Page 26 of A Celtic Secret
“There’s no need for that,” she began, but Declán cut her off.
“There is, as you rank higher than myself,” he said, whether they knew for sure yet. “And you are now in a kingdom with people who recognize that. Appreciate it.”
He had been surprised Raghnall hadn't demanded the same of his people, but then that would have meant putting someone above himself.
“Thank you, Bran, but please stand,” Riona insisted.
When Bran peeked up tentatively, Declán nodded that it was all right. Riona should be heeded.
“You’ll take good care of him, right, Bran?” Her eyebrows pinched when she looked from Caith to his stable boy. “Because he’s important to me.”
“Ta, m’lady.” His cheeks grew redder by the moment. “Ye have me word.”
“Good.” Her smile blossomed again. “Thank you.”
“Of course, m’lady.”
Declán sensed Riona hadn’t been inside his castle yet, and he was grateful. He had wanted to be with her when she first arrived but being here when she went inside for the first time was at least something. Everything, really.
“Let’s get you inside and warmed up, Riona,” Declán said. “Then we will see to food.”
She nodded and gave Caith one last pat before she, Luna, and Aodh followed him back out into the courtyard. He noticed how her gaze lingered on the archway at its center and looked forward to showing her it in further detail tomorrow. Everything outside, for that matter.
But first, inside.
“Ohwow,” she gasped when they entered the great hall. “Justlookat this place. It’s not what I expected....”
She didn’t need to finish her sentence for him to know what she nearly said. The outside hadn’t appealed to her nearly as much, nor should it have. The outside had been built to withstand warfare, whereas the inside had been designed to please her. Recommended by her, whether she remembered it or not. From the monstrous, elegantly designed hearth to the mammoth tapestries that displayed the woodland at various times of the day.
“It’s...” She blinked a few times in stunned awe. “I mean, Liam said it was unorthodox, but this is....”
Declán prompted her to go on, eager to hear her answer. “This iswhat, Riona?”
“Beautiful,” she said softly, still taking everything in. From the fine craftsmanship of the ash and yew furnishings to the Celtic wool rugs versus rushes. “Welcoming...and familiar.”
That was what he had hoped she would say. Hoped she would feel.
“Declán!” Eisibél flew into his arms and rested her cheek against his chest.“Tá áthas orm go bhfuil tú beo. Go ndearna tú ar ais chugainn é!I am so glad you are alive. That you made it back to us.”
“Beannachtaí,” her mother, Imag, said to Riona as she joined them as well. Her smile was tighter than Declán would have liked when she looked at their new guest. “Welcome.” Unlike Bran, she would not likely bow until she knew for sure Riona was an Unnamed One. Until she carried the dagger of her station. She glanced from Declán back to Riona. “You must be the time traveler we have been waiting for?” Before Riona could respond, she gestured at Eisibél. “Forgive my daughter her rude greeting. As you can imagine, it has been hard without her Declán here.”
While another might be put off by these two, Riona merely offered a genuine smile as Declán peeled Eisibél off him and introduced everyone. If Riona was troubled by Eisibél’s overly affectionate ways, she didn’t show it.
“Riona, Imag is a close friend of the family and looked out for me when I came to this kingdom as a child.” He gestured at Eisibél and made things clear. “This is her daughter, Eisibél. She has long been like a sister to me.”
Imag and mayhap even Eisibél had hoped it might evolve into something more, but it had not. Would not.
“So nice to meet you both.” Riona kept smiling in a way he would never tire of. “Thanks for having me. I look forward to getting to know you both.”
Where Imag’s smile remained rather tight, Eisibél’s was kindly rather than jealous. “Come.” She linked elbows with Riona. “Let us get ye out of those wet clothes into something dry before—”
“Riona?”
Riona spun. “Madison!”
It said much about how distracted he had become with Riona here that he hadn’t sensed Cian drawing closer. He’d imagined after everything that happened, his favorite brother would walk through his door with an army surrounding him, but he had naught but a few warriors and his druidess.
No surprise, given the power he felt coming off Madison when she embraced Riona. Power he had not felt as strongly in the woodland when he was with Raghnall. But then, he hadn't stood nearly so close. Not just that, but Cian’s power had stabilized as well. Fortunately, this time Imag and Eisibél were smart enough to fall to a knee and lower their heads.
