by Phoebe Conn
Nearing the heart of the forest, they left their mounts to continue on foot. Egan plucked a fallen branch from the leaves padding the forest floor and hurled it after his half brother. “This is more time than I’ve spent with him in years,” Egan confided softly.
Albyn might have lost track of Kieran’s age, but his memory was clear on one point. “He idolized you as a lad, but you ignored him.’ Tis no wonder he’s issued a challenge.”
Egan studied the angle of the sun overheard to judge the hour and cursed the day for creeping by much too slowly. He then raised his hand to signal stealth, and his party halted in midstride to listen for the low grunting snort of a boar. All they heard, however, was Kieran’s group filing by on their left.
Egan paused to consider a change of direction, and Albyn again came to his side. Frustrated, Egan spit before voicing his confusion, “I’ll fight Kieran in ways he’s never even heard of, let alone seen, but I can’t understand why it is so important for me to keep him alive.”
Oriana’s desperation had also weighed heavily on Albyn’s mind, but he had come to only one conclusion. “Perhaps there is simply too much of you in Kieran for Oriana to wish him any harm.”
“She is not overly fond of me,” Egan scoffed. “Why should the close resemblance matter?”
Not trusting their lives to the hounds, Albyn squatted down to scan the forest with a watchful eye. Relieved to find no sign of danger, he rose and spoke freely. “I fear you have also badly underestimated Oriana. Such a remarkable young woman would not give her love lightly, and her affection would surely spill over to include Kieran as well.”
Egan longed to accept Albyn’s wild raving as true, but he was reluctant to believe Oriana held any tender feelings for him. “Let us keep our minds on our task,” he grumbled, but with every step, it became increasingly difficult.
Finally, with a great strength of will, he locked the distracting thoughts of Oriana away in his heart. With every step his eagerness for a fight grew, and when a boar suddenly broke from the thicket in a wild, scrambling charge, he was poised for the kill.
Oriana went first to Egan’s chamber, left her cloak, and from there made her way to Adelaine’s room. Just as she had hoped, Myrna was there adding fresh rushes to the floor. The door stood ajar, but not wishing to startle the friendly servant, Oriana rapped lightly.
“Oh, it is you, lass,” Myrna exclaimed. “Is there something you’re needing?” She scattered the last of the rushes and came forward.
Oriana closed the door behind her, and taking Myrna’s tiny hand, led her toward the bed. “Please, sit here with me for a while. I’ve so many questions, and you’re the only one I can ask.”
Myrna blushed with pride, and she swayed a bit, until she was nearly dancing over the carpet of rushes to the bed. “I know so little, but ask whatever you please, and I’ll do my best to answer.”
Oriana waited for the little woman to make herself comfortable before she took her place at her side. “You seem to have such fond memories of Adelaine. If it would not sadden you too greatly, can you tell me how she died?”
Myrna leaned back, and her eyes widened in alarm. As though desperate for courage, she knotted her hands tightly in her lap. “It was all so long ago. Why do you want to go stirring up trouble?”
“She was Egan’s mother,” Oriana stressed, “and my curiosity about her is quite natural. I’d ask Egan, but he was too young to recall the details.”
Already cognizant of that fact, Myrna straightened until her spine was as stiff as a poker. She sat there frozen for an instant, and then a reply burst from her pursed lips. “Aye. I’ve forgotten them too.”
“No, you haven’t, and we’re going to sit right here until you describe in explicit detail exactly how Adelaine met her death.”
Myrna shook her head so violently, the bun atop her head began to list toward her left ear. “No one was there, lass, so the story died with her.”
Myrna was so terribly uneasy, Oriana was certain she knew far more. Egan might be able to force the truth from her, but she doubted he would agree to try. That meant she would have to find the answers on her own.
“Please take me to where Adelaine was standing when she fell. Once I’ve seen it, perhaps I’ll be better able to imagine what happened.”
“Oh, no, I never go up there,” Myrna vowed. “I refuse to make the climb.”
