well how your family punishes the just—the ones who would challenge their power and authority. Help me bring an end to their rule, to restore our clan to a place of respect among the Isles.”
When Léo didn’t respond Mowbray continued. “It wasn’t my idea. It was Eoghan’s.”
“Eoghan O’Gallagher?” He’d heard the name many times from Father Allen. Suspicion eroded what he thought he knew. Constant mentions of Eoghan, then the offer to allow him to move aroundthe prison freely, now an invitation to help lead an uprising. What did Father Allen know, and what was he up to?
“Eoghan is chief marshal of theLucht Tighe?2 cavalry of the O’Donnell Clan, the high leader of their guard. Seems he was captured off the coast of Iona by Fingon’s patrols. Discovered who he was and thought they’d hold on to him. Fingon keeps upping Eoghan’s ransom amount, which is why he’s still sitting here after three months. He’s mad enough to want revenge.”
“Eoghan wants a prison uprising so we can escape?”
Mowbray shook his head and lowered his voice, though there was only the wind and the waves to hear them. “He wants a clan uprising to install you as chief. To overthrow Niall and fight back against the Wolf.”
Léo almost burst into another fit of belly laughter. “No. The answer to that is no. If you want a brother to overthrow Niall you’re looking for Fingon. I don’t want to be the chief. My home is in Calais, with my son.”
Mowbray’s face hardened and his fists clenched. “It’s a good thing Colm cannae see you now. I know who he named as his successor.”
The sea swelled and a white wave broke over the rock in front of Léo, drenching him in seawater. He wiped the water out of his eyes.
The voice spoke clearly into Léo’s heart.It’s time. Stop running.
Léo’s heart pounded in his chest, and he looked at Mowbray, the urge to deny his most deeply held secret stealing his strength away. At once he was transported to the Chief’s darkened chamber, his dying father lying beside his dead maman. The chieftains of the MacKinnons lining the walls, surrounding them as his da held onto his hand. Niall and Fingon were arguing in front of the fire about who would receive what from the treasury on Staffa, paying little attention to their father’s final moments.
Da pulled him to himself and placed his right hand upon his head. “Behold, I name my heir. He will become as a multitude, and his descendants will rule over this land as an everlasting possession. I give you one portion above your brothers in repayment for the great wrong I have done to your mother. God be with you, Chief Léonid Cormac MacKinnon.”
It had been his father’s dying breath, naming him chief and charginghis chieftains to endorse him. One-by-one, each chieftain knelt and pledged their fealty—and signed their death warrants.
Léo grunted. “If you haven’t noticed, all the chieftains for our septs?3 were killed within three days of my father’s death. There’s not a man alive, besides you, Niall, and Fingon, who knows that. How did you know it, anyway? You weren’t there, your father didn’t even make it back to Mishnish before they killed him.”
“Colm told me months before he died what he was going to do. Once the chieftains were killed and you disappeared, I knew you must have been confirmed. We were the only sept to maintain an independent chieftainship, but only thanks to Chief Lachlan MacLean’s promise of a full out war on Niall if he set foot on Mull to capture more land. Niall was too scared of Lachlan and his ties to the King of the Isles to risk the cost of battle. Though he wants Mull, badly.”
Léo had never told a living soul that he was Chief of the MacKinnons. Not even Hector. Unlike his father’s chieftains, he knew how to stay quiet and save his own neck. It was a position he wasn’t born to, a position he did not want.
“All I want is to see my son.”
“You’re Chief of the MacKinnons, Léonid. Like it or not, they’re your responsibility. They need you.”
“Who’ve you told I’m chief?”
“Father Allen and Eoghan. No one else knows.”
If Father Allen knew, Moira likely knew. “Whoever knows is at acute risk of death. Do you swear that they are the only two who know?”
“I swear it.”
“What of Father Allen’s daughter, Moira?”
Mowbray wavered. “It’s likely she knows, though I cannae say for certain.”
Protectiveness flooded him, and he was filled with his warrior’s instincts to watch over and protect her. “You must get her away from here if she knows. It isn’t safe.”
“Only if Niall finds out.”
Desperation overcame him and he took Mowbray’s plaid in his fist, pulling him close with the last bit of his strength, “No onemust everfind out. Do you understand me? If you truly recognize me as chief then understand that this is the last I will discuss it. I’ll help you take care of the prisoners and improve our conditions but I will not put anyone at risk to overthrow Niall.”
Mowbray squinted against the rising wind then stepped back from Léo’s reach. “I’ll need to be taking you in.”
