Page 49 of A Celtic Vow
Almost too deep.
It didn’t keep them from bowing their heads to her, though. She sensed they wanted to dismount, drop to a knee and lower their heads in respect but stayed where they were so they could defend their king and queen if need be.
“Shouldn’t Aodh, maybe even both of us, talk to them now?”she said into Shannon’s mind.“Shouldn’t we—”
“No,”Shannon replied.“There’s no need for you guys to try to win this kingdom over twice. Once is all we have time for.”
She felt her sister’s angst. Her frustration that anyone would look down on Aodh when everything he’d done was out of his control because he’d been possessed by not one enemy, but two. To her mind, being the lover of all animals and helpless creatures made him innocent. It frustrated her nobody could see that when Aodh had been a good king up until his dragon was taken.
And a good dragon before he’d been ruthlessly used.
“I love you, sis,”she couldn’t help but murmur because she really, truly did. All three of her sisters.“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”She nodded at Constance once as though simply bestowing a queenly gesture her way.“Aodh’s an amazing king and dragon. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”
She could tell by the passion in her sister’s internal voice that it had been hard to see. Hard to pull him back from the abysmal place in which Siobhán had trapped him.
“No, I do need to thank you and your family.”She hoped her sister understood how much she meant that.“I...we...”She did her best to calm her emotions.“Aodh and I would have never found each other like we should have if you three hadn’t done what you did, and we’ll always be thankful.”
She had said it at Aodh’s castle but meant it more than ever now. Meant it because she remembered how much she loved him. How catastrophic it would have been to lose him before she ever found him again.
But she hadn't lost him, and now it was time to make amends.
Something that would take place sooner rather than later, thanks to Shannon’s magic getting them to her and Liam’s castle in little time. Now they could only hope amends were still a possibility and things went well.
Chapter Sixteen
AODH SUSPECTED WHENLiam’s warriors met them at his southern border that forgiveness would not come easily with all. How could it, when in their minds, he had ordered his own men to kill four of theirs? Friends all? Even if he had been controlled by Siobhán, some blame fell on his shoulders because he’d been too weak to fight her off.
Too weak to keep from being possessed in the first place.
Now he was accountable and felt it in the uneasy glances they shot his way. Glances born not just of the long rivalry that had existed between him and Liam over Siobhán but because his dragonshouldhave been strong enough.
That’s all they saw, all they felt, and they wereright.
“In part, ta, but only because they had no way of understanding what it was ye were truly up against,”Liam said telepathically.“What it feels like to fight something trying to possess ye.”He gave him a knowing look.“’Twould be where I would start if I were ye, even though I suspect my kingdom will be more easily won over than ye think.”