“Up where?” Oriana asked softly.
“Just follow the winding stairs to the top. You’ll come out on the wall walk behind the battlements. It’s windy and cold, so you best wear your heavy cloak.”
Oriana smiled at the motherly advice. “Did Adelaine enjoy strolling the battlements?”
Myrna’s scowl deepened. “No. I never knew her to seek out a chilly wind.”
Encouraged by that aside, Oriana offered another possibility. “Perhaps the magnificent view drew her.” Perhaps due to the depressing nature of their conversation, Oriana shivered from a sudden chill. “What time of day did she fall?”
The need to confide in a sympathetic listener continued to war with Myrna’s natural reserve, and a lengthy silence preceded her reply. “The mists had already drifted down off the mountain, but when I came to help Adelaine dress for the evening meal, her chamber was empty.”
Myrna paused to weigh her every word with care. “She spent many an afternoon with Cadell, or with Egan, so I did not worry until they both came to look for her here.”
“So she may have been missing long before her absence was noted?”
Hot tears stung Myrna’s eyes, and she wiped them away on the hem of her long tunic. “Like as not, she was already dead, my lady, but we searched the whole fortress for her. It wasn’t until dawn that a guard spied her broken body on the rocky cliff bordering the sea.”
The elderly woman raised shaking hands to cover her ears. “I’ll never forget Cadell’s anguished screams. By the time he reached his dear wife’s body, he was all cut and bloody from scrambling down the cliff, but he sat out there all day holding her in his arms. We all feared he would carry her out to sea and drown himself to be with her.”
“Oh, how awful,” Oriana murmured, and she began to pat Myrna’s bony shoulders. “But he lived many more years, so someone must have convinced him to embrace life despite the loss of his beloved wife.”
Briefly, Myrna appeared puzzled, but then she shrugged. “Well, of course you wouldn’t know, but it was Egan who traveled over the rocky cliff with the ease of a crab. He’s the one who led Cadell down to a waiting boat. It broke all our hearts to see him holding his dead mother’s hand as they were rowed around to the bay. He wasn’t more than five years old, but he became a man that day.”
Myrna reached out to touch the wooden beads Oriana wore. “Cadell dropped these around his son’s neck, and they dangled nearly to his knees. He wore them a long while, then packed them away with his mother’s belongings.”
Oriana smoothed her fingertips over the charming necklace. She had been immediately drawn to it, but could that have been a warning she had missed? “Adelaine was wearing these beads when she died?”
“Aye, it was her favorite gift from Cadell. Now I’ve said too much and really must be about my work. There’ll be another feast tonight, and we’re all needed in the kitchen.”
Oriana rose with her, but she tarried in Adelaine’s chamber long after Myrna had gone. In the solitude, far more remained of Egan’s mother than a treasured fragrance. Faint at first, it gradually grew into an unsettling presence that swirled around her, and then drew her to her feet.
Compelled to end her reverie, Oriana fetched her cloak and hurriedly retraced Adelaine’s final journey up the winding stairs.
Upon his return to the fortress, it took Egan a long while to locate Oriana up on the wall walk. She was leaning into a crenellation meant to shield a warrior, and was gazing out toward the sea. The salty breeze had tousled her hair, and as her cloak whipped about her, she resembled some wild spirit fully capable of fl
ight.
“If you’re keeping a vigil for my safe return,” Egan called as he drew near, “you’re facing the wrong direction.”
Oriana looked up at him with a sad, sweet smile, and he slipped behind her to capture her in a tight embrace. He bent slightly to be heard above the wind. “Or were you hiding from me to avoid fulfilling our bargain? Since you neglected to ask, Kieran and I are both alive and fit, but the challenge will continue on the morrow.”
She had been lost in a crime that had gone unpunished, but relaxed against him and dipped her head slightly. A single glance at the waist-high crenellations was proof Adelaine could not possibly have slipped and fallen through one. There was no doubt her body had been found on the rocks below, but that meant she must have climbed through the crenellation and jumped, or far more likely, been hurled to her death by someone with the strength to carry out the ghastly deed.
