Page 72 of A Celtic Secret
“Nay, m'lady.”
“Did you hear them, Riona?” Declán asked her.
“No.” She frowned. “Which is troubling, don’t you think?”
Very.
“I take it people fear ‘tis Raghnall,” Declán asked Áengus.
“Without a doubt,” his second-in-command replied. “And King Cian seems to feel the same because he’s been up since dawn standing on the tallest battement. He but stares north with a wary expression if I ever saw one.”
While frustrated Cian hadn’t woke him sooner, Declán knew his real aggravation lay in him still slumbering when his people were already in need. He said as much, too, when he and Riona joined Cian and Madison a short time later.
“You need not feel shame,” his brother replied. “Madison said you needed time to discover more secrets that would make all the difference in the end. ‘Tis true,ta?”
“’Tis,” Declán confirmed, forgetting how much Madison and Riona were connected now.
Cian’s gaze never left the horizon, and with good reason. The roars coming from that direction were inhuman. Ferocious. Terrifying in their intensity. Like a caged lion, only a hundred times louder.
“’Tis Aodh,” Declán murmured, feeling his brother in a way he never had before. His thoughts were dark and angry. Evil. Terribly inhumane.
“’Tis,” Cian said. “But those are not his thoughts.” He shook his head. “Not his true inner dragon.”
“Nay,” Declán agreed. “’Tis Raghnall influencing him.”
“Not Siobhán?” Madison asked. “Because I could see her doing such a thing. I can only imagine what she might be capable of with a dragon under her control.”
“More than just a dragon,” Cian reminded grimly, “but one of her former lovers.”
“That wouldn’t be good.” Riona frowned. “Poor Aodh. I can’t imagine what he’s going through if he’s even half aware he’s been enslaved in dragon form. Worse yet, that his dragon could soon be released on his own brothers. On his fellow Irish.”
“’Twould not be good.” Cian sighed. “For few are so pious and mourn the loss of innocent lives as deeply as he.”
As if in response to Cian’s comment, the roar sounded more strangled this time. Almost as though Aodh were trying to reach out to them from some hellish prison in which he was trapped. Not just the body of a beast he had sworn he would never embrace again but one fueled with pure evil. With rage so deep, it would be a miracle if this castle, even with all its safeguards, could withstand his wrath.
“We need to see to our people,” Declán said when he heard the unrest below. The courage everyone had found last night quickly waned in the face of Aodh’s distant roars. “We need to remind them that we can stand strong against this, but only if we remain calm and level-headed.” He looked at the others in warning. “’Twould not do to have mayhem.”
Riona nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Madison nodded as well. “You and Declán see to what you need to, Riona.” She gave her sister a reassuring look. “I’ll follow your lead when it’s time to fight from your magical exits.”
“Meanwhile, I’ll make sure all our warriors are in position.” Cian clasped Declán’s shoulder, his concern clear, but his support appreciated, given what came at them was bound to be ten times worse than what Cian had fought at his castle. “Fight well when the time comes, brother, then we shall toast to victory afterward.”
Would they? Was such a thing possible considering what they felt building inside Aodh? An unfathomable hatred that would soon prove every bit as terrifying as it felt.
