Page 81 of The Crown of Moonlight
“Some of us are well known to have no manners, so I’ll apologise on their behalf—and mine,” he says.“We didn’t know who you were at first.Although—as Chyr has pointed out—that’s no excuse for being offensive.I’m Ronan, and the two idiots are Daire and Lorcan.”
He points them out, and Daire, the blond, glares back at me with fury smouldering in his blue, otherworldly eyes.I look away, then steel my spine and stare back at him with my brows arched.His build is stronger than the others, and his wide jaw tapers in a sharp triangle to a stubborn chin.The fact that he’s glowering down at me from his position in the saddle only makes him more intimidating.
Lorcan, the other one, sits his horse with an easy grace.He’s pretty—even for an Ever—and his strength is leaner, his features more delicate beneath dark, silky hair.He doesn’t glare openly, but something cunning swims behind his hard, emerald eyes that warns of a sharp intelligence I shouldn’t underestimate.
I’m in no mood to feign forgiveness or mince my words.
I turn back to Ronan.“I’ll accept your apology, but I don’t see the point of forgiving someone if they can’t be bothered to speak on their own behalf.”
Turning away, I stoop to check Bramble’s hind legs for any sign of injury or heat.She seems all right, so I give her neck a reassuring pat and walk back to Eira.
Chyr tries to help me mount, but I’ll be damned if I’ll show more weakness in front of the Riders.I tuck the front of my skirt deeper into my belt to keep it out of the way, then I push my foot into the stirrup.My knee and thigh shake with effort as I swing myself up, but eventually I drop into the saddle with a bit of dignity intact.
“I hate to suggest it since it sets us back even more, but we should go back to the cavern where Chyr and I slept yesterday.If we try to ride on, we’ll be too close to the enemy camp at daybreak, and we’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere big enough to conceal us all.”
“Can we still make it to Muilean in three nights?”Chyr asks sharply.
“I can’t promise anything.It won’t be easy either way, and we don’t know what might be waiting for us between here and the Loch of Rebirth.But if we’re caught in the open when the sun comes up, we won’t get there at all.”
The Riders look to Chyr for his reaction.His face is pale, and tension rolls off him in waves as he gives me a silent nod.Then he swings himself onto Bramble’s back.
“We should ride through the trees wherever we can.We don’t want to lead anyone to us,” Ronan says.“I’ll cover our tracks wherever we have to use the trail.”
“You can do that?”I ask.
“Earth magic.A little loosening of the soil here and there, a bit of dust scattered across the tracks.Simple enough.”Ronan winks at me.“I can be more impressive, if you like.”
Chyr shakes his head.“Your idea of impressive might be different from Flora’s.Her earth magic threw me into the air on her first attempt.”
The Riders stare at me, and I set Eira into a trot.We follow the drovers’ track along Loch Seil back towards Glen Fhionain.The Shadehounds dart in front of me and seem content to run slightly ahead of the rest of us.
The sky lightens, gradually fading to the grey-blue that precedes the dawn.We push the horses faster to beat the sunrise, but the closer we come to the cavern, the more I dread going back there.
The cavern is where I claimed a sliver of freedom.Then I gave myself to a man who took my freedom from me.
Chapter 31
Oaths and Banishment
Chyr
T
he cavern hasn’t changed.Even the scent of intimacy lingers, along with the smell of horse and damp.Only twenty-odd hours ago, Flora lay here in my arms and gasped my name in hunger.If I close my eyes, I can almost feel her mouth on mine, the curve of her spine arching into my hands, the way the magic curled between us.
Now she refuses to look at me, and I can feel her thinking, plotting.I keep her beside me when we all split up to water the horses and gather forage so we can get out of sight before dawn breaks.Until then, there’s no time for anyone to talk.
But once the chores are finished, Lorcan’s dark voice cuts the silence first.“Explain,” he demands, stepping in front of me.“What in the Pit just happened?”
I turn and lift the saddle from Bramble’s back and carry it to where Flora is already setting Eira’s saddle down.Lorcan huffs and follows me.As he nears Flora, the Shadehounds shift uneasily where they’ve flopped down near the cavern entrance, their heads lowered while they weigh whether he’s a threat.
Flora straightens, and the Crown of Flame across her brow paints gold and red reflections on the cavern wall.She stares at them, her back stiff and her shoulders tense.I reach for her, but she shifts away.
“Answer the question, Chyr.We deserve an explanation.”Lorcan squares his chest up against the saddle that I’m holding, forcing my attention back to him.His dark hair is tangled, and there’s no hint of the amusement he likes to hide behind.
Already frayed beyond recognition, my self-control shatters.“You know what happened,” I snap at him.“We Hunted the Maiden, and we’ve invited even more chaos into this war for the sake of the damned oaths that own us.We’ve taken all of Flora’s freedom from her.”
Flora’s head turns towards me, tears shining in her eyes.
