Page 27 of A Celtic Vow
“Of what?” he urged when she trailed off.
“I’m not sure other than it was worse than what I felt in my nightmare.” She finally managed to look at him, relieved to find him still standing beside her when it felt like he should be gone. No longer alive. “And I didn’t think I could feel anything worse than that.”
“Are you sure you want to go there today?” He rested a supportive hand on her shoulder when she swayed at the impact of what she’d felt. “We could go another—”
“No,” she managed hoarsely and cleared her throat. Her gaze drifted back to the landmark. “We need to go today. I,we, need to understand what happened there.”
He nodded slowly as if he felt the same way. As if he understood what she had only just realized. “And alone,ta?”
“Yes.” She looked at him again. “Others can travel with us, even remain in the woodland around us, but I think you and I should go to it alone.”
She could tell he understood why, too. Not because she had any intention of ending him, a goal that struck her as preposterous now because she wouldneverkill anyone, but because going there could very well bring their dragons to the surface. If it did, there was no way to know what kind of mood they would be in. How dangerous they might become.
Aodh nodded and looked at Eircc. “See my horse readied along with a handful of men of your choosing.” He glanced from the sky to his second-in-command. “Another storm brews, so prepare for a possible overnight stay unless ye decide to come back to the castle sooner.”
Eircc nodded and left, but not before he made it clear if they stayed, he would too.
“Be careful, you guys,” Shannon said a short time later when Aodh requested she and Liam oversee his castle while they were gone. She understood, without him saying it, why Aodh would not give command to Ulrik. While he’d certainly helped them a great deal already, it was one step too far letting a Viking oversee his people in his absence.
“It’s also a good opportunity for you to let Liam know you trust him like you once did,” Constance said as he swung up onto his horse behind her. “Which is important.”
According to Aodh, his former horse, now Riona’s familiar and horse, Caith, was gone, likely returned to her side, so he was fortunate Eircc had procured another mount suitable to Aodh’s size. One large enough to support both of them for the trek to King’s Fall. Bea made sure they had an overnight satchel of food and drink and cooed over Constance to stay safe as though she already claimed her as the daughter she’d never had.
“Don’t just be careful but stay watchful, sis,” Shannon said as she and Liam saw them off in the courtyard. “I have a feeling,” she narrowed her eyes in the direction of King’s Fall, “that this trip is going to show you a great deal.” She shook her head. “And not all good.”
“I think you’re right.” Constance looked at her sister with reassurance. “But it’s time I face it...time I stop running from my nightmare once and for all.”
Shannon squeezed her hand and nodded in return. “Good luck. I’m proud of you.”
Constance wasn’t sure she would go that far, but she was thankful for her sister’s support.
“Why not go that far?” Aodh wondered after he thanked his brother for watching over his people, and they headed over the drawbridge with warriors at their front and back. “’Tis clear you’re a lass that anyone would be proud of.”
“Am I, though?” She sighed. “When I still don’t understand my connection to Siobhán? Why I still don’t feel the same rage towards her everyone else does?” She shook her head. “Rage, IknowI should feel.”
“Keep in mind you still don’t know how much she might be influencing you.” He wrapped his strong arm more securely around her as if subconsciously protecting her. “Because I don’t doubt for a moment she’s interfered a great deal in our lives in ways we’ve yet to understand.”
She couldn’t help but agree. Somehow, some way, Siobhán had left her mark on their lives. Likely in both this one and the last.
“Oh, no,” she groaned when Zeke trotted up alongside them as they reached the woodland. She glanced at Ulrik, who rode on their other side. “You’ll keep an eye on him if anything happens?”
“Of course.” He grinned. “As it seems you have a dog who’s not afraid of dragons.”
“So it appears.” She squeezed the talisman in her pocket for good luck and said a little prayer for her husky to stay safe. Thankfully, or so she had thought up until now, Zeke wasn’t nearly as adventurous as his sibling, Luna.
“I think ‘tis not so much wanderlust you’re looking at,” Aodh said, following her thoughts easily enough now, “but a strong need to protect you.”
“He’s always been good at that.” She looked at Zeke fondly as he scanned the forest, keeping an eye out for trouble. “I’m lucky to have him.”
“As is he you,” Aodh said softly, his warm breath close to her ear like it had been yesterday. And just like the day before, it invoked a strong response.
Everything about him did.
Despite her trepidation about what lay ahead, she was more aware of him than ever. Not just of how he felt at her back but by what she sensed about him more and more. The kind of man he was. Not just a savior as a dragon but perhaps as a man too. It was clear, despite what his dragon had so recently done, that his people were quick to forgive him and love him.
How could they not?
Aodh was as kind as he was intimidating. A gentle giant when among those who mattered most to him. Even though his people were well taken care of, he thought nothing of letting her give away even more. She knew if she stayed on, if any of this still existed, there would be a period of adjustment as she got used to the medieval period. Because as charitable as she was, there was an order to everything, and she was grateful he’d said nothing today when he might have. As it were, she doubted he let anything go to waste.