Either was such a sickening possibility that she dared not share her suspicions with Egan. Not yet, at least. Not while his life remained at risk.
He was the elder brother, a proven warrior, and logic gave him the clear edge whether the challenge lasted mere days or weeks. She did not want to delay taking him for a lover though, and turned slowly in his arms. “I came up here to avoid not you, but all the others,” she stated convincingly.
“Rather than feel faint with worry, I’ve watched the sea, but now that you’re home, I want to hear all about the day’s challenge.” He had bathed and dressed in clean clothing, and she splayed her fingertips through the soft curls at his nape. “I wasn’t certain you’d accepted my bargain.”
Egan kissed her very lightly, and when she clung to him, he kissed her again. “Aye, I agreed, but we failed to work out the necessary details.”
“There are none,” Oriana assured him. “I trust you to spare Kieran’s life, and I am yours.”
Her slight smile was enchanting, but Egan still suspected she was up to some clever trick. “You are the greater challenge,” he swore with a laugh that caught on the wind. “But come with me now, and I’ll see you safely down the steep stairs.”
Oriana grasped his hand, but to follow him now would provide only a respite from danger, not a true escape.
Chapter Twelve
Sunlight flowed through the narrow slits in the thick stone walls and sent honeyed beams dancing over the flying folds of Egan’s cloak as he rushed Oriana down the winding steps. His resonant laughter echoed all around them, and when they burst into his corridor, he scooped her up into his arms.
Oriana raised her hands to encircle his neck and laughed with him. “You needn’t carry me. I’m content to accompany you.”
“Aye, that may be, my lady, but how far?” he teased.
It was Oriana who reached out to unlatch his door, but rather than set her on her feet, Egan kicked the door shut, went straight to his bed, and sat down with her cradled upon his lap. He longed to say that it mattered not why she had made a bargain that gave him exactly what he wanted, but even gazing into her warm golden eyes, he remained suspicious of her motives and terrified that she would change her mind.
“You’re a remarkable woman, and you’ve offered me something of great value, but the cost is extremely high.”
Oriana feared he had not accepted her bargain after all and pulled away, but when Egan refused to slacken his hold, she ceased to struggle. “I’m not selling myself to you.”
“Oh, but you are, and the price is my half brother’s life. I just don’t understand why you’re so desperate to save him.”
Oriana rested her forehead against his for a moment. His hair was still damp and his skin scented with soap. “He’s not the one I hope to save,” she explained softly. “It’s not the knowing that has convinced me of this, but simply my heart. Please believe me when I say that one day Kieran will be a staunch ally in a time of great need. That’s why he must survive the challenge.”
Egan was reluctant to concede the point, but while she might deny it, he was struck by the hint of prophecy in her heartfelt plea. At the same time, he wondered if she could see into the longings of his own heart, but as yet unwilling to declare himself, he wisely chose not to inquire.
“So I am simply to trust you and spare Kieran’s life now to safeguard my own in the future?” he asked. Before she could reply, he captured her hand and drew her index finger into his mouth to savor her taste. He had slept with many women, but never truly made love to one. Now he wished to take his time and explore every luscious aspect of Oriana’s fair beauty. Unfortunately circumstances made such a lengthy indulgence impossible.
He placed a tender kiss in her palm, and then murmured, “I wish we were still in the forest.”
Oriana thought him very clever for sidestepping her request but was as reluctant as he to waste time in argument. Instead she wove the fingers of her free hand through his glossy hair and was amazed at what a sensual delight the simple gesture brought. For so long, she had deliberately kept her distance to avoid touching him. Now it was difficult to accept the incredible pleasure their closeness brought.
“I’ll tell you in which forest I live and describe exactly where,” she promised. “You could visit me there.”
“Visit?” Egan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone was softly confident, his words a solemn vow. “You’ll not leave me, Oriana; not when the challenge is finished, not ever. You’ll live with me here, always.”
