Page 26 of A Celtic Vow
“What good would it do to force people to believe what I do?” He shook his head. “One must find their way to their own deity or ‘tis false hope, is it not?”
“I suppose it is.” She smiled and thanked several of his men when they brought them satchels of bread and other odds and ends. Where some kings might be put off that she had his warriors running such errands for people who were already well cared for, Aodh wasn’t one of them.
He liked her charitable ways as she managed to have not only his warriors but their king handing out food. There was plenty to spare from the night before, so why not? In addition, it was, however pure a gesture on her part, a savvy way to warm his people to him again. Not to mention, a good way for Constance to win over their hearts. Something he suspected she would manage even if she threw mud at them.
While not the morn he expected to have with her, it was much welcomed. She seemed to enjoy every aspect of his castle. From everyday life to the structure itself.
“It’s all so sturdy and functional yet inviting,” she eventually said after he gave her a tour of the armory, stables, livery, then the innards of the castle, including the kitchens. “It suits you.” She blushed a little when he knew she focused on the wordinvitingmore than anything. “What I mean to say is it’s a good castle for a dragon king.”
“I don’t know,” he teased. “’Twas not so sturdy when met with dragon fire.”
“Yet still functional and inviting.” Her cheeks reddened even more when her gaze swept over him, then darted away. “Functional, for sure.” She cleared her throat when she realized what that word might imply as well. “The castle, that is,” she stuttered, “still functional and robust.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, she had just compared his castle to his cock. He chuckled when her eyes widened, and she looked anywhere but at him. Although tempted to say a great many things, all in a flirtatious manner, he feared her closing off to him like she had the day before. He’d do anything to avoid it now he knew how much he enjoyed her company. Enjoyed seeing her in her element, which seemed to be his castle and people more by the moment.
Or so it appeared until they joined Eircc on the highest battlement, and things took an unexpected turn.
Chapter Nine
ALMOST FROM THE MOMENTConstance arrived on the battlement with Aodh, and her gaze locked on King’s Fall, dread filled her, and the happiness she’d enjoyed in his company over the past few hours faded. Why was she responding to it so much more strongly than she had earlier today?
“Are ye all right, m’lady?” Eircc asked when he must have seen the look on her face. His alarmed gaze went from her to the countryside. “Do ye see something I do not?”
She had been nervous around Aodh’s second-in-command when they first met. Almost as large as his king, he was ruggedly handsome despite the lightning-shaped scar that ran from his right temple to the corner of his opposite jaw. While gruff and hard to connect with initially, he had a presence she liked. A deep devotion to his king she appreciated. Aodh might be half dragon, but Eircc would protect him with his last dying breath.
A sense of protection that clearly extended to her as well because she’d caught him hovering near her more often than not the night before. Not in a stalker sort of way, but in a fashion that told her he would die for her just as readily. She wasn’t sure why, either, until she caught him glancing between her and Aodh when he didn’t think she was looking. It appeared he liked what he saw between them despite her keeping his king at arm’s length.
More than that, he would defend it.
He had said as much when she got the opportunity to talk with him later in the evening. Eircc was a man of few words, but what little he'd said was revealing. How pleased he was to see his liege alive like he once was. To see hope and even happiness in his eyes when both had been absent for far too long.
She wanted to ask him more about that, but others wanted to talk to her as well, and once again, Eircc faded into a protective shadow. At several points throughout the day, she’d wanted to ask Aodh what Eircc meant, but the timing never seemed right. When was the last time Aodh had been alive and happy? Who made him that way? Now she wondered...could it have been her?
“Constance?” Aodh said, pulling her from the strange sense of dread she’d felt looking at King’s Fall. There was no missing the concern in his voice. “Did you hear Eircc? Are you well?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, still staring at the waterfall. “I just got this horrible sensation of....”
