Page 28 of A Celtic Secret
Chapter Nine
“I’M NOT KIDDING you, sis,” Riona swore. “Declán and Siobhán are together, or at least were, so I worry about trusting him too much.” She sighed, never so thankful to anyone, regardless. “Then again, hedidsave Luna, so how bad can he be?” She rounded her eyes at Madison as she helped her dress after bathing. “Like hero-out-of-a-novel saved her by rushing back into the fray. By putting his life on the line in abigway.”
“That we know of,” Madison reminded. “If what you say is true about him and Siobhán, how do we know he didn’t make it all up to get on your good side? To make you trust him? He could have just as easily gone back and waved hello to fellow warriors that knew what he was up to rather than fight them.”
“True.” She narrowed her eyes and thought about it. “I didn’t feel threatened by him the first time we touched, though, and you would’ve thought I would have been had he truly been a bad guy. Then again, I didn’t sense that off Raghnall initially either.” She shook her head. “All I know is touching Declán felt different. A lot different.Moresomehow.”
“Familiar and safe?” Madison said, filling in the blanks as she ran a crude comb through Riona’s hair.
“Yeah,” she whispered, eyeing the gorgeous chamber she had been given. It all felt so welcoming. “Just like the inside of this castle. This very room.” She bit the corner of her lip and shrugged. “And arousing. A lot of that, actually.”
“I would imagine.”
She felt Madison’s hesitation rather than saw it.
“Yet you were aroused by Raghnall as well, right?” her sister went on. “Drawn to him?”
“Yes, initially.” She cocked her head, thinking about it. “Drawn,attracted, but I wouldn’t necessarily say aroused. No, that only happened with Declán when....”
Madison’s eyes flared green with her druidess magic when she looked at Riona. Almost as if she sought out the answer. A truth they could not see. “When what?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I just got the sudden sense it happened long before Declán and I actually touched. Sure, he’s Cian-hot, but I’m not sure I was that aroused until we touched. Almost as if it was kept from me, which makes no sense.”
Amusement lit Madison’s eyes. “Are you using my husband as a basis for how other men look?”
“Heck, yeah.” She couldn’t help a small smile. “Can you blame me?”
Madison chuckled. “Not at all.”
“So what do you make of me not being as aroused as I know you had to have been the first time you laid eyes on your husband?” Riona wondered.
“I’d say you were either under the influence of Raghnall’s magic,” Madison replied, “or your inner druidess was protecting Declán.”
“My inner druidess?” She shook her head. “Something I have no real grasp on despite healing both Aodh and Caith?”
“Absolutely.” Madison looked at her with pride. “Your inner druidess, your inner Unnamed One, will protect not just you but the ones you love at all cost.”
“While I can’t see loving Declán and Aodh quite yet,” she chuckled, “I’d say I’m already there with Caith.”
“I get it.” Madison smiled. “And I think youwilllove not just Declán but his brothers in the end. Declán in a much deeper way, but love for all of them regardless. Even if it wasn’t already in your nature, I believe it inherently goes with the prophecy. We’ll be family when everything’s said and done.”
“Right,” she muttered, ignoring another spike of jealousy. “I’ll love the guy who clearly has something going on with Siobhán.” She scowled. “What’s with that woman, anyway? How did she manage to land three out of four brothers when she’s not all that? Sure, she’s beautiful, but couldn’t theyfeelher? Because outside of what we already know, there’s something really nasty about her. Oozing out of her for lack of a better word.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Madison looked Riona over and smiled with approval. “While I love your blue druidess dress, you look gorgeous in this dress as well, sweetie.”
Riona eyed the simple yet elegant blue linen dress Eisibél had provided. “Blue seems to be a pattern for me here.”
“Green was for me, too.” Madison shrugged and handed her a cup of what turned out to be pretty strong whiskey, of which she didn't hesitate to take a few solid gulps. “Every dress given to me was green.”
“It’s a good color on you.” Riona admired Madison’s green druidess dress. “Especiallythatshade of green. It really is stunning.”
“Just like yours.” Madison eyed the dress she had dried with a chant and hung nearby. “I know you wanted to take it off for now, but it will follow you, sis. When you need it most, it’ll be there.”
She chuckled. “Sort of like Cinderella’s fairy godmother’s gown, eh?”
“A lot like that.” Madison tilted her head in question. “And why, again, don’t you want to put it back on right now? Wear it for your first night in a castle you claim is right out of a fairytale?”
“Because I’m not ready to be worshiped like you were downstairs.” She took another sip. “Assuming I’m meant to team up with Declán, I’d rather ease into all this and not seem so high and mighty.” She shrugged a shoulder. “You know me. I’m not one for pomp. More than that, it seems like I’ll have to work a little harder than you did to make friends around here.”