He had sworn he wanted a wife rather than a mistress, but she dared not even dream of marriage when she would bring nothing to their union save love. His need for powerful allies would eventually force them apart, and she did not want to leave alone. The longing for a child was too sad a desire to voice, however, and again avoiding conflict she leaned close, framed his face with her hands, and kissed him deeply.
While Egan was certain she had never kissed another man, he was astonished by how quickly she had learned to caress his lips and tongue with her own. Her taste was intoxicating, and her soft sighs so seductive that he fell back on the bed with her still clasped in his arms. Then, without loosening his adoring embrace, he rolled over and propped himself on his elbows to capture her beneath him.
Oriana gazed up at him, her expression filled with wonder. A yearning for more of him ached within her, but she was puzzled by how quickly he had become so dear. Despite their constant discord, had her initial appreciation of his wickedly endearing smile simply deepened into sincere affection? Or was love merely a possibility she had welcomed when she had followed him into the fortress?
Giving up the effort to trace the origin of desire when no other option now remained open, she licked her lips to invite another kiss. “I was raised to live in the Otherworld,” she confessed shyly. “But now, I cannot even imagine a life without you.”
Recalling how swiftly she had bolted from his embrace in the past, Egan was sorely tempted to peel off her sweetly scented garments and take her as his wife before she had time to regret her choice; but she deserved far more in the way of tender consideration. It was that certainty alone that enabled him to exercise restraint.
“I want to make love to you until you can’t tell night from day,” he confided, “but the dangers of abandoning ourselves in each other are too great. We must wait until after I’ve won the last challenge.”
Oriana traced the firm outline of his jaw with her fingertips. “You’re very strong. Is making love so very strenuous?”
“The way I want to make love with you, it most certainly is.” He nuzzled her throat to muffle the laughter he could not contain.
Amused rather than insulted, Oriana snuggled against him. She could feel the whole hard length of him pressed against her thigh, and knew while he might not be willing, he was most definitely able. She slipped her hand down between them to stroke him gently.
“Oriana,” Egan scolded, more shocked than angered by the boldness of her touch. He quickly captured her hands and held them pinned above her head in a firm grasp. Her long sleeves lay bunched
against her arms, and holding her with one hand, he leaned down to lick the smooth, pale skin of her inner elbow.
“You’ve turned into a demanding vixen, and while I welcome the change, for the time being, you mustn’t tease me.”
Oriana rolled her hips to caress him with her whole body. “I’m not teasing.”
Egan shifted his weight in an unsuccessful attempt to subdue her amorous antics, but she had him throbbing with desire. “You’ve no idea what you’re doing to me,” he moaned.
“I want only to love you,” she insisted in an inviting whisper, “not exhaust you and endanger your life.”
That she would ever wish, or need, to seduce him had seemed an impossibility, but Oriana parted her lips and hungrily welcomed so many deep kisses she swiftly lost count. Egan kept a tight hold on her wrists, but she thought he was weakening until he paused to allow them both a chance to breathe.
Already lost in her, Egan shook his head to clear it. He stubbornly refused to admit defeat. Instead, he released her and hurriedly got to his feet. “If I don’t live through the challenges with you in my bed, the fault will be entirely yours. But I won today and provided a fine boar for tonight’s feast.”
His passionate kisses had left her slightly dazed, and unable to sit up, she stretched languidly and propped her head on her elbow. “When did you find the time to hunt?”
Her windblown hair tumbling over her shoulders and her kiss-swollen lips were almost more than Egan could bear to admire from afar. Turning away, he removed his cloak and folded it atop one of the large wooden chests lining the walls.
“Kieran wished to fight with spears, but I’ve been in real battle and would have beaten him so easily that I convinced him to hunt boar instead. I made the first kill, so I won the day.”
“Egan, look at me,” Oriana ordered with the snap of her old fire.
Recognizing that imperious tone all too well, Egan turned on his heel, but cautiously kept his distance. “Aye, my lady?”
